Abstract A new method enabling the determination of 15 priority carcinogenic polyaromatic compounds (PAC) proposed by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) has been developed and applied to diesel exhaust particu- lates (DEP). The clean-up procedure consists of solid- phase extraction (SPE) and HPLC fractionation on silica phases followed by liquid–liquid extraction and chro- matography on a polyvinylbenzene copolymer column. The method gives good recoveries for all PAC studied ex- cept dibenzo[a,j]acridine and dibenzo[a,h]pyrene, for which recovery values are below 80%. The use of GC–MS ion trap and its capacity to achieve single-ion storage enhanced the sensitivity of the method, enabling the detection of high- molecular-weight PAH in the low ng g –1 concentration range. Intermediate polarity GC columns, e.g. BPX-50 or equivalent, enabled better separation, when applied to DEP analysis, than the generally used DB-5 apolar phase. This is observed mainly for separation of isomeric com- pounds belonging to the benzofluoranthene and diben- zopyrene families. The application of this method to DEP sampled from the exhaust of a diesel engine and in confined locations such as a tunnel has shown that all PAH of the NTP list could be detected, except dibenzo[a,h]pyrene. No dibenz- acridine or dibenzocarbazole could be detected in such matrices. The method is sufficiently sensitive to be applic- able to environmental exposure measurements in occupa- tional health surveys. Introduction Most scientists involved in cancer research believe that a significant fraction of all cancer cases might be associated with the environment in which we live and work [1]. Nu- merous institutions have listed different substances/mix- tures known or suspected to cause cancer and to which a significant number of persons are exposed. In this context, among the 218 substances/mixtures listed by the US De- partment of Health and Human Services/National Toxi- cology Program (NTP), fifteen polyaromatic compounds (PAC) are all classified as “reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogen” [1]. These fifteen PAC are twelve poly- cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and three polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclic compounds (PANH). All these compounds are characterized by their relatively high molecular weight and comprise four to six pericondensed rings (Table 1). PANH are more polar compounds than PAH and can be divided in two classes: acridines, which contain a pyridine ring with a lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom, giving slightly basic character to this com- pound class, and carbazoles, with a pyrrole ring and a pro- ton on the nitrogen atom. This gives a slightly acidic char- acter to this class of compound. Similarly to the PAH, PANH result from the incomplete combustion of organic material containing nitrogen. PAH compounds have been found in many matrices, including diesel soot [2, 3, 4]. DB[ah]Acr and DB[aj]Acr have been found in automobile exhaust [5], the urban atmosphere [6], cigarette smoke con- densate, and coal-tar isolates [7]. It has been found that the concentrations of DB[ah]Acr and DB[aj]Acr in urban at- mospheric particulate matter are 10 to 100 times lower than those of the major PAH [6]. DB[cg]Car has been detected in coal tar, in shale oil, and in synthetic coal fuels [7]. Diesel exhaust particulates (DEP) are proven rodents carcinogens and are suspected of being carcinogenic to man [1, 8, 9] . Although these particulates are mostly car- bon, approximately 10–40% by weight consists of organic compounds which can be extracted with organic solvents [10]. The cancerogenicity of DEP is thought to be because of both the carbonaceous particle core [8] and the organ- ics adsorbed on the surface of the particles [11]. Despite convincing evidence that the carbonaceous core particle of diesel exhaust can play the leading role in lung cancer in rodents [12], the contribution of organic chemicals, and more precisely PAH, to the diesel oncogenesis is not ex- actly known. The observation of pulmonary DNA adducts J.-J. Sauvain · T. Vu Duc · C. K. Huynh Development of an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 15 carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclic compounds. Application to diesel particulates Fresenius J Anal Chem (2001) 371 : 966–974 DOI 10.1007/s002160101047 Received: 25 May 2001 / Revised: 2 July 2001 / Accepted: 12 July 2001 / Published online: 24 October 2001 ORIGINAL PAPER J.-J. Sauvain (✉) · T.V. Duc · C.K. Huynh Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Rue du Bugnon 19, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland e-mail: jean-jacques.sauvain@inst.hospvd.ch © Springer-Verlag 2001