Determination of Benzo (α) pyrene in infant furmula milk using high performance liquid chromotography

Abstract

Background: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), persistent organic pollutants that consist of two or more aromatic rings. These component are commonly found in the environment, due to their lipophilic properties, allowing adsorption onto atmospheric particles and direct deposition in sediments, soils and plants. PAHs have been of excessive interest because of their mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, and the general ubiquity in the environment. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is one of the most familiar PAHs, and it is extensively used as an indicator component in studies addressing the toxicity PAHs in natural communities due to its multiple-ring structure and potential harm to human health. Aims: A simple, rapid, and efficient analytical method for the extraction and quantification of BaP in infant formula milk has been developed using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Method: In this study, BaP was first extracted from matrices of infant formula milk via acetonitrile and then dispersive liquid liquid microextraction was used for further purification and preconcentration of target analyte. Experimental parameters that control the performance of the microextraction process, were investigated including the type and volume of the disperser and extraction solvents. Results: There was a linear relation (R2=0.998) between chromatographic peak area and concentrations in the range of 0.35 to 15 ng/ml and accuracy of method was between 88.9 - 97%. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.12 and 0.35 ng/ml, respectively. Conclusion: The proposed method is applicable to quantification of BaP in infant formula milk with acceptable accuracy and precision.