Liquid chromatographic separation and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon analysis of vehicle particulate extracts, 1980

Soluble organic materials of particulates collected from diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles were separated into three fractions according to their polarities. These fractions were: (1) the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), (2) the medium polar compounds or the "transition" fraction, and (3) the highly polar compounds or the "oxygenates". This separation was achieved on a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system using a normal phase silica-gel column, and eluted with three solvents of different polarities. The solvents were: heptane, chloroform and acetonitrile. Analysis of the PAH fraction as separated above was then carried out using a reverse-phase HPLC procedure, and some of the compounds contained in the PAH fraction were identified and quantified