Optimisation of microwave assisted extraction (MAE) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) determination in smoked meat

A rapid extraction method involving microwave assisted extraction (MAE), followed by sample clean-up on a silica cartridge, reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and spectrofluorimetric detection, was optimised for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) determination in smoked meat. Compared to solvent extraction assisted by sonication, MAE, carried out with n-hexane on 2 g of lyophilised sample at 115 °C for 15 min, allowed to obtain better extraction efficiencies. Limits of quantification (LOQ, s/n = 10) lower than 0.2 μg/kg wet weight were found for all PAHs, except for Fl (0.3 μg/kg), P (0.6 μg/kg) and IP (0.4 μg/kg). The optimised procedure, that presented good analytical performances (with recoveries ranging from 77% to 103%, and precision within 10% for most of the PAHs), was applied to determine PAH content in different smoked meat products from the Italian market.