Improvement of an automatic HPLC system for nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Removal of an interfering peak and increase in the number of analytes

An automatic HPLC system for analyzing nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs, nitroarenes) in airborne particulates was previously described (Anal. Chim. Acta, 2001, 445, 20). Some problems with this system were that it generated a peak originating from an ascorbic acid solution that elutes at a retention time close to that of 1,6-dinitropyrene (DNP), and that it was able to analyze only 1,3-, 1,6-, 1,8-DNPs and 1-nitropyrene (1-NP). Here, we describe an improved system that effectively removes the interfering peak by introducing an ODS column just after the pump for the ascorbic acid solution, and which is capable of analyzing several additional compounds (2-, 4-NPs, 2-nitrofluorene, 6-nitrochrysene, 7-nitrobenz[a]anthracene, 3-nitroperylene and 6-nitrobenzo[a]pyrene etc.). The improved sensitivities were achieved by concentrating the compounds in a benzene-ethanol extract from airborne particulates, by increasing the loading time of the sample solution from 20 to 38 min, and by increasing the flow rate of an ascorbic acid solution from 1.3 to 1.8 mL/min