Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are associated with increased incidence of various types of cancers in humans. These molecules are formed mainly in the incomplete burning of organic matter and can be found in all environmental compartments. North American regulatory agencies for environmental and occupational health areas consider 17 PAHs as air contaminants having priority. This work presents a method for simultaneous analysis of these PAHs using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, operating in tandem mode (GC-MS/MS). The limits of detection and quantification of this method were 5 times lower than that obtained with GC-MS (SCAN) method. The method was selective in analysis of PAHs from airborne particulate matter. A comparative analysis of two systems of solvents (dichloromethane/methanol (4:1 v / v) and hexane/acetone (1:1 v / v)) for PAHs extraction, using samples of airborne particulate matter, shows that both mixtures of solvents have similar extraction ability. The results pointed out that it is possible to extract PAHs from airborne particulate matter using a mixture hexane/acetone (1:1), which is less toxic in than dichloromethane/methanol (4:1), usually used in these analyses, without significant losses in the accuracy of the method.
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; GC-MS/MS; airborne particulate matter
