The use of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) samplers is already well established for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Due to their low capacity and poor mechanical properties, SPME samplers have in the past years begun to be replaced in certain applications by HiSorb samplers. These can be equipped with the same sorption materials but are more robust and have a significantly higher capacity. As part of my thesis, I optimized a method for the semi-quantitative determination of toluene using HiSorb samplers. I determined the optimal sampling time and constructed a calibration curve for headspace sampling. I also compared the passive sampling HiSorb method to the active sampling on Tenax® TA tubes. Finally, I tested the applicability on a practical example of sampling of VOCs from old book. The results show that while the samplers are suitable for the semi-quantitative determination of volatile organic analytes, further research and method optimization will be needed for more precise measurements.
|
