Ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction of rutin from Chinese medicinal plants

An ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted extraction (ILMAE) method has been developed for the effective extraction of rutin from Chinese medicinal plants including Saururus chinensis (Lour.) Bail. (S. chinensis) and Flos Sophorae. A series of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids with different anions were investigated. The results indicated that the characteristics of anions have remarkable effects on the extraction efficiency of rutin and among the investigated ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([bmim]Br) aqueous solution was the best. In addition, the ILMAE procedures for the two kinds of medicinal herbs were also optimized by means of a series of single factor experiments and an L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal design. Compared with the optimal ionic liquid-based heating extraction (ILHE), marinated extraction (ILME), ultrasonic-assisted extraction (ILUAE), the optimized approach of ILMAE gained higher extraction efficiency which is 4.879 mg/g in S. chinensis with RSD 1.33% and 171.82 mg/g in Flos Sophorae with RSD 1.47% within the shortest extraction time. Reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with ultraviolet detection was employed for the analysis of rutin in Chinese medicinal plants. Under the optimum conditions, the average recoveries of rutin from S. chinensis and Flos Sophorae were 101.23% and 99.62% with RSD lower than 3%, respectively. The developed approach is linear at concentrations from 42 to 252 mg L⁻¹ of rutin solution, with the regression coefficient (r) at 0.99917. Moreover, the extraction mechanism of ILMAE and the microstructures and chemical structures of the two researched samples before and after extraction were also investigated. With the help of LC-MS, it was future demonstrated that the two researched herbs do contain active ingredient of rutin and ionic liquids would not influence the structure of rutin.     

Fast determination of chlorogenic acid in tobacco residues using microwave-assisted extraction and capillary zone electrophoresis technique

In this work, for the first time, capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) technique combined with microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) was developed for the fast quantification of chlorogenic acid (CA) in tobacco residues. CA in tobacco residue samples were extracted by MAE technique, and then analyzed by CZE. As a new sample preparation method for tobacco residues, the MAE procedure is optimized, validated and compared with conventional methods including ultrasonic extraction (USE) and reflux extraction (RE). It is found that MAE gives the best result due to the highest extraction efficiency within shortest extraction time (only 4.0 min). Here, CA is determined by CZE based on the calibration curve of its authentic standard. The method linearity, detection limit, precision and recovery are studied. The results show that the combined MAE and CZE method has a linearity (R² 0.991, 0.003-0.5 mg ml⁻¹), a limit of detection (0.003 mg ml⁻¹), a limit of quantification (0.01 mg ml⁻¹), good precision (R.S.D. = 4.28%) and a finer recovery (89.0%). The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of CA in tobacco residue samples. The experiment results have demonstrated that the CZE combined with MAE is a convenient, fast, economical and reliable method for the determination of CA in tobacco residues.     

Retention behaviour of some high-intensity sweeteners on different SPE sorbents

The objective of this paper is to provide information about application of solid-phase extraction (SPE) for isolation of nine high-intensity sweeteners (acesulfame-K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamate, dulcin, neotame, saccharin, sucralose and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone) from aqueous solutions. The influence of several types of LC-MS compatible buffers (different pH values and compositions) on their recovery has been studied and discussed. A number of commercially available SPE cartridges, such as Chromabond C18ec, Strata-X RP, Bakerbond Octadecyl, Bakerbond SDB-1, Bakerbond SPE Phenyl, Oasis HLB, LiChrolut RP-18, Supelclean LC-18, Discovery DSC-18 and Zorbax C18 were tested in order to evaluate their applicability for the isolation of analytes. Very high recoveries (better than 92%) of all studied compounds were obtained using formic acid-N,N-diisopropylethylamine buffer adjusted to pH 4.5 and C₁₈-bonded silica sorbents. Behaviour of polymeric sorbents strongly depends on their structure. Strata-X RP behaves much like a C₁₈-bonded silica sorbent. Recoveries obtained using Oasis HLB were comparable with those observed for silica-based sorbents. The only compound less efficiently (83%) retained by this sorbent was cyclamate. Bakerbond SDB-1 shows unusual selectivity towards aspartame and alitame. Recoveries of these two sweeteners were very low (26 and 42%, respectively). It was also found that aspartame and alitame can be selectively separated from the mixture of sweeteners using formic acid-triethylamine buffer at pH 3.5.     

Comparison of hot Soxhlet and accelerated solvent extractions with microwave and supercritical fluid extractions for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrated derivatives strongly adsorbed on soot collected inside a diesel particulate filter

Several methods of extraction were optimized to extract polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), their nitrated derivatives and heavy n-alkanes from a highly adsorptive particulate matter resulting from the combustion of diesel fuel in a diesel engine. This particular carbonaceous particulate matter, collected at high temperatures in cordierite diesel particulate filters (DPF), which are optimized for removing diesel particles from diesel engine exhaust emissions, appeared extremely refractory to extractions using the classical extracting conditions for these pollutants. In particular, the method of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) is described in detail here. Optimization was performed through experimental design to understand the impact of each factor studied and the factors’ possible interactions on the recovery yields. The conventional extraction technique, i.e., Soxhlet extraction, was also carried out, but the lack of quantitative extractions led us to use a more effective approach: hot Soxhlet. It appeared that the extraction of the heaviest PAHs and nitroPAHs by either the optimized ASE or hot Soxhlet processes was far from complete. To enhance recovery yields, we tested original solvent mixtures of aromatic and heteroaromatic solvents. Thereafter, these two extraction techniques were compared to microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). In every case, the only solvent mixture that permitted quantitative extraction of the heaviest PAHs from the diesel soot was composed of pyridine and diethylamine, which has a strong electron-donor character. Conversely, the extraction of the nitrated PAHs was significantly improved by the use of an electron-acceptor solvent or by introducing a small amount of acetic acid into the pyridine. It was demonstrated that, for many desirable features, no single extraction technique stound out as the best: ASE, MAE or SFE could all challenge hot Soxhlet for favourable extractions. Consequently, the four optimized extraction techniques were performed to extract the naturally polluted diesel soot collected inside the DPF. Comparisons with the NIST standard reference material SRM 1650b showed that the soot collected from the DPF contained 50% fewer n-alkanes, and also markedly lower levels of PAHs (44 less concentrated) than SRM 1650b, and that the ratio of nitroPAHs to PAHs was increased. These results were attributed to the high temperatures reached inside the particulate filter during sampling runs and to the contribution of the catalytic DPF to aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons abatement.     

Characterisation of commercially available linear alkylbenzenesulfonates by LC-SPE-NMR/MS (liquid chromatography-solid phase extraction-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy-mass spectroscopy)

Commercially available linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LASs) are a mixture of various homologues and isomers, leading to 20 major species. In this work we investigated the commercial product by liquid chromatography-solid phase extraction-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy-mass spectrometry (LC-SPE-NMR/MS). The commercial product was separated into 17 fractions by liquid chromatography (LC). After chromatographic separation, 5% of the flow was split to a mass spectrometer (MS) while 95% was send to post-column solid phase extraction cartridges for enrichment of the analytes (LC-SPE). After elution from the SPE-cartridges a NMR-spectrometer equipped with a cryo-probe was used for the characterisation of the different LASs species. For the first time ¹H-1D and H-H-COSY spectra for 14 LASs species out of 20 major isomers are presented, whereas the 6 remaining species are detected as mixtures in 3 ¹H-1D and H-H-COSY spectra. These data were used to correlate the chromatographic retention of the LASs isomers to the substitution pattern of the alkyl chain.     

Analysis of terpenes in white wines using SPE-SPME-GC/MS approach

Terpenes contribute to some white wines aroma, especially these produced from Muscat grapes and others aromatic ones of high terpene contents (Gewürtztramminer, Traminer, Huxel, Sylvaner). Terpenes are present in wine in free and bound (in a form of glycosides) forms. Analyses of bound terpenes are usually performed using solid phase extraction after hydrolysis of glycosides. A new method for determination of terpenes from wine, focused on determination of terpenes released after acidic hydrolysis, based on solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by solid phase microextraction (SPME) was developed. Non-polar (free) and polar (bound terpenes) fractions were separated on 500 mg C18 cartridges. Bound terpenes were sampled using SPME immediately after acidic hydrolysis in non-equilibrium conditions. Application of combined SPE-SPME approach allowed quantification of selected terpenes in lower concentrations than in SPE approach and added a selectivity to the method, which enabled detection of compounds non-detectable in SPE extracts. Results obtained by SPE and SPE-SPME approach were correlated for free terpenes and those released after acid hydrolysis 20 white wines obtained from different grape varieties (R² = 0.923). Although developed for wine terpenes analysis, SPE followed by SPME approach has a great potential in analysis of other bound wine flavor compounds, especially those potent odorants present in trace amounts.     

超临界CO_2萃取桑叶总黄酮工艺的研究

采用超临界CO2萃取桑叶总黄酮,以得率为指标,对萃取压力、萃取温度、夹带剂乙醇的浓度和流量等影响因素进行正交试验。结果表明最佳工艺条件为:萃取压力35 MPa,温度55℃,乙醇质量分数90%,乙醇流量0.01 mL/min。此条件下桑叶总黄酮得率2.28%。该方法简便、可靠、选择性高,适于工业化生产。     

Pressurised hot water extraction followed by simultaneous derivatization and headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of aliphatic primary amines in sewage sludge

In this paper we describe an environmentally friendly and sensitive method for the determination of ten primary amines in sewage sludge. The method is based on pressurised hot water extraction (PHWE) followed by simultaneous derivatization with pentafluorobenzaldehyde (PFBAY) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and subsequent gas-chromatography ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (GC-IT-MS-MS) analysis. The influence of the main factors on the PHWE of sludge was optimized by a central composite design. For all species the optimal conditions were water at pH 4 as the extracting solvent, an extraction temperature of 100 °C and an extraction time of 15 min. The separation and detection of the ten amines by GC-IT-MS-MS took just 10 min and the entire process took approximately 1 h. Repeatability and reproducibility between days, expressed as RSD (%) (n = 5), were less than 19 and 24%, respectively. The average limit of detection (LOD) was of 65 μg kg⁻¹ s (range found 9-135) and the average limit of quantification (LOQ) was of 230 μg kg⁻¹ (range found 50-450) of dry weight (d.w.). Under optimized conditions we used this method to determine the compounds in industrial and municipal sewage sludge samples and in sludge from a potable water treatment plant. Methylamine and isobutylamine showed the highest levels in one of the industrial sewage sludge samples (404 and 543 mg kg⁻¹ (d.w.), respectively). To our knowledge, this paper presents for the first time the determination of ten primary amines in sewage sludge samples using PHWE.     

Flow injection system for the on-line preconcentration of Pb by cloud point extraction coupled to USN–ICP OES

A novel method for the determination of Pb by on-line cloud point extraction coupled to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry with ultrasonic nebulization (USN–ICP OES) is presented. The cloud point system was formed in the presence of non-ionic micelles of polyethyleneglycolmono-p-nonylphenylether (PONPE 7.5) and was retained in a minicolumn filled with particles of PTFE. Since the micelles of PONPE were able to extract Pb from the solutions, the use of a complexing reagent was not necessary. Afterwards, the surfactant-rich phase containing the analyte was removed from the minicolumn with nitric acid and introduced into the ultrasonic nebulizer. A total enhancement factor of 150 was obtained for a preconcentration time of 3.3 min, with respect to the direct determination of Pb by conventional ICP OES. The values of the detection (3σ) and quantification (10σ) limits for the preconcentration of 10 mL of sample solution were 0.09 µg L^{− 1} and 0.2 µg L^{− 1} respectively. The precision, expressed as the relative standard deviation (RSD), for 10 replicate determinations at 5.0 µg L^{− 1} Pb level was 6.0%. Verification of the accuracy was carried out by analysis of two certified reference materials (NIST SRM 1640e and VKI QC Metal LL1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of Pb in drinking water samples.     

Metal content variation in wastewater and biosludge from Bangkok's central wastewater treatment plants

The objectives of this study were to determine the metal contents and their variations in influent, effluent and biosludge, and to evaluate the potential environmental impact of biosludge generated from the Bangkok, Thailand central wastewater treatment plants. The variation in influent metal content was site-specific and could be related to the economic activities of small-scale companies. An activated sludge process could remove some level of the metal content via a combination of biological and physicochemical processes. The variation in metal removal efficiencies strongly depended upon the influent wastewater characteristics and composition. Metal occurrence in biosludge was similar to the metals found in the influent. Iron was the most abundant while Cd had the lowest occurrence. A longer excess sludge operational condition and storage time may increase metal contents in biosludge due to the decomposition of biodegradable organic matter by microorganisms. According to the speciation results, the biosludge studied had a low mobility and availability index, except the RK plant biosludge. Most trace metals of interest were in the less mobile and bioavailable forms. The most mobile exchangeable and moderately mobile carbonate fractions of Cd, Mn, Ni and Zn were relatively low (5–30%). Biosludge from RK had a total Cu concentration higher than the limits, and to some extent exchangeable and carbonate fractions that were relatively high (∼ 40%).