Headspace solvent microextraction of trihalomethane compounds into a single drop

Headspace solvent microextraction (HSME) into a single drop is developed for the determination of six trihalomethanes, CH2Cl2, CHCl3, C4H9Cl, CCl4, C2HCl3, and C2Cl4, in aqueous solution. A drop of benzyl alcohol containing bromoform, as an internal standard, is used for extraction. The analytes are extracted by suspending a 3-microL drop directly from the needle of a microsyringe. The needle passes through the septum of a vessel, and the needle tip appears above the surface of the solution. After the prescribed extraction time, the drop is drawn back into the syringe. The syringe is then removed, and its content is injected directly into a gas chromatography column for analysis. The main parameters affecting the HSME process, such as stirring speed, microdrop volume, sample solution temperature, microsyringe needle temperature, sample volume, solution pH, extracting solvent, and ionic strength of the solution, are studied. Also, the linear range and precision of the method are examined.     

Headspace solid phase microextraction for the analysis of the new antifouling agents Irgarol 1051 and Sea Nine 211 in natural waters

A simple and rapid extraction method based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) has been developed for the analysis of two antifouling agents, currently licensed for use in marine antifouling paints. Irgarol 1051 and Sea Nine 211 were extracted from aqueous solutions using polydimethylsiloxane-divinylbenzene (PDMS-DVB) 65 μm fiber and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with flame thermionic, electron capture and mass spectrometric detection. The extraction time, addition of Na₂SO₄ and the influence of organic matter, such as humic acid on extraction efficiency were examined in order to achieve a sensitive method. The optimized procedure was applied to spiked natural waters, such as sea water, river water and lake water in a concentration range of 0.5-50 μg l⁻¹ in order to obtain the analytical characteristics. The linear calibration curve obtained (R²>0.990) for both analytes indicate that the presence of interfering compounds had no significant effect due to the high affinity of both analytes to the PDMS-DVB 65 μm fiber coating. Recoveries were in relatively high levels over >82% in all types of natural waters. The limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.002 to 0.030 μg l⁻¹, depending on the detector and the compound investigated, with relative standard deviations in the range of 3-12% at all concentration levels tested. Finally, the proposed method was applied in real water samples from different marinas of Epirus region (NW Greece) in order to investigate its performance in precise and routine environmental analysis.     

An ionic liquid as a solvent for headspace single drop microextraction of chlorobenzenes from water samples

A headspace single-drop microextraction (HS-SDME) procedure using room temperature ionic liquid and coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography capable of quantifying trace amounts of chlorobenzenes in environmental water samples is proposed. A Plackett-Burman design for screening was carried out in order to determine the significant experimental conditions affecting the HS-SDME process (namely drop volume, aqueous sample volume, stirring speed, ionic strength, extraction time and temperature), and then a central composite design was used to optimize the significant conditions. The optimum experimental conditions found from this statistical evaluation were: a 5 μL microdrop of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, exposed for 37 min to the headspace of a 10 mL aqueous sample placed in a 15 mL vial, stirred at 1580 rpm at room temperature and containing 30% (w/v) NaCl. The calculated calibration curves gave a high level of linearity for all target analytes with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.9981 and 0.9997. The repeatability of the proposed method, expressed as relative standard deviation, varied between 1.6 and 5.1% (n = 5). The limits of detection ranged between 0.102 and 0.203 μg L⁻¹. Matrix effects upon extraction were evaluated by analysing spiked tap and river water as well as effluent water samples originating from a municipal wastewater treatment plant.     

微滴液相微萃取技术用于气相色谱-质谱法分析药品中的酞酸酯和对羟基苯甲酸酯

用微滴液相微萃取(SDME)与气相色谱-离子阱质谱联用测定药品中的酞酸酯和对羟基苯甲酸酯。考察了萃取溶剂的种类及用量、微液滴在样品溶液中的深度、萃取时间及搅拌子的搅拌速度对微滴液相微萃取效果的影响。优化的萃取条件:萃取溶剂为1.5 μL甲苯,微液滴在样品溶液中的深度为0.8 cm,搅拌子的搅拌速度为1000 r/min,萃取时间为20 min。该方法的线性范围为0.032~80 mg/L,检出限为0.6 μg/L~1.28 mg/L,加标回收率为95.85%~148.85%,相对标准偏差为3.9%~14.9%。     

Efficient hydrophobization and solvent microextraction for determination of trace nano-sized silver and titanium dioxide in natural waters

Hydrophobic silver and titanium (IV) oxide nanoparticles (commercial Ag and TiO₂ NPs with average particle sizes of 17 and 19 nm, respectively) were quantitatively transferred into organic phase in natural water samples. Five NP surface modification and solvent extraction agents (reagents) types, mercaptocarboxylic acid, alkylamine, mediator solvent, extraction solvent, and surfactant, were investigated and optimized with three-level orthogonal array design (OAD), an OA₂₇ (3¹³) matrix. The most favorable reagents and experimental conditions were then examined. The best extraction efficiencies of 78.6 and 73.7% were obtained for 1 mg L⁻¹ citrate-stabilized Ag and TiO₂ NPs, respectively, with 0.5 mM of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, 1.5 mM of octadecylamine, 1 mL of methanol, 150 μL of cyclohexane, 0.05 mM of tetra-n-octylammonium bromide, pH = 8.0, adsorption time of 2 h, sonication time of 3 min, and centrifugation time of 10 min. Enrichment factors were 97 and 83, for Ag and TiO₂ NPs, respectively. The optimum extraction conditions were successfully applied to genuine water samples at spiking levels of 2–100 μg L⁻¹ of Ag and TiO₂ NPs. The relative recoveries of (69.0–85.1)% and (61.5–78.5)% were obtained for Ag and TiO₂ NPs, respectively. The extracted surface-modified NPs were characterized with transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray, ultraviolet–visible, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic techniques. Based on the results, efficient ligand exchange and acid–base pair formation were observed on the NP surface without significant change in its original properties. The organic phase was microwave digested, and analyzed with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) optical emission spectroscopy and ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Detection limits of ICP-MS analyses of Ag and TiO₂ NPs were 0.02 and 0.07 μg L⁻¹, respectively.     

Microwave assisted headspace controlled-temperature single drop microextraction for liquid chromatographic determination of chlorophenols in aqueous samples

We report on an efficient one-step sample preconcentration technique by coupling microwave heating and cloud vapor zone (CVZ)-based headspace controlled-temperature single drop microextraction (HS-CT-SDME), and its application to headspace extraction of chlorophenols in aqueous solutions. Microwave irradiation is utilized to accelerate evaporation of analytes into the headspace sampling zone for the direct extraction of aqueous chlorophenols. A microdrop of extractant is suspended at the bottom of a bell-mouthed micropipette tip connected to a microsyringe needle. An external cooling system was adopted to control the formation of the CVZ around the SDME tip in the headspace sampling area. In the CVZ procedure, the warm headspace vapor is quickly cooled near the SDME tip, thus forming a dense cloud of analyte-water vapor; thereby enhancing the partition of the analytes into the SDME solvent. The chlorophenols are then determined by LC-UV detection. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the analytical signal is linearly related to the concentration of the chlorophenols range of 2.5–250?ng?mL^?1. The detection limits vary from 0.3 to 0.7?ng?mL^?1, and the precision (expressed as the relative standard deviation) from 3.7 to 13.3?%. The method was validated with real water samples, and the spiked recovery ranged between 92 and 103.1?% for river water, and between 85.1?% and 98.6?% for lake water. Compared to other methods, microwave assisted HS-CT-SDME is simple, rapid, sensitive, inexpensive and eco-friendly, and requires less sample and organic extractant.

Enhanced headspace single drop microextraction method using deep eutectic solvent based magnetic bucky gels: Application to the determination of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in water and urine samples

A facile headspace single drop microextraction method was developed using deep eutectic solvent‐based magnetic bucky gel as the extraction solvent for the first time. The hydrophobic magnetic bucky gel was formed by combining choline chloride/chlorophenol deep eutectic solvent and magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposite. Magnetic susceptibility, high viscosity, high sorbing ability, and tunable extractability of organic analytes are the desirable advantages of the prepared gel. Using a rod magnet as a suspensor in combination with the magnetic susceptibility of the prepared gel resulted in a highly stable droplet. This stable droplet eliminated the possibility of drop dislodgement. The prepared droplet made it possible to complete the extraction process in high temperatures and elevated agitation rates. Furthermore, using larger micro‐droplet volumes without any operational problems became possible. These facts resulted in shorter sample preparation time, higher sensitivity of the method, and lower detection limits. Under the optimized conditions, an enrichment factor of 520–587, limit of detection of 0.05–0.90 ng/mL, and linearity range of 0.2–2000 ng/mL (coefficient of determination = 0.9982–0.9995) were obtained. Relative standard deviations were < 10%. This method was successfully coupled with gas chromatography and used for the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene isomers as harmful volatile organic compounds in water and urine samples.     

Headspace single drop microextraction combined with HPLC for the determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental samples

A new method by combining headspace single drop microextraction (HS-SDME) with HPLC fluorescence detection for the determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental samples was developed. Aqueous solution of saturated beta-cyclodextrin was used as extraction solvent and five PAHs were employed as target analytes. The factors affecting the extraction efficiency were studied in detail and the optimal extraction conditions were established. Beta-cyclodextrin was found to play two important roles, one is the improvement of extraction efficiency of target analytes and the other is the enhancement of their fluorescence intensities in HPLC fluorescence detection. The detection limits for the target analytes were found to be in the range of 0.004-0.247ng/ml and the relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) of 5.1-7.1% were obtained. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of trace PAHs in environmental samples with satisfactory results.     

Ultra-sensitive determination of cadmium in rice and water by UV-vis spectrophotometry after single drop microextraction

In this work, a new method based on single drop microextraction (SDME) preconcentration using tetrachloromethane (CCl(4)) as extraction solvent was proposed for the spectrophotometric determination of cadmium in rice and water samples. The influence factors relevant to SDME, such as type and volume of extractant, stirring rate and time, dithizone concentration, pH, drop volume and instrumental conditions were studied systematically. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.5 ng L(-1), with sensitivity enhancement factor (EF) of 128. The different maximum absorption wavelength caused by the different extraction acidity compared with some conventional works and the enhancement effect of acetone (dilution solvent) for the spectrophotometric determination were the two key factors of the high EF and sensitivity. The proposed method was applied to the determination of rice and water samples with satisfactory analytical results. The proposed method was simple, rapid, cost-efficient and sensitive.     

Ionic liquid-based single drop microextraction combined with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for the determination of manganese in water samples

Room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C₄MIM][PF₆], was used as an alternative to volatile organic solvents in single drop microextraction-electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (SDME-ETAAS). Manganese was extracted from aqueous solution into a drop of the ionic liquid after complextaion with 1-(2-thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol (TAN) and the drop was directly injected into the graphite furnace. Several variables affecting microextraction efficiency and ETAAS signal, such as pyrolysis and atomization temperature, pH, TAN concentration, extraction time, drop volume and stirring rate were investigated and optimized. In the optimum experimental conditions, the limit of detection (3 s) and the enhancement factor were 0.024 μg L⁻¹ and 30.3, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for five replicate determinations of 0.5 μg L⁻¹ Mn(II) was 5.5%. The developed method was validated by the analysis of a certified reference material (NIST SRM 1643e) and applied successfully to the determination of manganese in several natural water samples.     

Ionic liquid-based single drop microextraction of ultra-trace copper in food and water samples before spectrophotometric determination

In this work, room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4mim]PF6) was used as extractant in single drop microextraction (SDME). The traditionally volatile organic extractants were substituted by this green reagent, which changed SDME preconcentration into environmentally friendly method, relatively. After this pretreatment, ultra-trace copper in water and food samples could be accurately detected by spectrophotometer. This study was focused on the improvement of the analytical performance of spectrophotometric determination, expanding its applications. The influence factors relevant to IL-SDME, such as absorption spectra of complex, drop volume of RTIL, stirring rate and time, concentration of chelating agent, pH, and salt effect were studied systematically. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.15 μg L(-1) with an enhancement factor (EF) of 33. The proposed method was green, simple, rapid, sensitive, and cost-efficient.     

Comparison of efficiencies between single-drop microextraction and continuous-flow microextraction for the determination of methomyl in natural waters

Two liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) approaches, static direct-immersed single-drop microextraction (DI-SDME) and continuous-flow microextraction (CFME), were used to extract methomyl in water samples and their respective extraction efficiencies were compared. Several important parameters affecting extraction efficiency such as the type of extraction solvent, solvent drop volume, stirring speed or flow rate, extraction time and salt concentration were optimised. The optimised conditions were as follows: 3.0-µL tetrachloroethane (C₂H₂Cl₄) as the extraction solvent, 15% NaCl (w/v), 15 min extraction time and stirring speed at 600 rpm for DI-SDME; 3.5-µL C₂H₂Cl₄ as the extraction solvent, 15% NaCl (w/v), 21 min extraction time and flowing rate at 0.8 mL min^?1 for CFME. Under the previous optimal conditions, the linear range, detection limit (S/N = 3) and precision (RSD, n = 6) were 5.0-5000 ng mL^?1, 1.5 ng mL^?1, 6.9% for DI-SDME, and 4.0–10000 ng mL^?1, 2.5 ng mL^?1, 4.6% for CFME, respectively. Lake and river water samples were successfully analysed by DI-SDME and CFME. The result demonstrated that both SDME and CFME techniques are simple, low cost and amity to environment. As a result, the two approaches have tremendous potential in trace analysis of methomyl in natural waters.     

(CdSe/ZnS QDs)-ionic liquid-based headspace single drop microextraction for the fluorimetric determination of trimethylamine in fish

Here, we propose the use of ionic liquid-modified QDs for the combination of ionic liquid-based headspace single drop microextraction technique (IL-HS-SDME) and QD-based fluorimetric detection. In that way, we exploit the advantages of ILs as extractant solvent and the use of QDs as fluorescence detection probe. After in situ generation of volatile trimethylamine (TMA) from fish samples, the analyte was extracted and preconcentrated directly onto a (QD)IL microdrop by HS-SDME. Then, TMA was quantified through the enhancing effect produced on the initial fluorescence of the (QD)IL dispersion. The working conditions for the (QD)IL-HS-SDME procedure were: 20 μL microdrop of (QD)IL exposed for 2 min to the headspace of a 5 mL aqueous sample (0.2 g of fish in 10 M NaOH) placed in a 10 mL vial with stirring and thermostatted at 50-60 °C. For the detection, the microdrop was transferred to a microcuvette with 300 μL of acetonitrile and the fluorescence was recorded (λ(em) = 570 nm, λ(exc) = 400 nm). Under the selected conditions, the analytical response was linear over the range from 0.05 to 0.25 mg L(-1) (R(2) = 0.997) with a detection limit of 0.014 mg L(-1) (0.35 μg TMA per gram of fish) and the relative standard deviation was 3.5% (n = 5). The proposed method was applied to the determination of TMA in hake fish samples with satisfactory results.     

Comparative study of direct immersion and headspace single drop microextraction techniques for BTEX determination in water samples using GC-FID

In the present work the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX) in environmental sample solutions using gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) combined with three different sampling techniques, such as; direct single drop microextraction (DI-SDME), headspace single drop microextraction (HS-SDME) and ultrasonic assisted HS-SDME, were compared. In all of these techniques, for the determination of BTEX, the experimental parameters such as organic solvent effect, extraction time, agitation speed and salting effect were optimised. At their optimised conditions of operation the detection limits, times of extraction and precision for the three techniques are established. A detailed comparison of the analytical performance characteristics of these techniques for final GC-FID determination of BTEX in water samples was given. The technique provided a linear range of 50–20000?ng?mL^–1 for DI-SDME and 10–20000?ng?mL^–1 for HS-SDME methods, good repeatability (RSDs <4.72–7.74% for DI-SDME and 1.80–7.05% for HS-SDME (n?=?5), good linearity (r?≥?0.9978) and limits of detection (LODs) in the range of 0.006–10?ng?mL^?1 for DI-SDME, 0.1–3?ng?mL^–1 for HS-SDME methods (S/N?=?3). Then the optimised techniques were also applied to real samples (river and waste waters) containing BTEX and similar precision (RSD?<?8.2,?n?=?3) was obtained.     

原位液滴微萃取测定水样中的铜

以发光二极管(Light-emitting Diode,LED)为光源,便携式电荷藕合器件(Charge Coupled Device,CCD)为检测器,液滴微萃取装置为光学池,自组装的在线分光光度系统用于水样中铜(II)的原位富集和在线测定.在优化的实验条件下,线性范围为2μg·L-1~ 50μg·L-1,相关系数为0.998,检出限为0.2μg·L-1,富集倍数达49倍.该方法具有灵敏度高,检出限低,简便、快速,有机试剂消耗少,LED光源价廉,系统易于实现自动化以及原位富集和在线测定等优点.本文构建的方法用于矿泉水、河水和自来水的测定,结果满意.     

Application of new approaches to liquid-phase microextraction for the determination of emerging pollutants

Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) has been widely used as a pre-treatment technique for separation and preconcentration of organic analytes from aqueous samples. Nevertheless, this technique has several drawbacks, mainly in the use of large volumes of solvents, making LLE an expensive, environmentally-unfriendly technique.Miniaturized methodologies [e.g., liquid-phase microextraction (LPME)] have arisen in the search for alternatives to conventional LLE, using negligible volumes of extracting solvents and reducing the number of steps in the procedure. Developments have led to different approaches to LPME, namely single-drop microextraction (SDME), hollow-fiber LPME (HF-LPME), dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) and solidified floating organic drop microextraction (SFODME).This overview focuses on the application of these microextraction techniques to the analysis of emerging pollutants.     

Application of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of methomyl in natural waters

A new method was developed for determination of methomyl in water samples by combining a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique with HPLC-variable wavelength detection (VWD). In this extraction method, 0.50 mL of methanol (as dispersive solvent) containing 20.0 microL of tetrachloroethane (as extraction solvent) was rapidly injected by syringe into a 5.00-mL water sample containing the analyte, thereby forming a cloudy solution. After phase separation by centrifugation for 2 min at 4000 rpm, the enriched analyte in the settled phase (8 +/- 0.2 microL) was at the bottom of the conical test tube. A 5.0-microL volume of the settled phase was analyzed by HPLC-VWD. Parameters such as the nature and volume of the extraction solvent and the dispersive solvent, extraction time, and the salt concentration were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor could reach 70.7 for a 5.00-mL water sample and the linear range, detection limit (S/N = 3), and precision (RSD, n = 6) were 3-5000 ng/mL, 1.0 ng/mL, and 2.6%, respectively. River and lake water samples were successfully analyzed by the proposed method. Comparison of this method with solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, and single-drop microextraction, indicates that DLLME combined with HPLC-VWD is a simple, fast, and low-cost method for the determination of methomyl, and thus has tremendous potential in trace analysis of methomyl in natural waters.     

Headspace‐single drop microextraction with a commercial capillary electrophoresis instrument

Automated coupling of headspace‐single drop microextraction (HS‐SDME) and CE has been demonstrated using a commercial CE instrument. When a drop hanging at the inlet tip of a capillary for CE is used as the acceptor phase, HS‐SDME becomes a simple but powerful sample pretreatment technique for CE before injection to facilitate sample cleanup and enrichment. By combining HS‐SDME with an on‐line sample preconcentration technique, large volume sample stacking using an electroosmotic flow pump, the sensitivity can be improved further. The overall enrichment factors for phenolic compounds were from 1900 to 3400. HS‐SDME large volume sample stacking using an electroosmotic flow pump was successfully applied to a red wine sample to obtain an LOD of 4 nM (0.8 ppb) for 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol which is a precursor for 2,4,6‐trichloroanisole causing the foul odor in wine called cork taint.     

Determination of trace Cd and Pb in natural waters by direct single drop microextraction combined with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A new method of direct single-drop microextraction combined with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is presented for the determination of trace Cd and Pb with dithizone (H₂DZ) as chelating reagent. Factors influencing the microextraction efficiency and determination, such as pH, microdrop volume, stirring rate, extraction time were evaluated. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the detection limits of the method are 2 and 90 pg mL⁻¹ for Cd and Pb, and the relative standards deviations for 0.5 ng mL⁻¹ Cd and 10 ng mL⁻¹ Pb are 11 and 12.8%. After 10 min of extraction, the enrichment factors for Cd and Pb are 118 and 90, respectively. The results for the determination of Cd and Pb in tap water, spring water, river water, pond water, lake water and spiked water samples demonstrate the accuracy, recovery and applicability of the method. An environmental water certified reference material (GSBZ 50009-88) was analyzed, and the determined values are in a good agreement with the certified values. Correspondence: Bin Hu, Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, P.R. China