Microwave-assisted purge-and-trap extraction device coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the determination of five predominant odors in sediment, fish tissues, and algal cells

► In this study, a new online instrument was developed for the determination of odors. ► This instrument is an automated solvent free system and requires no clean-up step. ► Extraction and concentration of odors can be performed simultaneously. ► A method was developed by using the instrument for the analysis of odors from environment matrices. ► This method has been validated with excellent results. Off-flavors are among the most troublesome compounds in the environment worldwide. The lack of a viable theory for studying the sources, distribution, and effect of odors has necessitated the accurate measurement of odors from environmental compartments. A rapid and flexible microwave-assisted purge-and-trap extraction device for simultaneously determining five predominant odors, namely, dimethyltrisulfide, 2-methylisoborneol, geosmin, β-cyclocitral and β-ionone, from the primary sources and sinks is demonstrated. This instrument facilitates the extraction and concentration of odors from quite different matrices simultaneously. This device is a solvent-free automated system that does not require cleaning and is timesaving. The calibration curves of the five odor compounds showed good linearity in the range of 1–500 ng/L, with correlation coefficients above 0.999 (levels = 7) and with residuals ranging from approximately 77% to 104%. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were below 0.15 ng/L in algae sample and 0.07 ng/g in sediment and fish tissue samples. The relative standard deviations were between 2.65% and 7.29% ( n = 6). Thus the proposed design is ready for rapid translation into a standard analytical tool and is useful for multiple applications in the analysis of off-flavors.