Skip to main content
Log in

Determination of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed using gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

  • Articles
  • Published:
Science China Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A method was developed on a gas chromatograph coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS) for trace level determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in food and feed. The results demonstrated good sensitivity and repeatability for PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs at an extremely low level (10 pg mL−1 for 2,3,7,8-TCDD/F), as well as wide linear response of over 3 or 4 orders of magnitude in concentration ranges; 0.5–200 ng mL−1 for PeCDD/F and 0.2–2000 ng mL−1 for DL-PCBs. The method detection limits for PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs were in the range from 0.018–0.17 pg g−1 to 0.13–0.36 pg g−1, respectively. The performance of the GC-MS/MS for food and feed sample analysis showed high precision and accuracy compared to the high resolution gas chromatograph/high resolution mass spectrometer. The results indicated the feasibility of GC-MS/MS as a confirmatory method for the measurement of PCDD/Fs and DL-PCBs in food and feed as required by European Union legislation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Zheng GJ, Leung AOW, Jiao LP, Wong MH. Environ Int, 2008, 34: 1050–1061

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Breivik K, Sweetman A, Pacyna J, Jones K. Sci Total Environ, 2002, 290: 181–198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Breivik K, Sweetman A, Pacyna J, Jones K. Sci Total Environ, 2002, 290: 199–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tian Z, Li H, Xie H, Tang C, Han Y, Wang M, Liu W. J Environ Sci, 2014, 26: 2041–2047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Cazier F, Genevray P, Dewaele D, Nouali H, Verdin A, Ledoux F, Hachimi A, Courcot L, Billet S, Bouhsina S, Shirali P, Garçon G, Courcot D. J Environ Sci, 2016, 44: 45–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Van den Berg M, Birnbaum LS, Denison M, De Vito M, Farland W, Feeley M, Fiedler H, Hakansson H, Hanberg A, Haws L, Rose M, Safe S, Schrenk D, Tohyama C, Tritscher A, Tuomisto J, Tysklind M, Walker N, Peterson RE. Toxicol Sci, 2006, 93: 223–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Parzefall W. Food Chem Toxicol, 2002, 40: 1185–1189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Xu W, Cai Z. Sci China Chem, 2015, 58: 1082–1088

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kupferschmidt K. Can Med Assoc J, 2011, 183: E221–E222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Focant JF, Pirard C, Eppe G, De Pauw E. J Chromatogr A, 2005, 1067: 265–275

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Focant JF, Eppe G, Scippo ML, Massart AC, Pirard C, Maghuin-Rogister G, Pauw ED. J Chromatogr A, 2005, 1086: 45–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. van Bavel B, Geng D, Cherta L, Nácher-Mestre J, Portolés T, Ábalos M, Sauló J, Abad E, Dunstan J, Jones R, Kotz A, Winterhalter H, Malisch R, Traag W, Hagberg J, Ericson Jogsten I, Beltran J, Hernández F. Anal Chem, 2015, 87: 9047–9053

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. García-Bermejo Á, Ábalos M, Sauló J, Abad E, González MJ, Gómara B. Anal Chim Acta, 2015, 889: 156–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Malavia J, Santos FJ, Galceran MT. J Chromatogr A, 2008, 1186: 302–311

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Organtini KL, Haimovici L, Jobst KJ, Reiner EJ, Ladak A, Stevens D, Cochran JW, Dorman FL. Anal Chem, 2015, 87: 7902–7908

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Ábalos M, Cojocariu CI, Silcock P, Roberts D, Pemberthy DM, Sauló J, Abad E. Anal Bioanal Chem, 2016, 408: 3511–3525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Commission Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 589/2014 of 2 June 2014 laying down methods of sampling and analysis for the control of levels of dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dioxin-like PCBs in certain foodstuffs and repealing Regulation (EU) No 252/2012. Official Journal of the European Union Legislation (OJEU L), 2014, 164: 18–40

  18. Commission Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 709/2014 of 20 June 2014 amending as regards the etermination of the levels of dioxins polychlorinated biphenyls. Official Journal of the European Union Legislation (OJEU L), 2014, 188: 1–18

  19. L’Homme B, Scholl G, Eppe G, Focant JF. J Chromatogr A, 2015, 1376: 149–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Wang P, Zhang Q, Wang T, Chen W, Ren D, Li Y, Jiang G. RSC Adv, 2012, 2: 1350–1355

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Bremnes NB, Thomsen C. Interlaboratory comparison on POPs in food 2016. Sixteenth Round of an International Study. Report. Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 2015

    Google Scholar 

  22. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Method 1613, Revision B: tetra-through octa-chlorinated dioxins and furans by isotope dilution HRGC/HRMS. EPA 821-B-94-005. Washington, DC: Office of Water, 1994

  23. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Method 1668B: chlorinated biphenyl congeners in water, soil, sediment, biosolids, and tissue by HRGC/HRMS. EPA-821-R-08-020. Washington, DC: Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, 2008

  24. Wang P, Zhang Q, Wang Y, Wang T, Li X, Ding L, Jiang G. Anal Chim Acta, 2010, 663: 43–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Liu H, Zhang Q, Cai Z, Li A, Wang Y, Jiang G. Anal Chim Acta, 2006, 557: 314–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhu C, Li Y, Wang P, Chen Z, Ren D, Ssebugere P, Zhang Q, Jiang G. Chemosphere, 2015, 126: 40–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Commission Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1259/2011 of 2 December 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels for dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non dioxin-like PCBs in foodstuffs. Official Journal of the European Union Legislation (OJEU L), 2011, 91: 1–7

  28. Commission Regulation. Commission Regulation (EC) No. 277/2012 of 28 March 2012 amending Annexes I and II to Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards maximum levels and action thresholds for dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls. Official Journal of the European Union Legislation (OJEU L), 2012, 320: 18–23

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21477156, 21477155, 41276195), Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB14010100) and the National Basic Research Program of China (2015CB453101). We greatly thank Miss Feifei Tian from Analytical Applications Center, Shimadzu (China) Co. Ltd for technical assistance on GC-MS/MS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qinghua Zhang.

Electronic supplementary material

11426_2016_9017_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Determination of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed using gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sun, H., Wang, P., Li, H. et al. Determination of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed using gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Sci. China Chem. 60, 670–677 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-9017-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-016-9017-9

Keywords

Navigation