Analysis of co-eluted isomers of high-molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in high performance liquid chromatography fractions via solid-phase nanoextraction and time-resolved Shpolʹskii spectroscopy

We present an accurate method for the determination of isomers of high-molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons co-eluted in HPLC fractions. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated with two isomers of molecular weight 302 with identical mass fragmentation patterns, namely dibenzo[a,i]pyrene and naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene. Qualitative and quantitative analysis is carried out via laser-excited time-resolved Shpolʹskii spectroscopy at liquid helium temperature. Unambiguous identification of co-eluted isomers is based on their characteristic 4.2 K line-narrowed spectra in n-octane as well as their fluorescence lifetimes. Pre-concentration of HPLC fractions prior to spectroscopic analysis is performed with the aid of gold nanoparticles via an environmentally friendly procedure. In addition to the two co-eluted isomers, the analytical figures of merit of the entire procedure were evaluated with dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]pyrene and dibenzo[a,e]pyrene. The analytical recoveries from drinking water samples varied between 98.2 ± 5.5 (dibenzo[a,l]pyrene) and 102.7 ± 3.2% (dibenzo[a,i]pyrene). The limits of detection ranged from 51.1 ng L−1 (naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene) to 154 ng L−1 (dibenzo[a,e]pyrene). The excellent analytical figures of merit associated to its HPLC compatibility makes this approach an attractive alternative for the analysis of co-eluted isomers with identical mass spectra.