Optimization and Validation of Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry for the Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ambient Air

Thermal desorption (TD) coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) is a simple alternative that overcomes the main drawbacks of the solvent extraction-based method: long extraction times, high sample manipulation, and large amounts of solvent waste. This work describes the optimization of TD-GC/MS for the measurement of airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAlls) in particulate phase. The performance of the method was tested by Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1649b urban dust and compared with the conventional method (Soxhlet extraction-GC/MS), showing a better recovery (mean of 97%), precision (mean of 12%), and accuracy (+/- 25%) for the determination of 14 EPA PAHs. Furthermore, other 15 nonpriority PAHs were identified and quantified using their relative response factors (RRFs). Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied for the quantification of PAI Is in real 8 h-samples (PM10), demonstrating its capability for determination of these compounds in short-term monitoring.The authors gratefully thank the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (Ref.: GIU 13/25, GIU 16/03, and UFI 11/47) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) for financing the project PROMESHAP (Ref.: CTM 2010-20607). Inaki Elorduy wants to thank the MICINN for his doctoral grant Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacio