Establishment of High Performance Liquid Chromatography Approach for 18 PAHs in Ambient PM_2.5

Objective To establish an analytical approach for determining 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric fine particulate matters (PM_2.5) by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet fluorescence detection (HPLC-UV-FLD).

Methods The PAHs in PM_2.5 samples were separated and enriched by ultrasonic assisted extraction combined with solid phase extraction. The optimal processing conditions were obtained by comparing the recovery rates estimated from selected extraction solvents and related proportions, which was then used to establish an analytical approach for the PAHs in PM_2.5 based on HPLC-UV-FLD with external standard quantification.

Results After optimization of chromatographic conditions, the 18 PAHs reached the baseline separation in 40 min. The precisions were 2.9%-11%, and the recovery rates were 58.4%-105.3%. The linear ranges were 0.05-50 μg/mL for acenaphthylene and acenaphthene and 0.01-50 μg/mL for the remaining 16 PAHs, with calculated correlation coefficients all greater than 0.997.

Conclusion The method with high sensitivity and wide linear range could be applied to the detection of 18 kinds of PAHs in atmospheric PM_2.5.