Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in ocean water and bovine milk using crosslinked polymeric ionic liquid sorbent coatings by solid-phase microextraction

• Crosslinked PIL sorbent coatings used as SPME coatings for determination of PCBs.
• PCBs were analyzed from seawater and bovine milk samples.
• PIL coatings containing aromatic moieties produced highest sensitivity.
• Limits of detection for all PCBs were determined in low ng/L range.

Crosslinked polymeric ionic liquid (PIL)-based sorbent coatings were employed in the extraction of 21 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from ocean water and bovine milk using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The extraction temperature, time, and concentration of sodium chloride added to the matrix were optimized in order to determine the best extraction conditions for the extraction of PCBs. The analytical performance of the crosslinked PIL-based SPME fibers was compared with a commercial 7 µm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber using gas chromatography (GC) employing an electron capture detector (ECD) and mass spectrometric detection (MS). Higher sensitivities for PCBs were achieved using PIL-based fibers when compared to PDMS fiber due to the incorporation of benzyl moieties into the PIL structures. The limits of detection (LOD) for all PCBs were determined to be in the low ng L−1 range using the three studied coatings. Recovery studies were performed for PCBs in ocean water and bovine milk to validate the applicability of the current SPME method.