Selective extraction of trace levels of polychlorinated and polybrominated contaminants by supercritical fluid-solid-phase microextraction and determination by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Application to aquaculture fish feed and cultured marine species

The persistence, ubiquity, and toxicity of polyhalogenated compounds, together with their presence in fish feed, make it necessary to monitor these organic pollutants in the routine quality assurance programs of aquaculture activities, as this food chain is a source of these toxic compounds for human consumers. A new approach based on simultaneous supercritical fluid extraction-sample cleanup, followed by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SFE-SPME-GC/MS/MS) has been developed as an advantageous analytical tool for the determination of 15 organohalogenated compounds (including pesticides, polychlorinated and polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in aquaculture feed at very low levels. The influence of several parameters in the efficiency of the SPE/SPME combination was systematically investigated by chemometric approaches. In the optimal conditions, the developed procedure provides an excellent linearity, detection, and quantification limits (below 10 pg/g) for most of the analytes investigated, being at the same time advantageous in terms of rapidity, convenience, and avoiding the need of toxic organic solvents. The procedure was applied to the analysis of aquaculture feed and cultured marine species and tested for accuracy against IAEA 406 reference material.