Monofluorinated analogues of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as internal standards for GC-MS in environmental analysis

Abstract

In the gas chromatographic determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), internal standards (ISs) are frequently used in order to correct for losses and fluctuating experimental parameters. In this study eight monofluorinated PAHs (F-PAHs) are used to this end. Analysis was by means of large-volume injection-gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (LVI-GC-MS). Relevant experimental results and performance data are presented, and it is demonstrated that the use of at least one F-PAH as IS improves the repeatability dramatically. As a brief application, F-PAHs were used as ISs for the trace-level determination of PAHs in soil, after extraction by means of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and liquid partitioning (LP). The suitability of the approach was demonstrated with naphthalene and pyrene as test compounds.