Simultaneous extraction and clean-up of polychlorinated biphenyls and their metabolites from small tissue samples using pressurized liquid extraction

A pressurized liquid extraction-based method for the simultaneous extraction and in situ clean-up of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hydroxylated (OH)-PCBs and methylsulfonyl (MeSO2)-PCBs from small (<0.5 g) tissue samples was developed and validated. Extraction of a laboratory reference material with hexane–dichloromethane–methanol (48:43:9, v/v) and Florisil as fat retainer allowed an efficient recovery of PCBs (78–112%; RSD: 13–37%), OH-PCBs (46 ± 2%; RSD: 4%) and MeSO2-PCBs (89 ± 21%; RSD: 24%). Comparable results were obtained with an established analysis method for PCBs, OH-PCBs and MeSO2-PCBs.