Stir bar sorptive extraction for the analysis of wine cork taint

A magnetic stir bar with a polydimethylsiloxane coating was used to absorb 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, 2,3,4,5-tetrachloroanisole, pentachloroanisole and their respective phenols from synthetic and real wine samples. The stir bar sorptive extraction method was optimised to obtain the best extraction conditions in terms of temperature, time, pH and NaCl addition. The stir bar was desorbed in a thermal desorption system coupled to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. The method proposed showed good linearity over the concentration range tested and correlation coefficients ranged from 0.96 to 0.99 for all the analytes. The reproducibility and repeatability of the method was estimated between 1.29 and 4.02%. With no a pre-concentration step and with a much reduced analysis time, all the analyzed compounds showed detection and quantification limits that were lower than those observed with other methods found in the bibliography. Except for pentachlorophenol due to its poor absorptivity in polydimethysiloxane, in red wines, LOD ranged between 7.56 and 61.56 pg/l, and LOQ ranged between 17.21 and 205.11 pg/l; while in white wines, the LOD ranged between 5.82 and 30.50 pg/l and LOQ ranged between 19.41 and 101.61 pg/l. These concentrations were always lower than their respective olfactory thresholds values.     

Stir bar sorptive extraction for central nervous system drugs from biological fluids

A review with 75 references is presented that deals with the reported methods for analysis of some important central nervous system (CNS) drugs in biological fluids utilizing stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technique covering the years from 2000 to 2008. The theoretical aspects of SBSE, as well as an significant number of applications have been published, showing the advantages of this technique over the classical extraction techniques (liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) and solid-phase extraction (SFE). In this review, recent SBSE developments and a focus on the development of new instrumental approaches and sorbent phases are presented.     

Stir bar sorptive extraction coupled to liquid chromatography for the analysis of strobilurin fungicides in fruit samples

A stir bar microextraction (SBSE) procedure for the determination of seven strobilurin fungicides in fruit samples using liquid chromatography (LC) and diode array detection (DAD) has been developed. The samples were sonicated in the presence of ethanol before submitting the extracts to SBSE. The incorporation of drazoxolon as an internal standard before SBSE allowed calibration without the need to use the standard additions method. Under the optimized conditions, detection limits were in the 0.3–2 ng g⁻¹ range, corresponding to trifloxystrobin and metominostrobin, respectively. The SBSE–LC–DAD procedure showed good repeatability (RSD below 11% in all cases) and provided recoveries of 80–105% from spiked samples. The method was applied to fifteen fruit samples, and low levels of pyraclostrobin and trifloxystrobin were found in two of them.     

Development of a carbon‐nanoparticle‐coated stirrer for stir bar sorptive extraction by a simple carbon deposition in flame

Stir bar sorptive extraction is an environmentally friendly microextraction technique based on a stir bar with various sorbents. A commercial stirrer is a good support, but it has not been used in stir bar sorptive extraction due to difficult modification. A stirrer was modified with carbon nanoparticles by a simple carbon deposition process in flame and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry. A three‐dimensional porous coating was formed with carbon nanoparticles. In combination with high‐performance liquid chromatography, the stir bar was evaluated using five polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as model analytes. Conditions including extraction time and temperature, ionic strength, and desorption solvent were investigated by a factor‐by‐factor optimization method. The established method exhibited good linearity (0.01–10 μg/L) and low limits of quantification (0.01 μg/L). It was applied to detect model analytes in environmental water samples. No analyte was detected in river water, and five analytes were quantified in rain water. The recoveries of five analytes in two samples with spiked at 2 μg/L were in the range of 92.2–106% and 93.4–108%, respectively. The results indicated that the carbon nanoparticle‐coated stirrer was an efficient stir bar for extraction analysis of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.     

An alternative method for analysis of food taints using stir bar sorptive extraction

The determination of taints in food products currently can involve the use of several sample extraction techniques, including direct headspace (DHS), steam distillation extraction (SDE) and more recently solid phase microextraction (SPME). Each of these techniques has disadvantages, such as the use of large volumes of solvents (SDE), or limitations in sensitivity (DHS), or have only been applied to date for determination of individual or specific groups of tainting compounds (SPME). The use of stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) has been evaluated as a quantitative screening method for unknown tainting compounds in foods. A range of commonly investigated problem compounds, with a range of physical and chemical properties, were examined. The method was optimised to give the best response for the majority of compounds and the performance was evaluated by examining the accuracy, precision, linearity, limits of detection and quantitation and uncertainties for each analyte.For most compounds SBSE gave the lowest limits of detection compared to steam distillation extraction or direct headspace analysis and in general was better than these established techniques. However, for methyl methacrylate and hexanal no response was observed following stir bar extraction under the optimised conditions.The assays were carried out using a single quadrupole GC-MS in scan mode. A comparison of acquisition modes and instrumentation was performed using standards to illustrate the increase in sensitivity possible using more targeted ion monitoring or a more sensitive high resolution mass spectrometer. This comparison illustrated the usefulness of this approach as an alternative to specialised glassware or expensive instrumentation. SBSE in particular offers a ‘greener’ extraction method by a large reduction in the use of organic solvents and also minimises the potential for contamination from external laboratory sources, which is of particular concern for taint analysis.     

Potentialities of polyurethane foams for trace level analysis of triazinic metabolites in water matrices by stir bar sorptive extraction

Polyurethane (PU) foams were applied for stir bar sorptive extraction of five triazinic metabolites (desethyl-2-hydroxyatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, desethylatrazine, 2-hydroxyatrazine and desethylterbuthylazine) in water matrices, followed by liquid desorption and high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (SBSE(PU)-LD/HPLC-DAD). The optimum conditions for SBSE(PU)-LD were 5 h of extraction (1000 rpm) and 5% (v/v) of methanol for the analysis of desethyl-2-hydroxyatrazine and 2-hydroxyatrazine, 15% (w/v) of sodium chloride for the remaining compounds and acetonitrile as back-extraction solvent (5 mL) under ultrasonic treatment (60 min). The methodology provided recoveries up to 26.3%, remarkable precision (RSD < 2.4%), excellent linear dynamic ranges between 5.0 and 122.1 μg/L (r² > 0.9993) and convenient detection limits (0.4-1.3 μg/L). The proposed method was applied in the analysis of triazinic metabolites in tap, river and ground waters, with remarkable performance and negligible matrix effects. The comparison of the recoveries obtained by PU and commercial stir bars was also performed, where the yields achieved with the former were up to ten times higher proving that PU is appropriate for analysis at trace level of this type of polar compounds in water matrices.     

Dummy molecularly imprinted polymers as the coating of stir bar for sorptive extraction of bisphenol A in tap water

A unique stir bar coated with dummy molecularly imprinted polymers for bisphenol A was prepared by sol-gel technique. The scanning electron microscopic image of the coating presented a homogeneous surface with a thickness of about 57 ± 2.5 μm. The Fourier transform infrared spectrum of the coating proved the incorporating of dummy molecularly imprinted polymers with the sol-gel network. When used to extract bisphenol A from aqueous solution containing bisphenol A and its three analogs (4-tert-butylphenol, 4,4'-dihydroxybiphenyl, and 3,3',5,5'-tetrabromo-bisphenol A). Dummy molecularly imprinted polymers-coated stir bar showed better selectivity than the bars coated with polydimethylsiloxane or non-imprinted polymers. The extraction conditions including stirring speed, pH, and extraction time were optimized. After back extraction with methanol, the extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. The linear range was 0.0228-0.456 ng/mL with correlation coefficient of 0.9994 and the detection limit was about 5.70 × 10(-3) ng/mL based on three times ratio of signal-to-noise. The method was applied to the determination of trace bisphenol A in tap water.     

Simultaneous analysis of parabens in cosmetic products by stir bar sorptive extraction and liquid chromatography

A sensitive and precise stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with LC (SBSE/LC) analysis is described for simultaneous determination of methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl parabens in commercial cosmetic products in agreement with the European Union Cosmetics Directive 76/768/EEC. Important factors in the optimization of SBSE efficiency are discussed, such as time and temperature of extraction, pH, and ionic strength of the sample, matrix effects, and liquid desorption conditions by different modes (magnetic stirring, ultrasonic). The LOQs of the SBSE/LC method ranged from 30 to 200 ng/mg, with linear response over a dynamic range, from the LOQ to 2.5 μg/mg, with a coefficient of determination higher than 0.993. The interday precision of the SBSE/LC method presented a coefficient of variation lower than 5%. The effectiveness of the proposed method was proven for analysis of commercial cosmetic products such as body creams, antiperspirant creams, and sunscreens.     

Simultaneous determination of 64 pesticides in river water by stir bar sorptive extraction and thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for determining 68 pesticides in river water using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE)-thermal desorption (TD)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is described. SBSE sampling was optimized for sample solution pH, salting-out and methanol addition. Although salting-out enhanced the ability of the method to extract most of the pesticides with low absolute recoveries, the absolute recoveries of four pesticides were not improved by salting-out. The detection limits of the method for the pesticides ranged from 0.2 to 20 ng/l. Analyte recoveries from a river water sample spiked with standards at 10 and 100 ng/l were 58.5–132.0% (RSD: 1.8–15.8%) and 61.0–121.3% (RSD: 1.4–20.2%), respectively.     

Analysis of wine primary aroma compounds by stir bar sorptive extraction

Due to the great importance of some primary aroma compounds on wine quality, these compounds which includes terpenes, C₁₃-norisoprenoids and C₆ compounds, have been analyzed by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) followed by a thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The stir bar sorptive extraction method was optimized in terms of temperature, time, pH and NaCl addition. The best SBSE sorption kinetics for the target analytes were obtained after submitting the solutions to 60 °C during 90 min. The addition of sodium chloride did not enhance the volatile extraction. The method proposed showed good linearity over the concentration range tested, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.98 for all the analytes. The reproducibility and repeatability of the method was estimated between 0.22 and 9.11%. The detection and quantification limits of all analytes were lower than their respective olfactory threshold values. The application of this SBSE method revealed that monovarietal white wines were clearly separated by two canonic discriminating functions when grape varieties were used as differentiating variable, the first of which explained 98.4% of the variance. The compounds which contributed most to the differentiation were limonene, linalool, nerolidol and 1-hexanol.     

Development of new polar monolithic coatings for stir bar sorptive extraction

Polar vinyl monomers have been used for the synthesis of several polymer monoliths, to serve as novel coatings for stir bar sorptive extraction; the monovinyl monomers 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate) (PEGMA) were copolymerized with (apolar) divinylbenzene (DVB) and/or pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETRA), both of which are cross‐linking agents. After the optimization of the most important synthesis parameters, which included the ratio between total monomers and porogen, the nature of the porogen, and the monomer ratios, inter alia, three mechanically stable, polar monolithic coatings for stir bar sorptive extraction were obtained that were based on poly(HEMA‐co‐DVB), poly(HEMA‐co‐PETRA), and poly(PEGMA‐co‐PETRA). Thereafter, and in order to evaluate the hydrophilicity of the resulting monoliths, they were applied as materials in the stir bar sorptive extraction of a group of emerging pollutants with a wide range of polarities. The results showed that both the poly(HEMA‐co‐DVB) and poly(PEGMA‐co‐PETRA) materials could be used to extract both polar and nonpolar compounds by stir bar sorptive extraction, in an effective manner. Taking into account the desired chemical and morphological properties, as well as the extraction efficiencies, the poly(PEGMA‐co‐PETRA) material seemed to be a particularly promising monolith for application as a novel coating in stir bar sorptive extraction.     

Development of a new stir bar sorptive extraction method for the determination of medium‐level volatile thiols in wine

A fast, simple, and reliable analytical method for the determination of medium‐level volatile thiols in wines is presented. Stir bar sorptive extraction using ethylene glycol‐silicone coated stir bars has been used in combination with thermal desorption gas chromatography with mass spectrometry for the analysis of 4‐mercapto‐4‐methylpentan‐2‐one, 2‐furanmethanethiol, 3‐mercaptohexyl acetate, and 3‐mercaptohexanol in wine. Optimization of the extraction technique was performed using a two‐level fractional factorial design. For the extraction step, the optimum conditions were: Ethylene glycol and silicone coated stir bars, pH at 3.5, sample volume of 25 mL, extraction time of 90 min, NaCl content 4.0 g, and stirring speed at 500 rpm. The optimized method achieved good linearity for all studied compounds (r² > 0.995) and it provided detection limits of 21.52, 0.36, 0.73, and 2.55 μg/L for 4‐mercapto‐4‐methylpentan‐2‐one, 2‐furanmethanethiol, 3‐mercaptohexyl acetate, and 3‐mercaptohexanol, respectively. It was repeatable, with precisions lower than 18% relative standard deviation for both intraday and interday repeatability. The developed procedure is suitable for the determination of these kinds of compounds when they are present at medium concentration levels. It was finally applied to real wine samples with negative aroma derived from the high concentration levels of these compounds.     

Optimisation of stir bar sorptive extraction for the analysis of volatile phenols in wines

An easy, fast and reliable analytical method is proposed for the determination of the concentration of volatile phenols (ethyl- and vinylphenols) in wines. The novel stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technique is employed, following a simple and fast procedure that allows 15 samples to be extracted simultaneously using very small sample volume. Extracts are desorbed in a thermodesorption system (TDS) coupled on-line to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry system. The SBSE offers better recovery and linear regression coefficient (r2) for the four volatile phenols than solid-phase extraction (SPE). The mass spectrometric detection in selected ion monitoring mode contributes to the lower detection limit and good sensibility obtained with this method.     

Stir bar sorptive extraction with in situ derivatization and thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for determination of chlorophenols in water and body fluid samples

A new method, stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) with in situ derivatization and thermal desorption (TD)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which is used for the determination of trace amounts of chlorophenols, such as 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TrCP), 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,6-TeCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP), in tap water, river water and human urine samples, is described. The derivatization conditions with acetic acid anhydride and the SBSE conditions such as extraction time are investigated. Then, the stir bar is subjected to TD followed by GC-MS. The detection limits of the chlorophenols in tap water, river water and human urine samples are 1-2, 1-2, and 10-20 pg ml⁻¹ (ppt), respectively. The calibration curves for the chlorophenols are linear and have correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. The average recoveries of the chlorophenols in all the samples are higher than 95% (R.S.D. < 10%) with correction using added surrogate standards, 2,4-dichlorophenol-d₅, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol-¹³C₆, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol-¹³C₆ and pentachlorophenol-¹³C₆. This simple, accurate, sensitive and selective analytical method may be applicable to the determination of trace amounts of chlorophenols in liquid samples.     

Evaluation of a method for the simultaneous quantification of N‐nitrosamines in water samples based on stir bar sorptive extraction combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography and diode array detection

A simple, sensitive, and reliable procedure based on stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was applied to simultaneously extract and determine three semipolar nitrosamines including N‐nitrosodibutylamine, N‐nitrosodiphenylamine, and N‐nitrosodicyclohexylamine. To achieve the optimum conditions, the effective parameters on the extraction efficiency including desorption solvent and time, ionic strength of sample, extraction time, and sample volume were systematically investigated. The optimized extraction procedure was carried out by stir bars coated with polydimethylsiloxane. Under optimum extraction conditions, the performance of the proposed method was studied. The linear dynamic range was obtained in the range of 0.95–1000 ng/mL (r = 0.9995), 0.26–1000 ng/mL (r = 0.9988) and both 0.32–100 ng/mL (r = 0.9999) and 100–1000 ng/mL (r = 0.9998) with limits of detection of 0.28, 0.08, and 0.09 ng/mL for N‐nitrosodibutylamine, N‐nitrosodiphenylamine, and N‐nitrosodicyclohexylamine, respectively. The average recoveries were obtained >81%, and the reproducibility of the proposed method presented as intra‐ and interday precision were also found with a relative standard deviation <6%. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of selected nitrosamines in various water and wastewater samples and the obtained results were confirmed using mass spectrometry.     

Development of a stir bar sorptive extraction method for the determination of volatile compounds in orange juices

A stir bar sorptive extraction method for the determination of volatile compounds in orange juices was developed. The extraction variables were optimized using a reduced two‐level factorial screening design (2^5‐1), and the most suitable analytical conditions for the extraction of the studied compounds were: sample volume 10 mL, extraction time 60 min, stirring speed 1800 rpm, NaCl amount 30% (weight/volume), and twister length 10 mm. The optimized method was further validated, obtaining good linearity and detection and quantification limits low enough to correctly determine the studied compounds. As well, for most of the studied compounds precision and recovery values were good. Several orange juice samples (squeezed and commercial) were extracted following the optimized extraction method and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection. The method has proven to be suitable for the determination of the aroma of orange juice, of which limonene was the major volatile compound in all the studied samples.     

Development of selective and chemically stable coating for stir bar sorptive extraction by molecularly imprinted technique

A novel stir bar coated with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as selective extraction phase for sorptive extraction of triazine herbicides was developed. The stir bar was prepared by chemically bonding the MIP to the glass bar to improve its stability. A homogeneous and porous structure was observed on the stir bar surface. Extraction performance shows that the MIP-coated stir bar has stronger affinity to the template molecule terbuthylazine as compared with that of the reference stir bar without addition of template. Owning to the shape and structural compatibility, the obtained stir bar also demonstrated specific selectivity to the structural related-compounds of nine triazines, and thus can be applied to simultaneous determination of these compounds from complex samples coupled with high performance liquid chromatography. Four complex samples with different matrix, including rice, apple, lettuce and soil were used to evaluate this proposed method. The limits of detection obtained are in the range of 0.04-0.12 μg L⁻¹, and the recoveries for the spiked rice, apple, lettuce and soil samples were 80.8-107.7%, 80.6-107.8%, 72.0-109.8% and 89.0-114.8% with RSD from 1.2 to 7.9%, respectively. Moreover, this MIP-coated stir bar was firm, durable and can be prepared simply and reproducibly. The developed coating method would be useful to prepare a range of selective stir bars in order to extend the applicability of stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) in complex sample analysis.     

Development and validation of stir bar sorptive extraction of polar phenols in water followed by HPLC separation in poly(vinylpyrrolididone‐divinylbenzene) monolith

An effective and simple method for polar phenols in water matrix was developed by using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) based on a hydrophilic poly(vinylpyrrolididone‐divinylbenzene) (VPDB) monolithic material and HPLC analysis. To achieve optimum extraction performance for phenols, several parameters, including extraction and desorption time, desorption solvent, pH value, and ionic strength of sample matrix, were investigated. Under the optimized experimental conditions, eight phenols were directly enriched from water samples and analyzed by HPLC‐DAD. The detection limits (S/N = 3) and quantification limits (S/N = 10) of the proposed method for the target compounds were achieved within the range of 0.72–1.37 and 2.40–4.27 ng/mL from spiked water, respectively. Recoveries of eight phenolic compounds were found in the range of 55.2–95.9%. The calibration curves showed the linearity ranging from 5 to 150 ng/mL with linear regression coefficient R² values above 0.98. Method repeatability presented as intra‐ and interday precisions were also found with the RSDs less than 4.10 and 7.61%, respectively. The distribution coefficients between VPDB and water (K_VPDB/W) for phenolic compounds were also calculated and compared with K_O/W. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of the target compounds in tap water, sea water and wastewater samples.     

Spiral stir bar sorptive extraction with polyaniline‐polydimethylsiloxane sol‐gel packings for the analysis of trace estrogens in environmental water and animal‐derived food samples

A spiral stir bar was proposed by using stainless steel spring as the extraction phase carrier to avoid the extraction phase friction and increase the amount of extraction phase for improving extraction efficiency. The extraction phase is filled in the cavity of the spring, resulting in a larger amount of the extraction phase than that conventionally coated on glass stir bar or stainless steel wire. Polyaniline‐polydimethylsiloxane sol‐gel packed spiral stir bar was prepared and evaluated for the extraction of five estrogens. The prepared spiral stir bar presented good extraction efficiency/preparation reproducibility and long lifetime (more than 150 reused times) for target estrogens. Based on it, a method of spiral stir bar sorptive extraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultra‐violet detection was developed for the analysis of trace estrogens in environmental and food samples. The detection limit for five estrogens was 0.11–.31 µg/L, with the enrichment factors of 83.0–118‐fold (maximal enrichment factor: 200‐fold). The reproducibility evaluated with each estrogen of 5 µg/L (n = 5) was 5.8–8.9%. The method was successfully applied for the determination of estrogens in environmental water and animal‐derived food samples.     

Stir bar sorptive extraction with in situ derivatization and thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for trace analysis of methylmercury and mercury(II) in water sample

A method for the trace analysis of methylmercury (MeHg) and Hg(II) in water sample was developed, which involved stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) with in situ alkylation with sodium tetraethylborate and thermal desorption (TD)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The limits of quantification of MeHg and Hg(II) are 20 and 10 ng L⁻¹ (Hg), respectively. The method shows good linearity and the correlation coefficients are higher than 0.999. The average recoveries of MeHg and Hg(II) in tap or river water sample are 102.1-104.3% (R.S.D.: 7.0-8.9%) and 105.3-106.2% (R.S.D.: 7.4-8.5%), respectively. This simple, accurate, sensitive, and selective analytical method may be used in the determination of trace amounts of MeHg and Hg(II) in tap and river water samples.