A magnet-integrated fabric phase sorptive extraction method (MI-FPSE) for the determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water analyzed by GC–MS/MS

Abstract

In this work, a magnet-integrated fabric phase sorptive extraction (MI-FPSE) protocol was developed for the determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples at trace levels. MI-FPSE is a recently introduced sample preparation approach that integrates the stirring and extraction mechanisms into a single device. In MI-FPSE, two FPSE membranes and a metallic magnetic stirrer are combined to provide an “all-in-one” extraction platform. The analytical determination of the target analytes was performed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS). The main parameters that affect the performance of the MI-FPSE procedure were studied and the analytical method was validated and used for real sample analysis. Sol-gel poly(tetrahydrofuran) MI-FPSE media provided the highest extraction efficiency towards the majority of the target analytes. The developed method showed good linearity, accuracy, and precision. The LOQs for the target analytes ranged between 10.0 and 25.0 ng/L. The RSD values were better than 11.3 % for intra-day and inter-day precision, while the relative recoveries were within the range of 85.6 and 110.7 %, demonstrating good accuracy. The sol–gel coated MI-FPSE membranes were found to be reusable, and the developed protocol showed good practicality and green merits. Finally, the proposed method was successfully used for water analysis demonstrating its versatility.