title: Pinched inlet split flow thin fractionation for continuous particle fractionation: application to marine sediments for size-dependent analysis of PCDD/Fs and metals.
abstract: It is demonstrated that split-flow thin (SPLITT) fractionation, a continuous separation technique for sorting particles or macromolecules, can be utilized for the fractionation of environmental particles to study a size-dependent analysis of pollutants. In this study, focuses are made on the use of a pinched inlet gravitational SPLITT fractionation, a modified form of SPLITT channel formed by reducing the sample inlet thickness of the channel to improve separation efficiency, to separate marine sediments into five different sizes (<1.0, approximately 1.0 to 2.5, approximately 2.5 to 5.0, approximately 5.0 to 10, and approximately 10 to 53 microm). The resulting size fractions are examined with high resolution gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry to determine the size-dependent distribution of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans along with a statistical data treatment and are analyzed with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry to ascertain its major and trace metals. It is shown that the combined analytical methods detailed in this study can be powerfully utilized in such a way as to analyze pollutant distribution and its concentration with regard to particle sizes for an environmental assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749, Korea. mhmoon@yonsei.ac.kr
authors.forename: Myeong Hee
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Hyun-Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: So-Yeon
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Se-Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yoon-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Heungbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008670:Metals; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins