Determination of BTEX in water samples with an SPME hollow fiber coated copper wire

A piece of copper wire coated with a polypropylene hollow fiber membrane was used as an SPME fiber and its efficiency for extraction of BTEX compounds from the headspace of water samples prior to GC analysis was evaluated. Under optimum extraction conditions, limits of detection for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-p-xylene, and o-xylene were found to be 0.11, 0.22, 0.26, 0.37, and 0.26 mu g L(-1), respectively. Low detection limits, wide linear dynamic ranges, good reproducibility (RSD% < 4), high fiber capacity and higher mechanical durability are some of the most important advantages of the new fiber.