Determination of phthalate esters in soil using a quick,easy, cheap,effective, rugged,and safe method followed by GC–MS

A quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe procedure was designed to extract pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables with a high percentage of water. It has not been used extensively for the extraction of phthalate esters from sediments, soils, and sludges. In this work, this procedure was combined with gas chromatography with mass spectrometry to determine 16 selected phthalate esters in soil. The extraction efficiency of the samples was improved by ultrasonic extraction and dissolution of the soil samples in ultra‐pure water, which promoted the dispersion of the samples. Furthermore, we have simplified the extraction step and reduced the risk of organic solvent contamination by minimizing the use of organic solvents. Different extraction solvents and clean‐up adsorbents were compared to optimize the procedure. Dichloromethane/n‐hexane (1:1, v/v) and n‐hexane/acetone (1:1, v/v) were selected as the extractants from the six extraction solvents tested. C18/primary secondary amine (1:1, m/m) was selected as the sorbent from the five clean‐up adsorbents tested. The recoveries from the spiked soils ranged from 70.00 to 117.90% with relative standard deviation values of 0.67–4.62%. The proposed approach was satisfactorily applied for the determination of phthalate esters in 12 contaminated soil samples.     

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 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.     

Solid-phase extraction clean-up of soil and sediment extracts for the determination of various types of pollutants in a single run

A new sample clean-up procedure based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents was proposed for the determination of pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in soils and sediments. The main purpose of the research was to find a combination of sorbents for the SPE method that would permit the determination of many types of analytes (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, N-, P- and Cl-containing pesticides) in a single run. Elution profiles for both the analytes and the interfering components were determined for several types of SPE sorbents (alumina, silica and surface-modified silica) and combinations of them. The efficiency of the clean-up method developed was evaluated using real soil samples.     

土壤与沉积物样品中多氯联苯总量的气相色谱-质谱法快速分析

建立了土壤和沉积物样品中多氯联苯总量的快速分析方法.样品经加速溶剂萃取,Bond ElutPCB SPE小柱净化后,采用气相色谱-质谱测定多氯联苯的总量,方法的平均回收率为84% ～106%,相对标准偏差为4.2% ～8.4%,多氯联苯总量的方法检出限为2.25 ng/g.该方法快速、灵敏、准确,适用于大部分土壤及沉积物样品中多氯联苯总量的快速筛查分析.     

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.     

Ultrasound‐assisted extraction and solid‐phase extraction as a cleanup procedure for organochlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls determination in aquatic samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

The feasibility of developing a quick, easy, efficient procedure for the simultaneous determination of organochlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in aquatic samples using gas chromatography with electron capture detection based on solid‐phase extraction was investigated. The extraction solvent (n‐hexane/acetone, cyclohexane/ethyl acetate, n‐hexane/dichloromethane, n‐hexane) for ultrasound‐assisted solid–liquid extraction and solid‐phase extraction columns (florisil, neutral alumina, acidic alumina, aminopropyl trimethoxy silane, propyl ethylenediamine, aminopropyl trimethoxy silane/propyl ethylenediamine, graphitized carbon black and silica) for cleanup procedure were optimized. The gas chromatography with electron capture detection method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and recovery. Mean recoveries ranged from 75 to 115% with relative standard deviations <13%. Quantification limits were 0.20–0.40 ng/g for organochlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. The satisfactory data demonstrated the good reproducibility of the method with relative standard deviations lower than 13%. In comparison to other related methods, this method requires less time and solvent and allows for rapid isolation of the target analytes with high selectivity. This method therefore allows for the screening of numerous samples and can also be used for routine analyses.     

Recoveries of organochlorine compounds (polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans) in water using steam distillation-solvent extraction at normal pressure

A simultaneous steam distillation-solvent extraction (SDE) procedure was used for determining polychrlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs) at sub-ppb levels in water samples. Recoveries of 39.8–138.7% and a standard deviation of lower than 10% were achieved for the individual coplanar PCB and the 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/F congeners. SDE is a fast, clean, inexpensive and reproducible procedure for the determination of individual PCBs, PCDDs and PCDFs in waters at very low concentrations.     

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.     

Determination of selected polychlorinated biphenyls in soil by miniaturised ultrasonic solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass-selective detection

Miniaturised ultrasonic solvent extraction procedure was developed for the determination of selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soil samples by gas chromatography-mass-selective detection by using 2³ factorial experimental design. Recoveries of PCBs from fortified soil samples are over 90% for three different fortification levels between 40 and 120 μg kg⁻¹, and relative standard deviations of the recoveries are below 7%. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.003 to 0.006 μg kg⁻¹. The performance of the proposed method was compared to traditional shake flask extraction method on the spiked real soil sample and extraction methods showed comparable efficiencies. Proposed miniaturised ultrasonic solvent extraction offers several advantages, i.e., reducing sample requirement for measurement of target compound, less solvent consumption and reducing the costs associated with solvent purchase and waste disposal.     

Bio Availability of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners in the Soil to Earthworm (L. rubellus) System

Abstract

The earthworm's (Lumbricus rubellus) uptake of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a soil contaminated with a commercial PCB formulation (Askarel at 150 μg g^?1) and their elimination of PCBs into a low contaminated soil (15 μg g^?1) has been studied. 17 individual congeners were monitored. The uptake and the elimination rate were similar for all PCB congeners notwithstanding their different chloro-substitution pattern which suggested that bioaccumulation of PCBs in earthworms is governed by passive, possibly diffusion controlled processes. The equilibrium state in the three-phase system, soil/soil water/earthworm was reached with a half-time around 3–4 days. The soil to earthworm bioconcentration factor ranged from 4 to 20 for tetra- to octa-chlorinated biphenyls and was weakly depending on the octanol-water partition coefficient: BCF = ?(1.3?1.8) × K _OW ^(0.35?0.40).     

Comparison of several extraction procedures for the determination of biopesticides in soil samples by ultrahigh pressure LC-MS/MS

A new procedure has been proposed for the determination of biopesticides (nicotine, sabadine, veratridine, rotenone, azadirachtin, cevadine, deguelin, spynosad D, and pyrethrins) and piperonyl butoxide in agricultural soils. Several extraction procedures such as solid-liquid extraction using mechanical shaking, sonication, pressurized liquid extraction, and modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) have been tested, obtaining better results when QuEChERS procedure without further cleanup steps was applied. The determination of the compounds was carried out by ultra high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, using methanol and aqueous solution of ammonium formate 5 mM as mobile phase. The method was validated for all compounds at concentrations ranging from 10 to 100 μg/kg and recoveries ranged from 68 to 116%, except for nicotine and sabadine, with recoveries lower than 50%. Precision was estimated through intra- and inter-day studies, obtaining intra-day precision lower than 20% for most of the compounds, and inter-day precision was lower than 25%. Limits of detection and quantification were also estimated, obtaining limits of quantification equal or lower than 10 μg/kg. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of 20 real agricultural soil samples and no biopesticide residues were found over the limit of quantification.     

Evaluation of alternative sorbents for dispersive solid‐phase extraction clean‐up in the QuEChERS method for the determination of pesticide residues in rice by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

Many compounds are used for pest control during the production and storage of rice, making it necessary to employ multiclass methods for pesticide residues determination. For this purpose, QuEChERS‐based methods are very efficient, fast and accurate, and improvements in the clean‐up step are important, especially for complex matrices, like cereals. In this work, different sorbents such as chitosan, florisil^®, alumina, diatomaceous earth, graphitized carbon black, besides the commonly used primary secondary amine and octadecylsilane, were evaluated for dispersive solid‐phase extraction clean‐up in acetate‐buffered QuEChERS method for the determination of residues of 20 representative pesticides and one metabolite in rice by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The sorbent C18 presented the best results, however, chitosan showed similar results, and the best performance among the unconventional sorbents evaluated. The method limit of quantification, attending accuracy (70–120% recovery) and precision (RSD ≤20%) criteria, ranged from 5 to 20 μg/kg. Results showed that chitosan is an effective alternative to reduce analysis costs, maintaining the method reliability and accuracy.     

Supercritical fluid extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides from soil. Comparison with other extraction methods.

A comparison is made of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with two other techniques widely used for the extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides in soil. Extraction conditions for the SFE of PCBs and pesticides were first determined. An experimental approach was set up to determine the influence of different extraction parameters such as pressure, extraction time, static and dynamic extraction, restrictor type and collection solvent for off-line SFE. The use of carbon dioxide at 50 degrees C and 20 MPa, 10 min static followed by 20 min dynamic extraction with collection in iso-octane were been found to be the optimum conditions. Two types of soil, with a low and high content of organic carbon, respectively, spiked with 16 PCBs and organochlorine pesticides with a wide range of volatility and polarity at a level of 5 ng/g dry matter, were used as test materials. Conventional solvent extraction gives a good extraction yield for soil with a low content of organic carbon, but for peat soil the recoveries decrease dramatically to 30% for DDE, DDT and PCB 138 and 153. The recoveries with Soxhlet extraction are good, but an extra clean-up step before analysis is necessary. SFE gives good extraction yields for PCBs and organochlorine pesticides, varying between 85 and 105% with a reproducibility of 5% for each component for both types of soil. SFE is a fast, clean and reproducible method for the extraction of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides from these two soil matrices.     

Evaluation of lipid removal from animal fats for the determination of organochlorine, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyl indicators by gas chromatography with electron capture detector

For cleanup of animal fat before GC analysis of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls, freezing-lipid filtration with solid-phase extraction and matrix solid-phase dispersion were evaluated to replace the official Brazilian methodology that uses preparative alumina column chromatography. General drawbacks associated with this last technique, such as the use of large amounts of solvent, laborious and time-consuming procedure could be avoided by using these alternative approaches. Experiments were carried out to study the performance by using different combinations of sorbents and elution solvents. Efficiency of alternative extraction methods in terms of fat removal and recovery capability was monitored by gravimetry, TLC, and GC with electron capture detection. Freezing-lipid filtration with solid-phase extraction afforded better clean up efficiency with recoveries in a range of 54.5 to 103.6% with the relative standard deviation of less than 10% for all compounds under investigation.     

Organochlorine residue analysis of commercial milks by capillary gas chromatography

The determination of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in milks requires the use of efficient extraction methods. A rapid procedure has been developed, based on extraction of organochlorine residues from milk on to octadecylsilica solid phase extraction cartridges and elution with hexane. The addition of different organic solvents to the milk before solid phase extraction has been studied. The use of methanol to disrupt the fat globules enables almost complete recovery of the residues with minimum extraction of fatty substances. Recovery experiments were performed for eighteen compounds present at ppb levels in whole, two per cent, and skimmed milks. The average recoveries of the compounds from two per cent and skimmed milks were 73–84%; values for whole milk were lower. The residues were determined by gas chromatography using two kinds of capillary column (non-polar and semi-polar) and electron capture detection. The procedure shows low lipid carry over, and extraneous interferences are minimal. The method has been applied to the detection of organochlorine pesticides and nine individual polychlorinated biphenyls in commercial milks. The results obtained demonstrated the presence of very low levels of organochlorine residues in the commercial milks analyzed.     

Optimisation and comparison of microwave-assisted extraction and Soxhlet extraction for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil samples using an experimental design approach

Optimisation of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for the extraction of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from soil samples has been accomplished using an experimental design approach. Variables studied have been: percentage of acetone (v/v) in an acetone:n-hexane mixture, solvent volume, extraction time, microwave power and pressure inside the extraction vessel. Five samples of a certified soil (CRM 481) have been extracted under the optimum conditions of the developed method and the results have been compared to those obtained by Soxhlet extraction. Good recoveries (>95%) have been obtained for all the PCBs studied. All extracts have been analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and an optimum determination method for the electron impact mass spectrometric (EIMS) has also been developed.     

气相色谱-串联质谱法测定土壤中多环芳烃和多氯联苯

研究土壤中持久性有机污染物的含量可以为区域环境治理和来源解析提供基础数据。本文通过固相萃取结合气相色谱-串联质谱法建立了16种多环芳烃和15种多氯联苯的检测方法,并优化了固相萃取净化方法、色谱条件以及质谱碰撞能量。结果表明16种多环芳烃和15种多氯联苯的标准曲线线性关系良好,方法线性相关系数r~20.999,方法的检出限为0.1~2.5μg·kg~(-1),16种多环芳烃的平均加标回收率范围为62.5%~113.5%,相对标准偏差在2.3%~8.2%之间,15种多氯联苯的平均加标回收率范围为62.6%~91.4%,相对标准偏差在5.2%~7.8%之间。方法的准确度和精密度较高,通过对实际样品的测定,说明该方法具有较低的检出限及较强的抗干扰能力,能满足土壤中多环芳烃和多氯联苯的检测要求。     

Pressurized liquid extraction of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls from contaminated soil

Extraction solvents for pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) used to extract polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) from contaminated soil were investigated. The PCDD/PCDFs and Co-PCBs in Certified Reference Material: CRM 0422 (Forest soil) were extracted using toluene, n-hexane, acetone, acetone/toluene and acetone/n-hexane (1:1, v/v). Soxhlet extraction was the reference method. Results demonstrated that PLE using mixed solvents produced better analyte recoveries than the single solvents. However, these results were lower than those for Soxhlet extraction. Additional extraction cycles using mixed solvents achieved better recovery results. Mixed solvents and several extraction cycles were necessary for satisfactory extraction of more tightly bound PCDD/PCDFs and Co-PCBs from soil.     

Multiple mycotoxins analysis in animal feed with LC‐MS/MS: Comparison of extract dilution and immunoaffinity clean‐up

The aim of this study was a performance comparison of two clean‐up procedures (dilutions versus immunoaffinity columns) in the simultaneous determination of eight mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1 & B2, ochratoxin A, toxin T‐2 & HT‐2 and zearalenone) in the animal feed. After extraction the analytes were separated on a Kinetex Biphenyl column with a gradient elution using methanol/0.01 M ammonium acetate as a mobile phase and analyzed with the LC‐MS/MS technique. Both of the procedures were validated by analysis of a series of spiked feed samples (n = 6) at three different concentration levels. Better signal to noise ratios were observed for immunoaffinity clean‐up. The recoveries of analyses were in the range 88–110% for the dilution procedure and 78–120% for the immunoaffinity clean‐up. The dilution procedure was more precise (coefficient of variation of the within‐laboratory reproducibility for it was 7.8–22.4% in comparison to 12–35.5% for the immunoaffinity clean‐up. The results show that both procedures fulfilled the requirements for mycotoxin analysis and can be used successfully in multi‐analyte determination. Although the dilution procedure shows better precision and trueness, the immunoaffinity clean‐up procedure can have advantages in more complex feed samples thanks to lower matrix effect and limits of detections.