Headspace solid-phase microextraction is a solvent-free sample preparation technique in which a fused silica fiber coated with polymeric organic liquid is introduced into the headspace above the sample. The volatilized organic analytes are extracted and concentrated in the coating and then transferred to the analytical instrument for desorption and analysis. This modification of the solid-phase microextraction method (SPME) shortens the time of extraction and facilitates the application of this method to analysis of solid samples. The detection limits of the headspace SPME technique are at ppt level when ion trap mass spectrometry is used as the detector and are very similar to that of the direct SPME technique

Headspace solid-phase microextraction

The solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique involves exposing a fused silica fiber that has been coated with a stationary phase to and aqueous solution containing organic contaminants. The analytes partition into the stationary phase until an equilibrium has been reached, after which the fiber is removed from the solution and the analytes are thermally desorbed in the injector of a gas chromatograph

Automation and optimization of solid-phase microextraction

In recent years, much attention in analytical chemistry has been paid to sample preparation techniques, especially those which minimise the consumption of organic solvents One of the most promising of these, solid-phase microextraction (SPME), is presented in both its theoretical and practical aspects Conditions which affect its performance are assessed, as are the problems which may arise from its use Finally, some typical applications are listed, highlighting the method's sensitivity and precision, and the range of samples where SPME can be used successfully

Solid-phase microextraction

The degradation of biomass is studied in the ranges of 330−410 °C and 30−50 MPa and at 15 min of reaction time. To characterize the chemistry of biomass degradation, key compounds which are interme...

Biomass Conversion in Water at 330−410 °C and 30−50 MPa. Identification of Key Compounds for Indicating Different Chemical Reaction Pathways

A novel sol-gel method is described for the preparation of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers. The protective polyimide coating was removed from a 1-cm end segment of a 200 μm o.d. fused-silica fiber, and the exposed outer surface was coated with a bonded sol-gel layer of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The chemistry behind this coating technique is presented. Efficient SPME-GC analyses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkanes, aniline derivatives, alcohols, and phenolic compounds in dilute aqueous solutions were achieved using sol-gel-coated PDMS fibers. The extracted analytes were transferred to a GC injector using an in-house-designed SPME syringe that also allowed for easy change of SPME fibers. Electron microscopy experiments suggested a porous structure for the sol-gel coating with a thickness of ∼10 μm. The coating porosity provided higher surface area and allowed for the use of thinner coatings (compared with 100-μm-thick coatings for conventional SPME fibers) to achieve acceptable stationary-phase loadings and sample capacities. Enhanced surface area of sol-gel coatings, in turn, provided efficient analyte extraction rates from solution. Experimental results on thermal stability of sol-gel PDMS fibers were compared with those for commercial 100-μm PDMS fibers. Our findings suggest that sol-gel PDMS fibers possess significantly higher thermal stability (>320 °C) than conventionally coated PDMS fibers that often start bleeding at 200 °C. This is due, in part, to the strong chemical bonding between the sol-gel-generated organic-inorganic composite coating and the silica surface. Enhanced thermal stability allowed the use of higher injection port temperatures for efficient desorption of less-volatile analytes and should translate into extended range of analytes that can be handled by SPME-GC techniques. Experimental evidence is provided that supports the operational advantages of sol-gel coatings in SPME-GC analysis.

Sol-gel coating technology for the preparation of solid-phase microextraction fibers of enhanced thermal stability.

rn Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is applied to the analysis of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes in groundwater. The inexpensive SPME method reduced the sample preparation time by 3-7-fold when compared to purge and trap methods. The relative standard deviation ranged from 3 to 5% for the single-operator relative standard deviation using a methyl silicone fiber. Limits of detection of 1-3 ppb (w/v) were obtained when using a fiber coated with 56-pm methyl silicone film and FID detection. The linear range extended from 15 to 3000 ppb (w/v). Solvents have been completely removed from the sample preparation step.

Megan Lim

Papers

Analysis of Substituted Benzene Compounds in Groundwater Using Solid-Phase Microextraction