Determination of Benzo(a)pyrene in Total Particulate Matter of Virginia and Black Tobacco Smoke by HPLC with Fluorimetric Detection

Abstract

A method for the determination of the benzo(a)pyrene by RP-HPLC with fluorimetric detection in total particulate matter of Virginia and blak tobacco smoke is developed. The total particulate matter was collected on glass fibre filters, which were ultrasonically extracted with cyclohexane. A fraction of the resulting extract was cleaned up on Sep-Pak Vac Si cartridges and the PAHs were eluted with mehylene chloride. The eluate was evaporated to drynees and the residue was dissolved in methanol. The mean recoveries in the extraction and clean-up steps were 100.1% and 49.2%, respectively, with relative standard deviations of 3.8% and 2.4%, respectively, in the concentration range 20–140 ng. The quantification is achieved by means of external standard method.