Trace determination of nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using liquid chromatography with on-line electrochemical reduction and fluorescence detection Original Research Article

An efficient clean-up procedure coupled with a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line electrochemical (EC) reduction and fluorescence detection (FLD) was developed to quantify nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) in the airborne particulate. In this process, NPAHs were extracted ultrasonically followed by analysis by using a reversed phase column with an aqueous eluent containing 70% aqueous acetonitrile and sodium monocholoroacetate as a buffer solution. The extraction efficiencies were above 83% for 1-nitropyrene and 1,3-dinitropyrene (1,3-DNP) 1,6-DNP, and 1,8-DNP, and calibration graphs were linear with very good correlation coefficients (r>0.999) and the detection limits were in the range of 1.0–2.2 pg for dinitropyrenes and nitropyrene. The proposed method provides a relatively simple and convenient procedure for determining the NPAHs samples in airborne particulate.