Fan-based device for integrated air sampling and microextraction

Francisco A Casado-Carmona; Guillermo Lasarte-Aragonés; Abuzar Kabir; Kenneth G Furton; Rafael Lucena; Soledad Cárdenas

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122290

Fan-based device for integrated air sampling and microextraction

Talanta. 2021 Aug 1:230:122290. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122290. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Authors

Francisco A Casado-Carmona¹, Guillermo Lasarte-Aragonés¹, Abuzar Kabir², Kenneth G Furton², Rafael Lucena³, Soledad Cárdenas⁴

Affiliations

¹ Departamento de Química Analítica, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Química Fina y Nanoquímica IUNAN, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio Marie Curie, E-14071, Córdoba, Spain.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, International Forensic Research Institute, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
³ Departamento de Química Analítica, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Química Fina y Nanoquímica IUNAN, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio Marie Curie, E-14071, Córdoba, Spain. Electronic address: rafael.lucena@uco.es.
⁴ Departamento de Química Analítica, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Química Fina y Nanoquímica IUNAN, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio Marie Curie, E-14071, Córdoba, Spain. Electronic address: scardenas@uco.es.

PMID: 33934762
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.122290

Abstract

In this article, a new air sampler based on a conventional computer fan is presented and evaluated. The fan has a double role as it acts as the air pumping system and supports the sorptive phases, which are located on its blades. The compact design and the reduced energy consumption (it can operate with a standard cell phone charger) confers high portability to the device. Also, a simple alternative integrated into the fan is proposed for using an internal standard during the sampling, thus increasing the precision of the measurements. In this first communication, sol-gel Carbowax 20 M coated fabric phases are used as sorptive membranes thanks to their planar geometry, mechanical and thermal stability, and their versatility covering different interaction chemistries. After sampling, the fabric phases are placed in a headspace vial, which is finally analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The sampler has been characterized for the extraction of selected volatile organic compounds (chloroform, benzaldehyde, toluene, and cyclohexane) from air and its versatility has also been evaluated by the identification of semi-volatile compounds in working place (toluene and xylene in laboratory residue storage room) and biogenic volatile compounds in natural samples (terpenes in fresh pine needles and orange peel samples).

Keywords: Air sampler; Biogenic volatile organic compounds; Fabric phases; In-site extraction; Portable device; Semi-volatile organic compounds; Volatile organic compounds.