Preparation of stir cake sorptive extraction based on polymeric ionic liquid for the enrichment of benzimidazole anthelmintics in water,honey and milk samples

In this work, a new stir cake sorptive extraction (SCSE) using polymeric ionic liquid monolith as sorbent was prepared. The sorbent was obtained by in situ copolymerization of an ionic liquid, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoro methyl)sulfonyl]imide (AMII) and divinylbenzene (DB) in the presence of N,N-dimethylformamide. The influence of the content of ionic liquid and the porogen in the polymerization mixture on extraction performance was studied thoroughly. The physicochemical properties of the polymeric ionic liquid were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The usefulness of SCSE–AMIIDB was demonstrated by the enrichment of trace benzimidazole anthelmintics. Several parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated, and under the optimized conditions, a simple and effective method for the determination of trace benzimidazoles residues in water, milk and honey samples was established by coupling SCSE–AMIIDB with high performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection (SCSE–AMIIDB–HPLC/DAD). Results indicated that the limits of detection (S/N = 3) for target compounds were 0.020–0.072 μg L⁻¹, 0.035–0.10 μg L⁻¹ and 0.026–0.076 μg L⁻¹ in water, milk and honey samples, respectively. In addition, an acceptable reproducibility was achieved by evaluating the repeatability and intermediate precision with relative standard deviations (RSD) of less than 9% and 11%, respectively. Finally, the established AMII–SCSE–HPLC/DAD method was successfully applied for the determination of benzimidazoles residues in milk, honey and environmental water samples. Recoveries obtained for the determination of benzimidazole anthelmintics in spiking samples ranged from 70.2% to 117.6%, with RSD below 12% in all cases.     

Sensitive determination of four camptothecins by solid-phase microextraction-HPLC based on a boronic acid contained polymer monolithic layer

Camptothecin (CPT) and its derivative have been revealed to possess special anti-cancer activity, extraction methods are necessary for trace determination of CPTs in complex samples. In this work, we prepared a high efficient boronic acid-based polymer monolithic layer for microextraction of CPTs. A disposable membrane filter-based extraction device was developed, and boronic acid groups were co-polymerized into a polyporous polymer skeleton and served as the monolithic sorbent. The prepared poly(4-VB-MA-TRIM) showed good stability and great extraction efficiency toward four CPTs. After optimization of extraction conditions, poly(4-VB-MA-TRIM)-based solid-phase microextraction was coupled HPLC for determination of CPTs in biological samples. The method exhibited low limits of detection of 0.05–0.2 ng mL⁻¹, which is significantly more sensitive than reported HPLC methods. The method also showed wide linear range (0.1–100 and 0.5–200 ng mL⁻¹), good linearity (R² ≥ 0.9981) and good reproducibility (RSD ≤3.76%). The method has been applied in plasma samples, with good selectivity and good recoveries ranging from 85.1 to 104.7%.     

Fabric phase sorptive extraction: A new sorptive microextraction technique for the determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from environmental water samples

Fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) is a new, yet very promising member of the sorbent-based sorptive microextraction family. It has simultaneously improved both the extraction sensitivity and the speed of the extraction by incorporating high volume of sol–gel hybrid inorganic–organic sorbents into permeable fabric substrates. The advantages of FPSE have been investigated for the determination of four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen and diclofenac, in environmental water samples in combination with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Initially, the significance of several parameters affecting FPSE: sorbent chemistry, matrix pH and ionic strength were investigated using a mixed level factorial design (3¹ × 2²). Then, other important parameters e.g., sample volume, extraction kinetics, desorption time and volume were also carefully studied and optimized. Due to the high sorbent loading on the FPSE substrate in the form of ultra-thin coating and the open geometry of the microextraction device, higher mass transfer of the target analytes occurs at a faster rate, leading to high enrichment factors in a relatively short period of time (equilibrium times: 45–100 min). Under optimal operational conditions, the limits of detection (S/N = 3) were found to be in the range of 0.8 ng L⁻¹ to 5 ng L⁻¹. The enrichment factors ranged from 162 to 418 with absolute extraction efficiencies varied from 27 to 70%, and a good trueness (82–116% relative recoveries) indicating that the proposed method can be readily deployed to routine environmental pollution monitoring. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of target analytes in two influent and effluent samples from a wastewater treatment plant and two river water samples in Spain.     

Three-layer structure graphene/mesoporous silica composites incorporated with C8-modified interior pore-walls for residue analysis of glucocorticoids in milk by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Three-layer structure graphene/mesoporous silica composites incorporated with C8-modified interior pore-walls (graphene@mSiO₂-C8) were prepared and applied for efficient extraction of glucocorticoid residuals in milk followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) analysis. The graphene@mSiO₂-C8 nanocomposites were synthesized by coating C8-modified mesoporous silica onto hydrophilic graphene nanosheets through a simple surfactant-mediated co-condensation sol–gel process. The obtained nanosheets possess unique properties of large surface area (632 m²/g), extended plate-like morphology in the exterior surface, highly open pore structure with uniform pore size (2.8 nm), numerous C8-modified interior pore-walls, as well as good water dispersibility. The performance of the prepared graphene@mSiO₂-C8 materials for extracting small hydrophobic molecules directly from complex protein-rich samples was evaluated by analysis of glucocorticoids in milk. Extraction conditions such as sorbents amount, type and volume of eluting solvent, time of adsorption and desorption were investigated and optimized to achieve the best efficiency. Method validations including linearity, recovery, repeatability, and limit of detection (LOD) were also studied. The results indicated that this methodology provided low LOD (S/N = 3, 0.0075–0.03 ng mL⁻¹) and good linearity (0.03–60 ng mL⁻¹, R² > 0.996) for glucocorticoids. Satisfactory reusability and stability were also obtained during the extraction. Finally, the graphene@mSiO₂-C8 composites were successfully applied to the extraction and residue analysis of glucocorticoids in real milk samples. The experimental results showed that this novel approach offered an attractive choice for convenient, efficient and rapid solid-phase extraction of targeted hydrophobic compounds in biological samples.     

Dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction of benzodiazepines from biological fluids based on polyaniline/magnetic nanoparticles composite

In this study, diverse types of Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites modified by polyaniline, polypyrrole, and aniline–pyrrole copolymer were synthesized through chemical oxidative polymerization process for dispersive-μ-solid phase extraction (D-μ-SPE) in the presence of various dopants. The results showed that the nanocomposite modified by polyaniline with p-toluene sulfonic acid as a dopant demonstrated higher extraction efficiency for lorazepam (LRZ) and nitrazepam (NRZ). Also the synthesized magnetic sorbents were characterized. The nanocomposite sorbent in combination with high performance liquid chromatography–UV detection was applied for the extraction, preconcentration and determination of lorazepam and nitrazepam in urine and plasma samples. Different parameters influencing the extraction efficiency including: sample pH, amount of sorbent, sorption time, elution solvent and its volume, salt content, and elution time were optimized. The obtained optimal conditions were: sample pH, 6; amount of sorbent, 5 mg; sorption time, 5.0 min; elution solvent and its volume, 0.5 mM cethyltrimethyl ammonium bromide in acetonitrile, 150 μL; elution time, 2.0 min and without addition of NaCl. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 1–2000 μg L⁻¹. The limits of detection (LODs) were achieved in the range of 0.5–1.8 μg L⁻¹ for NRZ and 0.2–2.0 μg L⁻¹ for LRZ, respectively. The percent of extraction recoveries and relative standard deviations (n = 5) were in the range of 84.0–99.0, 6.1–7.8 for NRZ and 90.0–99.0, 4.1–7.0 for LRZ, respectively. Ultimately, the applicability of the method was successfully confirmed by the extraction and determination of NRZ and LRZ in human urine and plasma samples.     

Determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples by solid-phase extraction using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as adsorbent coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method was developed for the determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental water samples. Several condition parameters, such as extraction adsorbents, elution solvents and volumes, and sample loading flow rate and volume were optimized to obtain high SPE recoveries and extraction efficiency. 150 mg MWCNTs as sorbent presented high extraction efficiency of 16 PAHs due to the large specific surface area and high adsorption capacity of MWCNTs compared with the commercial C18 column (250 mg/2 mL). The calibration curves of 16 PAHs extracted were linear in the range of 20–5000 ng L⁻¹, with the correlation coefficients (r²) between 0.9848 and 0.9991. The method attained good precisions (relative standard deviation, RSD) from 1.2% to 12.1% for standard PAHs aqueous solutions; method recoveries ranged in 76.0–125.5%, 74.5–127.0%, and 70.0–122.0% for real spiked samples from river water, tap water and seawater, respectively. Limits of detection (LODs, S/N = 3) of the method were determined from 2.0 to 8.5 ng L⁻¹. The optimized method was successfully applied to the determination of 16 PAHs in real environmental water samples.     

Simple and sensitive monitoring of sulfonamide veterinary residues in milk by stir bar sorptive extraction based on monolithic material and high performance liquid chromatography analysis

A simple, rapid, and sensitive method for the quantitative monitoring of five sulfonamide antibacterial residues (SAs) in milk was developed by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupling to high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The analytes were concentrated by SBSE based on poly (vinylimidazole–divinylbenzene) monolithic material as coating. The extraction procedure was very simple, milk was diluted with water then directly sorptive extraction without elimination of fats and protein in samples was required. To achieve optimum extraction performance for SAs, several parameters, including extraction and desorption time, desorption solvent, ionic strength and pH value of sample matrix were investigated. Under the optimized experimental conditions, low detection limits (S/N = 3) quantification limits (S/N = 10) of the proposed method for the target compounds were achieved within the range of 1.30–7.90 ng/mL and 4.29–26.3 ng/mL from spiked milk, respectively. Good linearities were obtained for SAs with the correlation coefficients (R²) above 0.996. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of SAs compounds in different milk samples and satisfied recoveries of spiked target compounds in real samples were obtained.     

Single-step extraction and cleanup of bisphenol A in soft drinks by hemimicellar magnetic solid phase extraction prior to liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

Hemimicelles of tetradecanoate chemisorbed onto magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are here proposed as a sorbent for the single-step extraction and cleanup of bisphenol A (BPA) in soft drinks. The purpose of this work was to develop a simple, rapid and low-cost sample treatment suitable to assess the human exposure to BPA from this type of high consumption food. The nanoparticles were easily coated by mixing commercially available magnetite of 20–30 nm mean particle diameter with tetradecanoate at 85 °C for 30 min. The extraction/cleanup procedure involved stirring the samples (3 mL) with 200 mg of tetradecanoate-coated MNPs for 20 min, isolating the sorbent with a Nd–Fe–B magnet and eluting BPA with methanol. The extraction efficiency was not influenced by salt concentrations up to 1 M and pH values over the range 4–9. No cleanup of the extracts was needed, and the method proved matrix-independent. The extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Quantitation was performed by internal standard calibration using BPA-¹³C₁₂. The limit of quantitation obtained for the method, 0.03 ng mL⁻¹, was below the usual range of concentrations reported for BPA in soft drinks (0.1–3.4 ng mL⁻¹). The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of BPA in different samples acquired from various supermarkets in southern Spain; the concentrations found ranged from 0.066 to 1.08 ng mL⁻¹. Recoveries from samples spiked with 0.33 ng mL⁻¹ of BPA ranged from 91% to 105% with relative standard deviations from 3% to 8%.     

Determination of organic priority pollutants and emerging compounds in wastewater and snow samples using multiresidue protocols on the basis of microextraction by packed sorbents coupled to large volume injection gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis

This paper describes the development and validation of a new procedure for the simultaneous determination of 41 multi-class priority and emerging organic pollutants in water samples using microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) followed by large volume injection–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (LVI–GC–MS). Apart from method parameter optimization the influence of humic acids as matrix components on the extraction efficiency of MEPS procedure was also evaluated. The list of target compounds includes polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phthalate esters (PEs), nonylphenols (NPs), bisphenol A (BPA) and selected steroid hormones. The performance of the new at-line microextraction-LVI–GC–MS protocol was compared to standard solid-phase extraction (SPE) and LVI–GC–MS analysis. LODs for 100 mL samples (SPE) ranged from 0.2 to 736 ng L⁻¹ were obtained. LODs for 800 μL of sample (MEPS) were between 0.2 and 266 ng L⁻¹. In the case of MEPS methodology even a sample volume of only 800 μL allowed to detect the target compounds. These results demonstrate the high sensitivity of both procedures which permitted to obtain good recoveries (>75%) for all cases. The precision of the methods, calculated as relative standard deviation (RSD) was below 21% for all compounds and both methodologies. Finally, the developed methods were applied to the determination of target analytes in various samples, including snow and wastewater.     

Multiresidue determination of pesticides from aquatic media using polyaniline nanowires network as highly efficient sorbent for microextraction in packed syringe

A simple, rapid and sensitive method based on microextraction in packed syringe (MEPS), in combination with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was developed. Polyaniline (PANI) nanowires network was synthesized and used as sorbent of MEPS for the multiresidue determination of selected analytes from triazine, organochlrorine and organophosphorous pesticides in aqueous samples. The PANI nanowires network was prepared using soft template technique and its characterization was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of micelles in this methodology showed to be an important parameter in shaping the growing polymer. Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) was used as structure directing agent in PANI preparation procedure and this was led to the formation of nanowires with diameters ranging from 35 nm to 45 nm. The synthesized PANI nanowires network showed higher extraction capability in comparison with the bulk PANI. Important parameters influencing the extraction and desorption processes including desorption solvent, elution volume, draw–eject cycles of sample, draw–eject mode, pH effect and amount of sorbent were optimized. Limits of detection were in the range of 0.07–0.3 ng mL⁻¹ using time scheduled selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The linearity of method was in the range from 0.5–200 ng mL⁻¹ to 0.2–1000 ng mL⁻¹. The method precision (RSD %) with three replicates were in the range of 5.3–18.4% at the concentration level of 5 ng mL⁻¹. The developed method was successfully applied to the Zayandeh-rood river water samples and the matrix factor obtained for the spiked real water samples were in the range of 0.79–0.94.     

Molecularly imprinted nano particles combined with miniaturized homogenous liquid–liquid extraction for the selective extraction of loratadine in plasma and urine samples followed by high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detection

In this work a molecularly imprinted polymer was developed as a selective sorbent for extraction of loratadine (as a model) in complex matrices followed by miniaturized homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction (MHLLE) for the first time. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) which is based on loratadine as the template was synthesized successfully by precipitation polymerization and was used as a selective sorbent. This technique was applied for preconcentration, sample preparation, and determination of loratadine using high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detection (HPLC-PDA). Optimization of various parameters affecting molecular imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE), such as pH of adsorption, composition and volume of eluent, adsorption and desorption times were investigated. Besides, in the subsequent stage (MHLLE) the type and volume of extraction solvent, sodium hydroxide amount, surfactant concentration, and extraction time were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal condition, maximum enrichment capacity and Langmuir constant were 91 mg g⁻¹ and 0.014 L mg⁻¹, respectively. Furthermore, enrichment factor and extraction recovery of MIP-MHLLE method were 30 and 90%, respectively. The LOD of the proposed method was 0.2 μg L⁻¹ and a linear dynamic range of 1–1000 μg L⁻¹ was obtained with correlation coefficient of greater than 0.998. The present method was applied for extraction and determination of loratadine in plasma and urine samples in μg L⁻¹ levels and satisfactory results were achieved (RSD <8% based on three replicate measurements).     

Determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in serum and urine by headspace solid-phase dynamic extraction combined with gas chromatography–positive chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid is an emerging drug of abuse. Beside relaxation and euphoria it causes hypnosis and unconsciousness. Therefore the substance is misused as recreational drug and at drug-facilitated sexual assaults. An automated and effortless method for quantitation of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in serum and urine was optimized and validated. Five hundred microliters sample volume are used for both matrices. The acid catalyzed conversion of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid to the corresponding gamma-butyrolactone is applied. Furthermore the method is based on headspace solid-phase dynamic extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The extraction process is performed by repeated aspiration and ejection of the headspace through a steel cannula which is coated on the inside with a polydimethylsiloxane sorbent. Thus absorption of analyte molecules by the sorbent is achieved. The influence of parameters as sorbent type, incubation temperature, number of extraction strokes, injection port temperature and injection flow speed on extraction recovery was investigated. The validation revealed good accuracy with a bias less than ±5%. Intra- and interday precision determined at 10, 50 and 150 μg/ml for each matrix were in following ranges: 1.96–3.49% (intraday, serum), 2.38–4.31% (intraday, urine), 2.33–5.13% (interday, serum) and 2.53–5.64% (interday, urine). The method provided good linearity between 2 and 200 μg/ml yielding coefficients of determination R² ≥ 0.9985. Limit of detection were determined at 0.16 μg/ml for serum and 0.17 μg/ml for urine, respectively. This method exhibits a fast, solvent-free and widely automated extraction process. It has been applied to toxicological routine analysis and therapeutic drug monitoring successfully.     

An electrochemically enhanced solid-phase microextraction approach based on molecularly imprinted polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotubes composite coating for selective extraction of fluoroquinolones in aqueous samples

In this study, an electrochemically enhanced solid-phase microextraction (EE-SPME) approach based on molecularly imprinted polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MIPPy/MWCNTs) composite coating on Pt wire was developed for selective extraction of fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) in aqueous samples. During the extraction, a direct current potential was applied to the MIPPy/MWCNTs/Pt fiber as working electrode in a standard three-electrode system, FQ ions suffered electrophoretic transfer to the coating surface and then entered into the shape-complimentary cavities by hydrogen-bonding and ion-exchange interactions. After EE-SPME extraction, the fiber was desorbed with desorption solvent for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Some parameters influencing EE-SPME extraction such as applied potential, extraction time, solution pH, ionic strength, and desorption solvent were optimized. EE-SPME showed good selectivity and higher extraction efficiency to FQs compared with that of traditional solid-phase microextraction. EE-SPME coupled with HPLC to determine FQs in water samples, the limits of detection (S/N = 3) for the selected FQs are 0.5–1.9 μg L⁻¹. The proposed method was successfully used to the analysis of FQs spiked urine and soil samples, with recoveries of 85.1–94.2% for the urine samples and 89.8–95.5% for the soil samples.     

Continuous solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry determination of pharmaceuticals and hormones in water samples

A semi-automatic flow-based method for the simultaneous determination of 9 pharmaceuticals and 3 hormones in water samples in a single analytical run is proposed. The analytes were retained on a solid-phase extraction sorbent column and 1 μL of the eluate analysed by gas chromatography in combination with electron impact ionization mass spectrometry in the SIM mode. The sorbent used, Oasis-HLB, provided near-quantitative recovery of all analytes. The proposed method was validated with quite good analytical results including low limits of detection (0.01–0.06 ng L⁻¹ for 100 mL of water) and good linearity (r² > 0.993) throughout the studied concentration ranges. The method provided good accuracy (recoveries of 85–103%) and precision (between- and within-day RSD values less than 7%) in the determination of the pharmaceuticals and hormones in tap, river, pond, well, swimming pool and wastewater.     

A self-assembly pipette tip graphene solid-phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography for the determination of three sulfonamides in environmental water

A sensitive, economical, and miniaturized self-assembly pipette tip graphene solid-phase extraction (PT-G-SPE) coupled with liquid chromatography fluorescence detection (LC-FD) was developed for rapid extraction and determination of three sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) in environmental water samples. The PT-G-SPE cartridge, assembled by packing 1.0 mg of graphene as sorbent into a 100 μL pipette tip, showed high adsorption capacity for the SAs owing to the large surface area and unique structure of graphene. The factors that affected the extraction efficiency of PT-G-SPE, including sample volume, pH, sorbent amount, washing solvent and eluent solvent were optimized. Good linearity for SAs was obtained in a range of 2–4000 pg mL⁻¹ with correlation coefficients (r²) ≥ 0.9993. The recoveries of the SAs at three spiked levels ranged from 90.4% to 108.2% with relative standard deviations (RSD) ≤ 6.3%. In comparison with other sorbents such as C₁₈, HLB, SCX, PCX, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes, one advantage of using graphene as sorbent of pipette tip solid-phase extraction (PT-SPE) was that PT-G-SPE could adsorb larger sample volume (10 mL) at a small amount of sorbent (1 mg) and low solvent consumption with good extraction efficiency, which not only increased the fraction of analytes to LC and the sensitivity of SAs determination, but also reduced the cost and pollution.     

Preconcentration sensitive determination of pyrethroid insecticides in environmental water samples with solid phase extraction with SiO2 microspheres cartridge prior to high performance liquid chromatography

Present study developed a new method for the sensitive determination of pyrethroid insecticides with solid phase extraction in combination with high performance liquid chromatography and UV detector. SiO₂ microspheres, a new SiO₂ based material, was investigated for the enrichment ability and applicability as the solid phase extraction sorbent. Four pyrethroid pesticides such as fenpropathrin, cyhalothrin, fenvalevate and biphenthrin were used as the target analytes. Parameters that maybe influence the extraction efficiency such as the eluent type and its volume, sample flow rate, sample pH, and the sample volume were optimized in detail, and the optimal conditions were as followed: sample volume, 100 mL; concentration of methanol, 30%; acetone volume, 5 mL; sample flow rate, 4.2 mL min⁻¹; sample pH, 7. The experimental results indicated that there was good linearity in the concentration range of 0.1–50 μg L⁻¹ except biphenthrin in the range of 0.05–25 μg L⁻¹. The detection limits for fenpropathrin, cyhalothrin, fenvalevate and biphenthrin were in the range of 0.02–0.08 μg L⁻¹. The intra-day and day to day precisions (RSDs, n = 6) were in the ranges of 2.6–4.4% and 5.3–7.2%, respectively. The method was validated with five real environmental water samples, and all these results proved that proposed method could be used as a good alternative for the routine analysis for such pollutants in environmental samples.     

Development of hyperbranched polymers with non-covalent interactions for extraction and determination of aflatoxins in cereal samples

A novel approach for assembling homogeneous hyperbranched polymers based on non-covalent interactions with aflatoxins was developed; the polymers were used to evaluate the extraction of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2) in simulant solutions. The results showed that the extraction efficiencies of three kinds of synthesized polymers for the investigated analytes were not statistically different; as a consequence, one of the representative polymers (polymer I) was used as the solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent to evaluate the influences of various parameters, such as desorption conditions, pH, ionic strength, concentration of methanol in sample solutions, and the mass of the sorbent on the extraction efficiency. In addition, the extraction efficiencies for these aflatoxins were compared between the investigated polymer and the traditional sorbent C18. The results showed that the investigated polymer had superior extraction efficiencies. Subsequently, the proposed polymer for the SPE packing material was employed to enrich and analyze four aflatoxins in the cereal powder samples. The limits of detection (LODs) at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of 3 were in the range of 0.012–0.120 ng g⁻¹ for four aflatoxins, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) calculated at S/N = 10 were from 0.04 to 0.40 ng g⁻¹ for four aflatoxins. The recoveries of four aflatoxins from cereal powder samples were in the range of 82.7–103% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 10%. The results demonstrate the suitability of the SPE approach for the analysis of trace aflatoxins in cereal powder samples.     

Ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of six resorcylic acid lactones in bovine milk

This work reports a rapid, reliable and sensitive multi-residue method for the simultaneous determination of six resorcylic acid lactones in bovine milk by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS). The resorcylic acid lactones were extracted, purified, and concentrated from milk samples in one step using a solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge that contained a polymeric mixed-mode anion-exchange sorbent. The analysis was performed on a Waters Acquity BEH C₁₈ column utilizing a gradient elution profile. Each LC run was completed in 3.5 min. The analytes were detected by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using electrospray ionization (ESI) negative mode. Mean recoveries from fortified samples ranged from 92.6% to 112.5%, with relative standard deviations lower than 11.4%. Using 5 mL bovine milk, the limits of detection and quantification for resorcylic acid lactones were in the ranges of 0.01–0.05 and 0.05–0.2 μg/L, respectively. The application of this newly developed method was demonstrated by analyzing bovine milk samples from markets.     

Determination of polycyclic and nitro musks in environmental water samples by means of microextraction by packed sorbents coupled to large volume injection-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis

In this work the development and validation of a new procedure for the simultaneous determination of 9 nitro and polycyclic musk compounds: musk ambrette (MA), musk ketone (MK), musk mosken (MM), celestolide (ADBI), phantolide (AHMI), tonalide (AHTN), traseolide (ATII), cashmeran (DPMI) and galaxolide (HHCB) in environmental water samples (estuarine and wastewater) using microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) followed by large volume injection-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (LVI-GC–MS) was carried out. Apart from the optimization of the different variables affecting MEPS (i.e., nature of the sorbent, nature of the solvent elution, sample load, and elution/injection volume) extraction recovery was also evaluated, not only for water samples but also for environmental water matrices such as estuarine and waste water. The use of two deuterated analogs ([²H₃]-AHTN and [²H₁₅]-MX) was successfully evaluated in order to correct matrix effect in complex environmental matrices such as influent samples from wastewater treatment plants. Method detection limits (MDLs) ranged from 5 to 25 ng L⁻¹, 7 to 39 ng L⁻¹ and 8 to 84 ng L⁻¹ for influent, effluent and estuarine samples, respectively. Apparent recoveries were higher than 75% for all target compounds in all the matrices studied (estuarine water and wastewater) and the precision of the method, calculated as relative standard deviation (RSD), was below 13.2% at 200 ng L⁻¹ concentration level and below 14.9% at low level (20 ng L⁻¹ for all the target analytes, except for AHTN which was set at 40 ng L⁻¹ and HHCB at 90 ng L⁻¹, due to the higher MDL values presented by those target compounds). Finally, this MEPS procedure was applied to the determination of the target analytes in water samples, including estuarine and wastewater, from two estuaries, Urdaibai (Spain) and Adour (France) and an established stir-bar sorptive extraction-liquid desorption/large volume injection-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SBSE-LD/LVI-GC–MS) method was performed in parallel for comparison. Results were in good agreement for all the analytes determined, except for DPMI.