Carbon nanospheres as solid‐phase microextraction coating for the extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water and soil samples

A solid‐phase microextraction with carbon nanospheres coated fiber coupled with gas chromatographic detection was established for the determination of eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, biphenyl, acenaphthene, fluorine, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene) in water and soil samples. The experimental parameters (extraction temperature, extraction time, stirring rate, headspace volume, salt content, and desorption temperature) which affect the extraction efficiency were studied. Under the optimized conditions, good linearity between the peak areas and the concentrations of the analytes was achieved in the concentration range of 0.5‐300 ng/mL for water samples, and in the concentration range of 6.0‐2700 ng/g for soil samples. The detection limits for the analytes were in the range of 0.12‐0.45 ng/mL for water samples, and in the range of 1.53‐2.70 ng/g for soil samples. The method recoveries of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for spiked water samples were 80.10‐120.1% with relative standard deviations less than 13.9%. The method recoveries of the analytes for spiked soil samples were 80.40‐119.6% with relative standard deviations less than 14.4%. The fiber was reused over 100 times without a significant loss of extraction efficiency.     

Vacuum-assisted headspace solid phase microextraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in solid samples

For the first time, Vacuum Assisted Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (Vac-HSSPME) is used for the recovery of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from solid matrices. The procedure was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. According to the theory, reducing the total pressure increases the vapor flux of chemicals at the soil surface, and hence improves HSSPME extraction kinetics. Vac-HSSPME sampling could be further enhanced by adding water as a modifier and creating a slurry mixture. For these soil-water mixtures, reduced pressure conditions may increase the volatilization rates of compounds with a low K_H present in the aqueous phase of the slurry mixture and result in a faster HSSPME extraction process. Nevertheless, analyte desorption from soil to water may become a rate-limiting step when significant depletion of the aqueous analyte concentration takes place during Vac-HSSPME. Sand samples spiked with PAHs were used as simple solid matrices and the effect of different experimental parameters was investigated (extraction temperature, modifiers and extraction time). Vac-HSSPME sampling of dry spiked sand samples provided the first experimental evidence of the positive combined effect of reduced pressure and temperature on HSSPME. Although adding 2 mL of water as a modifier improved Vac-HSSPME, humidity decreased the amount of naphthalene extracted at equilibrium as well as impaired extraction of all analytes at elevated sampling temperatures. Within short HSSPME sampling times and under mild sampling temperatures, Vac-HSSPME yielded linear calibration curves in the range of 1–400 ng g⁻¹ and, with the exception of fluorene, regression coefficients were found higher than 0.99. The limits of detection for spiked sand samples ranged from 0.003 to 0.233 ng g⁻¹ and repeatability from 4.3 to 10 %. Finally, the amount of PAHs extracted from spiked soil samples was smaller compared to spiked sand samples, confirming that soil could bind target analytes more strongly and thus decrease the readily available fraction of target analytes.     

Development of a highly robust solid phase microextraction fiber based on crosslinked methyl methacrylate–polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane hybrid polymeric coating

A novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was prepared by polymerization of an organic–inorganic hybrid polymeric coating on an anodized and derived Ti wire, and applied for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from environmental samples followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. A polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) reagent containing methacryl substituent groups was used as an organic–inorganic hybrid cross-linker, and copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (MMA) to fabricate the hybrid coating via thermally initiated free radical polymerization in a glass capillary mold. The prepared fiber can be easily withdrawn from the glass capillary mold by controlling the polymerization conditions, especially polymerization solvent. A homogeneous and porous coating with thickness of about 100 μm was achieved using ethanol as polymerization solvent at the mass ratio of MMA to POSS as 1:0.5. High chemical and mechanical stability, as well as excellent durability for more than 100 times extractions with almost undiminished extraction efficiency were achieved due to the chemical immobilization and crosslinked hybrid coating. The proposed fiber showed much better extraction performance than the 100 μm commercial polydimethylsiloxane fiber for extracting PAHs from aqueous sample. The developed SPME-HPLC method for the determination of PAHs using the MMA–POSS hybrid coating achieved good linearity with good correlation coefficients (R = 0.991–0.999) and low detection limits in the range of 0.006 to 0.05 ng mL⁻¹ (S/N = 3). The proposed fiber was successfully applied to the extraction of PAHs from environmental water samples with recoveries of 82–104% for river water, 83–103% for pool water, and 79–98% for wastewater, respectively.     

A highly thermal stable solid phase microextraction fiber prepared by an inorganic binder

An easy method to prepare solid phase microextraction fibers by introducing an inorganic binder was demonstrated in this study, where MoS₂ was selected as the extraction phase material because of its graphite-like layered structure with large specific adsorption area and good stability, and was then adhered to a stainless steel wire by acid aluminum phosphate binder with the spraying method. The as-prepared solid phase microextraction fiber coupled with gas chromatography was then used to extract some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons target analytes including the low-volatile benzo(a)pyrene etc. from a standard sample. Comparing with the MoS₂-epoxy resin and commercial polyacrylate fibers, the MoS₂-acid aluminum phosphate fiber has a higher thermal stability because of highly thermal stable acid aluminum phosphate, which is durable for a long service life at a high temperature (320 °C), and has the advantage in the extraction of low-volatility analytes. After the optimization of adsorption and desorption factors (ionic strength, adsorption time and temperature, and desorption temperature), method detection limits of <0.1 μg L⁻¹ were achieved, and the calibration curves were all linear (R² ≥ 0.9981) within the range of 0.1–100 μg L⁻¹. The satisfying repeatability was also achieved, the RSD values of single-fiber were 3.49–5.81%, and the ones of fiber-to-fiber were 5.32–7.22%. As a result, the present fiber with good thermal stability can work at high temperature for a long service life, which is useful for the detection of low-volatility target analytes in practical applications.     

A new interface for coupling solid phase microextraction with liquid chromatography

A modified Rheodyne 7520 microsample injector was used as a new solid phase microextraction (SPME)–liquid chromatography (LC) interface. The modification was focused on the construction of a new sample rotor, which was built by gluing two sample rotors together. The new sample rotor was further reinforced with 3 pieces of stainless steel tubing. The enlarged central flow passage in the new sample rotor was used as a desorption chamber. SPME fiber desorption occurred in static mode. But all desorption solvent in the desorption chamber was injected into LC system with the interface. The analytical performance of the interface was evaluated by SPME–LC analysis of PAHs in water. At least 90% polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were desorbed from a polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/C18 bonded fuse silica fiber in 30 s. And injection was completed in 20 s. About 10–20% total carryovers were found on the fiber and in the interface. The carryover in the interface was eliminated by flushing the desorption chamber with acetonitrile at 1 mL min⁻¹ for 2 min. The repeatability of the method was from 2% to 8%. The limit of detection (LOD) was in the mid pg mL⁻¹ range. The linear ranges were from 0.1 to 100 ng mL⁻¹. The new SPME–LC interface was reliable for coupling SPME with LC for both qualitative and quantitative analysis.     

Preparation of single-walled carbon nanotube fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction of organochlorine pesticides in lake water and wastewater

The feasibility of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as adsorbents for solid-phase microextraction was investigated by using organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) as model compounds. SWCNTs were attached onto a stainless steel wire through organic binder. Potential factors affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized, including extraction time, extraction temperature, desorption time, desorption temperature, and salinity. The developed method has a linear range of 2-800 ng/L for most analytes, with coefficients of correlation ranging from 0.9911 to 0.9996, LODs ranged from 0.19 to 3.77 ng/L (S/N = 3), and RSDs in the range of 3.5-13.9% (n = 5). Compared with the commercial PDMS fiber, the SWCNT fiber has better thermal stability (over 350 degrees C) and longer life span (over 150 times). The developed method was applied to determine trace OCPs in lake water and wastewater samples with external standard calibration. Results showed that OCP contamination was very low in these samples, and HCHs were detected in almost all water samples while DDT concentrations were almost under detection limits in these samples. Recoveries obtained at 20 ng/L spiking level were in the range of 88.4-111% for OCPs in lake water. For wastewater samples, however, the recoveries were satisfactory for HCHs (63.6-97.1%) but relatively low for DDTs (44.7-116%) due to the high content of organic matter in wastewater.     

Polyaniline-polypyrrole coating for solid phase microextraction

A procedure for direct electrochemical deposition of polyaniline-polypyrrole blend coating on the surface of stainless steel wire was suggested. Incorporation of polyaniline and polypyrrole into the blend coating was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. Key parameters (pyrrole, aniline, dopant and sulphuric acid concentrations and deposition potential) influencing the coating’s mechanical stability and surface homogeneity were optimised and thermostability of the coating was investigated. A possibility to apply the coating as a new fibre for solid phase microextraction was demonstrated. The coating showed better selectivity toward aromatic, hydrophobic compounds.      

Inorganic–organic hybrid coating material for the online in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction of monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urine

An inorganic–organic hybrid nanocomposite (zinc oxide/polypyrrole) that represents a novel kind of coating for in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction is reported. The composite coating was prepared by a facile electrochemical polymerization strategy on the inner surface of a stainless‐steel tube. Based on the coated tube, a novel online in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry method was developed and applied for the extraction of three monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human urine. The coating displayed good extraction ability toward monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, long lifespan, excellent stability, and good compression resistance were also obtained for the coating. The experimental conditions affecting the extraction were optimized systematically. Under the optimal conditions, the limits of detection and quantification were in the range of 0.039–0.050 and 0.130–0.167 ng/mL, respectively. Good linearity (0.2–100 ng/mL) was obtained with correlation coefficients larger than 0.9967. The repeatability, expressed as relative standard deviation, ranged between 2.5% and 9.4%. The method offered the advantage of process simplicity, rapidity, automation, and sensitivity in the analysis of human urinary monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in two different cities of Hubei province. An acceptable recovery of monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (64–122%) represented the additional attractive features of the method in real urine analysis.     

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles as a novel coating for solid‐phase microextraction

CdS nanoparticles coated on a stainless‐steel wire for solid‐phase microextraction was prepared. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the CdS nanoparticles clustered together to form a porous structure and X‐ray diffraction confirmed that the CdS nanoparticles were the wurtzite phase. Coupled to gas chromatography with flame ionization detection, the extraction abilities of the fiber for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were examined by the headspace method. The parameters of adsorption time, adsorption temperature, salt concentration, desorption time, and desorption temperature were investigated and optimized. For the method, wide linearity and low limits of detection from 5 to 15 ng/L were obtained. The relative standard deviations for single‐fiber repeatability and fiber‐to‐fiber reproducibility were less than 10.2 and 12.6%, respectively. The enrichment factors were from 1155.6 to 3905.4, showing the fiber has good extraction capacity for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Moreover, the fiber can be used more than 50 times, exhibiting good stability. The established method was also used to analyze the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in two real samples, and the recoveries from 82.7 to 114.2% further proved the reliability of the method.     

Highly porous silica-polyaniline nanocomposite as a novel solid-phase microextraction fiber coating

A highly porous fiber-coated SBA-15/polyaniline material was prepared for solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The SBA-15/polyaniline nanocomposite was synthesized via chemical polymerization. The prepared SBA-15/polyaniline particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy analysis. The prepared nanomaterial was immobilized onto a stainless steel wire for fabrication of the SPME fiber. The fiber was evaluated for the extraction of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous sample solutions in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In optimum conditions (extraction temperature 60°C, extraction time 40 min, ionic strength 20%, stirring rate: 500 rpm, desorption temperature 260°C, desorption time 2 min), the repeatability for one fiber (n=3), expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD%), was between 5.3 and 8.6% for the test compounds. For deionized water, spiked with selected PAHs, the detection limits for the studied compounds were between 2 and 20 pg/mL.     

Electrodeposited polyaniline as a fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction of organochlorine pesticides from water

The study on the performance of polyaniline as a fiber coating for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) purposes has been reported. Polyaniline coatings were directly electrodeposited on the surface of a stainless steel wire and applied for the extraction of some organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from water samples. Analyses were performed using GC-electron capture detection (GC-ECD). The results obtained show that polyaniline fiber coating is suitable for the successful extraction of organochlorine compounds. This behavior is most probably due to the porous surface structure of polyaniline film, which provides large surface areas and allowed for high extraction efficiency. Experimental parameters such as adsorption and desorption conditions were studied and optimized. The optimized method has an acceptable linearity, with a concentration range of 1-5000 ng/L. Single fiber repeatability and fiber-to-fiber reproducibility were less than 12 and 17%, respectively. High environmental resistance and lower cost are among the advantages of polyaniline fibers over commercially available SPME fibers. The developed method was applied to the analysis of real water samples from Yangtse River and Tianmu Lake.     

Extraction and enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by ordered mesoporous carbon reinforced hollow fiber liquid‐phase microextraction

A novel microextraction method, ordered mesoporous carbon reinforced hollow fiber liquid‐phase microextraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection, was developed for the determination of some organic pollutants in water samples. Four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (fluorene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene) were selected to validate this new method. Main parameters that could influence the extraction efficiency such as extraction time, fiber length, stirring rate, the type of the extraction solvent, pH value, the concentration of ordered mesoporous carbon, and salt effect were optimized. Under the optimal extraction conditions, good linearity was observed in the range of 2–1000 ng/L, with the correlation coefficients of 0.9954–0.9986. The recoveries for the spiked samples were in the range of 88.96–100.17%. The limits of detection of the method were 0.4–4 ng/L. The relative standard deviations varied from 4.2–5.9%. The results demonstrated that the newly developed method was an efficient pretreatment and enrichment procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental water samples.     

Polythiophene/hexagonally ordered silica nanocomposite coating as a solid‐phase microextraction fiber for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water

A highly porous fiber coated with polythiophene/hexagonally ordered silica nanocomposite was prepared for solid‐phase microextraction (SPME). The prepared nanomaterial was immobilized onto a stainless‐steel wire for the fabrication of the SPME fiber. Polythiophene/hexagonally ordered silica nanocomposite fibers were used for the extraction of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water samples. The extracted analytes were transferred to the injection port of a gas chromatograph using a laboratory‐designed SPME device. The results obtained prove the ability of the polythiophene/hexagonally ordered silica material as a new fiber for the sampling of organic compounds from water samples. This behavior is due most probably to the increased surface area of the polythiophene/hexagonally ordered silica nanocomposite. A one‐at‐a‐time optimization strategy was applied for optimizing the important extraction parameters such as extraction temperature, extraction time, ionic strength, stirring rate, and desorption temperature and time. Under the optimum conditions, the LOD of the proposed method is 0.1–3 pg/mL for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous samples, and the calibration graphs were linear in a concentration range of 0.001–20 ng/mL (R² > 0.990) for most of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The single fiber repeatability and fiber‐to‐fiber reproducibility were less than 8.6 and 19.1% (n = 5), respectively.     

Graphene oxide decorated with silver nanoparticles as a coating on a stainless‐steel fiber for solid‐phase microextraction

A novel graphene oxide decorated with silver nanoparticles coating on a stainless‐steel fiber for solid‐phase microextraction was prepared. Scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the coating surface and showed that silver nanoparticles were dispersed on the wrinkled graphene oxide surface. Coupled to gas chromatography with flame ionization detection, the extraction abilities of the fiber for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were examined in the headspace solid‐phase microextraction mode. The extraction parameters including adsorption time, adsorption temperature, salt concentration, desorption time and desorption temperature were investigated. Under the optimized condition, wide linearity with low limits of detection from 2 to 10 ng/L was obtained. The relative standard deviations for single‐fiber repeatability and fiber‐to‐fiber reproducibility were less than 10.6 and 17.5%, respectively. The enrichment factors were from 1712.5 to 4503.7, showing the fiber has good extraction abilities. Moreover, the fiber exhibited a good stability and could be reused for more than 120 times. The established method was also applied for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in two real water samples and the recoveries of analytes ranged from 84.4–116.3% with relative standard deviations less than 16.2%.     

Optimization of solid‐phase microextraction using Taguchi design to quantify trace level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water

This article introduces a simple, rapid, and reliable solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) method coupled with GC‐MS for the quantitative determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water. In this study, the Taguchi experimental design was used to optimize extraction conditions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using SPME method to obtain highly enriched analytes. Consequently, quantitative determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water was achieved by GC‐MS technique. The selected parameters affecting enrichment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were sample extraction time, stirring speed, temperature, ionic strength, and pH. The study revealed that optimal operating conditions were found to be 90‐min extraction time, 1400 rpm stirring speed, and 60°C sample temperature. The effect of ionic strength and pH were shown to be insignificant. Optimized conditions were also reevaluated by placing the 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons into several subgroups based on their molecular weight. The extraction efficiency of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with low molecular weight was shown to be a function of only the extracting temperature. Satisfactory results were obtained for linearity (0.983–0.999), detection limits (2.67–18.02 ng/L), accuracy (71.2–99.3%), and precision (4.3–13.5%). The optimum conditions reported by other design approaches were evaluated and generalized optimum conditions were suggested.     

Palladium‐coated stainless‐steel wire as a solid‐phase microextraction fiber

A novel palladium solid‐phase microextraction coating was fabricated on a stainless‐steel wire by a simple in situ oxidation–reduction process. The palladium coating exhibited a rough microscaled surface and its thickness was about 2 μm. Preparation conditions (reaction time and concentration of palladium chloride and hydrochloric acid) were optimized in detail to achieve sufficient extraction efficiency. Extraction properties of the fiber were investigated by direct immersion solid‐phase microextraction of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalate esters in aqueous samples. The extracted analytes were transferred into a gas chromatography system by thermal desorption. The effect of extraction and desorption conditions on extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained and correlation coefficients between 0.9908 and 0.9990 were obtained. Limits of detection were 0.05–0.10 μg/L for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 0.3 μg/L for phthalate esters. Their recoveries for real aqueous samples were in the range from 97.1 to 121% and from 89.1 to 108%, respectively. The intra‐ and interday tests were also investigated with three different addition levels, and satisfactory results were also obtained.     

Quantitative determination of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil samples using solid‐phase microextraction

A method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil samples using ultrasonic‐assisted extraction with internal surrogates combined with solid‐phase microextraction and GC‐MS has been developed. Five kinds of commercial solid‐phase microextraction fibers, 100 μm PDMS, 30 μm PDMS, 65 μm PDMS/DVB, 50 μm DVB/CAR/PDMS and 85 μm PA, were compared to choose the optimal SPME fiber for extraction of PAHs. One hundred micrometers of PDMS fiber was found to be more suitable for the determination of PAHs due to its wider linear range, better repeatability, lower detection and more satisfactory efficacy than the other fibers. Under the recommended conditions, 100 μm PDMS fiber could provide low nanogram level detection limits with correlation coefficient greater than 0.98. The method was also applied to determine PAHs in a spiked soil sample, obtaining recoveries higher than 79.3%. A field study with naturally contaminated samples from local contaminated sites was carried out. The proposed method was found to be a reliable, inexpensive and simple preparation method for quantitative determination of 16 PAHs in soil samples.     

微孔有机聚合物固相微萃取纤维的制备及在有机氯农药检测中的应用

利用1,3,6,8-四(4-醛基)芘和三聚氰胺为单体合成微孔有机聚合物(MOP),并将其固定在不锈钢丝上,制备成固相微萃取纤维涂层。将其用于顶空固相微萃取(HS-SPME),结合气相色谱-电子捕获检测手段,建立了对大米中有机氯农药的在线检测方法。实验考察了4种实验参数对富集能力的影响,得到了最优的实验条件:萃取温度80℃、萃取时间25 min、NaCl质量浓度200 g/L、解吸时间6 min。在此实验条件下,对有机氯农药的富集倍数达到115~318倍。方法在0.05~50μg/kg范围内具有良好的线性关系,检出限为2.4~11.3 ng/kg。同一纤维及不同纤维富集后测定结果的相对标准偏差范围分别为1.3%~13.1%和2.3%~13.6%。该方法简单、快速,可以实现对实际样品中有机氯农药的痕量分析。     

溶胶-凝胶固相微萃取涂层及其在农药残留分析中的应用

利用溶胶-凝胶(sol-gel)技术制备固相微萃取(SPME)涂层材料.通过硅醇盐前驱体与涂层聚合物羟基硅油(OH-TSO)的水解共聚的方法,成功地制备了聚二甲基硅氧烷sol-gel 涂层的SPME 萃取头,并以农药的混合标准水溶液为研究对象,用直接-固相微萃取-气相色谱法(GC)对涂层的性能进行考察,制成的萃取头适用于多种农药残留的萃取分离分析.     

Polymeric ionic liquid modified stainless steel wire as a novel fiber for solid‐phase microextraction

A polymeric ionic liquid modified stainless steel wire for solid‐phase microextraction was reported. Mercaptopropyl‐functionalized stainless steel wire that was formed by co‐condensation of tetramethoxysilane and 3‐mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane via a sol‐gel process, which is followed by in situ surface radical chain‐transfer polymerization of 1‐vinyl‐3‐octylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate to result in polymeric ionic liquid modified stainless steel wire. The fiber surface was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X‐ray analysis. Coupled with GC, extraction performance of the fiber was tested with phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as model analytes. Effects of extraction and desorption conditions were investigated systematically in our work. RSDs for single‐fiber repeatability and fiber‐to‐fiber reproducibility were less than 7.34 and 16.82%, respectively. The calibration curves were linear in a wide range for all analytes and the detection limits were in the range of 10–60 ng L^?1. Two real water samples from the Yellow River and local waterworks were applied to test the as‐established solid‐phase microextraction–GC method with the recoveries of samples spiked at 10 μg L^?1 ranged from 83.35 to 119.24%. The fiber not only exhibited excellent extraction efficiency, but also very good rigidity, stability and durability.