Use of a moving-belt interface for on-line high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry characterization of polycyclic aromatic compounds of molecular weight up to 580 Da in environmental samples.

The applicability of the moving belt high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) interface to the analysis of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in a complex sample derived from coal tar is investigated. This interface provides good preservation of chromatographic integrity and useful electron ionization spectra of thermally stable PACs of low to moderate volatility up to molecular masses of at least 580 Da. It is concluded that this HPLC/MS technique will be useful in the analysis of such complex samples, provided a large enough suite of standard compounds can be made available.