Determination of Galaxolide (HHCB) and Tonalide (AHTN) by Solid Phase Extraction and Gas Chromatography (SPE-GC)

Galaxolide (HHCB) and tonalide (AHTN), two popular synthetic musk compounds, have been widely detected in the environment, which would pose a potential hazard to the ecosystem. To develop a robust analytical methodology for such emerging micropollutants is very important to investigate their presence and transformation in water. In this study, an analytical process of solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with gas chromatography (GC) was developed to determine trace levels of HHCB and AHTN in water. Specifically, the target compounds in test solutions were firstly extracted by SPE cartridges, followed by an eluting and redissolving process. Then, the enriched solutions were analyzed using a GC system with a flame ionization detector (FID). This analytical process demonstrated good recoveries for both compounds with mean recoveries of 104.7 ± 5.1% and 102.9 ± 4.8% for HHCB and AHTN, respectively. Above all, the SPE-GC analytical process proposed in this study provides a reliable method to assess the performance of future treatment trials.