Microwave-assisted extraction combined with gas chromatography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

This article describes the application of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) combined with either gas chromagotraphy-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD), or with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), to the determination of selected polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil and sediment samples. These compounds were extracted from Various matrices (e.g., laboratory-spiked soil samples, certified standard reference materials, and samples from a site contaminated with PCBs) with hexane-acetone (1:1) at 115 degrees C for 10 min using microwave energy. The results presented here indicate that these types of compounds can be recovered in good yields from the matrices investigated. For PCBs, the MAE-ELISA technique appears to be a fast and inexpensive screening and monitoring method provided that a number of samples are confirmed by GC-ECD.