Macrocyclic polyamine‐functionalized silica as a solid‐phase extraction material coupled with ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid extraction for the enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

In this study, silica modified with a 30‐membered macrocyclic polyamine was synthesized and first used as an adsorbent material in SPE. The SPE was further combined with ionic liquid (IL) dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME). Five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were employed as model analytes to evaluate the extraction procedure and were determined by HPLC combined with UV/Vis detection. Acetone was used as the elution solvent in SPE as well as the dispersive solvent in DLLME. The enrichment of analytes was achieved using the 1,3‐dibutylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide IL/acetone/water system. Experimental conditions for the overall macrocycle‐SPE–IL‐DLLME method, such as the amount of adsorbent, sample solution volume, sample solution pH, type of elution solvent as well as addition of salt, were studied and optimized. The developed method could be successfully applied to the analysis of four real water samples. The macrocyclic polyamine offered higher extraction efficiency for analytes compared with commercially available C₁₈ cartridge, and the developed method provided higher enrichment factors (2768–5409) for model analytes compared with the single DLLME. Good linearity with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9983 to 0.9999 and LODs as low as 0.002 μg/L were obtained in the proposed method.     

Preconcentration of organochlorine pesticides in aqueous samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop after SPE with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

SPE joined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME‐SFO) as a novel technique combined with GC with electron‐capture detection has been developed as a preconcentration technique for the determination of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water samples. Aqueous samples were loaded onto multiwalled carbon nanotubes as sorbent. After the elution of the desired compounds from the sorbent by using acetone, the DLLME‐SFO technique was performed on the obtained solution. Variables affecting the performance of both steps such as sample solution flow rate, breakthrough volume, type and volume of the elution, type and volume of extraction solvent and salt addition were studied and optimized. The new method provided an ultra enrichment factor (8280–28221) for nine OCPs. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.5–1000 ng/L, and the LODs ranged from 0.1–0.39 ng/L. The RSD, for 0.01 μg/L of OCPs, was in the range of 1.39–13.50% (n = 7). The recoveries of method in water samples were 70–113%.     

Tandem use of solid-phase extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of mononitrotoluenes in aquatic environment

Solid‐phase extraction (SPE) in tandem with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been developed for the determination of mononitrotoluenes (MNTs) in several aquatic samples using gas chromatography‐flame ionization (GC‐FID) detection system. In the hyphenated SPE‐DLLME, initially MNTs were extracted from a large volume of aqueous samples (100 mL) into a 500‐mg octadecyl silane (C₁₈) sorbent. After the elution of analytes from the sorbent with acetonitrile, the obtained solution was put under the DLLME procedure, so that the extra preconcentration factors could be achieved. The parameters influencing the extraction efficiency such as breakthrough volume, type and volume of the elution solvent (disperser solvent) and extracting solvent, as well as the salt addition, were studied and optimized. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.5–500 μg/L and the limit of detection for all analytes was found to be 0.2 μg/L. The relative standard deviations (for 0.75 μg/L of MNTs) without internal standard varied from 2.0 to 6.4% (n=5). The relative recoveries of the well, river and sea water samples, spiked at the concentration level of 0.75 μg/L of the analytes, were in the range of 85–118%.     

Sequential dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the determination of aryloxyphenoxy‐propionate herbicides in water

A novel dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method followed by HPLC analysis, termed sequential DLLME, was developed for the preconcentration and determination of aryloxyphenoxy‐propionate herbicides (i.e. haloxyfop‐R‐methyl, cyhalofop‐butyl, fenoxaprop‐P‐ethyl, and fluazifop‐P‐butyl) in aqueous samples. The method is based on the combination of ultrasound‐assisted DLLME with in situ ionic liquid (IL) DLLME into one extraction procedure and achieved better performance than widely used DLLME procedures. Chlorobenzene was used as the extraction solvent during the first extraction. Hydrophilic IL 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride was used as a dispersive solvent during the first extraction and as an extraction solvent during the second extraction after an in situ chloride exchange by bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide. Several experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized with the design of experiments using MINITAB® 16 software. Under the optimized conditions, the extractions resulted in analyte recoveries of 78–91%. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves ranged from 0.9994 to 0.9997 at concentrations of 10–300, 15–300, and 20–300 μg L^?1. The relative SDs (n = 5) ranged from 2.9 to 5.4%. The LODs for the four herbicides were between 1.50 and 6.12 μg L^?1.     

Dispersion‐solidification liquid–liquid microextraction for volatile aromatic hydrocarbons determination: Comparison with liquid phase microextraction based on the solidification of a floating drop

Two microextraction techniques – liquid phase microextraction based on solidification of a floating organic drop (LPME‐SFO) and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with a solidification of a floating organic drop (DLLME‐SFO) – are explored for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o‐xylene sampling and preconcentration. The investigation covers the effects of extraction solvent type, extraction and disperser solvents' volume, and the extraction time. For both techniques 1‐undecanol containing n‐heptane as internal standard was used as an extracting solvent. For DLLME‐SFO acetone was used as a disperser solvent. The calibration curves for both techniques and for all the analytes were linear up to 10 μg/mL, correlation coefficients were in the range 0.997–0.998, enrichment factors were from 87 for benzene to 290 for o‐xylene, detection limits were from 0.31 and 0.35 μg/L for benzene to 0.15 and 0.10 μg/L for o‐xylene for LPME‐SFO and DLLME‐SFO, respectively. Repeatabilities of the results were acceptable with RSDs up to 12%. Being comparable with LPME‐SFO in the analytical characteristics, DLLME‐SFO is superior to LPME‐SFO in the extraction time. A possibility to apply the proposed techniques for volatile aromatic hydrocarbons determination in tap water and snow was demonstrated.     

High‐density extraction solvent‐based solvent de‐emulsification dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with MEKC for detection of chlorophenols in water samples

For the first time, the high‐density solvent‐based solvent de‐emulsification dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (HSD‐DLLME) was developed for the fast, simple, and efficient determination of chlorophenols in water samples followed by field‐enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles in CE. The extraction of chlorophenols in the aqueous sample solution was performed in the presence of extraction solvent (chloroform) and dispersive solvent (acetone). A de‐emulsification solvent (ACN) was then injected into the aqueous solution to break up the emulsion, the obtained emulsion cleared into two phases quickly. The lower layer (chloroform) was collected and analyzed by field‐enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles in CE. Several important parameters influencing the extraction efficiency of HSD‐DLLME such as the type and volume of extraction solvent, disperser solvent and de‐emulsification solvent, sample pH, extraction time as well as salting‐out effects were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method provided a good linearity in the range of 0.02–4 μg/mL, low LODs (4 ng/mL), and good repeatability of the extractions (RSDs below 9.3%, n = 5). And enrichment factors for three phenols were 684, 797, and 233, respectively. This method was then utilized to analyze two real environmental samples from wastewater and tap water and obtained satisfactory results. The obtained results indicated that the developed method is an excellent alternative for the routine analysis in the environmental field.     

Vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction using a low‐toxicity solvent for the determination of five organophosphorus pesticides in water samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography

Vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was applied to determine Isocarbophos, Parathion‐methyl, Triazophos, Phoxim and Chlorpyrifos‐methyl in water samples. 1‐Bromobutane was used as the extraction solvent, which has a higher density than water and low toxicity. Centrifugation and disperser solvent were not required in this microextraction procedure. The optimum extraction conditions for 15 mL water sample were: pH of the sample solution, 5; volume of the extraction solvent, 80 μL; vortex time, 2 min; salt addition, 0.5 g. Under the optimum conditions, enrichment factors ranging from 196 to 237 and limits of detection below 0.38 μg/L were obtained for the determination of target pesticides in water. Good linearities (r > 0.9992) were obtained within the range of 1–500 μg/L for all the compounds. The relative standard deviations were in the range of 1.62–2.86% and the recoveries of spiked samples ranged from 89.80 to 104.20%. The whole proposed methodology is simple, rapid, sensitive and environmentally friendly for determining traces of organophosphorus pesticides in the water samples.     

Ultrapreconcentration and determination of organophosphorus pesticides in water by solid‐phase extraction combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography

Solid‐phase extraction coupled with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was developed as an ultra‐preconcentration method for the determination of four organophosphorus pesticides (isocarbophos, parathion‐methyl, triazophos and fenitrothion) in water samples. The analytes considered in this study were rapidly extracted and concentrated from large volumes of aqueous solutions (100 mL) by solid‐phase extraction coupled with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and then analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography. Experimental variables including type and volume of elution solvent, volume and flow rate of sample solution, salt concentration, type and volume of extraction solvent and sample solution pH were investigated for the solid‐phase extraction coupled with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with these analytes, and the best results were obtained using methanol as eluent and ethylene chloride as extraction solvent. Under the optimal conditions, an exhaustive extraction for four analytes (recoveries >86.9%) and high enrichment factors were attained. The limits of detection were between 0.021 and 0.15 μg/L. The relative standard deviations for 0.5 μg/L of the pesticides in water were in the range of 1.9–6.8% (n = 5). The proposed strategy offered the advantages of simple operation, high enrichment factor and sensitivity and was successfully applied to the determination of four organophosphorus pesticides in water samples.     

Liquid–gas–liquid technique for microextraction and preconcentration of short chain fatty acids from aqueous samples

In this study, an organic solvent‐free microextraction technique termed liquid–gas–liquid microextraction (LGLME) was applied for cleanup and preconcentration of volatile short chain fatty acids in beverages and dairy products. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as extraction time, stirring speed, sodium chloride content, concentration and volume of donor and acceptor phases, and extraction temperature were studied. Repeatability (RSD, 4.2–8.5%), correlation coefficients (0.998–0.999), LODs (10–20 μg/L) and enrichment factors (152–249) were also investigated. Recoveries were achieved in the range of 90–102% in different matrices. The presented method was applied for the analysis of target analytes in some samples such as grape juice, vinegar and dairy products.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of benomyl in water samples after dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

A dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method combined with solvolysis reaction for extraction of the carbamate fungicide benomyl as carbendazim from water samples is described. The method is based on the extraction of benomyl from acidified sample solution and its conversion into carbendazim via solvolysis reaction with DMF as organic solvent. The proposed DLLME method was followed by HPLC with fluorimetric detection for determination of benomyl. The proposed method has good linearity (0.998) with wide linear dynamic range (0.01–25 mg/L) and low detection limit (0.0033 mg/L), making it suitable for benomyl determination in water samples.     

Determination of cadmium and copper in water and food samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with UV–vis spectrophotometry

In this work, a new method based on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) preconcentration using tetrachloromethane (CCl₄) as extraction solvent was proposed for the spectrophotometric determination of cadmium and copper in water and food samples. The influence factors relevant to DLLME, such as type and volume of extractant and disperser solvent, concentration of chelating reagents, pH, salt effect, were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the limits of detection for cadmium and copper were 0.01 ng/L and 0.5 μg/L, with enhancement factors (EFs) of 3458 and 10, respectively. The tremendous contrast of EFs could come from the different maximum absorption wavelength caused by the different extraction acidity compared with some conventional works and the enhancement effect of acetone used as dilution solvent during the spectrophotometric determination. The proposed method was applied to the determination of water and food samples with satisfactory analytical results. The proposed method was simple, rapid, cost-efficient and sensitive, especially for the detection of cadmium.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop combined with field‐amplified sample injection in capillary electrophoresis for the determination of beta(2)‐agonists in bovine urine

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME–SFO) was for the first time combined with field‐amplified sample injection (FASI) in CE to determine four β₂‐agonists (cimbuterol, clenbuterol, mabuterol, and mapenterol) in bovine urine. Optimum BGE consisted of 20 mM borate buffer and 0.1 mM SDS. Using salting‐out extraction, β₂‐agonists were extracted into ACN that was then used as the disperser solvent in DLLME–SFO. Optimum DLLME–SFO conditions were: 1.0 mL ACN, 50 μL 1‐undecanol (extraction solvent), total extraction time 1.5 min, no salt addition. Back extraction into an aqueous solution (pH 2.0) facilitated direct injection of β₂‐agonists into CE. Compared to conventional CZE, DLLME–SFO–FASI–CE achieved sensitivity enhancement factors of 41–1046 resulting in LODs in the range of 1.80–37.0 μg L^?1. Linear dynamic ranges of 0.15–10.0 mg L^?1 for cimbuterol and 15–1000 μg L^?1 for the other analytes were obtained with coefficients of determination (R²) ≥ 0.9901 and RSD% ≤5.5 (n = 5). Finally, the applicability of the proposed method was successfully confirmed by determination of the four β₂‐agonists in spiked bovine urine samples and accuracy higher than 96.0% was obtained.     

Bamboo charcoal as adsorbent for SPE coupled with monolithic column-HPLC for rapid determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples

The coupling of solid-phase extraction (SPE) using bamboo charcoal (BC) as an adsorbent with a monolithic column-high performance liquid chromatography (MC-HPLC) method was developed for the high-efficiency enrichment and rapid determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water. Key influence factors, such as the type and the volume of the elution solvent, and the flow rate and the volume of the sample loading, were optimized to obtain a high SPE recovery and extraction efficiency. BC as an SPE adsorbent presented a high extraction efficiency due to its large specific surface area and high adsorption capacity; MC as an HPLC column accelerated the separation within 8 min because of its high porosity, fast mass transfer, and low-pressure resistance. The calibration curves for the PAHs extracted were linear in the range of 0.2-15 μg/L, with the correlation coefficients (r(2)) between 0.9970-0.9999. This method attained good precisions (relative standard deviation, RSD) from 3.5 to 10.9% for the standard PAHs I aqueous solutions at 5 μg/L; the method recoveries ranged in 52.6-121.6% for real spiked river water samples with 0.4 and 4 μg/L. The limits of detection (LODs, S/N = 3) of the method were determined from 11 and 87 ng/L. The developed method was demonstrated to be applicable for the rapid and sensitive determination of 16 PAHs in real environmental water samples.     

Salting‐out homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction in narrow‐bore tube: Extraction and preconcentration of phthalate esters from water

In this study a simple and rapid sample preparation technique, homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction based on phase separation in the presence of a salt performed in a narrow‐bore tube, followed by GC‐flame ionization detection has been developed. In this work, sodium chloride and ACN were used as the salting‐out agent and water‐soluble extraction solvent, respectively. The homogeneous solution of water and ACN was broken by addition of the salt. Small volume of ACN was collected on top of the tube and the extracted analytes in the collected phase were determined. It has been successfully used for the analysis of five phthalate esters as model compounds in aqueous sample. Experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as kind and volume of the water‐soluble organic solvent, length and diameter of the tube, and pH of the sample solution were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the LODs were between 0.02 and 0.7 μg/L and enrichment factors were in the range of 172–309. In addition, good linearity (between 1 and 5000 μg/L) and high precision on the base of RSD (<8%, C = 600 μg/L, n = 6) were achieved.     

Determination of aromatic amines from textiles using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

A dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction procedure coupled with GC‐MS is described for preconcentration and determination of banned aromatic amines from textile samples. Experimental conditions affecting the microextraction procedure were optimized. A mixture of 30 μL chlorobenzene (extraction solvent) and 800 μL ACN (disperser solvent), 5 min extraction time, and 5 mL aqueous sample volume were chosen for the best extraction efficiency by the proposed procedure. Satisfactory linearity (with correlation coefficients >0.9962) and repeatability (<9.78%) were obtained for all 20 aromatic amines; detection limits attained were much lower than the standardized liquid–liquid method. The proposed method has advantages of being quicker and easier to operate, and lower consumption of organic solvent.     

Preconcentration Ultra Trace of Cd(II) in Water Samples Using Dispersive Liquid‐Liquid Microextraction with Salen(N,N′‐Bis(Salicylidene)‐Ethylenediamine) and Determination Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique was successfully used as a sample preparation method for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS). In this extraction method, 500 μL methanol (disperser solvent) containing 34 μL carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) and 0.00010 g Salen(N,N′‐bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine) (chelating agent) was rapidly injected by syringe into the water sample containing cadmium ions (interest analyte). Thereby, a cloudy solution formed. The cloudy state resulted from the formation of fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride, which have been dispersed, in bulk aqueous sample. At this stage, cadmium reacts with Salen(N,N′‐bis(salicylidene)‐ethylenediamine), and therefore, hydrophobic complex forms which is extracted into the fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride. After centrifugation (2 min at 5000 rpm), these droplets were sedimented at the bottom of the conical test tube (25 ± 1 μL). Then a 20 μL of sedimented phase containing enriched analyte was determined by GF AAS. Some effective parameters on extraction and complex formation, such as extraction and disperser solvent type and their volume, extraction time, salt effect, pH and concentration of the chelating agent have been optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor 122 was obtained from only 5.00 mL of water sample. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 2‐21 ng L^?1 with a detection limit of 0.5 ng L^?1. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D._s) for ten replicate measurements of 20 ng L^?1 of cadmium was 2.9%. The relative recoveries of cadmium in tap, sea and rain water samples at a spiking level of 5 and 10 ng L^?1 are 99, 94, 97 and 96%, respectively. The characteristics of the proposed method have been compared with cloud point extraction (CPE), on‐line liquid‐liquid extraction, single drop microextraction (SDME), on‐line solid phase extraction (SPE) and co‐precipitation based on bibliographic data. Therefore, DLLME combined with GF AAS is a very simple, rapid and sensitive method, which requires low volume of sample (5.00 mL).     

Determination of herbicides in environmental water samples by simultaneous in‐syringe magnetic stirring‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and silylation followed by GC–MS

An on‐line, fast, simple, selective, and sensitive method has been developed for the determination of three herbicides belonging to the following families: triazines (atrazine), chloroacetamide (alachlor), and phenoxy (2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) in water samples. The method involves an in‐syringe magnetic stirring‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction along with simultaneous silylation prior to their determination by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Extraction, derivatization, and preconcentration have been simultaneously performed using acetone as dispersive solvent, N‐methyl‐N‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide as derivatization agent and trichloroethylene as extraction solvent. After stirring for 180 s, the sedimented phase was transferred to a rotary micro‐volume injection valve (3 μL) and introduced by an air stream into gas chromatograph with mass spectrometry detector. Recovery and enrichment factors were 87.2–111.2% and 7.4–10.4, respectively. Relative standard deviations were in the ranges of 6.6–7.4 for intraday and 9.2–9.6 for interday precision. The detection limits were in the range of 0.045–0.03 μg/L, and good linearity was observed up to 200 μg/L, with R² ranging between 0.9905 and 0.9964. The developed method was satisfactorily applied to assess the occurrence of the studied herbicides in groundwater samples. The recovery test was also performed with values between 77 and 117%.     

Ionic‐liquid‐functionalized magnetic particles as an adsorbent for the magnetic SPE of sulfonylurea herbicides in environmental water samples

In this paper, a new ionic‐liquid‐functionalized magnetic material was prepared based on the immobilization of an ionic liquid on silica magnetic particles that could be successfully used as an adsorbent for the magnetic SPE of five sulfonylurea herbicides (bensulfuron‐methyl, prosulfuron, pyrazosulfuron‐ethyl, chlorimuron‐ethyl and triflusulfuron‐methyl) from environmental water samples. The main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency such as desorption conditions, sample pH, extraction time and so on, were optimized using the Taguchi method. Good linearities were obtained with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9992 to 0.9999 in the concentration range of 0.1–50 μg L^?1 and the LODs were 0.053–0.091 μg L^?1. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors of the method were 1155–1380 and the recoveries ranged from 77.8 to 104.4%. The proposed method was reliable and could be applied to the residue analysis of sulfonylurea herbicides in environmental water samples (tap, reservoir and river).     

Ionic‐liquid‐functionalized zinc oxide nanoparticles for the solid‐phase extraction of triazine herbicides in corn prior to high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis

Zinc oxide nanoparticles have recently been used as effective adsorbent materials for sample pretreatment in analytical chemistry because of their excellent properties, such as high specific surface area, high effective porosity, non‐toxicity, and ease of fabrication. In this study, the zinc oxide nanoparticles functionalized by an ionic liquid, 1‐carboxyethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride, were fabricated and used as the adsorbent for the solid phase extraction of five triazine herbicides in corn for the first time. High‐performance liquid chromatography was employed for the determination of these triazine herbicides. Several experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated, including the volume of extraction solvent, the extraction time, the type of extraction solvent and elution solvent, the amount of absorbent, and the volume of elution solvent. By using the proposed method, low limits of detection and quantification for all the five triazine herbicides were obtained between 0.71–1.08 and 2.67–3.64 ng/g, respectively. Recoveries of the proposed method range from 89.05 to 100.33% with intra‐ and inter‐day relative standard deviations lower than 8.45%. The calibration curves are linear in the concentration range of 0.005–1.00 μg/g with the correlation coefficient higher than 0.9954.     

Simultaneous determination of simazine,cyanazine, and atrazine in honey samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A rapid and simple sample preparation method was developed for simultaneous determination of three triazine herbicides in honey samples. The selected herbicides were extracted from honey samples by ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, separated on a C₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm id, 5 μm) using acetonitrile and H₂O as the mobile phase with gradient elution, and then detected by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The parameters, such as the type and volume of the extraction and disperser solvent, ion strength, pH, extraction time, and centrifuge time were optimized in order to provide the excellent extraction performance. Good linearity was showed for all the target herbicides over the tested concentration range with correlation coefficient higher than 0.994. Three spiked levels (0.005, 0.05, 0.10 mg/kg) were applied for determination of the recoveries of the targets in honey samples in the range of 80–103% with relative standard deviations not larger than 10.6%. The limits of quantification for the analytes ranged between 1.5 and 4.0 μg/kg. The developed method was applied for determination of the target compounds residues in real samples.