Comparison of in-tube sorptive extraction techniques for non-polar volatile organic compounds by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection

• Published in: Journal of Chromatography A 2006-08, Vol.1124 (1), p.181-186
• Main Authors: Ridgway, Kathy, Lalljie, Sam P.D., Smith, Roger M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Calibration; Chemistry; Chromatographic methods and physical methods associated with chromatography; Exact sciences and technology; Gas chromatographic methods; Gas chromatography; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry - methods; Headspace; Organic Chemicals - analysis; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Sample preparation; Solid phase dynamic extraction; Solid phase microextraction; Sorptive extraction; Volatilization
• ISSN: 0021-9673
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2006.06.105

A commercial in-tube sorptive extraction device, known as solid-phase dynamic extraction (SPDE), has been evaluated for the extraction of non-polar volatile aromatic analytes from aqueous solutions in both headspace and liquid injection modes. An automated sampler is used with a gas-tight 2.5 ml syringe equipped with a special needle that is coated on the inside with a non-polar extraction phase. After absorption onto the phase, the analytes were thermally desorbed directly into a GC–MS system. The technique was evaluated for the determination of furan, benzene and toluene. The sensitivity for toluene was greatly improved on using SPDE compared to static headspace. A slight increase in sensitivity was observed for benzene but none for determination of furan. Estimated limits of detection ranged from 0.2 to 2 μg/l.