Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with online preconcentration MEKC for the determination of some phenoxyacetic acids in drinking water

A fast and simple technique composed of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and online preconcentration MEKC with diode array detection was developed for the determination of four phenoxyacetic acids, 2,4,5‐trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,6‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 4‐chlorophenoxyacetic acid, in drinking water. The four phenoxyacetic acids were separated in reversed‐migration MEKC to the baseline. About 145‐fold increases in detection sensitivity were observed with online concentration strategy, compared with standard hydrodynamic injection (5 s at 25 mbar pressure). LODs ranged from 0.002 to 0.005 mg/L using only the online preconcentration procedures without any offline concentration of the extract. A DLLME procedure was used in combination with the proposed online preconcentration strategies, which achieved the determination of analytes at limits of quantification ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 μg/kg, which is far lower than the maximum residue limits established by China. The satisfactory recoveries obtained by DLMME spiked at two levels ranged from 67.2 to 99.4% with RSD <15%, making this proposed method suitable for the determination of phenoxyacetic acids in water samples.