Supercritical fluid extraction and GC detection of p,p1-DDE and PCB congeners in some samples of dying species from Sardinia

In an environmental pollution research some wild animals, deceased due to accidental causes, were collected from all over Sardinia. In order to detect the possible residues of unknown pollutants the isolated livers of these animals, previously lyophilized, were analyzed. First, by a GC-MS method, we identified the p,p'-DDE and some PCBs belonging to 5, 6, 7, 8 series PCBs. Later we set up a method for quantification of these compounds, using chicken liver as a model, by GC-ECD. The spiked chicken liver, free from p,p'-DDE and PCBs, was lyophilized and extracted by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), subsequently the solutions obtained were subjected to cleanup by solid phase extraction (SPE). Finally, this method was employed to quantify p,p'-DDE and PCBs in the samples of the specimens collected.