Carboxyl modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction adsorbents combined with high-performance liquid chromatography for analysis of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates

Recently, multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as adsorbents of solid-phase extraction are attractive because they can be used for enrichment of organic compounds and metal ions at trace levels. In this study, we use the carboxyl modified multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CMMWCNTs) as adsorbents of solid-phase extraction for extraction of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS), which are widely used anion surfactant with different homologues, and detected by HPLC-UV. The effect of eluent and its volume, sample pH and flow rate, sample volume and the ultrasonic time of sample, the content of the electrolyte (NaCl) were investigated and optimized. The detection limit for LAS homologues was 0.02-0.03 μg L⁻¹ with R.S.D. (n = 6) ranging from 2.04 to 10.03%. The recoveries of LAS homologues in the spiked environmental water samples ranged from 84.8 to 106.1%. The proposed method has been applied successfully to the analysis of LAS in aqueous environmental samples, which demonstrates that CMMWCNTs-based solid-phase extraction is a precision and convenient enrichment method and can be used for analysis of LAS homologues in water samples.     

Preconcentration of diazinon using multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction adsorbents

A sensitive and selective column adsorption method is proposed for the preconcentration and determination of diazinon. Diazinon was preconcentrated on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as an adsorbent and then determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Several parameters on the recovery of the analyte were investigated. The experimental results showed that it was possible to obtain quantitative analysis when the solution pH was 6 using 200 mL of validation solution containing 2 μg of diazinon and 5 mL of acetonitrile as an eluent. Recovery of diazinon was 95.2 ± 4.2% with a relative standard deviation for seven determinations of 4.9% under optimum conditions. The maximum preconcentration factor was 200 for diazinon when 1000 mL of sample solution volume was used. The linear range of calibration curve was 0.3 to 10,000 ng mL^− 1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.997 and the detection limit (3S/N) was 0.06 ng mL^− 1. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of diazinon in tap water with high precision and accuracy.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as adsorbents of solid-phase extraction for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental waters coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used as a novel kind of solid-phase extraction adsorbents in this work as well as an analytical method based on MWCNTs solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which belong to typical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) owing to their carcinogenicity and endocrine disrupting activity. Several conditions that probably affected the extraction efficiency including the eluent volume, sample flow rate, sample pH and the sample volume were optimized in detail. The characteristic data of analytical performance were determined to investigate the sensitivity and precision of the method, and the method was applied to the determination of PAHs in environmental water samples such as river water sample, tap water sample and wastewater sample from the constructed wetland effluent. The experimental results indicated that there were excellent linear relationship between peak area and the concentration of PAHs over the range of 0.04-100 microg L(-1), and the precisions (RSD) were 1.7-4.8% under the optimal conditions. The detection limits of proposed method for the studied PAHs were 0.005-0.058 microg L(-1) (S/N=3). The recoveries of PAHs spiked in environmental water samples ranged from 78.7 to 118.1%. It was concluded that MWCNTs packed cartridge coupled with HPLC was an excellent alternative for the routine analysis of PAHs at trace level.     

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the determination of chlorophenols in environmental water samples

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNs) are used as adsorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) of several chlorophenols (CPs). CPs were adsorbed on MWCNs cartridge, then desorbed with pH 10.0 methanol, finally determined by HPLC. Under the optimized conditions, detection limits of 0.08-0.8 ng mL(-1) were obtained. The method had been applied to analyze the five CPs in tap water and river water.     

多壁碳纳米管固相萃取净化-高效液相色谱法测定猪肉和鸡肉中的磺胺多残留

建立了多壁碳纳米管为吸附剂的固相萃取净化-高效液相色谱-紫外检测测定猪肉和鸡肉中多种磺胺类药物多残留的方法。样品采用乙腈提取,多壁碳纳米管固相萃取净化,NaH₂PO₄缓冲溶液（pH 5.5~6.0）溶解上样,5%（v/v）丙酮-正己烷淋洗,丙酮-二氯甲烷（1：1,v/v）洗脱。色谱分离以50 mmol/L NaH₂PO₄-乙腈（7：3,v/v）为流动相,方法的线性范围为0.01~1.00 mg/L,线性相关系数大于0.998,检出限（LOD）为0.003 mg/L,定量限（LOQ）为0.01 mg/L。在0.02~0.2 mg/kg添加范围内,9种磺胺类药物的回收率高于70%,RSD低于8%,表明多壁碳纳米管对磺胺类药物具有较强的吸附富集能力。该方法简便、准确可用于动物组织及产品中磺胺药物残留的检测。     

Evaluation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction adsorbents of pesticides from agricultural, ornamental and forestal soils

A new, simple and cost-effective method based on the use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as solid-phase extraction stationary phases is proposed for the determination of a group of seven organophosphorus pesticides (i.e. ethoprophos, diazinon, chlorpyriphos-methyl, fenitrothion, malathion, chlorpyriphos and phosmet) and one thiadiazine (buprofezin) in different kinds of soil samples (forestal, ornamental and agricultural) using gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection. Soils were first ultrasound extracted with 10 mL 1:1 methanol/acetonitrile (v/v) and the evaporated extract redissolved in 20 mL water (pH 6.0) was passed through 100 mg of MWCNTs of 10-15 nm o.d., 2-6 nm i.d. and 0.1-10 μm length. Elution was carried out with 20 mL dichloromethane. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, recovery, accuracy and selectivity. Matrix-matched calibration was carried out for each type of soil since statistical differences between the calibration curves constructed in pure solvent and in the reconstituted soil extract were found for most of the pesticides under study. Recovery values of spiked samples ranged between 54 and 91% for the three types of soils (limits of detection (LODs) between 2.97 and 9.49 ng g⁻¹), except for chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl and buprofezin which ranged between 12 and 54% (LODs between 3.14 and 72.4 ng g⁻¹), which are the pesticides with the highest soil organic carbon sorption coefficient (K_OC) values. Using a one-sample test (Student's t-test) with fortified samples at two concentration levels in each type of soil, no significant differences were observed between the real and the experimental values (accuracy percentages ranged between 87 and 117%). It is the first time that the adsorptive potential of MWCNTs for the extraction of organophosphorus pesticides from soils is investigated.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as sorbent for on-line coupling of solid-phase extraction to high-performance liquid chromatography for simultaneous determination of 10 sulfonamides in eggs and pork

The sulfonamides (SAs) have been widely used as effective chemotherapeutics and growth promoters in animals' feeding, but their residues could be a potential danger to human health due to their carcinogenic potency and possible antibiotic resistance. Development of a simple and sensitive method for the determination of SAs residues in food of animal origin, therefore, is of great significance. An on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) method using multiwalled carbon nanotubes as sorbent coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for simultaneous determination of 10 sulfonamides (SAs) in eggs and pork was developed. The adsorptive potential of carbon nanotubes for solid-phase extraction of sulfonamides was investigated for the first time in the present paper. To on-line interface solid-phase extraction with HPLC, a conventional sample loop on the six-port injector valve of the HPLC was replaced by a preconcentration column packed with carbon nanotubes. The analytes in water solution were preconcentrated onto the preconcentration column and subsequently eluted with mobile phase of methanol-water (22:78). The developed on-line solid-phase extraction method for HPLC permitted the current HPLC separation and the next preconcentration proceeded in parallel, and thus allows one determination finished within 35 min. The RSD of 10 SAs for nine replicate measurements of a standard mixture of 1 microgl(-1) were in the range of 2.5-7.8%. The method was applied to the determination of trace sulfadiazin (SDZ), sulfamerazine (SMR), sulfadimidine (SDMD), sulfathiazole (STZ), sulfamoxol (SMO), sulfamethizole (SMT), sulfamethoxypyridazine (SMP), sulfachlorpyridazine (SCP), sulfadoxin (SDX) and sulfisoxazole (SIA) in eggs and pork. The results indicated that the proposed method was simple, cost-effective and sensitive.     

Comparison of adsorbents for on-line solid-phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons before liquid chromatography with UV detection

Summary On-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with reversed-phase liquid chromatography and UV detection at 254 nm has been used for the determination of trace-level polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in soil extracts. Five commercially available adsorbents (C₈, C₁₈, PLRP-S, PRP-1, and Bond-Elut Env) were evaluated. Results showed that recovery of the PAH decreased with increasing molecular weight, because of their poorer solubility. Recovery of high-molecular-weight PAH was significantly improved by addition of 10% (v/v) acetonitrile to the sample before loading of the SPE adsorbent. PAH recovery ranged from 64.0 to 108% when a 50 mL sample spiked with 1 μg L⁻¹ was applied to these adsorbents. Determination of PAH was possible with detection limits below 0.05 μg L⁻¹, which corresponds to 0.2 μg kg⁻¹ soil. The method was successfully used to determine PAH in soil extracts.     

Magnetic solid-phase extraction using carbon nanotubes as sorbents: A review

Magnetic solid-phase extraction (M-SPE) is a procedure based on the use of magnetic sorbents for the separation and preconcentration of different organic and inorganic analytes from large sample volumes. The magnetic sorbent is added to the sample solution and the target analyte is adsorbed onto the surface of the magnetic sorbent particles (M-SPs). Analyte-M-SPs are separated from the sample solution by applying an external magnetic field and, after elution with the appropriate solvent, the recovered analyte is analyzed. This approach has several advantages over traditional solid phase extraction as it avoids time-consuming and tedious on-column SPE procedures and it provides a rapid and simple analyte separation that avoids the need for centrifugation or filtration steps. As a consequence, in the past few years a great deal of research has been focused on M-SPE, including the development of new sorbents and novel automation strategies. In recent years, the use of magnetic carbon nanotubes (M-CNTs) as a sorption substrate in M-SPE has become an active area of research. These materials have exceptional mechanical, electrical, optical and magnetic properties and they also have an extremely large surface area and varied possibilities for functionalization. This review covers the synthesis of M-CNTs and the different approaches for the use of these compounds in M-SPE. The performance, general characteristics and applications of M-SPE based on magnetic carbon nanotubes for organic and inorganic analysis have been evaluated on the basis of more than 110 references. Finally, some important challenges with respect the use of magnetic carbon nanotubes in M-SPE are discussed.     

Determination of thiol compounds by solid-phase extraction using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection

Microchimica Acta - We describe a method for solid-phase extraction of biogenic thiols using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as adsorbent, and their subsequent determination via HPLC and fluorescence...     

Application of carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction sorbent for analysis of chlorophenols in water samples

The aim of this work was to investigate the efficiency of various MWCNTs as SPE materials for the preconcentration of chlorophenols. The COOH-functionalized MWCNTs and MWCNTs were used as SPE sorbents. To evaluate the capability of MWCNTs for the preconcentration of chlorophenols from water samples, 2,4-chlorophenol, 4-chlorophenol, 2,4,6-chlorophenol, 2,6-chlorophenol, 3,4-chlorophenol, and 2-chlorophenol were used as model compounds. Chlorophenols were extracted with acetone, methanol, ethanol, and dichloromethane, and determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. COOH-functionalized MWCNTs <8 nm were found to be the best sorbent for the tested chlorophenols. For COOH-functionalized MWCNTs <8 nm, the recovery rates for all chlorophenols were higher than 50% when acetone or ethanol was used as eluents. In the case of dichloromethane elution, recovery rates for chlorophenols were from 62.0% for 2,6-DCP to 116.8% for 2,4-DCP; only for 2,4,6-TCP was the recovery rate 30.6%. Similar percentage recoveries were achieved with methanol as the eluent.     

Determination of tylosin in feeds by liquid chromatography with solid-phase extraction

A method was developed for the determination of tylosin in feeds. The method involves extraction of tylosin with methanol, concentration under a stream of nitrogen, and cleanup using Phenomenex C18 solid-phase extraction cartridge. Analyte separation and quantitation were achieved by gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography and UV absorbance at 285 nm with a reference wavelength of 320 nm with column temperature of 45 degrees C. Average spike recoveries for samples prepared at 4 spiking levels (22.7, 181, 907, and 1000 g/ton) were 111.0, 94.9, 96.2, and 98.6%, respectively. The overall method precision at each of the 4 spiking levels was < or = 7.85% relative standard deviation. The limits of detection and quantitation (g/ton) were 2.16 and 7.20 g/ton, respectively.     

Dispersive solid-phase extraction for the determination of sulfonamides in chicken muscle by liquid chromatography

A new, fast and low-cost sample preparation for the determination of sulfonamide (SA) residues in chicken muscle by LC technique has been developed. The procedure involves single extraction of sample with acetonitrile, followed by a rapid clean-up and was called "dispersive solid-phase extraction" (dispersive SPE). Using dispersive SPE 25 mg of octadecyl sorbent was added to 1 ml of acetonitrile extract, mixed and centrifuged. The acetonitrile layer was evaporated and residue was dissolved in acetate buffer (pH 3.5). Analysed compounds were detected by fluorescence detector after pre-column derivatization with fluorescamine. The separation of analytes was performed with gradient elution with mobile phase methanol: 2% acetic acid and RP-LC analytical column. The whole procedure was evaluated for six sulfonamides (sulfadiazine, sulfamerazine, sulfamethazine, sulfametoxypirydazine, sulfametoxazole and sulfadimetoxine) according to the European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Specificity, decision limit (CCalpha), detection capacity (CCbeta), trueness and precision were determined during validation process. The dispersive SPE with octadecyl sorbent was found suitable for sample preparation before sulfonamide determination in chicken muscle. As it was found the most of endogenous matrix components were removed and the analytes were isolated from spiked samples with recoveries above 90%. The used analytical conditions allow to successively separate all the tested sulfonamides with the limit of detection at the level of 1-5 microg/kg. The method is simple, rapid and more effective than conventional methods.     

Application of multiwalled carbon nanotubes for solid-phase extraction of organophosphate pesticide

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was developed as a new sorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) of organophosphate (OP) pesticides. A combination of SPE with square-wave voltammetric (SWV) analysis resulted in a fast, sensitive, and selective electrochemical method for determination of OP pesticide using methyl parathion (MP) as a representative. Because of the strong affinity of MWCNT for phosphoric group, nitroaromatic OP compounds can strongly bind to the MWCNT surface. The macroporosity and heterogeneity of MWCNT allow extracting a large amount of MP less than 5 min. The stripping response was highly linear over the MP range of 0.05–2.0 μg/mL, with a detection limit of 0.005 μg/mL. The determination of MP in garlic samples showed acceptable accuracy. The fast extraction ability of MWCNT makes it promising sorbent for various solid-phase extractions.     

Development of magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction technique for the determination of p-hydroxybenzoates in beverage

In this work, magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal process, and then successfully used as magnetic solid-phase extraction sorbents for the determination of p-hydroxybenzoates in beverage. The prepared magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes presented both satisfactory superparamagnetism and strong capacity of absorption, with magnetic Fe(3)O(4) beads of 200 nm average diameters decorated at either ends of the tubes. The hybrid nanocomposites showed a high efficiency in the extraction and enrichment of p-hydroxybenzoates via π-π stacking of targeted molecules onto the polyaromatic composed surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, which entitled them promising magnetic solid-phase extraction sorbents for p-hydroxybenzoates at trace level from complex drink samples. By using an external magnetic field, p-hydroxybenzoates adsorbed on magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes could be rapidly isolated in only 30 s, and subsequently analyzed by liquid chromatography-diode array detector after elution with organic solvents. Extraction conditions such as eluting solvent, the amounts of magnetic sorbents added, pH values, adsorption and desorption time were investigated and optimized to achieve the best effect. Method validations including linearity, detection limit, and precision were also studied. The linearities were in the wide range of 0.05-500 μg/mL with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9983 for all p-hydroxybenzoates. The limits of detection were less than 20 ng/mL. Acceptable RSDs were achieved within 5-8% for all analytes. The results indicated that the proposed method based on magnetic multiwalled carbon nanotubes as magnetic solid-phase extraction absorbents was rapid, efficient, and convenient for the analysis of the targeted compounds of p-hydroxybenzoates in beverage sample.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction materials for the gas chromatographic determination of organophosphorus pesticides in waters

In the present work, a GC method with nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD) was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight organophosphorus pesticide (OPP) residues (i.e., ethoprofos, diazinon, chlorpyrifos-methyl, fenitrothion, malathion, chlorpyrifos, fenamiphos, and buprofezin) in water samples. Preconcentration of the water samples was carried out using an SPE procedure with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of 10-15 nm od, 2-6 nm id, and 0.1-10 microm length as stationary phase. Extraction parameters, such as the amount of MWCNTs, sample volume, pH, and type and amount of the eluent were optimized. The most favorable conditions were as follows: 40 mg MWCNTs, 800 mL water, pH 6.0, and 20 mL dichloromethane, respectively. The MWCNTs-SPE-GC-NPD method was applied to the determination of these pesticides in real water samples: mineral and ground water as well as run-off water from an agricultural area collected shortly before opening out onto the sea. A recovery study was developed with five consecutive extractions of the three types of water spiked at three concentration levels (n = 15). Mean recovery values were in the range of 75-116% for mineral water (RSD < 6.3%), 67-119% for ground water (RSD < 5.8%), and 57-81% for run-off waters (RSDs < 6.9%), except for fenamiphos (mean recovery values between 40 and 84% for the three types of waters, RSDs < 8.9%). LODs were in the low ng/L level (i.e., levels below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) established by the European Union (EU) legislation for these compounds in waters). The proposed method was also applied to the analysis of six water samples (two of each type: mineral, ground, and run-off waters) in which no residues of the selected pesticides were found. Results show that the MWCNTs used in this work have a high adsorbability of the pesticides under study. The main advantage of the use of these MWCNTs is their low cost when compared with those MWCNTs previously used in the literature and with conventional SPE cartridges.     

Preconcentration of atrazine and simazine with multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction disk

A sensitive and selective preconcentration method using solid-phase extraction (SPE) disk, namely multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) disk, is proposed for the determination of atrazine and simazine in water samples. Atrazine and simazine were extracted on MWCNTs disk and then determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Several parameters on the enrichment factor of the analytes were investigated. The experimental results showed that it was possible to obtain quantitative analysis when the solution pH was 5 using 200 mL of validation solution containing 0.1 μg of triazines and 5 mL of acetone as an eluent. The maximum enrichment factors for atrazine and simazine were 3900 ± 250 and 4000 ± 110, respectively when 200 mL of sample solution volume was used. Relative standard deviations for seven determinations were 6.9% (atrazine) and 3.0% (simazine) under optimum conditions. The linear range of calibration curves were 0.1 to 1 ng mL^− 1 for each analyte with good correlation coefficients. The detection limits (3S/N) were 2.5 and 5.0 pg mL^− 1 for atrazine and simazine, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of atrazine and simazine in environmental water samples with high precision and accuracy.     

Using multi-walled carbon nanotubes as solid phase extraction adsorbents to determine dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites at trace level in water samples by high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a kind of new carbon-based nano-materials which have drawn great attention in many application fields. The potential of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbents for the preconcentration of environmental pollutants has been investigated in recent years. The goal of this work was to investigate the feasibility of MWNTs used as SPE adsorbents to enrich dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites including 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis-(4'-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis-(4'-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDE) at trace level which are typical persistent organic pollutants in environment. Parameters that maybe influence the extraction efficiency such as the eluent volume, sample flow rate, sample pH and the sample volume were optimized in detail. The experimental results showed the excellent linear relationship between peak area and the concentration of DDT and its metabolites over the range of 0.2-60 microg L(-1), and the precisions (RSD) were 2.3-2.5% under the optimal conditions. The detection limits of proposed method could reach 4-13 ng L(-1) based on the ratio of chromatographic signal to base line noise (S/N = 3). Satisfied results were achieved when the proposed method was applied to determine the four target compounds in realworld water samples with spiked recoveries over the range of 89.7-115.5%. All these facts indicated that MWCNTs as SPE packing materials coupled to HPLC was an excellent alternative for the routine analysis of DDT and its metabolites at trace level in environment.     

Preconcentration of atrazine and simazine with multiwalled carbon nanotubes as solid-phase extraction disk

A sensitive and selective preconcentration method using solid-phase extraction (SPE) disk, namely multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) disk, is proposed for the determination of atrazine and simazine in water samples. Atrazine and simazine were extracted on MWCNTs disk and then determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Several parameters on the enrichment factor of the analytes were investigated. The experimental results showed that it was possible to obtain quantitative analysis when the solution pH was 5 using 200 mL of validation solution containing 0.1 μg of triazines and 5 mL of acetone as an eluent. The maximum enrichment factors for atrazine and simazine were 3900 ± 250 and 4000 ± 110, respectively when 200 mL of sample solution volume was used. Relative standard deviations for seven determinations were 6.9% (atrazine) and 3.0% (simazine) under optimum conditions. The linear range of calibration curves were 0.1 to 1 ng mL^{− 1} for each analyte with good correlation coefficients. The detection limits (3S/N) were 2.5 and 5.0 pg mL^{− 1} for atrazine and simazine, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of atrazine and simazine in environmental water samples with high precision and accuracy.     

Fractionation of red wine polyphenols by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography

A systematic method for separation of aged red wine polyphenols into various distinct fractions using combined techniques of solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography was proposed. The aged red wine polyphenols were separated into various distinct fractions including phenolic acid fraction, monomer flavanol fraction, oligomer procyanidin fraction, anthocyanin and its pyruvic acid derivative fraction, free or non-colored proanthocyanidin fraction, fraction of direct condensation products between anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins and fraction of other pigmented complexes. The phenolic composition of each fraction was verified by HPLC with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD), thiolysis, vanillin assay, HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) and multi-stage MS fragment analysis. For the first time, anthocyanins and their pyruvic derivatives were separated from other phenolic compounds, while free or non-pigmented polymer proanthocyanidins from other pigmented complexes. The fractionation method would be of particular interest in further studying the detailed composition of polymeric polyphenols in red wine.