Sensitive determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental water samples by headspace solid‐phase microextraction with bamboo charcoal@iron oxide black fibers prior to gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

We have investigated the feasibility of bamboo charcoal@iron oxide black for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental water samples. Bamboo charcoal@iron oxide black was prepared and used as a solid‐phase microextraction coating material, and gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used for detection. Several important factors affecting the extraction efficiency were systematically investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the experimental data exhibited wide linear range over the range 0.2–1000 ng/L and low limits of detection in the range of 4.7–22.2 pg/L. The novel coating was successfully used for the enrichment and determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in real environmental water samples. All these results indicated that bamboo charcoal@iron oxide black‐based headspace solid‐phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was an excellent alternative for the sensitive analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls at ultratrace levels in the environment.     

Solid‐phase nanoextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls in water and their determination by gas chromatography with electron capture detector

A solid‐phase nanoextraction method has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of polychlorinated biphenyls using carboxyl multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a solid nano‐sorbent. Parameters affecting extraction efficiency such as sorbent amount, desorption solvent type and volume, extraction time, pH, and salt content have been studied. Under optimized conditions, the correlation coefficient was up to 0.9989, the limits of detection was in the range of 1.4–3.5 ng/L, and limits of quantification was between 4.8 and 11.6 ng/L. The recoveries were in the range of 99–106% for different spiked analytes. The relative standard deviation for water samples spiked with two different spiking levels has been between 4 and 10%. The proposed sustainable method is rapid, easy to use, and small consumption of organic solvent for the detection and determination of trace levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental waters.     

Primary secondary amine as a sorbent material in dispersive solid‐phase extraction clean‐up for the determination of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental water samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

A simple, rapid, and novel method has been developed and validated for determination of seven indicator polychlorinated biphenyls in water samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. 1 L of water samples containing 30 g of anhydrous sodium sulfate was first liquid–liquid extracted with an automated Jipad‐6XB vertical oscillator using n‐hexane/dichloromethane (1:1, v/v). The concentrated extract was cleaned up by dispersive solid‐phase extraction with 100 mg of primary secondary amine as sorbent material. The linearity of this method ranged from 1.25 to 100 μg/L, with regression coefficients ranging between 0.9994 and 0.9999. The limits of detection were in the ng/L level, ranging between 0.2 and 0.3 ng/L. The recoveries of seven spiked polychlorinated biphenyls with external calibration method at different concentration levels in tap water, lake water, and sea water were in the ranges of 85–112, 76–116, and 72–108%, respectively, and with relative standard deviations of 3.3–4.5, 3.4–5.6, and 3.1–4.8% (n =  5), respectively. The performance of the proposed method was compared with traditional liquid–liquid extraction and solid‐phase extraction clean‐up methods, and comparable efficiencies were obtained. It is concluded that this method can be successfully applied for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in different water samples.     

Determination of trace triclosan in environmental water by microporous bamboo‐activated charcoal solid‐phase extraction combined with HPLC‐ESI‐MS

A sensitive and efficient analytical method for triclosan (TCS) determination in water, which involves enrichment with bamboo‐activated charcoal and detection with HPLC‐ESI‐MS, was developed. The influence of several operational parameters, including the eluant and its volume, the flow rate, the volume andacidity of the sample, and the amount of bamboo‐activated charcoal, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, linearity of the method was observed in the range of 0.02–20 μg/L, with correlation coefficients (r²) >0.9990. The limit of detection was 0.002 μg/L based on the ratio of chromatographic signal to baseline noise (S/N = 3). The spiked recoveries of TCS in real water samples were achieved in the range of 97.6–112.5%. The proposed method was applied to analyze TCS in real aqueous samples. All the surface water samples collected in Xiaoqing River had detectable levels of TCS with concentrations of 42–197 ng/L.     

Mesostructured cellular foam solid‐phase microextraction coating for the highly sensitive recognition of polychlorinated biphenyls in water samples

We herein presented a mesoporous cellular foam solid‐phase microextraction coating that showed highly sensitive recognition for weakly polarity polychlorinated biphenyls in water samples. The mesoporous cellular foam coater fiber was for the first time prepared by a simple sol‐gel method. The main experimental parameters including extraction temperature, extraction time, desorption time, stirring rate, and ionic strength were investigated by high‐efficiency orthogonal array design, a L₁₆ (4⁴) matrix was applied for the identification of optimized extraction parameters, and the optimized method was successfully applied to the analysis of environmental water sample. The novel mesoporous cellular foam coated fibers exhibited sensitive limits of detection (0.07–0.28 µg/L), wide linearity (5–3000 µg/L), and good reproducibility (3.5–8.3% for single fiber, and 4.9–8.7% for fiber‐to‐fiber) for polychlorinated biphenyls. The home‐made coating was successfully used in the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in real environmental water samples. These results indicate that the synthesized mesoporous cellular foams are promising materials for adsorption and separation applications in sample pretreatment.     

Separation and enrichment of six indicator polychlorinated biphenyls from real waters using a novel magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube composite absorbent

A novel and effective magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube composite for the separation and enrichment of polychlorinated biphenyls was developed. Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ core–shell structured nanoparticles were first synthesized, then the poly(sodium 4‐styrenesulfonate) was laid on its surface to prepare the polyanionic magnetic nanoparticles. The above materials were then grafted with polycationic multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which were modified by polydiallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride through the layer‐by‐layer self‐assembly approach. Its performance was tested by magnetic solid‐phase extraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry for the determination of six kinds of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls in water samples. Under optimal conditions, the spiked recoveries of several real samples for six kinds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB138, PCB153, PCB180) were in the range of 73.4–99.5% with relative standard deviations varying from 1.5 to 8.4%. All target compounds showed good linearities in the tested range with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9993. The limits of quantification for six kinds of indicator polychlorinated biphenyls were between 0.018 and 0.039 ng/mL. The proposed method was successfully applied to analyze polychlorinated biphenyls in real water samples. Satisfactory results were obtained using the effective magnetic absorbent.     

Self‐made microextraction by packed sorbent device for the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls from bovine serum

Microextraction by packed sorbent, a miniaturized form of the solid‐phase extraction, is a new sample pretreatment technology mainly used for bioanalysis. In this work, self‐made device was fabricated by packing C₁₈ sorbent into a microinjection needle (50 μL) and then applied for the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls in bovine serum followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry determination. Compared with conventional solid‐phase extraction, the developed method bears many intriguing properties such as low consumption of the sample and organic solvent, time‐saving and easy operation, which are of great interest and desire for bioanalysis applications. A series of parameters that affect the analytical performance, such as the type of elution, the aspirating/dispensing cycles of sample loading and elution, washing solution, and matrix effects, was investigated in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method presented a good linearity (R ≥ 0.986) and satisfactory sensitivity and limits of detection (0.06–0.53 ng/mL) and quantification (0.20–1.77 ng/mL), respectively. In addition, satisfactory recoveries (60.0–91.4%) and accuracy (RSD ≤ 5.72%) were achieved after optimizing the conditions when applying the developed method to real sample analysis. The screening of polychlorinated biphenyls residues in bovine serum samples by the developed method demonstrated that the assay is ideally suited as a monitoring method for polychlorinated biphenyls residues in bioanalysis.     

Multi‐walled carbon nanotube modified dummy‐template magnetic molecularly imprinted microspheres as solid‐phase extraction material for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in fish

Novel multi‐walled carbon nanotube modified dummy‐template molecularly imprinted microspheres (MWCNTs@DMMIPs) were successfully synthesized as adsorbents for six kinds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). MWCNTs@DMMIPs were prepared by a surface molecular imprinting technique. Core–shell Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ nanoparticles were employed as magnetic support. 3,4‐Dichlorobenzene acetic acid was used as a dummy template instead of PCBs, methacrylic acid was used as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate was used as the cross‐linker. The resulting absorbent was characterized by various methods. The adsorbent was employed for extracting PCBs and exhibited good selectivity and high adsorption efficiency. Furthermore, it was reusable and capable of magnetic separation. Adsorption kinetics fit well with a pseudo‐second‐order kinetic equation and also exhibited a three‐stage intra‐particle diffusion model. The Freundlich model was used to describe the adsorption isotherms. The materials were successfully applied to the magnetic dispersive solid‐phase extraction of six kinds of PCBs followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry determination in fish samples, the limit of detection of six kinds of PCBs were 0.0028–0.0068 μg/L and spiked recoveries ranged between 73.41 and 114.21%. The prepared adsorbent was expected to be a new material for the removal and recovery of PCBs from contaminated foods.     

Preparation of monolithic fibers for the solid‐phase microextraction of chlorophenols in water samples

Monolithic fibers were synthesized and applied for the solid‐phase microextraction and determination of chlorophenols in environmental water samples by coupling with HPLC. The fibers were prepared by copolymerization of vinylimidazole and ethylene dimethacrylate as functional monomer and cross‐linker, respectively. The effect of the preparation conditions of monolithic fibers on the extraction efficiencies was investigated in detail. Several characteristic techniques, such as elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, mercury‐intrusion porosimetry, and SEM were used to characterize the monolithic material. The effect of the extraction parameters, including desorption solvent, extraction and desorption time, pH values, and ionic strength in sample matrix on the extraction performance was investigated thoroughly. Under the improved extraction conditions, the linear ranges of 2‐chlorophenol, 2,4‐dichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol were 1.0–200 μg/L and 2.0–200 μg/L for 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol. The detection limits (S/N = 3) were in the range of 0.16–0.45 μg/L, the RSDs for intraday and interday precisions were <7.0%. Finally, the proposed method was successfully used to detect different environmental water samples. The recoveries of spiked water samples were ranged from 90.0 to 115%. At the same time, satisfactory repeatability was achieved with RSDs < 9.0%.     

Determination of Aroclor 1260 in soil samples by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and solid‐phase microextraction

A novel fast screening method was developed for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls that are constituents of the commercial mixture, Aroclor 1260, in soil matrices by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry combined with solid‐phase microextraction. Nonequilibrium headspace solid‐phase microextraction with a 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane fiber was used to extract polychlorinated biphenyls from 0.5 g of soil matrix. The use of 2 mL of saturated potassium dichromate in 6 M sulfuric acid solution improved the reproducibility of the extractions and the mass transfer of the polychlorinated biphenyls from the soil matrix to the microextraction fiber via the headspace. The extraction time was 30 min at 100°C. The percent recoveries, which were evaluated using an Aroclor 1260 standard and liquid injection, were within the range of 54.9–65.7%. Two‐way extracted ion chromatogram data were used to construct calibration curves. The relative error was <±15% and the relative standard deviation was <15%, which are respective measures of the accuracy and precision. The method was validated with certified soil samples and the predicted concentrations for Aroclor 1260 agreed with the certified values. The method was demonstrated to be linear from 10 to 1000 ng/g for Aroclor 1260 in dry soil.     

Metal–organic framework UiO‐67‐coated fiber for the solid‐phase microextraction of nitrobenzene compounds from water

A sol–gel coating technique was applied for the preparation of a solid‐phase microextraction fiber by coating the metal–organic framework UiO‐67 onto a stainless‐steel wire. The prepared fiber was explored for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction of five nitrobenzene compounds from water samples before gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. The effects of the extraction temperature, extraction time, sample solution volume, salt addition, and desorption conditions on the extraction efficiency were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the linearity was observed in the range of 0.015–12.0 μg/L for the compounds in water samples, with the correlation coefficients (r) of 0.9945–0.9987. The limits of detection of the method were 5.0–10.0 ng/L, and the recoveries of the analytes from spiked water samples for the method were in the range of 74.0–102.0%. The precision for the measurements, expressed as the relative standard deviation, was less than 11.9%.     

Determination of Estrogenic Nonylphenol and Bisphenol a in River Water by Solid‐Phase Extraction and Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method is presented for the analysis of nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA), two well known hormonally active agents (HAAs), in the samples of river water. The method involves extraction of the sample by a graphitized carbon black (GCB) solid‐phase extraction, and determination by an ion‐trap gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). The large‐volume injection technique provides high precision and sensitivity for NP and BPA, to quantitation at < 0.05 μg/L in 200 mL of water samples. Recovery of NP and BPA in spiked water samples ranged from 80% to 85%. Relative standard deviations (RSD) of replicate analyses ranged from 1.6% to 6.9%. The concentrations of NP in rivers were in the range between 0.4 to 2.4 μg/L, which were below the threshold concentration (10 μg/L) for vitellogenin induction in fish, but 78%) of water samples from five rivers exceeded the predicted‐no‐effect concentration (PNEC) of 0.7 μg/L as proposed recently. The concentrations of BPA ranged from < 0.05 μg/L to 3.0 μg/L, which all were below the PNEC of 64 μg/L.     

Highly sensitive determination of tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol A in environmental water samples by solid‐phase extraction and liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry

Using bamboo‐activated charcoal as SPE adsorbent, a novel SPE method was developed for the sensitive determination of tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol A in environmental water samples by rapid‐resolution LC‐ESI‐MS/MS. Important parameters influencing extraction efficiency, including type of eluent, eluent volume, sample pH, volume and flow rate, were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal extraction conditions (eluent: 8 mL methanol, pH: 7; flow rate: 4 mL/min; sample volume: 100 mL), low LODs (0.01–0.02 ng/mL), good repeatability (6.2–8.3%) and wide linearity range (0.10–10 ng/mL) were obtained. Satisfied results were achieved when the proposed method was applied to determine the two target compounds in real‐world environmental water samples with spiked recoveries over the range of 80.5–119.8%. All these facts indicate that trace determination of tetrabromobisphenol A and bisphenol A in real‐world environmental water samples can be realized by bamboo‐activated charcoal SPE‐rapid resolution‐LC‐ESI‐MS/MS.     

Determination of phthalate esters from environmental water samples by micro‐solid‐phase extraction using TiO2 nanotube arrays before high‐performance liquid chromatography

We describe a highly sensitive micro‐solid‐phase extraction method for the pre‐concentration of six phthalate esters utilizing a TiO₂ nanotube array coupled to high‐performance liquid chromatography with a variable‐wavelength ultraviolet visible detector. The selected phthalate esters included dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, butyl benzyl phthalate, bis(2‐ethylhexyl)phthalate and dioctyl phthalate. The factors that would affect the enrichment, such as desorption solvent, sample pH, salting‐out effect, extraction time and desorption time, were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range of the proposed method was 0.3–200 μg/L. The limits of detection were 0.04–0.2 μg/L (S/N = 3). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of six phthalate esters in water samples and satisfied spiked recoveries were achieved. These results indicated that the proposed method was appropriate for the determination of trace phthalate esters in environmental water samples.     

Development of a magnetic solid‐phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry method for the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds

Semivolatile organic compounds are a category of organic micropollutants including phthalate esters, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and so on, which are commonly analyzed by solid‐phase extraction followed by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. In this work, a highly sensitive and feasible method of magnetic solid‐phase extraction combined with gas chromatography with mass spectrometry was established for the determination of semivolatile organic compounds in water. The novel method was based on a permanent magnetic resin with uniform particle size and high surface area (1154.3 m²/g). The results demonstrated that the extraction efficiency of the resin was superior to that of a C₁₈ cartridge. The method was proved to be of satisfactory recoveries (75–115.7%) and limits of detection and quantification (0.063–6.524 and 0.212–21.745 μg/L, respectively). The method was applied to the analysis of semivolatile organic compounds in the midstream Huai River. It was observed that polychlorinated biphenyls exceeded current water standards. To further illustrate the potential effects on human health, health risk assessment was conducted based on the obtained data. The existence of health risk was proved, with hexachlorobenzene and 2,2’,4,4’‐tetrachlorobiphenyl as the major causes. The method possesses the characteristics of high efficiency and rapid analysis, offering a good prospect of applications in large quantities of practical water.     

Determination of trace polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides in water samples through large‐volume stir bar sorptive extraction method with thermal desorption gas chromatography

A fast and sensitive analytical method based on stir bar sorptive extraction technology with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed to simultaneously analyze 18 kinds of polychlorinated biphenyls and 20 kinds of organochlorine pesticides in aqueous samples. A long adsorption time and small sample volume, which are problems encountered in conventional methods of stir bar sorptive extraction, were effectively solved by simultaneously using multiple stir bars for enrichment with sequential cryofocusing and merged injection. Optimized results showed good linear coefficients in the range of 10–500 ng/L and the method detection limits of 0.12–2.07 ng/L for polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides. The recovery ratios of the spiked samples at different concentrations were between 64.7 and 111.0%, and their relative standard deviations ranged from 0.9 to 17.6%. Four types of the studied compounds were determined in Qiantang River water samples, and their contents were between 0.82 and 5.00 ng/L.     

Determination of selected polychlorinated biphenyls in soil and earthworm (Eisenia fetida) using a QuEChERS‐based method and gas chromatography with tandem MS

Soil and earthworms are important objects in soil pollution assessment and environmental behavior and toxicity study for polychlorinated biphenyls. Accelerated solvent extraction and solid‐phase extraction are generally required for the extraction and clean‐up of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil and earthworm, which are tedious and time‐consuming. In this work, a modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) procedure combined with gas chromatography and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of 20 selected polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in soil and earthworm. Different extraction times, solvents, and clean‐up adsorbents were compared and optimized. The average recoveries from spiked soils ranged between 70 and 120% with satisfactory relative standard deviations for all the polychlorinated biphenyls. In earthworm, the recoveries of polychlorinated biphenyls 180, 183, and 189 were relatively low (< 70% in some spiking levels) compared to that of the other polychlorinated biphenyls. The limits of quantification were in the range of 0.01–0.05 ng/g. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of 66 agricultural soils. To our knowledge, a combined method based on QuEChERS for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil and earthworms has not been published before. The procedure proved to be simple, sensitive, efficient, and environmentally friendly.     

New strategy for the biosorption of atrazine after magnetic solid‐phase extraction from water followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis

We describe a rapid and simple microextraction of atrazine from water samples. This method is based on the use of magnetic nanoparticles as sorbents and bioaggregates that are applied to the extraction and preconcentration of atrazine. The resulting magnetic nanoparticles possess a fast adsorption kinetics and high adsorption capacity. Bioaggregates made up of rhaminolipid biosurfactant were assessed as a new strategy for the sample treatment. The extractant was obtained from magnetic nanoparticles using the magnetic solid‐phase extraction method. Then the target analyte was rapidly transferred from the sorbent surface to bioaggregates, which have a low toxicity and are green and ecofriendly. Finally, the extract is centrifuged and transferred to micro‐syringe for analysis by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized. Under optimum conditions the enrichment factor was 268. The linear dynamic range and limit of detection were 0.1–50 and 0.033 μg/L, respectively. The relative standard deviation for six replicate measurements was 5.3%. The results demonstrate good applicability of biosorption‐assisted magnetic solid‐phase extraction method for the determination of atrazine from water samples.     

Magnetic micro‐solid‐phase extraction based on magnetite‐MCM‐41 with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for the determination of antidepressant drugs in biological fluids

A new facile magnetic micro‐solid‐phase extraction coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detection was developed for the extraction and determination of selected antidepressant drugs in biological fluids using magnetite‐MCM‐41 as adsorbent. The synthesized sorbent was characterized by several spectroscopic techniques. The maximum extraction efficiency for extraction of 500 μg/L antidepressant drugs from aqueous solution was obtained with 15 mg of magnetite‐MCM‐41 at pH 12. The analyte was desorbed using 100 μL of acetonitrile prior to gas chromatography determination. This method was rapid in which the adsorption procedure was completed in 60 s. Under the optimized conditions using 15 mL of antidepressant drugs sample, the calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 0.05–500 μg/L (r ² = 0.996–0.999). Good limits of detection (0.008–0.010 μg/L) were obtained for the analytes with good relative standard deviations of <8.0% (n  = 5) for the determination of 0.1, 5.0, and 500.0 μg/L of antidepressant drugs. This method was successfully applied to the determination of amitriptyline and chlorpromazine in plasma and urine samples. The recoveries of spiked plasma and urine samples were in the range of 86.1–115.4%. Results indicate that magnetite micro‐solid‐phase extraction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry is a convenient, fast, and economical method for the extraction and determination of amitriptyline and chlorpromazine in biological samples.     

Investigation of feasibility of bamboo charcoal as solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the enrichment and determination of four phthalate esters in environmental water samples

This paper demonstrates, for the first time, that adsorptive potential of bamboo charcoal for solid-phase extraction of phthalate esters was investigated. The four phthalate esters, dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), are quantitatively adsorbed on a bamboo charcoal packed cartridge, then the analytes retained on the cartridge are quantitatively desorbed with optimum amounts of acetone. Finally, the analytes in the eluant acetone are determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detectior. Important parameters influencing the extraction efficiency, such as eluant and its volume, flow rate of sample, sample volume, pH, the amount of adsorbent and ionic strength were investigated and optimized in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection were 0.35-0.43 microg/L for four phthalate esters. The proposed method has been applied to the analysis of rainwater and tap water samples. And satisfactory spiked recoveries were obtained in the range of 75.0-114.2%. All the results indicated that the bamboo charcoal has great potential as a novel adsorbent material for the enrichment and determination of phthalate esters in real environmental water samples.