Comparison of sample preparation and analysis using solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction to determine monohydroxy PAH in urine by GC/HRMS

Sample preparation techniques using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) are compared for the analysis of monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OHPAH) in human urine. Urine samples spiked with five carbon-13 labeled internal standards are first enzymatically hydrolyzed. Sixteen OHPAH from eight parent compounds (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo[c]phenanthrene, and benz[a]anthracene) are then extracted along with the internal standards by these two different techniques. The analytes are derivatized by a silylating reagent before final analysis. Final separation and detection are performed by temperature-programmed capillary gas chromatography (GC) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The two extraction techniques are compared for sample preparation time, cost, throughput, reinjection possibility, frequency of outliers, matrix interference, signal linearity, and method detection limit. SPE demonstrates major advantages over SPME for most of these aspects.