Rapid screening of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in waters by directly suspended droplet microextraction-microvolume fluorospectrometry

A rapid and simple screening method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water samples is proposed. The method is based on the combination of a miniaturized sample preparation approach, namely, directly suspended droplet microextraction (DSDME), and microvolume fluorospectrometry. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was used as the model compound for screening purposes. Under optimal conditions, a detection limit of 0.024 μg L−1 and an enrichment factor of 159 were obtained for BaP in 5 min. The repeatability, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), was 4.9% (n = 8). The unreliability region of the screening method was 0.54–0.67 μg L−1, by using a cut-off value of 0.6 μg L−1 of BaP. Finally, the proposed method was applied to the in situ achievement of the binary “yes/no” response for PAHs in different water samples and recovery studies were performed at three different levels, with BaP recoveries in the range of 93–104%.