Importance of extracting solvent vapor pressure in headspace liquid-phase microextraction

Of the many parameters that affect the enrichment factors in headspace liquid-phase microextraction, in this study, we systematically investigated the influence of the vapor pressure of the extracting solvent. Seven extracting solvents with different vapor pressures were selected and tested. It was found that the vapor pressure of the extracting solvent dramatically affects the enrichment factor and the factor was increasing by decreasing the extracting solvent vapor pressure under given experimental conditions. The result was validated for volatile organic compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.