Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediment by Liquid Chromatography-Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

We describe a method for the simultaneous determination of 12 kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment based on liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure photoionization-mass spectrometry (LC/APPI/MS). The method consists of PAH extractions by ultrasonics, clean-up by a solid-phase extraction procedure and determination by LC/APPI/MS. The limits of the determination for PAHs in sediment using the proposed method ranged from 0.06 to 0.9 mg/kg. PAHs were detected by this method in sediment samples on the mg/kg level.