Extraction and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME-SFO) followed by HPLC-UV

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME-SFO) was developed for the extraction and determination of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different aqueous samples. The extracted PAHs were separated and determined using high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). Some important extraction parameters were studied and optimized. The new SBSE-DLLME-SFO method provided high enrichment factors in the range of 1630-2637. The calibration graphs were linear in the range of 0.02-400 mu g L-1 and the limits of detection (LODs) were in the range of 0.0067-0.010 mu g L-1 for this technique. The optimized method exhibited a good precision level with relative standard deviations (RSDs%) values between 2.17% and 6.92%. The proposed method was successfully applied to the extraction of three PAHs in different spiked water samples.