Phosphorimetric Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on Solid-Phase Extraction Membranes

Abstract

Solid-surface room-temperature phosphorimetry (SS-RTP) has been employed for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed on solid-phase extraction (SPE) membranes. Three types of membranes commercially available were tested as solid substrates for phosphorescence emission. The effects of humidity and oxygen quenching were studied on SPEC® membranes. Calibration curves with linear dynamic ranges varying from two to three orders of magnitude were obtained in the presence of 0.05 M sodium dodecyl sulfate and 0.1 M TlNO3. The relative standard deviations of measurements varied between 5 and 10%. The absolute limits of detection were estimated at the ng to sub-ng level. On the basis of the performance of SPE membranes as solid substrates, the potential application of SPE-RTP for the analysis of PAHs is discussed.