Fast automated extraction and clean-up of biological fluids for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls analysis

A fast automated extraction and clean-up procedure for low-level analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (cPCBs) in biological fluids is presented. Online extraction of prepared fluids is carried out using disposable octadecyl bonded (C-18) solid-phase extraction columns. Extracts are then cleaned up through disposable multi-layer silica (acidic, basic and neutral) and dispersed PX-21 carbon columns. This new methodology is compared with classical Soxhlet extraction and manual solid-phase extraction in terms of repeatability, reproducibility, accuracy and recovery rates for reference and certified materials. Robustness is evaluated on different matrices, such as cow's milk, breast milk and human serum. As a consequence of the reduced number of reusable glassware used, as well as lowering of solvent consumption, recorded blank levels are decreased in favor of limits of detection (LODs). Total analysis time and cost are further reduced using simultaneous sample preparation units and the sample throughput is increased compared to classical methods. As a result, this new approach appears to be suitable for the fast sample preparation often required for such fluids in case of emergency foodstuffs analysis or during large epidemiological studies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.