Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls by fast chromatography mass-spectrometry in environmental and biological samples

A method for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCB ) by fast gas chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometric detection in selective ion monitoring mode has been developed. Chromatographic separation was carried out with HT-8 column (30 m × 0.25 mm) under sharp temperature increase from 80 to 320°C at a rate of 40°C/min. Duration of chromatography is 10 min. Fast chromatography conditions suggested by authors makes it possible to increase S/N ratios 10 times and so to reduce significantly the representative weight of the sample and develop an effective sample preparation technique. The method was used for PCB determination in Baikal area samples such as soil, snow, sediments from Lake Baikal and its tributaries, tissues of Baikal omul ( Coregonus migratorius , Georgi, 1775) and blubber of Baikal seal ( Phoca sibirica Gm.). The sample preparation stage includes PCB extraction from environmental samples and hydrolyzate of biological material with the following cleanup of the extract on the compact silica gel and florisil cartridges (0.5 g of the sorbent). The method enables the measurements of total PCBs and isomer groups of the same chlorination level with interlaboratory precision of no greater than 10% and the determination of indicator congeners (PCBs 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, and 180) with a precision not exceeding 15%.