The overall efficiency of silicone-grease-coated denuders was determined for the collection of selected 3- and 4-ring polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). PAH studied were fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, acenaphthene and pyrene. Fluorene was subsequently eliminated from consideration because of analytical problems caused by the reactivity of this compound. Results are interpreted in terms of the collisional reaction efficiencies (gamma) for these compounds. An analysis of the effects of uncertainties in diffusion coefficients and gamma values for these compounds on overall phase distributions derived from experimental data suggests that the consequences of these uncertainties are less significant than normal variations due to sampling and analysis effects.