Simultaneous Sample Preparation Method for Determination of 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-Diol and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Different Foodstuffs

Abstract

In the present study, a simultaneous sample preparation method for the determination of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different foodstuffs has been evaluated. Sample preparation procedure involved acetonitrile extraction/partitioning and cleanup by dispersive solid phase extraction with the final detection by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The experiment demonstrated that freezing out of the sample extracts prior to dispersive solid phase extraction (d-SPE) cleanup step gave better results in removal of undesirable matrix constituents although with slightly lower recovery values. The addition of higher amount of MgSO4 has contributed to increased values of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon recovery, in contrast to 3-MCPD for which the recoveries were insignificantly lower when MgSO4 was added. Finally, a simultaneous chromatographic measurement has revealed that quantification of PAHs was not effective due to signal enhancement resulted from the presence of derivatisation products. However, the presented concept can be streamlined and an interesting analytical approach providing good validation parameter values: recoveries within the range 50–110 % for PAHs and 76–107 % for 3-MCPD, precision not exceeding 16.5 % (PAHs) and 7.7 % (3-MCPD) and quantification limits lower than 0.9 μg kg−1 for PAHs and 9.3 μg kg−1 for 3-MCPD.