Method development and application to sediments for multi-residue analysis of organic contaminants using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of four classes of potentially toxic substances (PTSs) was developed and applied in marine sediments, including (i) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), (ii) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), (iii) polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and (iv) organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs). The method is based on ultrasonic extraction with a mixture of dichloromethane:methanol (9:1 v/v) and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. A total of 89 compounds were identified using two precursor-product ion standards for each analyte. The method detection limit (MDL; 0.001-0.055 ng g