Abstract
SPE in combination with HPLC and fluorescence detection has been used for sensitive determination of six basic azaarenes (7,8‐benzoquinoline, 7,9‐dimethylbenz[c]acridine, 9‐amino‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroacridine, 9‐methylacridine, acridine, and dibenz[a,j]acridine) in aviation kerosene (jet fuel). SPE was performed in a single step using a strong cation exchange sorbent. The HPLC system consisted of C18 column with a selected detection program of optimal λ~exc~ and λ~em~. A gradient elution with ACN and phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min allowed efficient and fast separation of azaarenes within 15 min. The LOD and LOQ values (S/N ratio 3:1 and 10:1, respectively) were between 0.0013 and 0.021 and from 0.0044 to 0.072 ng per injection. The calibration curves showed linear behavior from the LOQ to 250 μg/L (r^2^ >0.99). For the spiked concentration of 6.0 μg/L, recoveries were from 92 to 107% for jet fuel samples, except for 9‐amino‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroacridine, which presented 68% recovery. The proposed method was applied to the quantification of those six basic azaarenes in one commercial kerosene and in three aviation kerosene samples. The presence of 7,8‐benzoquinoline (up to 3.2 μg/L) and dibenzo[a,j]acridine (up to 6.3 μg/L) was confirmed in aviation kerosene.