Extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides from soils: a comparison between Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and accelerated solvent extraction techniques

The methods of simultaneous extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from soils using Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) were established, and the extraction efficiencies using the three methods were systemically compared from procedural blank, limits of detection and quantification, method recovery and reproducibility, method chromatogram and other factors. In addition, soils with different total organic carbon contents were used to test the extraction efficiencies of the three methods. The results showed that the values obtained in this study were comparable with the values reported by other studies. In some respects such as method recovery and reproducibility, there were no significant differences among the three methods for the extraction of PAHs and OCPs. In some respects such as procedural blank and limits of detection and quantification, there were significant differences among the three methods. Overall, ASE had the best extraction efficiency compared to MAE and Soxhlet extraction, and the extraction efficiencies of MAE and Soxhlet extraction were comparable to each other depending on the property such as TOC content of the studied soil. Considering other factors such as solvent consumption and extraction time, ASE and MAE are preferable to Soxhlet extraction.     

Evaluation of Soxhlet extraction, accelerated solvent extraction and microwave-assisted extraction for the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in soil and fish samples

Three commonly applied extraction techniques for persistent organic chemicals, Soxhlet extraction (SE), accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), were applied on soil and fish samples in order to evaluate their performances. For both PCBs and PBDEs, the two more recent developed techniques (ASE and MAE) were in general capable of producing comparable extraction results as the classical SE, and even higher extraction recoveries were obtained for some PCB congeners with large octanol-water partitioning coefficients (K_ow). This relatively uniform extraction results from ASE and MAE indicated that elevated temperature and pressure are favorable to the efficient extraction of PCBs from the solid matrices. For PBDEs, difference between the results from MAE and ASE (or SE) suggests that the MAE extraction condition needs to be carefully optimized according to the characteristics of the matrix and analyte to avoid degradation of higher brominated BDE congeners and improve the extraction yields.     

Comparison of accelerated solvent extraction with microwave-assisted extraction and Soxhlet for the extraction of chlorinated biphenyls in soil samples

The extraction and determination of chlorinated biphenyls (CBs) in soils and solid wastes is an ongoing subject of study. This is an overview article that compares the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) techniques. The extraction of CBs by ASE has been optimised taking into account the variation of pressure, temperature and extraction time by means of experimental design and the Simplex approach. The recoveries obtained under the optimum conditions are compared and discussed with those obtained from MAE and Soxhlet extractions.     

Separation and characterization of sucrose esters from Oriental tobacco leaves using accelerated solvent extraction followed by SPE coupled to HPLC with ion‐trap MS detection

Sucrose esters (SEs) were successfully extracted from Oriental tobacco leaves using a new methodology based on accelerated solvent extraction followed by hydrophilic–lipophilic balanced cartridge cleanup step. The SEs were detected by HPLC with ion‐trap MS detection using an electrospray interface operated in the positive ion mode. This methodology combines the high efficiency of extraction provided by a pressurized fluid and the highly sensitive characterization offered by ion‐trap MS. Under the optimized conditions, 14 SEs were first identified among a total of 23 SEs found in Oriental tobacco leaves. Under the same conditions, only four new SEs were extracted by using traditional ultrasound‐assisted extraction and liquid–solid extraction methods. The present method might be potentially useful in high‐efficiency extraction and sensitive characterization of SEs from complex matrices such as tobacco leaves.     

GC/MS of terpenes in walnut-tree leaves after accelerated solvent extraction

Terpenes, e. g. (+)-alpha-pinene, (-)-camphene, (-)-(-pinene, myrcene, R-(+)-limonene, eucalyptol, (+/-)-linalool, (-)-bornyl acetate, (-)-trans-caryophyllene, and alpha-humulene were determined in leaves of walnut trees from the Juglandaceae family (walnut tree, royal (J. regia L.), black (J. nigra L.), and Siebold (J. sieboldiana, var. Cordiformis Lam.) using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Terpenes were repeatedly (3 cycles, 5 min each) extracted from leaves of walnut trees by accelerated (pressurized) solvent extraction (ASE) 150 bar and 120 degrees C. The efficiency of ASE extraction was superior to that of steam distillation, solvent extraction according to Soxhlet, sonication, and extraction by agitation. Differences in relative concentrations and distribution of terpenes were studied in dependence on the species of walnut tree and on different locations.     

Comparison of extraction techniques and modeling of accelerated solvent extraction for the authentication of natural vanilla flavors

Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) of vanilla beans has been optimized using ethanol as a solvent. A theoretical model is proposed to account for this multistep extraction. This allows the determination, for the first time, of the total amount of analytes initially present in the beans and thus the calculation of recoveries using ASE or any other extraction technique. As a result, ASE and Soxhlet extractions have been determined to be efficient methods, whereas recoveries are modest for maceration techniques and depend on the solvent used. Because industrial extracts are obtained by many different procedures, including maceration in various solvents, authenticating vanilla extracts using quantitative ratios between the amounts of vanilla flavor constituents appears to be unreliable. When authentication techniques based on isotopic ratios are used, ASE is a valid sample preparation technique because it does not induce isotopic fractionation.     

Desorption of BTEX from activated charcoal using accelerated solvent extraction: evaluation of occupational exposures

A procedure for the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene (BTEX) in occupational environments is proposed. These compounds are extracted from activated charcoal using accelerated solvent extraction. Operational parameters are optimized and quantitative recovery is obtained using acetonitrile as the extraction solvent and 1-mL extraction cells, a preheat time of 2 min, a temperature of 160 °C, a pressure of 1,500 psi, a static period of 5 min, a flush volume of 110%, two cycles and a purge time of 90 s. Determination of BTEX compounds is carried out by gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. The recoveries, obtained for a confidence level of 95%, are 91 ± 4, 100 ± 3, 104 ± 2, 93 ± 4, 99 ± 2 and 99 ± 2% for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene, respectively. The detection limits are 0.5 μg for benzene, 0.7 μg for toluene and 1.0 μg for the other compounds. The proposed procedure has been applied to real samples collected in several workplaces, like a microbiology laboratory, an analytical chemistry laboratory, a printer’s, a car repair shop and a petrol station. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that the occupational exposures determined are always acceptable because they are lower than the tenth part of the recommended exposure limits (VLA-ED and VLA-EC).     

Determination of acetanilide herbicides in cereal crops using accelerated solvent extraction, solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-electron capture detector

A method was developed to determine eight acetanilide herbicides from cereal crops based on accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) analysis. During the ASE process, the effect of four parameters (temperature, static time, static cycles and solvent) on the extraction efficiency was considered and compared with shake-flask extraction method. After extraction with ASE, four SPE tubes (graphitic carbon black/primary secondary amine (GCB/PSA), GCB, Florisil and alumina-N) were assayed for comparison to obtain the best clean-up efficiency. The results show that GCB/PSA cartridge gave the best recoveries and cleanest chromatograms. The analytical process was validated by the analysis of spiked blank samples. Performance characteristics such as linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), precision and recovery were studied. At 0.05 mg/kg spiked level, recoveries and precision values for rice, wheat and maize were 82.3-115.8 and 1.1-13.6%, respectively. For all the herbicides, LOD and LOQ ranged from 0.8 to 1.7 μg/kg and from 2.4 to 5.3 μg/kg, respectively. The proposed analytical methodology was applied for the analysis of the targets in samples; only three herbicides, propyzamid, metolachlor and diflufenican, were detected in two samples.     

Optimization of microwave-assisted solvent extraction for volatile organic acids in tobacco and its comparison with conventional extraction methods

In the present study, a new method using microwave-assisted solvent extraction (MASE) technique followed directly GC analysis was developed for the extraction of volatile organic acids (VOAs) in tobacco. The MASE conditions (heating time, volume of extracting solvent and extraction temperature) were optimized by means of an orthogonal array design (OAD) procedure. The results suggested that extractant, temperature and heating time were statistically the most significant factors. The extracts were directly analyzed with capillary GC operating in splitless-injection mode on an Agilent HP-FFAP capillary column. Under optimum operating conditions, MASE showed significantly better recoveries than those obtained by the conventional extraction method (ultrasonic and reflux extraction), ranging from 90.6% to 103.2%. In addition, a drastic reduction of the extraction time (20 min versus 4 h) and solvent consumption (20 mL versus 100 mL) was achieved with an outstanding reproducibility (CV ≤5%).     

加速溶剂萃取法快速提取黄连中的生物碱

探讨了快速溶剂萃取法（ASE）提取黄连中生物碱的可行性,并比较了该方法与回流提取法和超声提取法的优越性。以黄连中盐酸小檗碱的提取率为指标,以高效液相色谱法（HPLC）为检测方法,用正交实验对快速溶剂萃取法从黄连中提取盐酸小檗碱的工作条件进行优化。最佳仪器参数：提取溶剂为80%乙醇＋0.5%HCl,提取温度为130℃,静态提取时间为10 min,提取次数为1次。快速溶剂萃取法可作为黄连中生物碱分析测定的前处理方法。     

烟草中有机氯类农药多残留分析前处理方法对比研究

以烟草中有机氯类农药为研究对象,从检出限、回收率、重复性和色谱图4个方面系统比较了机械振荡萃取法、超声波溶剂萃取法、微波辅助萃取法和加速溶剂萃取法4种常用前处理方法。由于加速溶剂萃取法是在高温高压下进行萃取,在提取出残留农药的同时,也提取出更多的干扰物。机械振荡法、超声波溶剂萃取法和微波辅助萃取法各项结果差别较小,其中机械振荡萃取法回收率和重复性最好,但提取时间较长。考虑溶剂消耗和提取时间等方面的因素,微波辅助萃取是较理想的样品前处理方法。     

Application of accelerated solvent extraction to the investigation of saikosaponins from the roots of Bupleurum falcatum

Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was applied to the extraction of saikosaponin a, saikosaponin c and saikosaponin d from the roots of Bupleurum falcatum. Main extraction parameters such as the extraction solvents, extraction temperature and static extraction time were investigated and optimized. The optimized procedure employed 70% methanol as extraction solvent, 120°C of extraction temperature, 10 min of static extraction time, 60% of flush volume and the extraction recoveries of the three compounds were near to 100% with one extraction cycle. The extracted samples were analyzed by HPLC with UV detector. The HPLC conditions were as follows: Hypersil ODS2 (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) column, acetonitrile and water as mobile phase, flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, UV detection wavelength of 204 nm and injection volume of 20 μL. Compared with the traditional methods including heat‐reflux extraction and ultrasonic‐assisted extraction, the proposed ASE method was more efficient and faster to be operated. The results indicated that ASE was an alternative method for extracting saikosaponins from the roots of B. falcatum.     

Rapid screening of dioxin-contaminated soil by accelerated solvent extraction/purification followed by immunochemical detection

Since soils at industrial sites might be heavily contaminated with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), there is a need for large-scale soil pollution surveys and, thus, for cost-efficient, high-throughput dioxin analyses. However, trace analysis of dioxins in complex matrices requires exhaustive extraction, extensive cleanup, and very sensitive detection methods. Traditionally, this has involved the use of Soxhlet extraction and multistep column cleanup, followed by gas chromatography—high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS), but bioanalytical techniques may allow much more rapid, cost-effective screening. The study presented here explores the possibility of replacing the conventional method with a novel approach based on simultaneous accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and purification, followed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Both the traditional and the novel cleanup and detection approaches were applied to contaminated soil samples, and the results were compared. ELISA and GC/HRMS results for Soxhlet-extracted samples were linearly correlated, although the ELISA method slightly underestimated the dioxin levels. To avoid an unacceptable rate of false-negative results, the use of a safety factor is recommended. It was also noted that the relative abundance of the PCDDs/PCDFs, evaluated by principal component analysis, had an impact on the ELISA performance. To minimize this effect, the results may be corrected for differences between the ELISA cross-reactivities and the corresponding toxic equivalency factor values. Finally, the GC/HRMS and ELISA results obtained following the two sample preparation methods agreed well; and the ELISA and GC/HRMS results for ASE extracts were strongly correlated (correlation coefficient, 0.90). Hence, the ASE procedure combined with ELISA analysis appears to be an efficient approach for high-throughput screening of PCDD-/PCDF-contaminated soil samples.      

Determination of pharmaceuticals in biosolids using accelerated solvent extraction and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical method was developed to quantitatively determine pharmaceuticals in biosolid (treated sewage sludge) from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The collected biosolid samples were initially freeze dried, and grounded to obtain relatively homogenized powders. Pharmaceuticals were extracted using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) under the optimized conditions. The optimal operation parameters, including extraction solvent, temperature, pressure, extraction time and cycles, were identified to be acetonitrile/water mixture (v/v 7:3) as extraction solvent with 3 extraction cycles (15 min for each cycle) at 100 °C and 100 bars. The extracts were cleaned up using solid-phase extraction followed by determination by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. For the 15 target pharmaceuticals commonly found in the environment, the overall method recoveries ranged from 49% to 68% for tetracyclines, 64% to 95% for sulfonamides, and 77% to 88% for other pharmaceuticals (i.e. acetaminophen, caffeine, carbamazepine, erythromycin, lincomycin and tylosin). The developed method was successfully validated and applied to the biosolid samples collected from WWTPs located in six cities in Michigan. Among the 15 target pharmaceuticals, 14 pharmaceuticals were detected in the collected biosolid samples. The average concentrations ranged from 2.6 μg/kg for lincomycin to 743.6 μg/kg for oxytetracycline. These results indicated that pharmaceuticals could survive wastewater treatment processes, and accumulate in sewage sludge and biosolids. Subsequent land application of the contaminated biosolids could lead to the dissemination of pharmaceuticals in soil and water environment, which poses potential threats to at-risk populations in the receiving ecosystems.     

加速溶剂萃取-快速液相色谱法测定纺织品中烷基苯酚和烷基苯酚聚氧乙烯醚

建立了纺织品中烷基苯酚和烷基苯酚聚氧乙烯醚的加速溶剂萃取-快速液相色谱测定方法。加速溶剂萃取法基本实现了样品前处理的自动化,简化了操作流程;快速液相色谱分析方法(利用核壳型快速分析色谱柱)大大缩短了样品分析时间(色谱分析时间小于5 min)。该方法在提高工作效率的同时节省了有机溶剂,且易于在普通实验室普及的常规液相色谱仪上实现,具有较强的实用性。     

加速溶剂萃取-气相色谱-负化学源质谱法测定茶叶中有机氯和拟除虫菊酯类农药残留量

建立了茶叶中13种有机氯和10种拟除虫菊酯农药残留量的气相色谱-负化学离子源.质谱(GC-NCl-MS)分析方法.茶叶样品用V(丙酮):V(CH2Cl2)=1:1混合液作提取剂经加速溶剂萃取,提取液经凝胶色谱净化除去大部分的色素、脂类和蜡质,再经活性炭-氨基(Carb-NH2)复合小柱和Florisil小柱净化后,用GC-NCl-MS的选择离子监测方式(SIM)进行定性和定量分析.添加50μg/kg 浓度水平时,农药回收率在45.6%～112.4%之间,相对标准偏差在0.57%～10.1%之间;方法的检出限(3倍信噪比)在0.05～10.0μg/kg之间.方法适用于出口茶叶农残检测实际工作.     

Determination of PAHs in airborne particles by accelerated solvent extraction and large-volume injection-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A sensitive and automated method is presented for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne particulate matter. The procedure includes extraction of PM10-bound PAHs by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) followed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) clean-up, and large-volume programmable temperature vaporizer (PTV-LV) injection coupled to GC-MS. The limit of detection (LOD) of the whole method, based on a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3:1, ranged from 0.26 pg m⁻³ to 3 pg m⁻³ when air volumes of 760 m³ are collected.The hexane-acetone mixture (1:1, v/v) gave the best recoveries when ASE parameters were fixed at 125 °C, 1500 psi, and a total time of 10 min. The recoveries for all PAHs tested ranged from 96% to 103%, rates similar to those obtained by the Soxhlet reference method.To improve the sensitivity, 70 μL were injected. The PTV-LV injection settings were optimized using a statistical design of experiments, including a screening 2⁴ full factorial design and a further central composite design. A sensitivity increase from 10 to 50 times was achieved as compared with the conventional 2 μL splitless injection.The method was validated with the standard reference material SRM 1649a and applied to real PM10 samples from the monitoring network of the Regional Valencia Government (Spain).The analytical performance of the method shows that it is appropriate to monitor PAHs levels in ambient air according to European Union Directives. In addition, the method can be used when a high sensitivity is required.     

加速溶剂萃取-高效液相色谱法测定土壤中咪唑乙烟酸残留量

建立了加速溶剂萃取-高效液相色谱法测定土壤中咪唑乙烟酸除草剂残留量的检测方法.加标土壤样品以V(甲醇)∶V(冰乙酸)＝5∶1作提取剂,在温度50 ℃,压力9 MPa下静态萃取10 min,提取物用高效液相色谱二极管阵列检测器进行分析.色谱柱为ODS柱,流动相为V(甲醇)∶V(水)∶V(冰乙酸)＝50∶46∶4,流量: 1 mL/min;检测波长: 254 nm.结果表明: 1和10 μg/g的加标回收率分别为90%和86%,相对标准偏差分别为4.1%和4.5%,检出限可达0.006 μg/g.     

Pressurized solvent extraction and monolithic column-HPLC/DAD analysis of anthocyanins in red cabbage

The aim of this work was to develop a fast method for extraction and analysis of anthocyanins in red cabbage. Pressurized hot water containing 5% of ethanol was used as an extremely efficient extraction solvent. HPLC/DAD with a monolithic column was used to accomplish a fast analysis—24 anthocyanin peaks within 18 min. Statistical design was used to optimize the studied extraction parameters: temperature (80–120 °C); sample amount (1–3 g); extraction time (6–11 min); concentration of formic acid in the extraction solvent (0–5 vol.%). The best extraction conditions for a majority of the anthocyanin peaks were 2.5 g of sample, 99 °C (at 50 bar), 7 min of extraction and a solvent composition of water/ethanol/formic acid (94/5/1, v/v/v).     

Monitoring dioxins in food and feedstuffs using accelerated solvent extraction with a novel integrated carbon fractionation cell in combination with a CAFLUX bioassay

The concentrations of dioxins in fish oil and fish meal were determined with accelerated solvent extraction, using a novel integrated carbon fractionation extraction cell followed by a miniturized multilayer silica column and bioanalysis on a recently-developed chemically-activated fluorescent gene expression cell bioassay. The developed method allows for simultaneous gravimetric lipid weight determination, which was shown for both matrices under study (about 100% lipid recovery of each sample). Initial results practically meet the quality criteria on screening methods for control of dioxins in food and feedstuffs laid down in the EU Commission Directives 2002/69/EC (food) and 2002/70/EC (feed). This demonstrates that the developed method can be used as a screening tool for monitoring dioxins in food and feed after some additional improvements and testing on a greater number of matrices.