THE QUANTIFICATION OF HYDROQUINONE, CATECHOL, PHENOL, 3-METHYLCATECHOL, SCOPOLETIN, M-CRESOL AND O-CRESOL IN INDOOR AIR SAMPLES BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY(P)

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed f or the quantification of the phenolic compounds hydroquinone, catechol , phenol, 3-methylcatechol, scopoletin, m+p-cresol and o-cresol in ind oor air samples. Samples are collected on an 0.8 mum pore size mixed c ellulose ester membrane (MCEM) followed by a silica gel Sep-Pak (SiOHS P). The MCEM is extracted and the SiOHSP is eluted with 1 % acetic aci d (HAc). The phenolic compounds were analyzed on a reverse-phase colum n with fluorescence detection at selected excitation and emission wave lengths specific to the compounds of interest. A mobile phase gradient of 1 % HAc and 99 % acetonitrile (ACN) + 1 % HAc is used. The method is reproducible with percent relative standard deviations (% RSD) rang ing from 2.0 to 9.2 for the seven phenolic compounds. Percent recoveri es are acceptable (88-98) with the exception of scopoletin (52) and p- cresol (52). A comparison of tobacco versus wood smoke show that amoun ts of these seven phenolic compounds vary widely with their source. A relatively short sampling time (1-4 hours) is required and the procedu re is capable of detecting < 0.3 mug m-3 for all compounds with the ex ception of 3-methylcatechol with a detection limit of < 4.0 mug m-3.