A headspace solid-phase microextraction procedure coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the analysis of volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in milk samples.

A sensitive and solvent-free method for the determination of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, namely, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene and chrysene, with up to four aromatic rings, in milk samples using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection has been developed. A polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene fiber was chosen and used at 75 degrees C for 60 min. Detection limits ranging from 0.2 to 5 ng L(-1) were attained at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, depending on the compound and the milk sample under analysis. The proposed method was applied to ten different milk samples and the presence of six of the analytes studied in a skimmed milk with vegetal fiber sample was confirmed. The reliability of the procedure was verified by analyzing two different certified reference materials and by recovery studies.