Analysis for chloroanisoles and chlorophenols in cork by stir bar sorptive extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A complete methodology for the determination of chloroanisoles and chlorophenols in cork material is proposed. The determination is accomplished by means of a previous liquid-solid extraction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Two different liquid-solid extraction experiments were conducted and eight compounds considered (2,6-dichloroanisole, 2,4-dichloroanisole, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachloroanisole, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, pentachloroanisole and pentachlorophenol). From the results obtained we can conclude that high volume extraction extending extraction time up to 24h is the best choice if we have to release compounds from the inner surfaces of cork stoppers. Recovery percentages ranged from 51% for pentachloroanisole to 81% for 2,4-dichloroanisole. This method allows the determination of an array of compounds involved in cork taint at very low levels from 1.2ng g(-1) for 2,4,6-tricholoroanisole to 23.03ng g(-1) for 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol.