Magnetically confined hydrophobic nanoparticles for the microextraction of endocrine-disrupting phenols from environmental waters

In this article, a solid-phase extraction approach, which takes advantage of the good extraction capabilities of hydrophobic magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), is presented. The new approach involves the deposition of a thin layer of MNPs in a dedicated stirring unit based on the dual function of a mini-magnet. The system allows the extraction of the analytes in a simple and efficient way. The approach, which reduces the negative effect of the aggregation tendency of hydrophobic MNPs, is characterized for the resolution of a model analytical problem: the determination of some endocrine-disrupting phenols in water by liquid chromatography–photometric detection. All the variables involved in the extraction process have been clearly identified and optimized. The new extraction mode allows the determination of these compounds with limits of detection in the range from 0.15 μg/L (for 4-tert-octylphenol) to 2.7 μg/L (for 4-tert-butylphenol) with a relative standard deviation lower than 5.3 % (for 4-tert-butylphenol).