Abstract
Concentrated methanol extracts of airborne particulate matter (APM) collected on glass fiber filters were examined by gas chromatography to document sample composition changes during storage. A major component of the chromatographic profile was observed to decrease in abundance with time while another compound was increasing. These compounds were identified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry as myristic acid and methyl myristate, respectively. Although methanol is a common extracting solvent for these samples, this is the first study to document the in-situ esterification of acids from APM during storage of the methanol extracts.