Quantification of nitrated polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric particulate matter Original Research Article

A derivatization-GC/ECD analytical method has been developed. This method involves first the reduction of nitrated polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) to their corresponding amino-PAHs by NaBH4. This is followed by derivatization of the amino-PAHs with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA). Such derivatization provides a polyfluorinated tag to the NPAHs, which can then be detected and quantified at pg levels by GC/ECD. Using this method, 1-nitronaphthalene (1-NNa), 4-nitrobiphenyl (4-NBp), 2-nitrofluorene (2-NFl) and 1-nitropyrene (1-NPy) are positively identified and quantified in atmospheric particulate matter. The concentrations range from 1 to 100 pg/m3. The distribution of NPAHs versus particle size has been studied and it has been found that the concentrations of NPAHs adsorbed on fine particles (<0.5 μm) are 3–10 times higher than those on coarse particles (0.5–10 μm).