Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine, brackish, and river sediments by HPLC, following ultrasonic extraction

The development and validation of a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence and UV detection for the determination in sediments of 16 polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) listed as priority pollutants by EPA is described. The analytes are extracted by ultrasonification and purified by solid-phase extraction (SPE) with C(1)8 mini-column cartridges. The factors influencing the recovery ratio such as sediment characteristics, composition, and flow rate of the sample loaded on the cartridge, and volumes of acetone necessary to elute the analytes from the cartridges are discussed. In the defined conditions the recoveries are always over 80%. A Waters PAH C-18 column with an acetonitrile-water gradient elution was employed for the separation of the purified samples. The linearity of the data and the limits of quantification and detection are determined for each molecule. The method is successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of 16 PAHs in marine, brackish, and river sediments.