Sampling and concentration of particulate matter bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) basing on polystyrene nanofibers followed a determination by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Electrospun polystyrene (PS) nanofibers as an effective particulate filter and a sorbent in a packed-fiber solid phase extraction (PFSPE) were used to develop a novel method for the sampling and concentration of sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the atmospheric particulate matter (PM). The PAHs were quantified by gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main factors (the shape of PFSPE devices, the leaching solvents, and the elution methods) affecting the adsorption and desorption of PAHs on PS nanofibers were evaluated in detail. Under the optimized conditions (sampling of particulate matter bound PAHs basing on PS nanofibers filter following the release of them with ultrsound for 20 min in ethanol, the concentration of PAHs by adsorption of them on PS nanofibers again in a disk PFSPE-column, eluting of PAHs in ethanol at 75 degrees C for 10 min), PS nanofibers displayed excellent properties in the sampling of PM bound PAHs and in the concentration of PAHs in the leaching solution with the recoveries ranging from 79.2 to 104.5%. The linear calibration curves were in the range of 0.17 to 64.9 ng m(-3), and relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 3.8-11.6% for intra-day, 4.3-10.2% for inter-day. The method was fast, sensitive, cost-effective, with less harmful reagents, and has great potential for analyzing PAHs in atmospheric particulate matter.