On-line coupling of thermal extraction with gas chromatography / tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds in a few milligrams of indoor dust

Abstract

An original multiresidue method based on thermal extraction (TE) and gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) was developed to simultaneously quantify, from a very small amount of sample (a few milligrams), a wide range of concerning SVOCs, including polycyclic musks, organochlorines (OCs), organophosphates (OPs), oxadiazolones, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), phthalates and pyrethroids, in indoor settled dust. Method limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 5 ng g-1 for PCBs, oxadiazon, 4,4'-DDE and 4,4'-DDT to 2000 ng g-1 for DEHP for a 2 mg sample of sieved dust. The proposed method was successfully validated in terms of accuracy and precision via replicate analysis of four different standard reference materials (SRMs 1649b (Urban Dust), 2585 (Organic Contaminants in House Dust), 2786 and 2787 (Fine Atmospheric Particulate Matter)) supplied by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and was applied to five real indoor settled dust samples collected in French schools. In addition, its performance was compared to that of a previously published method based on pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and GC/MS/MS. The different results obtained demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method over conventional methods and illustrate its two main features: i) its ease of use and very rapid implementation in only three steps (sieving, weighing and analysis), which make it particularly appropriate for environmental monitoring programs and large-scale studies, and ii) its ability to precisely and accurately quantify a wide range of SVOCs from trace (a few ng g-1) to highly concentrated (several mg g-1) compounds from only 2 mg of sieved dust.

Semivolatile organic compounds in French schools: Partitioning between the gas phase, airborne particles and settled dust

“…A detailed description of the analytical methods, including quality assurance and quality control, is available elsewhere for air samples 19,26 and for dust samples 27 and is also provided in the Supporting Information (SI). Briefly, SVOCs were extracted from air samples (QFF and PUF together to increase the SVOC detection rate) using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) in 10 mL stainless steel cells in an ASE 350 accelerated solvent extractor (Dionex Corporation).…”

Thermal desorption-based method for quantifying semi-volatile organic compounds in house dust: Method development and evaluation

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] The determination of SVOC concentrations in house dust typically consists of three procedures: sampling, pretreatment and chemical analysis. 26 The sampling of house dust mainly includes two methods: (1) the vacuum-based method, in which house dust is collected by a filter (or a sampling bag sometimes) assembled in the vacuum cleaner, which is more often used in existing studies, 11,[27][28][29] and (2) the brush-based method, in which house dust is collected using a brush. 16,[30][31][32] After sampling, dust samples are commonly pretreated by following three steps: (1) extraction, to separate SVOC from the dust matrix to the extracts, (2) purification, to remove interfering substances, for example, solid particles, from the extracts, and (3) concentration or dilution of the purified extracts, to ensure SVOC concentrations within the limit of quantitation of analytical instruments.…”

Qualitative Analysis of Acetophenone, Naphthalene, and Hexadecane by GC-Triple-Quad-MS Using MRM

“…1 As a second example, Mercier and colleagues used MS−MS in the design of a method to simultaneously analyze over 40 semivolatile organic compounds of health interest in indoor dust. 2 In fact, the power of second stage mass spectrometry has been harnessed in a variety of applications, ranging from environmental 3 to food 4 to clinical 5 chemistry.…”

“…In one such novel example, Ribeiro et al used the technique to measure methadone, a drug in opiate substitution therapy, as well as its metabolite, in oral fluid samples of patients undergoing substitution treatment . As a second example, Mercier and colleagues used MS–MS in the design of a method to simultaneously analyze over 40 semivolatile organic compounds of health interest in indoor dust . In fact, the power of second stage mass spectrometry has been harnessed in a variety of applications, ranging from environmental to food to clinical chemistry.…”