Micelle-sensitized constant-energy synchronous fluorescence spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene and perylene.

The use of micellar media in constant-energy synchronous fluorescence spectrometry has been proposed. The influence of some aqueous micellar systems on the determination of pyrene, perylene and benzo[a]pyrene has been investigated. The presence of these micellar systems allows their determination in aqueous media, thus avoiding the use of an organic solvent, and greatly enhances the fluorescence signals. The combination of a constant-energy synchronous scanning technique and a micellar system provided a single spectrum for the simultaneous identification and quantitative determination of the three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Further there was no energy transfer among them, making the measurement simple and fast. A constant-energy difference of 2800 cm(-1) was selected. The analytical characteristics of the proposed method in the presence of anionic micelles of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) were studied. The detection limits were at a level of ng ml(-1). Analysis of water samples from two different origins spiked with known amount of pyrene, perylene and benzo[a]pyrene also gave satisfactory results, and total average recoveries were greater than 97.1%.