Comparison of stir bar sorptive extraction and membrane-assisted solvent extraction for the ultra-performance liquid chromatographic determination of oxazole fungicide residues in wines and juices

The present study compares two new sample preparation methods, stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and membrane-assisted solvent extraction (MASE) coupled to the novel technique of ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) for the sensitive, selective and solvent-free determination of six oxazole fungicide residues (hymexazol, drazoxolon, vinclozolin, chlozolinate, oxadixyl and famoxadone) in wine and juices. The analytes were separated on a rapid resolution C(18) column (50 mm x 4.6 mm, I.D., 1.8 microm) thermostated at 50 degrees C with isocratic elution using a 50/50 (v/v) water/acetonitrile (ACN) mobile phase at a flow-rate of 1 mL min(-1) and detected by diode-array detection (DAD). The UPLC method rapidly separates the fungicides (7 min). The best results as regards sensitivity, repeatability and analyte recovery were obtained using SBSE with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) twister, at 60 degrees C for 30 min with stirring at 1700 rpm in the presence of a 0.1M acetate/acetic acid buffer (pH 5) and 20% (m/v) sodium chloride. Liquid desorption was performed with 100 microL of a 80/20 (v/v) ACN/water solution in a desorption time of 15 min. With the PDMS polymer, an apolar phase, hymexazol and oxadixyl were not extracted. Consequently, the SBSE procedure can only be applied to the other four fungicides. Detection limits ranged from 0.05 to 2.5 microgL(-1) at a signal to noise ratio of 3, depending on the compound. Recoveries obtained for spiked samples were satisfactory (83-113%) for all compounds. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of different samples, residues of chlozolinate and drazoxolon being found in samples of red wine and grape juice, respectively.     

Development of a new stir bar sorptive extraction coating and its application for the determination of six pesticides in sugarcane juice

In this article, a novel polydimethylsiloxane/activated carbon (PDMS‐ACB) material is proposed as a new polymeric phase for stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE). The PDMS‐ACB stir bar, assembled using a simple Teflon^®/glass capillary mold, demonstrated remarkable stability and resistance to organic solvents for more than 150 extractions. The SBSE bar has a diameter of 2.36 mm and a length of 2.2 cm and is prepared to contain 92 μL of polymer coating. This new PDMS‐ACB bar was evaluated for its ability to determine the quantity of pesticides in sugarcane juice samples by performing liquid desorption (LD) in 200 μL of ethyl acetate and analyzing the solvent through gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). A fractional factorial design was used to evaluate the main parameters involved in the extraction procedure. Then, a central composite design with a star configuration was used to optimize the significant extraction parameters. The method used demonstrated a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.5–40 μg/L, depending on the analyte detected; the amount of recovery varied from 0.18 to 49.50%, and the intraday precision ranged from 0.072 to 8.40%. The method was used in the analysis of real sugarcane juice samples commercially available in local markets.     

Comparison of micro-scale simultaneous distillation-extraction and stir bar sorptive extraction for the determination of volatile organic constituents of grape juice

Traditional micro-scale simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE) and stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) were compared for their effectiveness in the extraction of volatile organic compounds in a synthetic grape juice and a real grape juice (Huxelrebe, a variety of half Muscat ancestry) from an English vineyard. The novel immersion-mode SBSE method, using stir bars with PDMS sorbent, was optimised using the synthetic grape juice. Although mean percent relative recoveries and reproducibilities (%CV) of the SBSE method were inferior to SDE (28.4 and 8.5%, respectively, against 86.9 and 6.3%), the former method proved to be significantly more sensitive: 126 aroma compounds in Huxelrebe grape juice were identified using SBSE, against 98 using SDE. This allowed the identification of a number of volatile components that have not been reported previously in the juice or wine from the grapes of Muscat varieties.     

Comparison of solvent extraction and solid-phase extraction for the determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in water.

Solid-phase extraction (SPE) of organochlorine pesticide residues from environmental water samples was evaluated using octadecyl (C18)-bonded porous silica. The efficiency of SPE of these pesticide residues from reagent water samples at 1-5 micrograms dm-3 levels was compared with those obtained by solvent extraction with hexane and Freon TF (trichlorotrifluoroethane). Average recoveries exceeding 80% for these organochlorine pesticides were obtained via the SPE method using small cartridges containing 100 mg of 40 microns C18-bonded porous silica. The average recovery by solvent extraction with hexane and Freon TF exceeded 90% in both instances. It was concluded that the recoveries and precision for the SPE of organochlorine pesticides were poorer than those for the solvent extraction method. Organochlorine pesticide residue levels in environmental water samples from two major rivers flowing through predominantly rice-growing areas were monitored by gas chromatography using the solvent extraction method with hexane. Exceptionally high levels of organochlorine pesticide residues such as BHC, DDT, heptachlor, endosulfan and dieldrin were found in these water samples.     

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.     

Optimization of stir bar sorptive extraction applied to the determination of pesticides in vinegars

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) has been evaluated for analysing pesticides in vinegar. The extraction analytical conditions have been optimised using a two-level factorial design expanded further to a central composite design. After optimization, the proposed analytical conditions are: sample volume 40 mL, sampling time 150 min, and stirring speed 1000 rpm. On the basis of the results, it was decided not to add NaCl. The SBSE procedure developed shows detection limits and linear ranges adequate for analysing this type of compound, giving recoveries close to 100%. The repeatability and reproducibility values obtained were lower than 18 and 23%, respectively. The method was applied to a variety of commercial vinegars. SBSE is a very simple, solvent-free, and fast technique with high sensitivities.     

Comparison of membrane assisted solvent extraction,stir bar sorptive extraction,and solid phase microextraction in analysis of tetramine in food

Three environmentally friendly extraction techniques, membrane assisted solvent extraction (MASE), stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), and headspace solid phase microextraction (HS‐SPME), were compared for the direct analysis of the highly toxic rodenticide tetramine in food. The optimized MASE method was applied to seven foods fortified with tetramine and compared to previously reported SBSE and HS‐SPME results. Parameters such as the standard addition linearity (MASE (0.964–0.999), SBSE (0.966–0.999), HS‐SPME (0.955–0.999)), recovery (MASE (12–86%), SBSE (36–130%), HS‐SPME (50–200%)), reproducibility (MASE (3.0–30%), SBSE (4.4–9.6%), HS‐SPME (1–12%)), and LOD (MASE (1.6–6.4 ng/g), SBSE (0.2–2.1 ng/g), HS‐SPME (0.9–4.3 ng/g)) were compared.     

Sequential stir bar sorptive extraction for uniform enrichment of trace amounts of organic pollutants in water samples

A novel extraction procedure for stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) termed sequential SBSE was developed. Compared to conventional SBSE, sequential SBSE provides more uniform enrichment over the entire polarity/volatility range for organic pollutants at ultra-trace levels in water. Sequential SBSE consists of a SBSE performed sequentially on a 5-mL sample first without modifier using one stir bar, then on the same sample after addition of 30% NaCl using a second stir bar. The first extraction with unmodified sample is mainly targeting solutes with high Kow (logKow>4.0), the second extraction with modified sample solution (containing 30% NaCl) is targeting solutes with low and medium Kow (logKow<4.0). After extraction the two stir bars are placed in a single glass desorption liner and are simultaneously desorbed. The desorbed compounds were analyzed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Recovery of model compounds consisting of 80 pesticides (organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphorus, pyrethroid, and others) for sequential SBSE was evaluated as a function of logKow (1.70-8.35). The recovery using sequential SBSE was compared with those of conventional SBSE with or without salt addition (30% NaCl). The sequential approach provided very good recovery in the range of 82-113% for most of the solutes, and recovery less than 80% for only five solutes with low Kow (logKow<2.5), while conventional approaches (with or without salt addition) showed less than 80% recovery for 23 and 41 solutes, respectively. The method showed good linearity (r2>0.9900) and high sensitivity (limit of detection: <10ngL(-1)) for most of the model compounds even with the scan mode in the MS. The method was successfully applied to screening of pesticides at ngL(-1) level in river water samples.     

Passive sampling and stir bar sorptive extraction for the determination of endocrine-disrupting compounds in water by GC-MS

A new method using the extraction and preconcentration capabilities of stir bar sorptive extraction, combined with high-resolution gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, was developed for the determination of five selected endocrine-disrupting compounds (4-n-nonylphenol, bisphenol A, estrone, 17β-estradiol, and 17α-ethinylestradiol) in water. In situ derivatization to transform the phenolic compounds into lipophilic and volatile analytes was carried out with acetic anhydride. Two different methods of headspace derivatization to further improve the chromatographic properties of 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol were developed and compared. The optimized method provided good sensitivity (limits of quantitation 1.2–2.6 ng), repeatability (relative standard deviation 2–9%), and reproducibility (relative standard deviation 10–17%). Passive sampling by means of polar organic chemical integrative samplers was applied to monitor river waters used as supply sources for drinking water treatment plants in the Liguria region of Italy. The analytes showed a different distribution at the three sites considered; bisphenol A proved to be the most abundant, ranging from 185 to 459 ng per sampler.     

A simple method for the determination of benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[k]fluoranthene in a mixture

Atmospheric particulate matter is routinely analysed for the concentration of the carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). Benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF) has identical spectral characteristics and interferes in the fluorimetric estimation. A simple method for the determination of BaP in the presence of BkF is described. Based on quenching of the fluorescence of BaP by the addition of small amounts of nitromethane, the method can be used for accurate estimation for wide concentration ratios of BaP to BkF ranging from 0.1 to 10.0.     

Optimisation of stir bar sorptive extraction applied to the determination of volatile compounds in vinegars

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) was evaluated for analysing volatile compounds in vinegar. The extraction and desorption analytical conditions have been optimised using a two-level factorial design expanded further to a central composite design. This chemometric tool is very appropriate in screening experiments where the aim is to investigate several possibly influential and/or interacting factors. For the extraction step, the optimum analytical conditions were: sample volume 25 ml without dilution, sampling time 120 min, NaCl content 5.85 g, and stirring speed 1250 rpm. For the desorption step, the optimised analytical conditions were: desorption temperature 300 degrees C, cryofocusing temperature -140 degrees C, flow of helium 75 ml min(-1), and desorption time 10 min. The SBSE procedure developed shows detection limits, and linear ranges adequate for analysing this type of compounds. The repeatability values obtained were lower than 10%. SBSE is a very simple, solvent-free, fast technique with better sensitivities, in general, than SPME. However, a disadvantage of this technique is that, up to now, the stir bar offers a limited enrichment capability for polar compounds because is only available with PDMS coating.     

Synthesis and characterization of polydimethylsiloxane-cyanopropyltriethoxysilane-derived hybrid coating for stir bar sorptive extraction

New inorganic–organic hybrid materials were synthesized by hydrolysis and condensation of cyanopropyltriethoxysilane (CNPrTEOS) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in the presence of hydrochloric acid, HCl catalyst and methyl trimethylmethoxysilane as precursor via sol–gel method and coated on glass encased stir bar for use in stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE). The cyano part provides polar moiety, which may improve the extraction of polar analytes. The physico-chemical properties and extraction ability of PDMS-CNPrTEOS-derived hybrid coatings can be fine tuned via manipulation of solvents (tetrahydrofuran (THF)-based and dichloromethane (DCM)-based) and PDMS-CNPrTEOS molar concentrations during the sol synthesis. Clear, homogeneous PDMS-CNPrTEOS-derived hybrid sols were obtained using THF and DCM at optimized molar ratios. The optimized molar ratios of THF:CNPrTEOS and THF:PDMS were 5:1 and 25:1, respectively. The optimized molar ratios of DCM:CNPrTEOS and DCM:PDMS were 10:1 and 70:1, respectively. FTIR spectrum showed that the intensity of the CN peak increased with increasing content of CNPrTEOS in the PDMS;CNPrTEOS-derived hybrid. The Field Emission Scanning Electron micrographs of prepared coatings revealed smooth, homogenous surfaces and crack-free coatings with film thickness of 200 nm to 2.5 μm attributing to different solvent types. All coatings prepared were thermally stable at temperature higher than 200 °C. The DCM-based PDMS-CNPrTEOS-derived coating shows more advantages in terms of physical characteristics and extraction ability compared to THF-based PDMS-CNPrTEOS-derived coatings due to higher cyano part content and its thicker coating. The PDMS-CNPrTEOS-derived hybrid coatings can be used as extraction sorbent for analysis of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs namely ketoprofen and diclofenac sodium in SBSE.     

Hollow fiber stir bar sorptive extraction for determination of phthalic acid esters in environmental and biological matrices

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a novel hollow fiber stir bar sorptive extraction for collecting and determining of phthalic acid esters in environmental and biological matrices. Shell–core ZrO₂/SiO₂ composite microspheres and porous C₁₈ silica microspheres were compared as the sorbents, which were loaded in the lumen of a microporous hollow fiber membrane. A thin stainless‐steel wire was also inside of the hollow fiber membrane acting as the magnetic stirrer, thus affording the procedures like stir bar sorptive extraction to perform the active trapping of the analytes. Variables affecting the extraction (salt addition and pH of samples, extraction temperature, and time) and desorption (microwave time and eluted solvents) have been optimized. Under the optimal conditions, good linearity (r > 0.9968) of all calibration curves was obtained in validation experiments. And the limits of quantification ranged from 0.01 to 1000 ng/mL. The recoveries in different matrices were in the range of 64.90–112.60% with relative standard deviations less than 8.60%. The present work demonstrated the applicability of the developed method for the determination of phthalic acid esters in environmental and biological sample, allowing the selective extraction of phthalate esters in complex samples with low consumption of organic solvents and no sample clean‐up.     

Comparison of traditional cloud-point extraction and on-line flow-injection cloud-point extraction with a chemiluminescence method using benzo[a]pyrene as a marker

In this work, using benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as marker, the analytical merits of on-line flow-injection cloud-point extraction (FI CPE), including preconcentration factor, extraction efficiency, sample throughput, and analysis time were evaluated by use of peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (CL) detection. Moreover, by detailed discussion of several preconcentration conditions for traditional and on-line FI CPE the advantages of on-line FI CPE became conspicuously apparent. When coupled with separation techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or capillary electrophoresis (CE), on-line FI CPE–CL has much potential for analysis of low concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in environmental samples.     

Application of stir bar sorptive extraction to the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aqueous samples

The technique of stir bar sorptive extraction is used for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in aqueous samples. The PAHs are extracted with 10-mm stir bars (Gerstel Twister) coated with 0.5 mm polydimethylsiloxane and analyzed with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system. The influence of methanol and hyamine addition to the samples for preventing wall effects is investigated at 100 ng/l. The results indicate improved sensitivity using hyamine addition to the samples. The optimal extraction time was found to be between 3 and 4 h. The reproducibility of the method, as determined by nine replicate measurements, is between 5 and 15% at 10 ng/l and between 3 and 9% at 50 ng/l. Carry-over, which was evaluated at 500 ng/l by desorbing the same Twister three times, seems to be negligible for most of the compounds. In worst cases, carry-over of up to 7% was found for indeno[1,2,3]pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, and benzo[g,h,i]perylene. The technique shows excellent linearities for 5 point calibrations. Detection limits are between 0.1 and 2 ng/l.     

Analysis of 51 persistent organic pollutants in soil by means of ultrasonic solvent extraction and stir bar sorptive extraction GC-MS

A novel method based on ultrasonic solvent extraction and stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) for the analysis of 51 persistent organic pollutants including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in soil samples was developed. The different parameters that affect both the extraction of analytes from the soil samples, such as solvent selection, solvent volume, mass of soil, and extraction time, and the partitioning from the solvent/water mixture to the PDMS were studied. The final selected conditions consisted of the extraction of 1 g of soil with 15 mL methanol by sonication for 30 min. The methanol extract was mixed with 85 mL of Milli-Q water and extracted by means of SBSE for 14 h at 900 rpm. The stir bars were analyzed by thermal desorption-GC-mass spectometry (TD-GC-MS). The effects of the matrix on the recovery of the various pollutants under the developed method were studied using two soils with very different physicochemical properties. Method sensitivity, linearity, repeatability, and reproducibility were also studied. Validation and accuracy of the method were conducted by analyzing two commercial certified reference materials (CRMs). The main advantage of this method resides in the fact that a small amount of a nontoxic solvent (methanol) is needed for the extraction of only 1 g of solid sample allowing LODs ranging from 0.01 to 2.0 microg/kg. Repeatability and reproducibility variations were lower than 20% for all investigated compounds. Results of the CRMs verify the high accuracy of this method.     

Combining stir bar sorptive extraction and MEKC for the determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental and biological matrices

In this work, stir bar sorptive extraction and liquid desorption was combined with MEKC and diode-array detection (SBSE-LD-MEKC-DAD) for the determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aqueous medium, using biphenyl, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene as model compounds. MEKC-DAD conditions and parameters affecting SBSE-LD efficiency are fully discussed. Assays performed on aqueous samples spiked at trace levels, yielded recoveries ranging from 55.5 +/- 6.1% (pyrene) to 70.7 +/- 7.1% (anthracene), under optimized experimental conditions. The methodology proved to be nearly described by the octanol-water partition coefficients (K(PDMS/W) approximately K(O/W)). The analytical performance showed good precision (<12.0%), suitable detection limits (2-11 microg/L) and convenient linear dynamic ranges (r(2)>0.99) from 5 to 25 microg/L for anthracene and 25 to 125 microg/L for the remaining compounds. The application of the proposed methodology to environmental water, sediments and fish bile matrices demonstrated good selectivity and accuracy. SBSE-LD combined with MEKC-DAD was shown to be an easy, reliable and robustness methodology, as well as a good analytical alternative to monitor environmental priority pollutants.     

Second-derivative constant-wavelength synchronous scan spectrofluorimetry for determination of benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene in drinking water

The use of derivative constant-wavelength synchronous scan fluorimetry is reported for the determination of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollutants in drinking water (linearity range 0.4-4 mug 1(-1)). The limits of detection (LD) and quantification (LQ) (mug 1(-1)) are 0.01 and 0.07 for benzo[b]fluoranthene, 0.03 and 0.12 for benzo[a]pyrene and 0.19 and 0.57 for indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene in the presence of three other pollutants, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[ghi]perylene and fluoranthene. The precision (RSD /= 85%) were satisfactory.     

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.