Extraction and analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by solid phase micro-extraction/supercritical fluid chromatography (SPME/SFC)

Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) is a clean and simple pre-concentration method. Previously used for trace analysis of volatil compounds, the use of SPME was extended to non volatil molecules with the development of an SPME / HPLC interface. This new interface allows the extraction and the analyses of high molecular weight compounds found in aqueous samples. Since supercritical fluid chromatography is particularly well suited for analysis of complex mixtures containing non volatil compounds, the faisability of coupling SPME and SFC has been investigated and applied to PAHs. Several points have been studied: i/ behavior of interface and of fiber to supercritical fluid and high pressure required by the analytical method; ii/ kind of the compounds transfer from the fiber to the analytical column; iii/ relation between the nature of the fibers and the quantity of extracted compounds; iiii/ effect of salt addition. The results show that the SPME / SFC technic may be used for extraction and analysis of PAHs, since the quantity of extracted compounds reachs 30%.