A novel analytical approach for investigation of anthracene adsorption onto mangrove leaves

A solid surface fluorimetry approach was established for direct determination of anthracene (An) adsorbed onto fresh mangrove leaves. The experimental results showed that the linear dynamic ranges for determination of An adsorbed onto Avicennia marina (Am), Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (Bg), Kandelia candel (Kc) and Rhizophors stylosa (Rs) leaves varied from 0.92 to 8.71, 0.089 to 0.70, 0.063 to 5.61 and 0.11 to 1.82 μg g−1, with detection limits of 5.77, 1.79, 4.29 and 1.42 ng g−1, respectively, and with a relative standard deviation less than 10% (n = 5). The experimental recovery results for adsorbed An on Am, Bg, Kc and Rs leaves were among 79.2–85.9, 75.1–102.3, 70.2–93.8 and 73.1–110.8%, respectively. Using the established method, we investigated the effects of exposure time of An and the different quantity of leaf-wax among the four species of mangrove on the amount of An adsorbed. Under the same experimental conditions, the adsorption of An on the upper and lower sides of the same mangrove leaf, and at different regions on the upper side of the same mangrove leaf were also studied. The results demonstrated that the leaves of different mangrove species contained different quantities of leaf-wax, and with the same exposure conditions to An, the quantity of leaf-wax among the four species showed a significant positive correlation with the amount of An adsorbed onto the leaves.