Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulate matter by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.

An accurate and sensitive method for the identification and the quantification of 24 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne particulate matter has been developed and validated using GC/MS/MS with a triple quadrupole analyzer. Ultrasonic extraction (USE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) were evaluated. PLE was selected because it provided better recoveries and reduced treatment time and use of solvents compared to USE. Cleanup of PLE extracts was not necessary. The accuracy of the optimized method was tested using a standard reference material of urban dust (SRM 1649a). PAH recoveries were between 70 and 99% (except for naphthalene, which was lower than 20%) with RSDs ranging from 2.6 to 15.3%. Linearity in the range 5-500 ng/mL provided R2 values higher than 0.99 for all compounds. LODs for PAHs ranged from 0.001 to 0.435 ng/mL and LOQs ranged from 0.003 to 0.757 ng/mL. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of real samples collected in the city of Almeria, Spain, where some PAHs were found at levels lower than the legislated limit.