title: Sorbent trapping of volatile organic compounds from air.
abstract: The use of sorbents in trapping volatile organic compounds in air for subsequent analysis is reviewed. Sorbents are classified in accordance with the mechanism used to recover the trapped compounds, either solvent or thermal desorption. The use of sorbents is contrasted with other sampling procedures, such as collecting whole air samples using canisters. New developments such as solid-phase microextraction are described. In particular, emphasis is placed on a holistic approach to sampling and analysis, and communication is encouraged between those who take samples in the field, and those who perform the analysis.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences 35294-0022, USA. mharper@uab.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harper
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000388:Air / Q000032:analysis*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals