Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Water by GC-MS after Headspace-Solid-Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME)

The German standard DIN 38 407-41 describes a method for the analysis of volatile compounds from aqueous samples by headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME). Analytes are volatile, organic compounds (VOCs), fuel constituents (BTEX) and methyl-tert.-butylether (MTBE). The method allows for the detection of such contaminants in drinking-, ground- and surface waters by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). With the small sample vol¬umes of 10 mL, the working range of the original method is 0.01 to 100 μg/L, with the lowest reported detection limits being in the range of approx. 10 ng/L.

PAL SPME Arrow is a suitable tool for fulfillment of the German standard method DIN 38 407-41 for head¬space-solid-phase microextraction of volatile analytes from aqueous samples. Obtained detection limits with the novel device are at least one order of magnitude better than the values that were reported for the classical SPME fiber. Method repeatability and linearity are on par for both techniques. In addition, the improved mechanical reliability of PAL SPME Arrow can be expected to benefit the overall method stability over prolonged, automated measurement series.