Trace organics monitoring in drinking water using Tenax-coated fibers

Silica fibers were coated with 3 μm-thick Tenax TA films and investigated for potential use as a sorptive material in solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The performance of these fibers was evaluated as an effective tool for water contamination analysis of various simulated pollutants and VOC´s using static headspace extraction. We show that Tenax TA fibers have high thermal stability as well as stability in organic solvents and acidic/basic solutions. Results indicate the high performance of Tenax TA coated fibers in terms of adsorption capacity, saturation time, and limits of detection. In-fiber reproducibility and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility was evaluated and changes in deposition method was made to enhance performance. High temperature desorption was explored at 400°C in which the Tenax TA fiber was determined to be capable of extracting high molecular weight compounds similar to common water pollutants not currently extractable using conventional SPME fibers.