Determination of organochlorine pesticides in complex matrices by single-drop microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A rapid and simple single-drop microextraction method (SDME) has been used to preconcentrate eighteen organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) from water samples with a complex matrix. Exposing two microlitre toluene drop to an aqueous sample contaminated with OCPs proved an excellent preconcentration method prior to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A Plackett-Burman design was used for screening and a central composite design for optimizing the significant variables in order to evaluate several possibly influential and/or interacting factors. The studied variables were drop volume, aqueous sample volume, agitation speed, ionic strength and extraction time. The optimum experimental conditions of the proposed SDME method were: 2 μL toluene microdrop exposed for 37 min to 10 mL of the aqueous sample containing 0% w/v NaCl and stirred at 380 rpm.The calculated calibration curves gave high-level linearity for all target analytes with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.9991 and 0.9999. The repeatability of the proposed method, expressed as relative standard deviation, varied between 5.9 and 9.9% (n = 8). The detection limits were in the range of 0.022-0.101 μg L⁻¹ using GC-MS with selective ion monitoring. The LOD values obtained are able to detect these OCPs in aqueous matrices as required by EPA Method 625. Analysis of spiked effluent wastewater samples revealed that the matrix had no effect on extraction for eleven of the analytes but exerted notable effect for the other analytes.     

原位衍生分散液相微萃取-气相色谱-质谱快速测定水中的四溴双酚A

通过研究萃取剂、分散剂的种类和体积,KHCO3用量,衍生剂乙酸酐的用量和萃取时间对萃取效率的影响,建立了原位衍生分散液相微萃取-气相色谱质谱联用测定水中四溴双酚A的方法.方法线性范围:0.5～ 100 μg/L,检出限:0.1μg/L;RSD:5.4％ (n =5).将该方法用于环境水样的测定,加标回收率:53.5％ ...     

Monitoring of selenium in water samples using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by iridium-modified tube graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A simple and powerful microextraction technique was used for determination of selenium in water samples using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) followed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS). DLLME and simultaneous complex formation was performed with rapid injection of a mixture containing ethanol (disperser solvent), carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) and ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC, chelating agent) into water sample spiked with selenium. After centrifuging, fine droplets of carbon tetrachloride, which were dispersed among the solution and extracted Se-APDC complex, sediment at the bottom of the conical test tube. The concentration of enriched analyte in the sedimented phase was determined by iridium-modified pyrolitic tube graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentration of selenate was obtained as the difference between the concentration of selenite after and before pre-reduction of selenate to selenite. 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 chelating agent were optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor of 70 was obtained from only 5.00 mL of water sample. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.1-3 μg L^− 1 with detection limit of 0.05 μg L^− 1. The relative standard deviation (RSDs) for ten replicate measurements of 2.00 μg L^− 1 of selenium was 4.5%. The relative recoveries of selenium in tap, river and sea water samples at spiking level of 2.00 μg L^− 1 were 106, 96 and 98%, respectively.     

Improved solvent collection system for a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of organochlorine pesticides from water using low-density organic solvent

In this study, the organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) levels in lake and tap water samples were determined by a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method using a low-density organic solvent and an improved solvent collection system (DLLME-ISCS). This method used a very small volume of a solvent of low toxicity (11 μL of 1-nonanol and 400 μL of methanol) to extract OCPs from 10 mL water samples prior to the analysis by GC. After centrifugation in the dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, there was a liquid organic drop floating between the water surface and the glass wall of the centrifuge tube. The liquid organic drop (with some water phase) was transferred into a microtube (3 mm×15 mm) with a syringe. The organic and aqueous phases were separated in the microtube immediately. Then, 1 μL of the organic solvent (which was in the upper portion of liquid in the microtube) was easily collected by a syringe and injected into the GC-ECD system for the analysis. Under optimum conditions, the linear range of this method was 5-5000 ng/L for most of the analytes. The correlation coefficient was higher than 0.997. Enrichment factors ranged from 1309 to 3629. The relative recoveries ranged from 73 to 119% for lake water samples. The LODs of the method ranged from 0.7 to 9.4 ng/L. The precision of the method ranged from 1.0 to 10.8% for lake water.     

Determination of organochlorine pesticides in ground water samples using solid-phase microextraction by gas chromatography-electron capture detection

A direct immersion solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-electron capture detection (SPME-GC-ECD) method was optimized and validated for the quantitative determination of 18 organochlorine pesticides in ground water. Ionic strength, stirring speed, adsorption and desorption time and pH were some of the parameters investigated in order to select the optimum conditions for SPME with a 50/30 DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber coating. The SPME-GC/ECD method showed good linear response below 10 ng L⁻¹ with R² values in the range of 0.9950–0.9997. The repeatability of the measurements were lower than 10%. Values of relative recoveries located within the acceptable range (80–120%). Limits of quantification (LOQ) from 4.5 × 10⁻³ to 1.5 ng L⁻¹ were obtained. On average 8 organochlorines were found per sample, even so all the 18 organochlorines were quantified among them. Substances such as endrin ketone, γ-BHC and β-BHC were the pesticides determined in larger concentration (0.06–305 ng L⁻¹), while methoxychlor and aldrin in smaller amounts (0.151–1.55 ng L⁻¹). Measured levels of organochlorine pesticides were above the limits established by Brazilian regulations.     

Novel method for the determination of five carbamate pesticides in water 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 water samples was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction(DLLME)coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector(HPLC-DAD).Some experimental parameters that influence the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized to obtain the best extraction results.Under the optimum conditions for the method,the calibration curve was linear in the c...     

Validation of method for determination of different classes of pesticides in aqueous samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric detection

In this study, a simple, rapid and efficient method has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of different classes of pesticides, carbofuran (insecticide), clomazone (herbicide) and tebuconazole (fungicide) in aqueous samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric detection. Some experimental parameters that influence the extraction efficiency, such as the type and volume of the disperser solvents and extraction solvents, extraction time, speed of centrifugation, pH and addition of salt were examined and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the recoveries of pesticides in water at spiking levels between 0.02 and 2.0 μg L⁻¹ ranged from 62.7% to 120.0%. The relative standard deviations varied between 1.9% and 9.1% (n = 3). The limits of quantification of the method considering a 50-fold preconcentration step were 0.02 μg L⁻¹. The linearity of the method ranged from 1.0 to 1000 μg L⁻¹ for all compounds, with correlation coefficients varying from 0.9982 to 0.9992. Results show that the method we propose can meet the requirements for the determination of pesticides in water samples. The comparison of this method with solid-phase extraction indicates that DLLME is a simple, fast, and low-cost method for the determination of pesticides in natural waters.     

Determination of nitroaromatic explosives in water samples by direct ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A fast, simple, inexpensive, sensitive, efficient and environmental friendly direct ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DUSA-DLLME) procedure has been developed to concentrate five nitroaromatic explosives from water samples prior to quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). An efficient ultrasonic probe has been used to radiate directly the samples producing very fine emulsions from immiscible liquids. A D-optimal design was used for optimizing the factors and to evaluate their influential upon extraction. The optimum experimental conditions were: sample volume, 10 mL; extraction time, 60 s; cycles, 0.6 s(s⁻¹); power of ultrasound energy, 40% (70 W); and, extractant solvent (chlorobenzene) volume, 20 μL. Under the optimized experimental conditions the method presents good level of repeatability with coefficients of variation under 6% (n = 8; spiking level 10 μg L⁻¹). Calculated calibration curves gave high level of linearity with correlation coefficient values between 0.9949 and 0.9992. Limits of detection were ranged between 0.03 and 0.91 μg L⁻¹. Finally, the proposed method was applied to the analysis of two types of water samples, reservoir and effluent wastewater. The samples were previously analysed and confirmed free of target analytes. At 5 μg L⁻¹ spiking level recovery values ranged between 75 and 96% for reservoir water sample showing that the matrix had a negligible effect upon extraction. However, a noticeable matrix effect (around 50% recovery) was observed for effluent wastewater sample. In order to alleviate this matrix effect, the standard addition calibration method was used for quantitative determination. This calibration method supplied recovery values ranged between 71 and 79%. The same conclusions have been obtained from an uncertainty budget evaluation study.     

Part-per-trillion determination of chlorobenzenes in water using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined gas chromatography-electron capture detection

In this study, a simple, rapid and efficient method, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD), for the determination of chlorobenzenes (CBs) in water samples, has been described. This method involves the use of an appropriate mixture of extraction solvent (9.5 μl chlorobenzene) and disperser solvent (0.50 ml acetone) for the formation of cloudy solution in 5.00 ml aqueous sample containing analytes. After extraction, phase separation was performed by centrifugation and the enriched analytes in sedimented phase were determined by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD). Our simple conditions were conducted at room temperature with no stiring and no salt addition in order to minimize sample preparation steps. Parameters such as the kind and volume of extraction solvent, the kind and volume of disperser solvent, extraction time and salt effect, were studied and optimized. The method exhibited enrichment factors and recoveries ranging from 711 to 813 and 71.1 to 81.3%, respectively, within very short extraction time. The linearity of the method ranged from 0.05 to 100 μg l⁻¹ for dichlorobenzene isomers (DCB), 0.002-20 μg l⁻¹ for trichlorobenzene (TCB) and tetrachlorobenzene (TeCB) isomers and from 0.001 to 4 μg l⁻¹ for pentachlorobenzene (PeCB) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). The limit of detection was in the low μg l⁻¹ level, ranging between 0.0005 and 0.05 μg l⁻¹. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.s) for the concentration of DCB isomers, 5.00 μg l⁻¹, TCB and TeCB isomers, 0.500 μg l⁻¹, PeCB and HCB 0.100 μg l⁻¹ in water by using the internal standard were in the range of 0.52-2.8% (n = 5) and without the internal standard were in the range of 4.6-6.0% (n = 5). The relative recoveries of spiked CBs at different levels of chlorobenzene isomers in tap, well and river water samples were 109-121%, 105-113% and 87-120%, respectively. It is concluded that this method can be successfully applied for the determination of CBs in tap, river and well water samples.     

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of nitro musks in surface water and wastewater samples

A new, simple, fast and high sensitive analytical method based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the simultaneous determination of nitro musks in surface water and wastewater samples is presented. Different parameters, such as the nature and volume of both the extraction and disperser solvents and the ionic strength and pH of the aqueous donor phase, were optimized. Under the selected conditions (injection of a mixture of 1 mL of acetone as disperser solvent and 50 μL of chloroform as extraction solvent, no salt addition and no pH adjustment) the figures of merit of the proposed DLLME-GC-MS method were evaluated. High enrichment factors, ranging between 230 and 314 depending on the target analyte, were achieved, which redound to limits of detection in the ng L⁻¹ range (i.e., 4-33 ng L⁻¹). The relative standard deviation (RSD) was below 5% for all the target analytes. Finally, the recoveries obtained for different water samples of diverse origin (sea, river, irrigation channel and water treatment plant) ranged between 87 and 116%, thus showing no matrix effects.     

Application of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the analysis of triazophos and carbaryl pesticides in water and fruit juice samples

In this work, a simple, rapid and sensitive sample pretreatment technique, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD), has been developed to determine carbamate (carbaryl) and organophosphorus (triazophos) pesticide residues in water and fruit juice samples. Parameters, affecting the DLLME performance such as the kind and volume of extraction and dispersive solvents, extraction time and salt concentration, were studied and optimized. Under the optimum extraction conditions (extraction solvent: tetrachloroethane, 15.0 μL; dispersive solvent: acetonitrile, 1.0 mL; no addition of salt and extraction time below 5 s), the performance of the proposed method was evaluated. The enrichment factors for the carbaryl and triazophos were 87.3 and 275.6, respectively. The linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 0.1-1000 ng mL⁻¹ with correlation coefficients from 0.9991 to 0.9999. The limits of detection (LODs), based on signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3, ranged from 12.3 to 16.0 pg mL⁻¹. The relative standard deviations (RSDs, for 10 ng mL⁻¹ of carbaryl and 20 ng mL⁻¹ of triazophos) varied from 1.38% to 2.74% (n = 6). The environmental water (at the fortified level of 1.0 ng mL⁻¹) and fruit juice samples (at the fortified level of 1.0 and 5.0 ng mL⁻¹) were successfully analyzed by the proposed method, and the relative recoveries of them were in the range of 80.4-114.2%, 89.8-117.9% and 86.3-105.3%, respectively.     

Preparation of C18 composite solid-phase microextraction fiber and its application to the determination of organochlorine pesticides in water samples

In this work, a C18 composite solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was prepared with a new method and applied to the analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water sample. A stainless steel wire (o.d. 127 μm) was used as the substrate, and a mixture of the C18 particle (3.5 μm) and the 184 silicone was used as the coating material. During the process of fiber preparation, a section of capillary column was used to fix the mixture onto the stainless steel wire and to ensure the constant of coating thickness. The prepared fiber showed excellent thermal stability and solvent resistance. By coupling with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), the fiber exhibited wide linearity (2–500 ng L⁻¹) and good sensitivity for the determination of six OCPs in water samples, the OCPs tested included hexachlorobezene, trans-chlordane, cis-chlordane, o,p-DDT, p,p-DDT and mirex. Not only the extraction performance of the newly prepared fiber was more than seven times higher than those of commercial fibers, the limits of detections (LODs) (0.059–0.151 ng L⁻¹) for OCPs achieved under optimized conditions were also lower than those of reported SPME methods. The fiber was successfully applied to the determination of OCPs in real water samples by using developed SPME–GC–MS method.     

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentration of palladium in water samples and determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

A new method for the determination of palladium was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction preconcentration and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry detection. In the proposed approach, diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) was used as a chelating agent, and carbon tetrachloride and ethanol were selected as extraction and dispersive solvent. Some factors influencing the extraction efficiency of palladium and its subsequent determination, including extraction and dispersive solvent type and volume, pH of sample solution, concentration of the chelating agent and extraction time, were studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor of this method for palladium reached at 156. The detection limit for palladium was 2.4 ng L⁻¹ (3σ), and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was 4.3% (n = 7, c = 1.0 ng mL⁻¹). The method was successfully applied to the determination of trace amount of palladium in water samples.     

Application of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of three phthalate esters in water samples

A novel method, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-variable wavelength detector (HPLC-VWD), has been developed for the determination of three phthalate esters (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP)) in water samples. A mixture of extraction solvent (41 μL carbon tetrachloride) and dispersive solvent (0.75 mL acetonitrile) were rapidly injected into 5.0 mL aqueous sample for the formation of cloudy solution, the analytes in the sample were extracted into the fine droplets of CCl₄. After extraction, phase separation was performed by centrifugation and the enriched analytes in the sedimented phase were determined by HPLC-VWD. Some important parameters, such as the kind and volume of extraction solvent and dispersive solvent, extraction time and salt effect were investigated and optimized. Under the optimum extraction condition, the method yields a linear calibration curve in the concentration range from 5 to 5000 ng mL⁻¹ for target analytes. The enrichment factors for DMP, DEP and DnBP were 45, 92 and 196, respectively, and the limits of detection were 1.8, 0.88 and 0.64 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) for the extraction of 10 ng mL⁻¹ of phthalate esters were in the range of 4.3-5.9% (n = 7). Lake water, tap water and bottled mineral water samples were successfully analyzed using the proposed method.     

Validated dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for analysis of organophosphorous pesticides in water

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to the determination of six organophosphorous pesticides (OPPs) in water samples. The analytes included in this study were prophos, diazinon, chlorpyrifos methyl, methyl parathion, fenchlorphos and chlorpyrifos. Several extraction and dispersion solvents were tested for dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of these analytes and the best results were obtained using chloroform as extraction solvent and 2-propanol as dispersion solvent. Calibration curves of the analytes in water samples were constructed in the concentration range from 100 to 1100 ng/L for prophos, diazinon and methyl parathion and in the range from 100 to 1000 ng/L for chlorpyrifos methyl, fenchlorphos and chlorpyrifos. Limits of detection (LODs) were in the range of 1.5-9.1 ng/L and limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 5.1-30.3 ng/L, below the maximum admissible level for drinking water. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) were between 6.5 and 10.1% in the concentration range of 100-1000 ng/L. The relative recoveries (%RRs) of tap, well and irrigation water samples fortified at 800 ng/L were in the range of 46.1-129.4%, with a larger matrix effect being detected in tap water.     

Determination of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in water and wine samples by ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A fast, simple and environmentally friendly ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (USADLLME) procedure has been developed to preconcentrate geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) from water and wine samples prior to quantification by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A two-stage multivariate optimization approach was developed by means of a Plackett–Burman design for screening and selecting the significant variables involved in the USADLLME procedure, which was later optimized by means of a circumscribed central composite design. The optimum conditions were: solvent volume, 8 μL; solvent type: tetrachloroethylene; sample volume, 12 mL; centrifugation speed, 2300 rpm; extraction temperature 20 °C; extraction time, 3 min; and centrifugation time, 3 min. Under the optimized experimental conditions the method gave good levels of repeatability with coefficient of variation under 11% (n = 10). Limits of detection were 2 and 9 ng L⁻¹ for geosmin and MIB, respectively. Calculated calibration curves gave high levels of linearity with correlation coefficient values of 0.9988 and 0.9994 for geosmin and MIB, respectively. Finally, the proposed method was applied to the analysis of two water (reservoir and tap) samples and three wine (red, rose and white) samples. The samples were previously analyzed and confirmed free of target analytes. Recovery values ranged between 70 and 113% at two spiking levels (0.25 μg L⁻¹ and 30 ng L⁻¹) showing that the matrix had a negligible effect upon extraction. Only red wine showed a noticeable matrix effect (70–72% recovery). Similar conclusions have been obtained from an uncertainty budget evaluation study.     

Optimisation of solid-phase microextraction coupled to HPLC-UV for the determination of organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites in environmental liquid samples

A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) procedure using two commercial fibers coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is presented for the extraction and determination of organochlorine pesticides in water samples. We have evaluated the extraction efficiency of this kind of compound using two different fibers: 60-μm polydimethylsiloxane–divinylbenzene (PDMS-DVB) and Carbowax/TPR-100 (CW/TPR). Parameters involved in the extraction and desorption procedures (e.g. extraction time, ionic strength, extraction temperature, desorption and soaking time) were studied and optimized to achieve the maximum efficiency. Results indicate that both PDMS-DVB and CW/TPR fibers are suitable for the extraction of this type of compound, and a simple calibration curve method based on simple aqueous standards can be used. All the correlation coefficients were better than 0.9950, and the RSDs ranged from 7% to 13% for 60-μm PDMS-DVB fiber and from 3% to 10% for CW/TPR fiber. Optimized procedures were applied to the determination of a mixture of six organochlorine pesticides in environmental liquid samples (sea, sewage and ground waters), employing HPLC with UV-diode array detector.     

Determination of the steroid hormone levels in water samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with solidification of a floating organic drop followed by high-performance liquid chromatography

In this study, the steroid hormone levels in river and tap water samples were determined by using a novel dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method based on the solidification of a floating organic drop (DLLME-SFO). Several parameters were optimized, including the type and volume of the extraction and dispersive solvents, extraction time, and salt effect. DLLME-SFO is a fast, cheap, and easy-to-use method for detecting trace levels of samples. Most importantly, this method uses less-toxic solvent. The correlation coefficient of the calibration curve was higher than 0.9991. The linear range was from 5 to 1000 μg L⁻¹. The spiked environmental water samples were analyzed using DLLME-SFO. The relative recoveries ranged from 87% to 116% for river water (which was spiked with 4 μg L⁻¹ for E1, 3 μg L⁻¹ for E2, 4 μg L⁻¹ for EE2 and 9 μg L⁻¹ for E3) and 89% to 102% for tap water (which was spiked with 6 μg L⁻¹ for E1, 5 μg L⁻¹ for E2, 6 μg L⁻¹ for EE2 and 10 μg L⁻¹ for E3). The detection limits of the method ranged from 0.8 to 2.7 μg L⁻¹ for spiked river water and 1.4 to 3.1 μg L⁻¹ for spiked tap water. The methods precision ranged from 8% to 14% for spiked river water and 7% to 14% for spiked tap water.     

Determination of volatile nitrosamines in meat products by microwave-assisted extraction and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were evaluated for use in the extraction and preconcentration of volatile nitrosamines in meat products. Parameters affecting MAE, such as the extraction solvent used, and DLLME, including the nature and volume of the extracting and disperser solvents, extraction time, salt addition and centrifugation time, were optimized. In the MAE method, 0.25g of sample mass was extracted in 10mL NaOH (0.05M) in a closed-vessel system. For DLLME, 1.5mL of methanol (disperser solvent) containing 20μL of carbon tetrachloride (extraction solvent) was rapidly injected by syringe into 5mL of the sample extract solution (previously adjusted to pH 6), thereby forming a cloudy solution. Phase separation was performed by centrifugation, and a volume of 3μL of the sedimented phase was analyzed by GC-MS. The enrichment factors provided by DLLME varied from 220 to 342 for N-nitrosodiethylamine and N-nitrosopiperidine, respectively. The matrix effect was evaluated for different samples, and it was concluded that sample quantification can be carried out by aqueous calibration. Under the optimized conditions, detection limits ranged from 0.003 to 0.014ngmL(-1) for NPIP and NMEA, respectively (0.12-0.56ngg(-1) in the meat products).     

Speciation of mercury in water samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) combined with high performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the speciation of mercury in water samples was described. Firstly methylmercury (MeHg⁺) and mercury (Hg²⁺) were complexed with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, and then the complexes were extracted into carbon tetrachloride by using DLLME. Under the optimized conditions, the enrichment factors of 138 and 350 for MeHg⁺ and Hg²⁺ were obtained from only 5.00 mL sample solution. The detection limits of the analytes (as Hg) were 0.0076 ng mL⁻¹ for MeHg⁺ and 0.0014 ng mL⁻¹ for Hg²⁺, respectively. The relative standard deviations for ten replicate measurements of 0.5 ng mL⁻¹ MeHg⁺ and Hg²⁺ were 6.9% and 4.4%, respectively. Standard reference material of seawater (GBW(E)080042) was analyzed to verify the accuracy of the method and the results were in good agreement with the certified values. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied for the speciation of mercury in three environmental water samples.