Fluorescence behaviour of polychlorinated dibenzofurans in organized molecular systems. Analytical applications

Abstract

Fluorescence characteristics of several polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) of toxicological and environmental interest in the presence of cationic, anionic, neutral surfactants, α-cyclodextrin and β-cyclodextrin were examined. The fluorescence enhancement of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TTCDF) in the presence of polyoxyethylene(10) lauryl ether (C12E10) medium was utilized to establish a sensitive spectrofluorimetric method for determination of TTCDF. The optimization of variables as the concentration of surfactant, percentage of organic solvent and temperature, and effect of possible interferences from other PCDFs, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCCDs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and Arochlors were investigated. The method, which has a detection limit of 1.30 ng ml−1, has been applied to the determination of TTCDF in sea water with acceptable recoveries.