Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) comprise a class of numerous condensed multi-ring benzenoid derived from natural and man-kind activities involving incomplete combustion of organic matter. Chemical analysis of PAHs is of great environmental and toxicological importance due to the mutagenic and/or carcinogenic nature of some of them. A classic example is the sixteen PAHs included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency priority pollutants list (EPA-PAHs). Maximum contaminant levels (MCL) of regulated PAHs in contaminated water samples range from 10 to 200 ng L-1. The EPA recommends MCL not to exceed 200 ng L-1. Under the prospective of a sustainable environment, these rather low PAHs concentration levels make water analysis a particularly challenging task. The classic approach follows the sequence of sample preparation and chromatographic analysis. Typically, 1 L of water is processed through a solid-phase extraction (SPE) manifold in approximately 1 hour. PAHs determination is carried out in the SPE extract either by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography � mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Typical elution times vary between 30 and 60 minutes. The research presented here meets several features of green analytical chemistry. PAHs are extracted from 500 �L of water sample with 1 mL of a gold nanoparticles aqueous solution and released with 100 �L of organic solvents for subsequent analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The entire extraction procedure of 12 water samples takes approximately 20 minutes. GC-MS of the sixteen EPA-PAHs is accomplished in 22 minutes via an optimized method. The analytical figures of merit, the simplicity of the extraction procedure, the small sample volume and the minimal consumption of organic solvents make this approach an environmentally friendly and cost effective analytical method for PAHs analysis in water samples.

Development of a green analytical method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in river water samples

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.