A new liquid-phase microextraction method based on solidification of floating organic drop

In the present study, a new and versatile liquid-phase microextraction method is described. This method requires very simple and cheap apparatus and also a small amount of organic solvent. Eight microliters of 1-undecanol was delivered to the surface of solution containing analytes and solution was stirred for a desired time. Then sample vial was cooled by inserting it into an ice bath for 5 min. The solidified 1-undecanol was transferred into a suitable vial and immediately melted; then, 2 μL of it was injected into a gas chromatograph for analysis.Some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were used as model compounds for developing and evaluating of the method performance. Analysis was carried out by gas chromatography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID).Several factors influencing the microextraction efficiency, such as the nature and volume of organic solvent, the temperature and volume of sample solution, stirring rate and extraction time were investigated and optimized. The applicability of the technique was evaluated by determination of trace amounts of PAHs in environmental samples. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits (LOD) of the method were in the range of 0.07-1.67 μg L⁻¹ and relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) for 10 μg L⁻¹ PAHs were <7%. A good linearity (r² > 0.995) in a calibration range of 0.25-300.00 μg L⁻¹ was obtained. After 30 min extraction duration, enrichment factors were in the range of 594-1940. Finally, the proposed method was applied to the determination of trace amounts of PAHs in several real water samples, and satisfactory results were resulted. Since very simple devices were used, this new technique is affordable, efficient, and convenient for extraction and determination of low concentrations of PAHs in water samples.