Extraction of naphtholsulfonic acids from aqueous solutions with the use of a rotating concentrating unit and their photometric determination in the back extract

A new concentrating unit is proposed for the extraction of naphtholsulfonic acids; the unit is a ferromagnetic (steel) rod in a polyethylene or glass case coated with a mixture of cetyl alcohol with trioctylamine N-oxide. The rod is immersed in an analyzed solution and rotated in an alternating magnetic field (solid-phase extraction). The extraction-sorption characteristics of naphtholsulfonic acids were calculated, and a procedure was developed for their selective photometric determination in back extracts.     

Automated glass capillary gas chromatographic analysis of PCB and organochlorine pesticide residues in agricultural products

Complicated PCB mixtures can be separated in individual compounds using glass capillary gas chromatography, (GC)². Depending on extraction and clean-up procedure it is also possible to separate and determine organochlorine pesticides at the same time. This (GC)² technique can be used to determine the contents of individual chlorinated biphenyls in milk products and animal feedstuffs and in the analysis of complicated extracts of soil and vegetable material. Practical aspects concerning connection of the capillary, automatic splitless injection, repeatability of the retention time, quality of the column with respect to separation and adsorption and degradation of DDT are discussed. The detection of individual chlorinated biphenyls is possible at the ppb level in fats and vegetable materials, using an extraction and clean-up procedure, based on saponification of the sample. Preliminary results for milk, obtained from several areas, are shown.     

Comparison of extraction techniques for extraction of bioactive molecules from Hypericum perforatum L. plant

Three methods commonly used for the extraction of bioactive molecules from natural plant material are compared. Dried Hypericum perforatum L. plant material is subjected to Soxhlet extraction, extraction by ultrasonication, and accelerated solvent extraction. The percentage of two bioactive compounds, hyperforin and hypericin, in the extracts is used as a parameter for comparison of the extraction procedure.     

Aufarbeitung von Meerestieren für die Bestimmung von PCB,DDT, DDE,DDD, γ-HCH und HCB

Frozen tissues are homogenized with quartz sand and Na₂SO₄. The resulting tissue powder is subjected to a cold extraction procedure with n-hexane/acetone (2∶1) in a glass column. Clean-up of extracts is made on Al₂O₃ for fat removal and on florisil with 0.6–1.0% water content yielding two fractions which contain PCB's, DDE, HCB, and DDT, DDD, γ-HCH. The overall recovery is 80–90% for HCB and 92–100% for the other compounds.     

Determination of nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates in environmental solid samples by ultrasonic-assisted extraction and high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection

A simple and rapid analytical method for the determination of nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOx) in solid environmental samples has been developed. This method combines an ultrasonic-assisted extraction procedure in small columns and an enrichment step onto C(18) solid-phase extraction cartridges prior to separation using HPLC with fluorescence detection. Method optimization was carried out using soil samples fortified at different concentration levels (from 0.1 to 100 microg/g). Under optimum conditions, 2g of soil was placed in small glass columns and extraction was performed assisted by sonication (SAESC) at 45 degrees C in two consecutive steps of 15 min using a mixture of H(2)O/MeOH (30/70). The obtained extracts were collected, loaded onto 500 mg C(18) cartridges, and analytes were eluted with 3 x 1 ml of methanol and 1 ml of acetonitrile. Finally, sample extracts were evaporated under a nitrogen stream, redissolved in 500 microl H(2)O/AcN (50/50), and passed though a 0.45 microm nylon filter before final determination by HPLC-FL. The developed procedure allowed to achieve quantitative recoveries for NP and NPEOx, and was properly validated. Finally, the method was applied to the determination of these compounds in soils and other environmental solid samples such as sediments, compost and sludge.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in waste waters and sewage sludge: Extraction and clean-up for HPLC analysis with fluorescence detection

Summary A modified solid-phase extraction technique using sonication of the adsorbent material instead of the elution normally applied has been compared with two conventional liquid-liquid extraction procedures for the determination of the 16 EPA PAHs in municipal waste waters by means of HPLC coupled with fluorescence detection. Liquid-liquid extraction with cyclohexane proved to be the most efficient and simplest procedure. Clean-up of the waste-water extracts was not considered necessary, because of the high chromatographic resolution of the column and the selectivity of the fluorescence detector. Different organic solvents were also compared for ultrasonic extraction of PAHs from sewage sludge. The best results were obtained by use of acetonitrile. Clean-up of sewage-sludge extracts was not found necessary for accurate quantification of the major PAH components with fluorescence detection. The precision of the whole analytical procedure from extraction to the final determination of PAHs was satisfactory for both waste-water and sewage-sludge samples.     

Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Microcystins from Cyanobacterial Biomass: Optimization of the Sample Preparation Procedure

The sample preparation procedure for determination of microcystins from biomass by the LC–MS method was optimized. Treatment of freeze-dried biomass samples with acetonitrile prior to the main extraction was effectively used for decreasing the amount of protein-like matrix compounds in extracts. Use of acetonitrile–water mixtures during the main ultrasound-assisted extraction allowed increasing the total microcystins amount in the resultant extracts compared to the traditional extraction using 75% methanol.     

One-step cleanup for PAH residue analysis in plant matrices using size-exclusion chromatography

A new one-step cleanup procedure, based on size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), usable for the extracts from accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), Soxhlet extraction, or ultrasonic extraction (USE), is described. The method is suitable for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), especially from very complicated plant matrices (e.g. pine needles, deciduous leaves, mosses). The main improvement compared with previous conventional procedures is that analyte peaks barely overlap with matrix peaks in the chromatograms and that it is a very rapid and simple one-step procedure with clearly improved analytical performance. Essential advantages of this SEC procedure are the sharper GC-MS chromatograms for the PAH fraction at retention times between 9.2 and 12.0 min, distinctly separated substance peaks resulting in better analysis, shorter running times, and lower solvent consumption.     

Improved ultrasonic extraction procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments

The aim of this work was to optimize an ultrasonic extraction procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments and to compare it with the reflux procedure using methanolic potassium hydroxide. Sample extracts were purified with a miniaturized silica gel chromatographic column and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Ultrasonication using n-hexane-acetone (1:1, v/v) solvent mixture on dried homogenized marine sediment gave better precision (smaller relative standard deviation (RSD) values) and comparable quantities of individual PAH's compared to the reflux procedure. Ultrasonication with the n-hexane-acetone (1:1, v/v) mixture, utilizing four 15 min extraction cycles, was found to be sufficient for extracting PAHs from wet sediments. The optimized ultrasonic extraction procedure extracted aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons from the National Institute of Standards and Technology SRM 1941a with recoveries greater than 90%. The major advantages of ultrasonication compared to the reflux method are the lower extraction times, simplicity of the apparatus and extraction procedure. The optimized ultrasonication procedure has been used in our laboratory to extract hydrocarbons from naturally wet sediments from rivers, and coastal and marine areas.     

Application of a cholinesterase biosensor to screen for organophosphorus pesticides extracted from soil

Based on the principle of enzyme inactivation, a butyrylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8.) biosensor, to determine some organophosphorus (ORP) pesticides (Fenitrothion, Diazinon, Parathion ethyl, Mevinphos and Heptenophos) in soil extracts, is presented. The enzyme was immobilized on pre-activated Pall Biodyne(TM) transfer membranes, which were physically attached to the sensitive ends of glass pH electrodes. Contact of the enzyme with pesticide samples results in specific inhibition of enzyme activity. Sensor calibration was possible by correlating the inhibition of enzyme activity (monitored by observing reduction in electrode potential changes with substrate additions) with varying concentrations of pesticide compounds in a buffer solution. A simple procedure was designed to extract ORP pesticides from spiked soil samples using a mixture of dichloromethane and acetone as the extraction solvent mixture. The sensor was successfully used to determine pesticide concentrations ranging from a low of 35 ppb (Diazinon) to 21 ppm (Fenitrothion) in soil, with resultant relative standard deviations of percentage enzyme inactivation less than 12%. The complete extraction and analytical procedure is simple, inexpensive and rapid. Mass production of the enzyme membranes and their easy attachment to the electrodes, render them disposable after a single use. The biosensor is seen as a potential analytical instrument for early warning against pesticide contaminations in soil.     

Improved extraction of ginkgotoxin (4'-O-methylpyridoxine) from Ginkgo biloba products

A simple extraction procedure was applied to the analysis of canned/packaged white nuts and Ginkgo biloba extracts. Extraction by shaking with water at room temperature was more convenient to use than a previously published Soxhlet procedure for analysis of packaged Ginkgo biloba seeds (white nuts) for ginkgotoxin; recoveries from spiked dried seeds by the simple extraction procedure averaged 76%. Determination was by liquid chromatography with UV or fluorescence detection. Recoveries of ginkgotoxin from a spiked and unspiked natural health product (powder from Ginkgo biloba capsules) were equivalent by both procedures; recovery from spiked powder by the simple extraction procedure was 81%. Application of this extraction procedure in the analysis of 6 samples of white nuts (vacuum packaged and canned products) showed that free ginkgotoxin was present in 5 samples at concentrations up to 25 microg/g dry weight. Total ginkgotoxin was determined after hydrolysis with beta-glucosidase of sample extracts in which a peak corresponding to the 5'-O-glucoside was detected. Ginkgotoxin was determined in 10 Ginkgo biloba natural health products by the same method at levels up to 181 microg/g.     

MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry of hordeins: rapid approach for identification of malting barley varieties

A procedure for identification of malting barley varieties using matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) of ethanol‐soluble barley proteins (hordeins) is described. The hordeins were first extracted from milled barley grains by several extraction protocols (using different extraction agents and conditions). Hordein extracts were then analyzed directly via MALDI‐TOF MS without any preliminary purification or separation step, and the protein profiles of analyzed hordein extracts were compared in order to find out the most suitable extraction procedure for mass spectrometric analysis. The optimized procedure was successfully applied to identification of 13 malting barley varieties. Our results revealed that the proposed mass spectrometry‐based approach provides characteristic mass patterns of extracted hordeins, which can be advantageously used for barley variety identification. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of Extraction Conditions for Flavonoid Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Radix Scutellariae

Microwave, ultrasonic, and reflux extraction were compared to provide an optimized method for flavonoids from Radix Scutellariae including the antioxidant activity of the extracts. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assays. Baicalin, wogonoside, baicalein, wogonin, and oroxylin A were quantified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography. For microwave extraction, with a ten minutes treatment, the extraction efficiencies of the analytes were higher than treatments by refluxing for 180 minutes and sonication for sixty minutes. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the microwave extracts was slightly higher than the extracts obtained by the other methods. Microwave extraction conditions were further optimized by a single-factor experiment and the optimum conditions were 50 percent ethanol–water (volume by volume), an extraction temperature of 100 degrees celsius, an extraction time of ten minutes, and a sample to solvent ratio of 1:50. This study combines extraction, phytochemistry, and bioactivity to screen the most efficient extraction procedure for flavonoids from Radix Scutellariae.     

Isolation and determination of dissolved organic sulphur compounds — development of the organic group parameter DOS

A procedure has been worked out for the determination of organic sulphur compounds (OSCs) in aqueous solution. They are isolated from water by solid phase extraction on macroporous resins and reversed-phase sorbents. The total sulphur content of the extracts is determined via a process of thermal cracking and hydrogenation (pyrohydrogenolysis) of small amounts of extract in a heated quartz tube (1100°C) flushed with hydrogen. Sulphur is detected at a wavelength of 394 nm in the hydrogen flame of a flame photometer. The flame photometric detector (FPD) is calibrated with a coulometric H₂S-generator. The procedure of solid phase extraction and subsequent pyrohydrogenolysis/flame photometry of the extracts can be used to determine the organic group parameter DOS (Dissolved Organic Sulphur) in the range of 20–1000 μg/1.     

Solvent Mixture Optimization in the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activities from Garlic (Allium sativum L.)

Garlic is a health promoter that has important bioactive compounds. The bioactive extraction is an important step in the analysis of constituents present in plant preparations. The purpose of this study is to optimize the extraction with the best proportion of solvents to obtain total phenolic compounds (TPC) and thiosulfinates (TS) from dried garlic powder, and evaluate the antioxidant activities of the optimized extracts. A statistical mixture simplex axial design was used to evaluate the effect of solvents (water, ethanol, and acetone), as well as mixtures of these solvents, after two ultrasound extraction cycles of 15 min. Results showed that solvent mixtures with a high portion of water and pure water were efficient for TPC and TS recovery through this extraction procedure. According to the regression model computed, the most significant solvent mixtures to obtain high TPC and TS recovery from dried garlic powder are, respectively, the binary mixture with 75% water and 25% acetone and pure water. These optimized extracts presented oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Pure water was better for total antioxidant capacity, and the binary mixture of water–acetone (75:25) was better for DPPH scavenging activity. These optimized extracts can be used for industrial and research applications.     

Determination of 24 pesticides residues in mineral and peat soils by modified QuEChERS method and gas chromatography

A simple extraction and cleanup procedure has been developed for the analysis of 24 organophosphorus (OP), organochlorine (OC) and pyrethroid (PY) pesticides in mineral and peat soils using modified QuEChERS method. The pesticides were extracted from the soil with acidified acetonitrile. The water was removed from the extract by salting out with sodium chloride and addition of magnesium sulfate. For OP pesticides, the extracts were cleaned up with 0.2 g of primary secondary amine packed in glass Pasteur pipette and determined by gas chromatography with flame photometric detector. For OC and PY pesticides, the extracts were cleaned up with 0.2 g of silica gel packed in a glass Pasteur pipette and determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detector. After the cleanup, the extracts had lower colour intensity and reduced matrix interferences. The recovery of the OP and OC pesticides for mineral and peat soils determined at 0.01–1.0 mg kg^?1 fortification levels ranged from 79.0–120.0% and 82.2–117.6%, respectively. The detection limits for OP and OC pesticides were 0.001–0.01 and 0.002–0.005 mg kg^?1, respectively. The recovery of the PY pesticides ranged from 87.5–111.7% at the detection limits of 0.002–0.010 mg kg^?1. The relative standard deviations for all pesticides studied were below 10.8%. The modified method was simple, fast, and had utilized less reagents than the conventional methods. The method was applied to the determination of the pesticide residues in mineral and peat soil samples collected from the vegetable farms.     

Evaluation of microwave-assisted extraction for aristolochic acid from Aristolochiae Fructus by chromatographic analysis coupled with nephrotoxicity studies

In this paper, a microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method was established for aristolochic acid-I from Aristolochiae Fructus, and the advantage of MAE was evaluated by chromatographic analysis coupled with nephrotoxicity studies. The experimental parameters of MAE for aristolochic acid-I in Aristolochiae Fructus were investigated and MAE was compared with Soxhlet extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction in terms of extraction yields and extraction conditions. Under the optimum conditions, MAE could provide higher extraction yields of aristolochic acid-I (1.10 mg/g) than ultrasound-assisted extraction (0.82 mg/g) and Soxhlet extraction (0.95 mg/g), in addition to using less solvent and having a shorter extraction time. Furthermore, the nephrotoxicities of the extracts of Aristolochiae Fructus from different extraction procedures were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats. The results of nephrotoxicity studies of, for example, general conditions, biochemistry parameters and histopathology examination showed no significantly differences in the nephrotoxicity levels of the extracts from MAE and that from Soxhlet extraction. These results indicated that MAE technique is a simple, rapid and effective extraction method, and the microwave irradiation during MAE procedure did not have any influence on the nephrotoxicity of Aristolochiae Fructus compared with Soxhlet extraction.     

LC–MS–MS Determination of Stabilizers and Explosives Residues in Hand-Swabs

The contribution of explosive trace detection in samples from the hands of suspects has been fundamental in several forensic cases involving terrorists. This paper describes a method for the rapid extraction and unequivocal confirmation of some high potential explosives (trinitrotoluene, cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, nitroglycerin) and two stabilizer (diphenylamine and ethylcentralite) residues in hand-swabs using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The extraction procedure of the analytes from the swabs is realized by solvent elution and the extracts are directly analyzed. Recoveries from spiked swabs range from 78 to 96%; the limits of quantification are between 0.04 and 1.8 ng injected and the inter-day method precision is less than 15%. The developed procedure was applied to the detection of explosives traces in samples after handling tests.     

A two-step supercritical fluid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from roadside soil samples

A two-step procedure for the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from soil samples was developed. The procedure consists of a static supercritical fluid treatment in a closed extraction cell at a high temperature (T=250 or 340degreesC for 20 min) and an SFE with a solvent trapping. During the static phase, the sample is exposed to a supercritical organic solvent (methanol, toluene, dichloromethane, ACN, acetone, and hexane). The solvent penetrates particles of the matrix to substitute strongly bonded molecules and dissolves the analytes in the supercritical phase. At ambient temperature, supercritical fluids became liquid and lost their solvation abilities. Most of the analytes condense on the surface of the particles or on the extraction cell walls without forming strong bonds or penetrating deep into the matrix. Thus, the pretreatment liberates the analytes and they behave similar to those in freshly spiked samples. The common SFE with toluene-modified CO2 as an extraction fluid follows the static phase. With the use of the most suitable extraction phases (toluene, ACN), the extraction efficiency of the combined procedure is much higher (approximately100%). The results of the combined procedure are compared to the SFE procedure of the same untreated sample (difference less than 5%) and to the Soxhlet extraction. The extracts were analyzed using a GC with the flame ionization detection.     

Micro-scale extraction procedure for standardized screening of fungal metabolite production in cultures

A simple and rapid standardized micro-scale extraction procedure has been developed to prepare extracts from fungal cultures for high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis. The method is based on ultrasonic extraction of three 6-mm plugs cut from a culture using 0.5 ml of solvent followed by a simple solvent change, filtration and injection. Approximately 5 min of work is involved in the extraction and work-up process and the extract can prepared for HPLC analysis within 60–70 min. The method has been used for determination of chromatographic metabolite profiles from 395 fungal isolates, including all terverticillate Penicillium species, cultivated on both Czapek Yeast Autolysate agar and Yeast Extract Sucrose agar. The concentration of the extracts proved to be sufficient to determine all secondary metabolites reported to be produced by these species using HPLC with diode array detection. These findings were confirmed by analyses of 132 pure metabolite standards.