Sequential dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the determination of aryloxyphenoxy‐propionate herbicides in water

A novel dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method followed by HPLC analysis, termed sequential DLLME, was developed for the preconcentration and determination of aryloxyphenoxy‐propionate herbicides (i.e. haloxyfop‐R‐methyl, cyhalofop‐butyl, fenoxaprop‐P‐ethyl, and fluazifop‐P‐butyl) in aqueous samples. The method is based on the combination of ultrasound‐assisted DLLME with in situ ionic liquid (IL) DLLME into one extraction procedure and achieved better performance than widely used DLLME procedures. Chlorobenzene was used as the extraction solvent during the first extraction. Hydrophilic IL 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride was used as a dispersive solvent during the first extraction and as an extraction solvent during the second extraction after an in situ chloride exchange by bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide. Several experimental parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized with the design of experiments using MINITAB® 16 software. Under the optimized conditions, the extractions resulted in analyte recoveries of 78–91%. The correlation coefficients of the calibration curves ranged from 0.9994 to 0.9997 at concentrations of 10–300, 15–300, and 20–300 μg L^?1. The relative SDs (n = 5) ranged from 2.9 to 5.4%. The LODs for the four herbicides were between 1.50 and 6.12 μg L^?1.     

Speciation analysis of mercury in sediments using ionic‐liquid‐based vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry

An improved novel method based on ionic liquid vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction has been developed for the extraction of methylmercury, ethylmercury and inorganic mercury in sediment samples prior to analysis by high‐performance liquid chromatography with cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. In this work, mercury species were firstly complexed with dithizone, and the complexes were extracted into 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. Key factors that affect the extraction efficiency of mercury species, such as type and amount of ionic liquid and chelatants, extraction time, sample pH, salt effect and matrix effect were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, linearity was found in the concentration range from 0.1–70 ng/g. Limits of detection ranged from 0.037–0.061 ng/g. Reproducibility and recoveries were assessed by extracting a series of six independent sediment samples that were spiked with different concentration levels. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied in analysis of real sediment samples. In this work, ionic liquids vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction was for the first time used for the extraction of mercury species in sediment samples. The proposed method was proved to be much simpler and more rapid, as well as more environmentally friendly and efficient compared with the previous methods.     

Vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction for the rapid screening of short‐chain chlorinated paraffins in water

The rapid screening of trace levels of short‐chain chlorinated paraffins in various aqueous samples was performed by a simple and reliable procedure based on vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction combined with gas chromatography and electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry. The optimal vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction conditions for 20 mL water sample were as follows: extractant 400 μL of dichloromethane; vortex extraction time of 1 min at 2500 × g; centrifugation of 3 min at 5000 × g; and no ionic strength adjustment. Under the optimum conditions, the limit of quantitation was 0.05 μg/L. Precision, as indicated by relative standard deviations, was less than 9% for both intra‐ and inter‐day analysis. Accuracy, expressed as the mean extraction recovery, was above 91%. The vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction with gas chromatography and electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry method was successfully applied to quantitatively extract short‐chain chlorinated paraffins from samples of river water and the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant, and the concentrations ranged from 0.8 to 1.6 μg/L.     

Determination of some carbamate pesticides in watermelon and tomato samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography

A novel method for the determination of five carbamate pesticides (metolcarb, carbofuran, carbaryl, isoprocard and diethofencard) in watermelon and tomato samples was developed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). Some experimental parameters that influence the extraction efficiency were studied and optimised to obtain the best extraction results. Under the optimum conditions for the method, the calibration curve was linear in the concentration range from 10 to 1000?ng?g^?1 for all the five carbamate pesticides, with the correlation coefficients (r) varying from 0.9982 to 0.9992. Good enrichment factors were achieved ranging between 80 and 177, depending on the compound. The limits of detection (LODs) (S/N?=?3) were ranged from 0.5 to 1.5?ng?g^?1. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of the pesticide residues in watermelon and tomato samples. The recoveries of the method fell in the range between 76.2% to 94.5% with RSDs less than 9.6%, indicating the feasibility of the DLLME method for the determination of the five carbamate pesticides in watermelon and tomato samples.     

Orthogonal array optimization of ionic liquid based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for toxic anilines in foods

A simple and rapid method of ionic liquid based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction(DLLME) combining with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was developed for the analysis of four toxic anilines in flour steamed bread and maize steamed bread.Several possible influential factors such as the type of ionic liquid and disperser solvent,extraction time,sample pH,ionic strength and the volume of ionic liquid and disperser solvent were optimized using single factor experiments and orthogonal array design(OAD) with OA 25(5 4) matrix.Analysis of variance(ANOVA) and percent contribution(PC) were used to investigate the significance of the factors of OAD.Sample pH and ionic strength are statistically demonstrated two chief factors.Under the optimum condition,the method exhibits a good linearity(r 2 > 0.99) over the studied range(50-1000 ng g 1) for anilines.The extraction factors and recoveries for the anilines in two kinds of steamed breads ranged between 34.1%-73.3% and 44.3%-95.3%,respectively.The limit of detections(LODs) and limit of quantitations(LOQs) ranged between 10-15 ng g 1 and 30-45 ng g-1.     

Dispersive solid‐phase extraction followed by vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of a floating organic droplet for the determination of benzoylurea insecticides in soil and sewage sludge

A novel dispersive solid‐phase extraction combined with vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet was developed for the determination of eight benzoylurea insecticides in soil and sewage sludge samples before high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The analytes were first extracted from the soil and sludge samples into acetone under optimized pretreatment conditions. Clean‐up of the extract was conducted by dispersive solid‐phase extraction using activated carbon as the sorbent. The vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet procedure was performed by using 1‐undecanol with lower density than water as the extraction solvent, and the acetone contained in the solution also acted as dispersive solvent. Under the optimum conditions, the linearity of the method was in the range 2–500 ng/g with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.9993–0.9999. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.08–0.56 ng/g. The relative standard deviations varied from 2.16 to 6.26% (n = 5). The enrichment factors ranged from 104 to 118. The extraction recoveries ranged from 81.05 to 97.82% for all of the analytes. The good performance has demonstrated that the proposed methodology has a strong potential for application in the multiresidue analysis of complex matrices.     

Application of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of two fungicides in environmental water samples

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of diethofencarb (DF) and pyrimethanil (PM) in environmental water. In the method, a suitable mixture of extraction solvent (50 µL carbon tetrachloride) and dispersive solvent (0.75 mL acetonitrile) are injected into the aqueous samples (5.00 mL) and the cloudy solution is observed. After centrifugation, the enriched analytes in the sediment phase were determined by HPLC-VWD. Different influencing factors, such as the kind and volume of extraction and dispersive solvent, extraction time and salt effect were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors for DF and PM were both 108 and the limit of detection were 0.021 ng mL^?1 and 0.015 ng mL^?1, respectively. The linear ranges were 0.08–400 ng mL^?1 for DF and 0.04–200 ng mL^?1 for PM. The relative standard deviation (RSDs) were both almost at 6.0% (n = 6). The relative recoveries from samples of environmental water were from the range of 87.0 to 107.2%. Compared with other methods, DLLME is a very simple, rapid, sensitive (low limit of detection) and economical (only 5 mL volume of sample) method.     

Miniaturized matrix solid‐phase dispersion combined with ultrasound‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the determination of three pyrethroids in soil

A simple and miniaturized pretreatment procedure combining matrix solid‐phase dispersion (MSPD) with ultrasound‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (UA‐DLLME) technique was proposed in first time for simultaneous determination of three pyrethroids (fenpropathrin, cyhalothrin and fenvalerate) in soils. The solid samples were directly extracted using MSPD procedure, and the eluent of MSPD was used as the dispersive solvent of the followed DLLME procedure for further purification and enrichment of the analytes before GC‐ECD analysis. Good linear relationships were obtained for all the analytes in a range of 5.0–500.0 ng/g with LOQs (S/N=10) ranged from 1.51 to 3.77 ng/g. Average recoveries at three spiked levels were in a range of 83.6–98.5% with RSD≤7.3%. The present method combined the advantages of MSPD and DLLME, and was successfully applied for the determination of three pyrethroids in soil samples.     

Simultaneous determination of fluoroquinolone and tetracycline antibacterials in sewage sludge using ultrasonic-assisted extraction and HPLC-MS/MS

A reliable method was proposed for the simultaneous determination of five fluoroquinolones (FQs) and two tetracyclines (TCs) in sewage sludge using ultrasonic-assisted extraction (USE) followed by SPE cleanup and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)/MS analysis with electrospray ionisation (ESI) in a positive mode. The USE conditions (e.g. extraction solvent, pH, and extraction cycles) and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) parameters were optimised. Quantification was performed by internal standard calibration in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Recoveries of the antibacterials ranged from 41 to 123%, with relative standard deviations within 17%. The sample-based limits of quantification were 10–63?ng?g^?1 dry weight (dw) for FQs (ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, lomefloxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin) and 250–500?ng?g^?1 dw for TCs (tetracycline and oxytetracycline). The method was applied to determine the antibacterials in sewage sludge and sediment samples were collected from the Pearl River Delta, China. Ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin were frequently detected, ranging from 1052 to 17740?ng?g^?1 dw in dewatered sludge samples, 585–3545?ng?g^?1 dw in untreated solids, and 98–258?ng?g^?1 dw in an urban stream sediment sample, respectively. Lomefloxacin and enrofloxacin were also occasionally detected.     

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric particulate samples by microwave‐assisted extraction and liquid chromatography

A methodology based on microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) and LC with fluorescence detection (FLD) was investigated for the efficient determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) regarded as priority pollutants by the US Environmental Protection Agency and dibenzo(a,l)pyrene in atmospheric particulate samples. PAHs were successfully extracted from real outdoor particulate matter (PM) samples with recoveries ranging from 81.4 ± 8.8 to 112.0 ± 1.1%, for all the compounds except for naphthalene (62.3 ± 18.0%) and anthracene (67.3 ± 5.7%), under the optimum MAE conditions (30.0 mL of ACN for 20 min at 110°C). No clean‐up steps were necessary prior to LC analysis. LOQs ranging from 0.0054 ng/m³ for benzo(a)anthracene to 0.089 ng/m³ for naphthalene were reached. The validated MAE methodology was applied to the determination of PAHs from a set of real world PM samples collected in Oporto (north of Portugal). The sum of particulate‐bound PAHs in outdoor PM ranged from 2.5 and 28 ng/m³.     

Determination of three antidepressants in urine using simultaneous derivatization and temperature‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection

This paper presents a fast and simple method for the extraction, preconcentration and determination of fluvoxamine, nortriptyline and maprotiline in urine using simultaneous derivatization and temperature‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (TA‐DLLME) followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC‐FID). An appropriate mixture of dimethylformamide (disperser solvent), 1,1,2,2‐tetrachloroethane (extraction solvent) and acetic anhydride (derivatization agent) was rapidly injected into the heated sample. Then the solution was cooled to room temperature and cloudy solution formed was centrifuged. Finally a portion of the sedimented phase was injected into the GC‐FID. The effect of several factors affecting the performance of the method, including the selection of suitable extraction and disperser solvents and their volumes, volume of derivatization agent, temperature, salt addition, pH and centrifugation time and speed were investigated and optimized. Figures of merit of the proposed method, such as linearity (r² > 0.993), enrichment factors (820–1070), limits of detection (2–4 ng mL^?1) and quantification (8–12 ng mL^?1), and relative standard deviations (3–6%) for both intraday and interday precisions (concentration = 50 ng mL^?1) were satisfactory for determination of the selected antidepressants. Finally the method was successfully applied to determine the target pharmaceuticals in urine. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of 3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinol,phoxim and chlorpyrifos‐methyl in water samples using a new pretreatment method coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel low‐density solvent‐based vortex‐assisted surfactant‐enhanced‐emulsification liquid–liquid microextraction with the solidification of floating organic droplet method coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of 3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinol, phoxim and chlorpyrifos‐methyl in water samples. In this method, the addition of a surfactant could enhance the speed of the mass transfer from the sample solution into the extraction solvent. The extraction solvent could be dispersed into the aqueous by the vortex process. The main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated and the optimum conditions were established as follows: 80 μL 1‐undecanol as extraction solvent, 0.2 mmol/L of Triton X‐114 selected as the surfactant, the vortex time was fixed at 60 s with the vortex agitator set at 3000 rpm, the concentration of acetic acid in sample solution was 0.4% v/v and 1.0 g addition of NaCl. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors were from 172 to 186 for the three analytes. The linear ranges were from 0.5 to 500 μg/L with a coefficient of determination (r²) of between 0.9991 and 0.9995. Limits of detections were varied between 0.05 and 0.12 μg/L. The relative standard deviations (n = 6) ranged from 0.26 to 2.62%.     

Optimized determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers by ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography

A method based on ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography has been optimized for the determination of six polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners. The optimal condition relevant to the extraction was first investigated, more than 98.7 ± 0.7% recovery was achieved with dichloromethane as extractant, 5 min extraction time, and three cycles of ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction. Then multiple function was employed to optimize polybrominated diphenyl ether detection conditions with overall resolution and chromatography signal area as the responses. The condition chosen in this experiment was methanol/water 93:7 v/v, flow rate 0.80 mL/min, column temperature 30.0°C. The optimized technique revealed good linearity (R² > 0.9962 over a concentration range of 1–100 μg/L) and repeatability (relative standard deviation < 6.3%). Furthermore, the detection limit (S/N = 3) of the method were ranged from 0.02 to 0.13 μg/L and the quantification limit (S/N = 10) ranged from 0.07 to 0.35 μg/L. Finally, the proposed method was applied to spiked samples and satisfactory results were achieved. These results indicate that ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was effective to identify and quantify the complex polybrominated diphenyl ethers in effluent samples.     

Sensitive determination of three aconitum alkaloids and their metabolites in human plasma by matrix solid‐phase dispersion with vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and HPLC with diode array detection

A simple and sensitive method for determination of three aconitum alkaloids and their metabolites in human plasma was developed using matrix solid‐phase dispersion combined with vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The plasma sample was directly purified by matrix solid‐phase dispersion and the eluate obtained was concentrated and further clarified by vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction. Some important parameters affecting the extraction efficiency, such as type and amount of dispersing sorbent, type and volume of elution solvent, type and volume of extraction solvent, salt concentration as well as sample solution pH, were investigated in detail. Under optimal conditions, the proposed method has good repeatability and reproducibility with intraday and interday relative standard deviations lower than 5.44 and 5.75%, respectively. The recoveries of the aconitum alkaloids ranged from 73.81 to 101.82%, and the detection limits were achieved within the range of 1.6–2.1 ng/mL. The proposed method offered the advantages of good applicability, sensitivity, simplicity, and feasibility, which makes it suitable for the determination of trace amounts of aconitum alkaloids in human plasma samples.     

Rapid pretreatment and determination of bisphenol A in water samples based on vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A method for the rapid pretreatment and determination of bisphenol A in water samples based on vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction followed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was proposed in this paper. A simple apparatus consisting of a test tube and a cut‐glass dropper was designed and applied to collect the floating extraction drop in liquid–liquid microextraction when low‐density organic solvent was used as the extraction solvent. Solidification and melting steps that were tedious but necessary once the low‐density organic solvent used as extraction solvent could be avoided by using this apparatus. Bisphenol A was selected as model pollutant and vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction was employed to investigate the usefulness of the apparatus. High‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was selected as the analytical tool for the detection of bisphenol A. The linear dynamic range was from 0.10 to 100 μg/L for bisphenol A, with good squared regression coefficient (r² = 0.9990). The relative standard deviation (n = 7) was 4.7% and the limit of detection was 0.02 μg/L. The proposed method had been applied to the determination of bisphenol A in natural water samples and was shown to be economical, fast, and convenient.     

Determination of phthalate esters in liquor samples by vortex‐assisted surfactant‐enhanced‐emulsification liquid–liquid microextraction followed by GC–MS

A novel method using vortex‐assisted surfactant‐enhanced‐emulsification liquid–liquid microextraction has been developed for the extraction of phthalate esters (PAEs) in Chinese liquor samples prior to analysis by GC–MS. In the proposed method, a high‐density extraction solvent (carbon tetrachloride) was dispersed into samples with the aid of a surfactant (Triton X‐100) and vortex agitation, resulting in a short extraction equilibrium (30 s). After centrifugation, a single microdrop of solvent was easily collected for GC–MS analysis. Key factors that affected the extraction efficiency were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, linearity was found in the range from 0.05 to 50 μg/L. Coefficients of determination varied from 0.9938 to 0.9971. LODs, based on an S/N of 3, ranged from 4.9 to 13 ng/L. Enrichment factors varied from 140 to 184. Reproducibility and recoveries were assessed by testing a series of three liquor samples that were spiked with different concentration levels. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of PAEs in 16 Chinese liquor samples. In this work, high‐density‐solvent vortex‐assisted surfactant‐enhanced‐emulsification liquid–liquid microextraction was applied for the first time for the extraction of PAEs in Chinese liquor samples and was proved to be simple, rapid, and sensitive.     

Pressurised liquid extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from gas and particulate phases of atmospheric samples

Pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) was applied to determine the atmospheric levels of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the gas and particulate phases. The method involved high‐volume air sampling with quartz fibre filters (QFFs) and polyurethane foam (PUF) plugs and analytes were subsequently extracted from the samples by PLE, and determined with GC‐MS. We optimised the PLE conditions for the solvent, the number of cycles and extraction temperature. Recoveries were higher than 90% for most compounds. Method LODs and LOQs were between 0.001 and 0.02 ng/m³ and between 0.01 and 0.05 ng/m³. Air samples were taken from a site in the region of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain, where one of the largest petrochemical complexes in southern Europe is located. The total concentration of PAHs were from 6.7 to 27.66 ng/m³, with predominant levels of PAHs appearing in the gas phase (48–81%), and an average level of benzo[a]pyrene, the most carcinogenic PAH, of 0.86 ng/m³.     

Survey of concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lake balaton by HPLC with fluorescence detection

Summary Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in water and sediment samples at 15 sites in Lake Balaton during three sampling campaigns in 1996. PAHs were concentrated from water samples by solid phase extraction. Sediment samples were extracted with acetone in an ultrasonic bath then cleaned by solid phase extraction. The total concentration of PAHs ranged from 30–360 ng g⁻¹ and from 170–720 ng L⁻¹ in sediment and water samples, respectively. Spatial and temporal variations of the concentration of PAHs were also investigated. Presented at: Balaton Symposium on High-Performance Separation Methods, Siófok, Hungary, September 3–5, 1997.     

Separation and pre‐concentration of glucocorticoids in water samples by ionic liquid supported vortex‐assisted synergic microextraction and HPLC determination

We have developed a synergic microextraction procedure based on ionic liquid for the pre‐concentration and determination of glucocorticoids in water samples. Using nonionic surfactant Triton X‐100 (TX‐100) as synergic reagent, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexa‐fluorophosphate accomplished extraction rapidly without heating in water bath. One key property of ionic liquids that highlights their potential is their wide liquid temperature range. The improved extraction was named as ionic liquid supported vortex‐assisted synergic microextraction. Compared with the traditional liquid–liquid extraction and cloud point extraction, ionic liquid supported vortex‐assisted synergic microextraction was accomplished in 8 min with considerably high recovery. The proposed method greatly improved the sensitivity of HPLC for the determination of glucocorticoids. The results obtained indicated a good linearity with the correlation coefficient of 0.997 over the range of 0.6–300 ng/mL and high sensitivity with LODs of 4.11, 9.19, and 7.50 ng/mL for hydrocortisone butyrate, beclomethasone dipropionate, and nandrolone phenylpropionate, respectively. The RSD of the method was 1.57–1.81% (n = 6) with enrichment factor of 99.85, and good recovery (≥97.24%). The method was successfully applied to the determination of glucocorticoids in mineral water, water of Dianchi lake, and tap water samples.     

Preconcentration Ultra Trace of Cd(II) in Water Samples Using Dispersive Liquid‐Liquid Microextraction with Salen(N,N′‐Bis(Salicylidene)‐Ethylenediamine) and Determination Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique was successfully used as a sample preparation method for graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS). In this extraction method, 500 μL methanol (disperser solvent) containing 34 μL carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) and 0.00010 g Salen(N,N′‐bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamine) (chelating agent) was rapidly injected by syringe into the water sample containing cadmium ions (interest analyte). Thereby, a cloudy solution formed. The cloudy state resulted from the formation of fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride, which have been dispersed, in bulk aqueous sample. At this stage, cadmium reacts with Salen(N,N′‐bis(salicylidene)‐ethylenediamine), and therefore, hydrophobic complex forms which is extracted into the fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride. After centrifugation (2 min at 5000 rpm), these droplets were sedimented at the bottom of the conical test tube (25 ± 1 μL). Then a 20 μL of sedimented phase containing enriched analyte was determined by GF AAS. Some effective parameters on extraction and complex formation, such as extraction and disperser solvent type and their volume, extraction time, salt effect, pH and concentration of the chelating agent have been optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor 122 was obtained from only 5.00 mL of water sample. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 2‐21 ng L^?1 with a detection limit of 0.5 ng L^?1. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D._s) for ten replicate measurements of 20 ng L^?1 of cadmium was 2.9%. The relative recoveries of cadmium in tap, sea and rain water samples at a spiking level of 5 and 10 ng L^?1 are 99, 94, 97 and 96%, respectively. The characteristics of the proposed method have been compared with cloud point extraction (CPE), on‐line liquid‐liquid extraction, single drop microextraction (SDME), on‐line solid phase extraction (SPE) and co‐precipitation based on bibliographic data. Therefore, DLLME combined with GF AAS is a very simple, rapid and sensitive method, which requires low volume of sample (5.00 mL).