A New methods for determination of airborne pollutants

The work presented in this thesis concerns the development and evaluation of new methods for sampling and analysis of organic pollutants in the indoor and outdoor environment. In Paper I, the development of a new method was reported for the determination of the brominated fl ame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) in air using sampling with glass fi ber fi lter and polyurethane foam (PUF), ultrasonic solvent extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS). The MS fragmentation mechanism of TBBPA was thoroughly investigated and different acquisition modes were evaluated to achieve the most sensitive and selective detection. In Papers II and III, the potential use of Empore SPE membranes was evaluated for air sampling of volatile, semi-volatile and particle-associated organic compounds. Breakthrough studies conducted for 24h at air fl ows of 10-20 L/min showed that the SPE membranes effi ciently retains volatile and semi-volatile organophosphate esters and particles >10 nm. Effort was invested in the development of fast and environmental friendly methods, with low cost, for sample clean up and analysis. In Paper II, the sample preparation technique was dynamic solvent extraction with methanol coupled to LC-ESI/MS. The total run time per sample, including both extraction and separation, was less than 34 min, consuming only 1.6 mL methanol. In Paper III, the effi ciency of selective extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from particulate matter sampled with Empore SPE membranes, using dynamic subcritical water extraction (DSWE) was investigated. Acceptable recoveries of the investigated compounds from reference material (SRM 1649a) were achieved. Paper IV, the application of dynamic solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) air sampling was evaluated using, gas chromatography/positive ion chemical ionisation (GC/PICI) and tandem-MS detection for the determination of organophosphate esters in work environment. p g a ämnets kemiska struktur med två polära fenolgrupper. II Air sampling with Empore solid phase extraction membranes and online single-channel desorption/ liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis: Determination of volatile and semi-volatile organophosphate esters. Abbreviations ABS Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene ACN Acetonitrile APCI Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ASE Accelerated solvent extraction BTEX Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene C8, C18 Octyl, octadecyl silica CID Collision-induced dissociation CPC Condensation particle counter CRM The charge residue model DCM Dichloromethane DMA Differential mobility analyzer DMAE Dynamic microwave-assisted extraction DOP Dioctyl phthalate DSASE Dynamic sonication-assisted solvent extraction DSWE Dynamic subcritical water extraction EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESI Electrospray ionization FID Flame ionization detector GC Gas chromatography HPLC High performance liquid chromatography Hz Hertz, …