APPLICATION OF LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY PARTICLE-BEAM MASS-SPECTROMETRY AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS-SPECTROMETRY FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF METABOLITES OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS

Two liquid chromatography-particle beam mass spectrometry (LC-PBMS) sy stems have been used for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon m etabolites in water samples from a biological decomposition model expe riment. The results were compared with those obtained by classical gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Evaluation of spectral data indicat ed the presence of six main metabolites; 1H,3H-naphtho [1,8-cd]pyran-1 ,3-dione, 1-(hydroxymethyl)naphthalene, and 1,2-acenaphthenedione were identified by use of standard substances and spiking experiments. Enr ichment of the investigated water samples with online pre-column (C-18 ) Concentration, freeze-drying, and solvent extraction led to similar results with only slight differences. The application of microbore sep aration columns proved to be a promising tool in particle beam LC-MS m easurements.