Trace analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in suspended particulate matter by accelerated solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

An analytical procedure based on extraction by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis has been developed for the determination of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from large-volume water samples (20 L). The effect of temperature and number of cycles on the efficiency of ASE was investigated: the best results were obtained by using a temperature of 100°C and one static cycle. A mixture of hexane/acetone 1:1 (v/v) was used as extraction solvent. Mean total method recovery under optimized conditions was 85%. The developed methodology was applied to the analysis of suspended particulate matter from Lake Maggiore waters (north of Italy). Mean PAH concentrations in suspended particulate matter from Lake Maggiore ranged from 0.2 ng L−1 for anthracene to 18.7 ng L−1 for naphthalene.