Determination of Nanogram/Kilogram Levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Foods by HPLC with Fluorescence Detection

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Abstract
Methodology was developed for the determination of eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in five food categories including meat/fish, dried dairy products, cereals, leafy vegetables and vegetable/marine oils. The eight PAH were fluoranthene, benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, 7, 12-dimethylbenzo[a]anthracene, dibenzo[ah]anthracene and dibenzo[ai]pyrene. Samples were digested with alcoholic KOH followed by partitioning into solvents such as cyclohexane or isooctane. Lipids and other interferences were removed by solvent partitioning with dimethylformamide or dimethylsulfoxide/water. Additional cleanup involving column chromatography on silica gel, Florisil or Sephadex LH-20 was employed as required. Reversed-phase chromatography with gradient elution and fluorescence detection was employed for the determinations. Confirmation was carried out by GC-MS/SIM. Detection limits ranged from 2–90 ng/kg depending on the PAH and food analyzed. Results of a small survey indicated that the meat/fish category had the highest levels (low μg/kg, on average) of the foods studied.

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