PAH analysis in mussels Rio de Janeiro

We evaluated a workflow combining accelerated solvent extraction, silica-gel/alumina adsorption clean-up, size-exclusion chromatography, and GC-MS for parent and alkylated PAHs in the brown mussel Perna perna. Nine analytical aliquots were prepared from one composite tissue sample collected at Urca Beach, Guanabara Bay, Brazil. Mean recovery of PAHs was determined as 62 ± 13% (n = 9). Seventeen of 26 targets met the reporting criterion of quantification in at least five aliquots. Their summed concentration was 84.50 ng g⁻¹ dry weight, comprising 48.39 ng g⁻¹ (57.26%) of alkylated homologs and 36.12 ng g⁻¹ (42.74%) of parent compounds. Excluding alkylated homologs would have reduced the reported sum from 84.50 to 36.12 ng g⁻¹. Family-specific recoveries were not determined, and most alkylated groups were quantified against parent-compound calibration curves. Further validation with representative alkylated standards is required before routine application.