Determination of atmospheric polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polybrominated biphenyl 153 using isotope dilution-high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract

Considering the features and demands of the environmental monitoring, an isotope dilution-high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyls 153 (BB153) in the ambient air. PBDEs and BB153 were extracted using an accelerated solvent extraction apparatus with a mixture of hexane-dichloromethane (v/v, 1:1) and hexane, respectively. The concentrated extracts were loaded on the composite silica gel column for cleanup. The mean recoveries of native compounds at 10% and 90% of the highest levels of calibration curves were 100% and 104% with 5% and 6% of the mean relative standard deviations (n = 7), respectively. The recoveries of 13C labeled surrogates for di- to deca-brominated diphenyl ethers and BB153 were in the range of 36.5%-133%. However, the recoveries of 13C-monobrominated diphenyl ethers were relatively low, maybe due to the different physicochemical properties compared with the other homologues. No breakthrough of pollutants was estimated under real sampling volume of 300 m3. The limits of detection were lower than 2 x 10(-4) ng/Nm3. The recoveries of 13C labeled surrogates were between 56% and 126%, except monoBDEs. The results demonstrated that the method is suitable for the analysis of di- to decabrominated diphenyl ethers and BB153 in the ambient air with precise quantification.