Development of new extraction method based on liquid–liquid–liquid extraction followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for extraction of three tricyclic antidepressants in plasma samples

In the present study, a new extraction method based on a three–phase system, liquid–liquid–liquid extraction, followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction has been developed and validated for the extraction and preconcentration of three commonly prescribed tricyclic antidepressant drugs – amitriptyline, imipramine, and clomipramine – in human plasma prior to their analysis by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. The three phases were an aqueous phase (plasma), acetonitrile and n–hexane. The extraction mechanism was based on the different affinities of components of the biological sample (lipids, fatty acids, pharmaceuticals, inorganic ions, etc.) toward each of the phases. This provided high selectivity toward the analytes since most interferences were transferred into n–hexane. In this procedure, a homogeneous solution of the aqueous phase (plasma) and acetonitrile (water–soluble extraction solvent) was broken by adding sodium sulfate (as a phase separating agent) and the analytes were extracted into the fine droplets of the formed acetonitrile. Next, acetonitrile phase was mixed with 1,2–dibromoethane (as a preconcentration solvent at microliter level) and then the microextraction procedure mentioned above was performed for further enrichment of the analytes. Under the optimum extraction conditions, limits of detection and lower limits of quantification for the analytes were obtained in the ranges of 0.001–0.003 and 0.003–0.010 μg mL⁻¹, respectively. The obtained extraction recoveries were in the range of 79–98%. Intra– and inter–day precisions were < 7.5%. The validated method was successfully applied for determination of the selected drugs in human plasma samples obtained from the patients who received them.     

Trace analysis of rimantadine in human urine after dispersive liquid liquid microextraction followed by liquid chromatography–post column derivatization

The first dispersive liquid liquid microextraction scheme followed by liquid chromatography‐post column derivatization for the determination of the antiviral drug rimantadine in urine samples is demonstrated. The effect of the type and volume of organic extraction solvent, type and volume of disperser solvent, sample pH, ionic strength, extraction time, and centrifugation speed on the extraction efficiency were studied. Rimantadine and the internal standard (amantadine) were chromatographed using a reversed phase monolithic stationary phase with a mixture of equal volumes of methanol and phosphate buffer (pH = 3) as mobile phase. On‐line post‐column derivatization of the analyte was performed using a “two‐stream” manifold with o‐phthalaldehyde and N‐acetyl‐cysteine at alkaline medium. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the enrichment factor of rimantadine was 58. The linear range was 5–100 µg/L with correlation coefficient r of 0.9984 while the limit of detection achieved was 0.5 µg/L. The within‐day and between‐day precision for the tested concentration levels were less than 14.3% and the mean recoveries obtained from the spiked samples were ranged between 87.5 and 113.9%. The main advantages of the proposed method are the simplicity of operation, rapidity, low cost, and low limit of detection of the analyte.     

Coupling of homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the extraction and preconcentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aqueous samples followed by GC with flame ionization detection

In the present study, a simple and rapid method for the extraction and preconcentration of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples has been developed. In this method, two sample preparation methods were combined to obtain high extraction recoveries and enrichment factors for sensitive analysis of the selected analytes. In the first stage of the method, a homogeneous solution containing an aqueous solution and cyclohexyl amine is broken by the addition of a salt. After centrifugation, the upper collected phase containing the extracted analytes is subjected to the following dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method. Rapid injection of the mixture of cyclohexyl amine resulted from the first stage and 1,1,2‐trichloroethane (as an extraction solvent) into an acetic acid solution is led to form a cloudy solution. After centrifuging, the fine droplets of the extraction solvent are settled down in the bottom of the test tube, and an aliquot of it is analyzed by gas chromatography. Under the optimum extraction conditions, enrichment factors and limits of detection for the studied analytes were obtained in the ranges of 616–752 and 0.08–0.20 μg/L, respectively. The simplicity, high extraction efficiency, short sample preparation time, low cost, and safety demonstrated the efficiency of this method relative to other approaches.     

Determination of herbicides in environmental water samples by simultaneous in‐syringe magnetic stirring‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and silylation followed by GC–MS

An on‐line, fast, simple, selective, and sensitive method has been developed for the determination of three herbicides belonging to the following families: triazines (atrazine), chloroacetamide (alachlor), and phenoxy (2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) in water samples. The method involves an in‐syringe magnetic stirring‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction along with simultaneous silylation prior to their determination by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Extraction, derivatization, and preconcentration have been simultaneously performed using acetone as dispersive solvent, N‐methyl‐N‐tert‐butyldimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide as derivatization agent and trichloroethylene as extraction solvent. After stirring for 180 s, the sedimented phase was transferred to a rotary micro‐volume injection valve (3 μL) and introduced by an air stream into gas chromatograph with mass spectrometry detector. Recovery and enrichment factors were 87.2–111.2% and 7.4–10.4, respectively. Relative standard deviations were in the ranges of 6.6–7.4 for intraday and 9.2–9.6 for interday precision. The detection limits were in the range of 0.045–0.03 μg/L, and good linearity was observed up to 200 μg/L, with R² ranging between 0.9905 and 0.9964. The developed method was satisfactorily applied to assess the occurrence of the studied herbicides in groundwater samples. The recovery test was also performed with values between 77 and 117%.     

Simultaneous derivatization and lighter‐than‐water air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction using a homemade device for the extraction and preconcentration of some parabens in different samples

Simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction using an organic that is solvent lighter than water has been developed for the extraction of some parabens in different samples with the aid of a newly designed device for collecting the extractant. For this purpose, the sample solution is transferred into a glass test tube and a few microliters of acetic anhydride (as a derivatization agent) and p‐xylene (as an extraction solvent) are added to the solution. After performing the procedure, the homemade device consists of an inverse funnel with a capillary tube placed into the tube. In this step, the collected extraction solvent and a part of the aqueous solution are transferred into the device and the organic phase indwells in the capillary tube of the device. Under the optimal conditions, limits of detection and quantification for the analytes were obtained in the ranges of 0.90–2.7 and 3.0–6.1 ng/mL, respectively. The enrichment and enhancement factors were in the ranges of 370–430 and 489–660, respectively. The method precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation, was within the range of 4–6% (n = 6) and 4–9% (n = 4) for intra‐ and interday precisions, respectively. The proposed method was successfully used for the determination of methyl‐, ethyl‐, and propyl parabens in cosmetic, hygiene and food samples, and personal care products.     

Ultrasound‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with capillary gas chromatography for simultaneous analysis of nine pyrethroids in domestic wastewaters

A simple and rapid ultrasound‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method coupled with GC‐flame ionization detection was developed for simultaneous determination of nine pyrethroids in domestic wastewater samples. An ultrasound‐assisted process was applied to accelerate the formation of the fine cloudy solution using small volume of disperser solvent, which markedly increased the extraction efficiency and reduced the equilibrium time. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated, including the type and volume of extraction solvent and disperser solvent, extraction and ultrasonic time. Good linearity was obtained for all analytes in the range of 0.8–100 μg/L with the correlation coefficient (r²)≥0.998. The recoveries at three spiking levels ranged from 75.3 to 101.2% with the RSD less than 8.7% (n=5). Under the optimum condition, the enrichment factors for the nine pyrethroids ranged from 728‐ to 1725‐fold. This method offered a good alternative for routine analysis due to its simplicity and reliability.     

Method for the simultaneous determination of monoaromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in industrial effluents using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

We present a new method for simultaneous determination of 22 monoaromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in postoxidative effluents from the production of petroleum bitumen using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The eight extraction parameters including the type and volume of extraction and disperser solvent, pH, salting out effect, extraction, and centrifugation time were optimized. The low detection limit ranging from 0.36 to 28 μg/L, limit of quantitation (1.1–84 μg/L), good reproducibility, and wide linear ranges, as well as the recoveries ranging from 71.74 to 114.67% revealed that the new method allows the determination of aromatic hydrocarbons at low concentration levels in industrial effluents having a very complex composition. The developed method was applied to the determination of content of mono‐ and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in samples of raw postoxidative effluents in which 15 compounds were identified at concentrations ranging from 1.21 to 1017.0 μg/L as well as in effluents after chemical treatment.     

Response surface methodology for optimization of cyanamide analysis by in situ derivatization and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

Cyanamide is widely used for agricultural purposes; therefore, its residues can be found in water. A new method was developed for its quantification using in situ derivatization with 2,6‐dimethyl‐4‐quinolinecarboxylic acid N‐hydroxysuccinimide ester followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and high‐performance liquid chromatography/fluorescence analysis. Multivariate chemometric techniques were successfully used to obtain the optimum conditions for direct derivatization and DLLME extraction. Derivatization parameters and DLLME extraction conditions were optimized by a two‐step design, 2^k factorial design for screening, and central composite design for optimization. Best derivatization conditions were addition of 600 μL of derivatizing reagent, a temperature of 4 ºC, and pH 8.5, whereas for optimum extraction 800 μL of solvent, 30% NaCl conc. w/v, and pH 3.8 were chosen. The analytical performance of the method for routine analysis was evaluated. Excellent linearity was achieved from 10 to 200 µg L⁻¹ with a correlation factor of 0.9996. Precision ranged from 3.5% to 5.5% for intraday assays and 8.5% to 8.6% for interday assays. The mean recoveries performed on water from different origins (ground, river, sea, tap, and mineral) at three levels of concentration (20, 75, and 200 µg L⁻¹) ranged from 90.2% to 110.2%. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of response surface methodology to vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid extraction for the determination of nicotine and cotinine in urine by gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A method of vortex‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid extraction coupled with gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of nicotine and cotinine in urine was developed. Response surface methodology was applied to obtain the optimum extraction conditions. In this method, Plackett–Burman design was utilized to evaluate the impact of five selected factors on pretreatment procedure. Then, three main factors were optimized using a Box–Behnken design. The optimized method showed good linearities at 1–2000 μg/L with correlation coefficients of 0.9998 for nicotine and 0.9986 for cotinine. Recovery was 91.4–106 and 91.7–108% for nicotine and cotinine, respectively. The intraday relative standard derivations of determination were 1.47–4.06% for nicotine and 0.41–3.16% for cotinine, and interday relative standard derivations were 3.03–6.70% for nicotine and 1.64–6.38% for cotinine. The method detection limits for nicotine and cotinine were 0.33 and 0.34 μg/L, respectively. A total of 87 urine samples from smokers and nonsmokers were tested with the proposed method. Urinary nicotine and cotinine were 23.0–6.67 × 10³ and 18.4–4.17 × 10³ μg/(g·cr) for smokers and 1.31–286 and 1.39–131 μg/(g·cr) for nonsmokers, respectively. The method is sensitive, suitable and reliable for the determination of nicotine and cotinine in urine and meets the requirements for evaluating short‐term tobacco exposure.     

Developing an alcoholic‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for extraction of pentachlorophenol in water

Optimization of alcoholic‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction of pentachlorophenol (PCP) and determination of it with high‐performance liquid chromatography (UV‐Vis detection) was investigated. A Plackett‐Burman design and a central composite design were applied to evaluate the alcoholic‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction procedure. The effect of seven parameters on extraction efficiency was investigated. The factor studied were type and volume of extraction and dispersive solvents, amount of salt, and agitation time. According to Plackett‐Burman design results, the effective parameters were type and volume of extraction solvent and agitation time. Next, a central composite design was applied to obtain optimal condition. The optimized conditions were obtained at 170‐μL 1‐octanol and 5‐min agitation time. The enrichment factor of PCP was 242 with limits of detection of 0.04 μg L^?1. The linearity was 0.1–100 μg L^?1 and the extraction recovery was 92.7%. RSD for intra and inter day of extraction of PCP were 4.2% and 7.8%, respectively for five measurements. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of PCP in environmental water samples.     

A sensitive and efficient method for trace analysis of some phenolic compounds using simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction from human urine and plasma samples followed by gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection

In present study, a simultaneous derivatization and air‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction method combined with gas chromatography–nitrogen phosphorous detection has been developed for the determination of some phenolic compounds in biological samples. The analytes are derivatized and extracted simultaneously by a fast reaction with 1‐flouro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene under mild conditions. Under optimal conditions low limits of detection in the range of 0.05–0.34 ng mL^?1 are achievable. The obtained extraction recoveries are between 84 and 97% and the relative standard deviations are less than 7.2% for intraday (n = 6) and interday (n = 4) precisions. The proposed method was demonstrated to be a simple and efficient method for the analysis of phenols in biological samples. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid and sensitive determination of phytosterols in functional foods and medicinal herbs by using UHPLC–MS/MS with microwave‐assisted derivatization combined with dual ultrasound‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction

In this work, a hyphenated technique of dual ultrasound‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with microwave‐assisted derivatization followed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry has been developed for the determination of phytosterols in functional foods and medicinal herbs. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for the tandem mass spectrometry detection. A mass spectrometry sensitive reagent, 4′‐carboxy‐substituted rosamine, has been used as the derivatization reagent for five phytosterols, and internal standard diosgenin was used for the first time. Parameters for the dual microextraction, microwave‐assisted derivatization, and ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were all optimized in detail. Satisfactory linearity, recovery, repeatability, accuracy and precision, absence of matrix effect, extremely low limits of detection (0.005–0.015 ng/mL) and limits of quantification (0.030–0.10 ng/mL) were achieved. The proposed method was compared with previously reported methods. It showed better sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy. The matrix effect was also significantly reduced. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of five phytosterols in vegetable oil (sunflower oil, olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil), milk and orange juice (soymilk, peanut milk, orange juice), and medicinal herbs (Ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, Cordyceps, Polygonum multiflorum) for the quality control of functional foods and medicinal herbs.     

Development of a simple and valid method for the trace determination of phthalate esters in human plasma using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

A new method was developed for the trace determination of phthalic acid esters in plasma using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis. Plasma proteins were efficiently precipitated by trichloroacetic acid and then a mixture of chlorobenzene (as extraction solvent) and acetonitrile (as dispersive solvent) rapidly injected to clear supernatant using a syringe. After centrifuging, chlorobenzene sedimented at the bottom of the test tube. 1 μL of this sedimented phase was injected into the gas chromatograph for phthalic acid esters analysis. Different factors affecting the extraction performance, such as the type of extraction and dispersive solvent, their volume, extraction time, and the effects of salt addition were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors and extraction recoveries were satisfactory and ranged between 820–1020 and 91–97%, respectively. The linear range was wide (50–1000 ng/mL) and limit of detection was very low (1.5–2.5 ng/mL for all analytes). The relative standard deviations for analysis of 1 μg/mL of the analytes were between 3.2–6.1%. Salt addition showed no significant effect on extraction recovery. Finally, the proposed method was successfully utilized for the extraction and determination of the phthalic acid esters in human plasma samples and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Determination of 19 sulfonamides residues in pork samples by combining QuEChERS with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by UHPLC–MS/MS

A new simple and rapid pretreatment method for simultaneous determination of 19 sulfonamides in pork samples was developed through combining the QuEChERS method with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The sample preparation involves extraction/partitioning with QuEChERS method followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction using tetrachloroethane as extractive solvent and the acetonitrile extract as dispersive solvent that obtained by QuEChERS. The enriched tetrachloroethane organic phase by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was evaporated, reconstituted with 100 μL acetonitrile/water (1:9 v/v) and injected into an ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 0.1% v/v formic acid under gradient elution and separated using a BHE C₁₈ column. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated. Matrix‐matched calibration curves were established. Good linear relationships were obtained for all analytes in a range of 2.0–100 μg/kg and the limits of detection were 0.04–0.49 μg/kg. Average recoveries at three spiking levels were in the range of 78.3–106.1% with relative standard deviations less than 12.7% (n = 6). The developed method was successfully applied to determine sulfonamide residues in pork samples.     

Ionic liquid‐based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by RP‐HPLC determination of saquinavir in rat serum: application to pharmacokinetics

An ionic liquid‐based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by RP‐HPLC determination of the most commonly prescribed protease inhibitor, saquinavir, in rat plasma was developed and validated. The effects of different ionic liquids, dispersive solvents, extractant/disperser ratio and salt concentration on sample recovery and enrichment were studied. Among the ionic liquids investigated, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate was found to be most effective for extraction of saquinavir from rat serum. The recovery was found to be 95% at an extractant/disperser ratio of 0.43 using 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate and methanol as extraction and dispersive solvents. The recovery was further enhanced to 99.5% by addition of 5.0% NaCl. A threefold enhancement in detection and quantification limits was achieved, at 0.01 and 0.03 µg/mL, compared with the conventional protein precipitation method. A linear relationship was observed in the range of 0.035–10.0 µg/mL with a correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.9996. The method was validated and applied to study pharmacokinetics of saquinavir in rat serum. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of triazine herbicides in juice samples by microwave‐assisted ionic liquid/ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel microextraction method, termed microwave‐assisted ionic liquid/ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, has been developed for the rapid enrichment and analysis of triazine herbicides in fruit juice samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Instead of using hazardous organic solvents, two kinds of ionic liquids, a hydrophobic ionic liquid (1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) and a hydrophilic ionic liquid (1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate), were used as the extraction solvent and dispersion agent, respectively, in this method. The extraction procedure was induced by the formation of cloudy solution, which was composed of fine drops of 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate dispersed entirely into sample solution with the help of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. In addition, an ion‐pairing agent (NH₄PF₆) was introduced to improve recoveries of the ionic liquid phase. Several experimental parameters that might affect the extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the linearity for determining the analytes was in the range of 5.00–250.00 μg/L, with the correlation coefficients of 0.9982–0.9997. The practical application of this effective and green method is demonstrated by the successful analysis of triazine herbicides in four juice samples, with satisfactory recoveries (76.7–105.7%) and relative standard deviations (lower than 6.6%). In general, this method is fast, effective, and robust to determine triazine herbicides in juice 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.     

Low‐temperature derivatization followed by vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction for the analysis of polyamines in Nicotiana Tabacum

Polyamines are ubiquitous polycationic molecules that play a key role in many biological processes such as nucleic acid metabolism, protein synthesis, cell growth, and nicotine synthesis precursors. This work describes a rapid, sensitive, convenient, green, and cost‐effective method for the determination of polyamines in Nicotiana tabacum by ultra high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection. The analytes were derivatized with 3,5‐dinitrobenzoyl chloride at low temperature (about 4°C) and then extracted with vortex‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction. The experimental designs based on quarter‐fractional factorial design and Doehlert design were used to screen and optimize the important factors in microextraction process. Under the optimal conditions, the method was linear over 0.05–8.00 μg/mL with an r² ≥ 0.992 and exhibited good repeatability and reproducibility less than 6.0 and 6.9%, respectively. The limit of detection ranged between 0.013 and 0.029 μg/g. The newly developed method was successfully employed to analyze different leaf samples of Nicotiana tabacum, among which the polyamines contents were found to be very different. Moreover, tyramine, 1,3‐diaminopropane, homospermidine, and canavalmine were tentatively identified with the electrospray ionization quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. To our knowledge, this is the first report of identification of canavalmine in Nicotiana Tabacum.     

Effervescent tablet‐assisted demulsified dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic droplet for determination of methadone in water and biological samples prior to GC‐flame ionization and GC‐MS

A novel effervescent tablet‐assisted demulsified dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplet was developed to determine methadone prior to gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. In this method, a tablet composed of citric acid, sodium carbonate, and 1‐undecanol was utilized. The resulting effervescent tablet generated carbon dioxide in situ to disperse 1‐undecanol in the sample. Thus, the dispersive and extraction processes were performed in one synchronous step. An aliquot of acetonitrile as the demulsifier solvent was used for the separation of two phases instead of centrifugation. Under optimal conditions, the developed method was linear up to 50 000 µg/L with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. Moreover, limits of detection and limits of the quantification were in the range of 3‐10  and 7‐30 µg/L in water and biological samples, respectively. Intra‐ and interday precisions (n = 6) of the spiked methadone at a concentration level of 50 µg/L were over ranges of 5.1‐6.8% and 5.7‐7.1%, respectively. The preconcentration factors and recovery values were obtained in the range of 140‐145 and 98.1 to 101.6% in real samples, respectively.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction as an effective preanalytical step for the determination of estradiol in human urine

In this work, a fast and effective dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was developed for the isolation and preconcentration of free 17 β‐estradiol, the main human estrogen, from real human urine samples. To optimize the extraction technique, few important parameters such as type and volume of extraction and dispersive solvents, centrifugation conditions, effect of salt addition, and extraction time were studied. Optimal conditions were obtained when injecting 600 μL mixture of tetrachloromethane as extraction solvent and ethanol as dispersive solvent (1:5, v/v) into 2 mL of urine containing 8% NaCl and following centrifugation at 10 000 rpm, thus reaching enrichment factor 28 and extraction recovery 98% for estradiol. Procedure was evaluated by means of high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (λ = 280 nm) using a C‐18 column and methanol/water (60:40, v/v) as the mobile phase. The method was linear within the concentration range 1.0–250.0 mg/L (r  = 0.9997) and provided a limit of detection of 0.25 mg/L. The proposed method was applied to the determination of free estradiol in real human pregnancy urine.