HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Interpretive Summary Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Guillén, M. D. Articles by Sopelana, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Guillén, M. D. Articles by Sopelana, P.

Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction as a Tool to Estimate the Contamination of Smoked Cheeses by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Tecnologìa de Alimentos, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad del Paìs Vasco, Paseo de la Universidad, Vitoria, Spain

Corresponding author: María Dolores Guillén; e-mail: knpgulod{at}vf.ehu.es.

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used to study polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in smoked cheeses. Two types of fiber coatings and different extraction conditions were tested. The results reveal that the use of an 85-µm polyacrylate fiber immersed in the headspace of the samples at 70°C for 60 min is suitable for the detection of PAH with no more than 4 aromatic rings. To determine if a relationship can be established between the results obtained using a solvent extraction technique and HS-SPME, 6 samples of smoked cheese previously studied by a solvent extraction method were analyzed by HS-SPME, and the results obtained by both methodologies were compared. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were identified and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry operating in selective ion monitoring mode. Among the PAH determined by the solvent extraction method, only those with 4 aromatic rings or less were detected by HS-SPME and, consequently, this technique does not allow one to determine the PAH content of smoked cheese samples under the conditions of the study. Nevertheless, the relationship between the results obtained by both techniques for some PAH revealed that HS-SPME could be useful as a screening method to distinguish among samples with different degrees of PAH contamination.

Key Words: headspace solid-phase microextraction • polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon • smoked cheese

Abbreviation key: GC-MS = gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, PA = polyacrylate, PAH = polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PDMS = polydimethylsiloxane, SE = solvent extraction method, HS-SPME = headspace solid-phase microextraction