The domestic microwave oven was a Whirlpool model IT369 (Whirpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, MI, USA).
The on-line HPLC–GC instrument was an LC–GC 9000 from Brechbühler (Zurich, Switzerland) and consisted of a Phoenix 40 with three syringe LC pumps and four switching valves, and a UV/Vis detector (UV-2070 Plus; Jasco, Tokyo, Japan). The GC was a Trace GC Ultra from Thermo Scientific (Milan, Italy). The autosampler was a PAL LHS2-xt Combi PAL (CTC, Zwingen, Switzerland).
The concentration unit consisted of a centrifuge (Univapo 100 H, Uniequip System; Martinsrieder, Munich, Germany), connected to a vacuum pump (Buchi, Flawil, Switzerland).