Determination of toxic PCB congeners in biological samples by multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/GC/MS)

Multidimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/GC/MS) was used for the determination of coplanar PCB congeners in biological samples. A quadrupole low resolution mass spectrometer was used as the main detector in order to increase the reliability of identification and enable the use of ¹³C-labelled internal standards. The technique was capable to separate these toxic congeners from the complex matrix and decreased the need of sample purification.