An efficient, sensitive and fast microextraction method followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bread samples

In this research, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bread samples were simultaneously determined using microwave-assisted extraction and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (MAE–DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Effective parameters of MAE–DLLME were investigated and optimized using a response surface methodology based on central composite design (CCD). Under optimum conditions, linearity was obtained in the range of 1–200 ng g−1 for 16 PAHs, with a correlation coefficient (R2) better than 0.9833. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation for PAHs in real samples were over the ranges 0.1 to 0.3 ng g−1 and 0.3–1 ng g−1, respectively. The performance of the proposed method was investigated for the determination of PAHs in various bread samples and acceptable results were obtained.