An efficient, sensitive and fast microextraction method followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bread samples

In this research, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bread samples were simultaneously determined using microwave-assisted extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (MAE-DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Effective parameters of MAE-DLLME were investigated and optimized using a response surface methodology based on central composite design (CCD). Under optimum conditions, linearity was obtained in the range of 1-200 ng g(-1) for 16 PAHs, with a correlation coefficient (R-2) better than 0.9833. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation for PAHs in real samples were over the ranges 0.1 to 0.3 ng g(-1) and 0.3-1 ng g(-1), respectively. The performance of the proposed method was investigated for the determination of PAHs in various bread samples and acceptable results were obtained.