Effervescence-assisted carbon nanotubes dispersion for the micro-solid-phase extraction of triazine herbicides from environmental waters

Portable stirring device for the on-site extraction of environmental waters using magnetic hydrophilic-lipophilic balance tape

The spatial heterogeneity of environmental systems makes sampling at multiple locations crucial to provide complete and representative information. The on-site application of an extraction technique simplifies the sampling logistics, increasing sample integrity during transportation and storage. This article presents a portable, simple, and low-cost device capable of performing the simultaneous on-site extraction of several environmental water samples. The device consists of a small electric motor integrated into the plastic cap of a conventional glass bottle and operated with a portable battery. The electric motor provides stirring to a novel magnetic sorptive phase based on the deposition of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) particles over a magnetic tape. The use of open technology makes the device globally affordable. In this first approach, the isolation and preconcentration of atrazine and simazine have been selected as proof of concept. Using an internal standard made unnecessary the adjustment of the ionic strength before the extraction, thus simplifying the analytical procedure. Under the optimum conditions and using direct infusion mass spectrometry as the instrumental technique, detection limits as low as 15 ng/L were obtained. The precision calculated at three different levels was better than 8.3%. The accuracy, calculated with spiked samples, indicates the applicability of the approach for environmental water analysis.

Exploring sol-gel zwitterionic fabric phase sorptive extraction sorbent as a new multi-mode platform for the extraction and preconcentration of triazine herbicides from juice samples

Triazine herbicides are a class of common pesticides which are widely used to control the weeds in many agricultural crops. Although many studies have described methodologies for the determination of triazine herbicides in aqueous samples, the attention given to agricultural crops and their products is far more limited. In this study, a novel sol-gel zwitterionic multi-mode fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) platform was developed for the matrix clean-up, extraction and preconcentration of five triazine herbicides from fruit juice samples prior to their determination by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The novel zwitterionic multi-mode sorbent was characterized and its performance for fruit juice analysis was evaluated. Compared to other sol-gel sorbents, the novel zwitterionic sorbent helped cleaning all the acidic interferences from fruit juices. The herein reported FPSE protocol was optimized and validated. Under optimum conditions, the FPSE method showed good accuracy, precision and sensitivity. The limits of detection and limits of quantification for all analytes were 0.15 ng mL^-1 and 0.50 ng mL^-1, respectively. The enhancement factors of this method ranged between 36.7 and 51.8. The relative standard deviation for intra-day precision was below 5.6% and for inter-day precision was below 8.8%. Finally, the proposed FPSE-HPLC-DAD method was successfully employed for the analysis of various fruit juice samples.

Designing a moderately hydrophobic sol-gel monolithic Carbowax 20 M sorbent for the capsule phase microextraction of triazine herbicides from water samples prior to HPLC analysis

The determination of triazine herbicides in water samples is of utmost importance, due to their persistence and excessive use. However, since the concentration of triazine pesticides in real samples is low, an extraction/preconcentration step is typically required. Capsule phase microextraction (CPME) is a recently introduced sample preparation technique in which highly efficient sol-gel sorbents are encapsulated in a tubular polymer membrane. This particular design integrates the filtration and stirring mechanism into one extraction device, enabling the application of CPME for in situ sampling. In this study, CPME coupled to high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was employed for the first time for the determination of six triazine herbicides (i.e., simazine, cyanazine, atrazine, prometryn, terbuthylazine and propazine) in water samples. Microextraction capsules containing a moderately hydrophobic sol-gel Carbowax 20 M sorbent provided the highest extraction efficiency towards the examined pesticides. The main parameters affecting the adsorption and desorption steps of the CPME procedure were investigated and optimized. Under the selected conditions, limits of detection (signal/noise = 3.3) were 0.15 ng mL^-1 for the target analytes. Moreover, the relative standard deviation for the within-day and between-days repeatability were less than 7.2% and 9.9%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of mineral water, tap water, rainwater and lake water samples. The reported protocol could overcome the need for sample filtration prior to the sample preparation of the water samples, resulting in simplification of the overall sample handling, improved data quality with minimal loss of analytes and reduced sample preparation cost.

Recent advances in the extraction of triazine herbicides from water samples

Pesticides are excessively used in agriculture to improve the quality of crops by eliminating the negative effects of pests. Among the different groups of pesticides, triazine pesticides are a group of compounds that contain a substituted C₃ H₃ N₃ heterocyclic ring, and they are widely used. Triazine pesticides can be dangerous for humans as well as for the aquatic environment because of their high toxicity and endocrine disrupting effect. However, the concentration of these chemical compounds in water samples is low. Moreover, other compounds that may exist in the water samples can interfere with the determination of triazine pesticides. As a result, it is important to develop sample preparation methods that provide preconcentration of the target analyte and sufficient clean-up of the samples. Recently, a wide variety of novel microextraction and miniaturized extraction techniques (e.g., solid-phase microextraction and liquid-phase microextraction, stir bar sorptive extraction, fabric phase sorptive extraction, dispersive solid-phase extraction, and magnetic solid-phase extraction) have been developed. In this review, we aim to discuss the recent advances regarding the extraction of triazine pesticides from environmental water samples. Emphasis will be given to novel sample preparation methods and novel sorbents developed for sorbent-based extraction techniques.

Effervescence-Assisted Microextraction-One Decade of Developments

Dispersive microextraction techniques are key in the analytical sample treatment context as they combine a favored thermodynamics and kinetics isolation of the target analytes from the sample matrix. The dispersion of the extractant in the form of tiny particles or drops, depending on the technique, into the sample enlarges the contact surface area between phases, thus enhancing the mass transference. This dispersion can be achieved by applying external energy sources, the use of chemicals, or the combination of both strategies. Effervescence-assisted microextraction emerged in 2011 as a new alternative in this context. The technique uses in situ-generated carbon dioxide as the disperser, and it has been successfully applied in the solid-phase and liquid-phase microextraction fields. This minireview explains the main fundamentals of the technique, its potential and the main developments reported.

Modern microextraction techniques for natural products

Natural product analysis has gained wide attention in recent years, especially for herbal medicines, which contain complex ingredients and play a significant clinical role in the therapy of numerous diseases. The constituents of natural products are usually found at low concentrations, and the matrices are complex. Thus, the extraction of target compounds from natural products before analysis by analytical instruments is very significant for human health and its wide application. The commonly used traditional extraction methods are time-consuming, using large amounts of sample and organic solvents, as well as expensive and inefficient. Recently, microextraction techniques have been used for natural product extraction to overcome the disadvantages of conventional extraction methods. In this paper, the successful applications of and recent developments in microextraction techniques including solvent-based and sorbent-based microextraction methods, in natural product analysis in recent years, especially in the last 5 years, are reviewed for the first time. Their features, advantages, disadvantages, and future development trends are also discussed.

Dopamine-modified magnetic graphene oxide as a recoverable sorbent for the preconcentration of metal ions by an effervescence-assisted dispersive micro solid-phase extraction procedure

Nanomagnetic graphene oxide modified with dopamine (GO-Fe3O4-DA) was synthesized via a very simple procedure. Using GO-Fe3O4-DA as the new adsorbent, the effervescence-assisted dispersive micro solid-phase extraction procedure was exploited for the preconcentrative extraction of Cu(ii), Pb(ii) and Ni(ii) ions. Structural characteristics of the adsorbent were studied via FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX and XRD analyses. The rapid dispersion and high adsorption capability of GO-Fe3O4-DA, along with the rapid separation of the adsorbent from the aqueous phase by a magnet, led to a decrease in the extraction time of the target metal ions. In effect, high extraction percentages were attained in a very short time period. In this work, the relative standard deviations (RSD; n = 3) calculated for the proposed method were 1.09, 1.25 and 1.03% for the Pb(ii), Cu(ii) and Ni(ii) ions, respectively, the calibration curve was dynamically linear in the range of 0.25 to 50 μg L-1, and the limits of detection were obtained as 0.5, 0.1, and 0.7 μg L-1. The procedure was also implemented on real sausage (herbal and meaty) samples and a water sample, vouchsafing the success of the proposed method in tackling real samples with a complicated matrix.

Microwave-assisted ionic liquid-based micelle extraction combined with trace-fluorinated carbon nanotubes in dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction to determine three sesquiterpenes in roots of Curcuma wenyujin

INTRODUCTION

Germacrone, furanodiene and β-elemene are the representative bioactive compounds in Curcuma species. The conventional extraction methods of these three sesquiterpenes are usually time-consuming and require a large volume of hazardous organic solvents. Thus, a fast and reliable method for extracting these sesquiterpenes from Curcuma plant is required urgently.

OBJECTIVE

To establish a novel and simple extraction method for quantitative analysis of small amounts of sesquiterpenes in C. wenyujin plant.

METHODOLOGY

A method using microwave-assisted ionic liquid-micelle extraction combined with dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (DMSPE) has been proposed for the extraction of three sesquiterpenoids in Curcuma plant. Fluorinated carbon nanotubes (FCNTs) were used as an adsorbent in DMSPE for the first time. Parameters concerning the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) conditions and the DMSPE were investigated and evaluated to achieve optimum extraction efficiency of target analytes.

RESULTS

The final conditions of ionic liquid-micelle based MAE were selected to be 0.25 M of 1-decyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide as the extraction solvent, microwave irradiation for 10 min at 60°C. And the optimal DMSPE conditions were found to be 2 μg/mL of FCNTs as the adsorbent, extraction time of 2 min and 100 μL of acetonitrile as the elution solvent. The developed method exhibited good linearities (R > 0.9990), high repeatability and recoveries. The proposed method has been successfully applied in determination of sesquiterpenes in C. wenyujin samples.

CONCLUSION

The work shows a potential in analysing small amounts of sesquiterpenes in complex samples and represents the first attempt of using FCNTs as an adsorbent for the microextraction mode.

Adsorption of triazine herbicides from aqueous solution by functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes grown on silicon substrate

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), because of their small size and large available surface area, are potentially efficient sorbents for the extraction of water solutes. Dispersion of MWCNTs in aqueous medium is suitable to adsorb organic contaminants from small sample volumes, but, the recovery of the suspended sorbent for successive re-use represents a critical step, which makes this method inapplicable in large-scale water-treatment technologies. To overcome this problem, we proposed here MWCNTs grown on silicon supports and investigated on a small-volume scale their adsorption properties towards triazine herbicides dissolved in water. The adsorption efficiency of the supported MWCNTs has been tested on seven triazine herbicides, which are emerging water contaminants in Europe and USA, because of their massive use, persistence in soils and potential risks for the aquatic organisms and human health. The investigated compounds, in spite of their common molecular skeleton, cover a relatively large property range in terms of both solubility in water and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity. The functionalisation of MWCNTs carried out by acidic oxidation, apart from increasing wettability of the material, results in a better adsorption performance. Increasing of functionalisation time between 17 and 60 h progressively increases the extraction of all seven pesticides and produces a moderate increment of selectivity.

Effervescence-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction using ionic-liquid-modified magnetic β-cyclodextrin/attapulgite coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for fungicide detection in honey and juice

In this study, a simple effervescence-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction method was developed to detect fungicides in honey and juice. Most significantly, an innovative ionic-liquid-modified magnetic β-cyclodextrin/attapulgite sorbent was used because its large specific surface area enhanced the extraction capacity and also led to facile separation. A one-factor-at-a-time approach and orthogonal design were employed to optimize the experimental parameters. Under the optimized conditions, the entire extraction procedure was completed within 3 min. In addition, the calibration curves exhibited good linearity, and high enrichment factors were achieved for pure water and honey samples. For the honey samples, the extraction efficiencies for the target fungicides ranged from 77.0 to 94.3% with relative standard deviations of 2.3-5.44%. The detection and quantitation limits were in the ranges of 0.07-0.38 and 0.23-1.27 μg/L, respectively. Finally, the developed technique was successfully applied to real samples, and satisfactory results were achieved. This analytical technique is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and time-saving.

Preconcentration of Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) with ethylenediamine-modified graphene oxide

We describe a novel solid phase sorbent that was synthesized by coupling graphene oxide (GO) to ethylenediamine (EDA). This nanomaterial (referred to as GO-EDA) is capable of adsorbing the ions of iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc and lead. The ethylenediamine-modified graphene oxide was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The analytical procedure relies on (a) sorption of metal ions on GO-EDA dispersed in aqueous samples; (b) filtering, and (c) direct submission of the filter paper to energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. This kind of dispersive micro-solid phase extraction was optimized with respect to pH values, concentration of GO-EDA, contact time, and the effects of interfering ions and humic acid on recovery of determined elements. Under optimized conditions, the recoveries of spiked samples range from 90 to 98 %. The detection limits are 0.07, 0.10, 0.07, 0.08, 0.06 and 0.10 ng mL-1 for Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The method has a relative standard deviation of <6 %, and its accuracy was verified by analysis of two standard reference materials [LGC6016 (estuarine water) and BCR-610 (groundwater)]. It was successfully applied to the determination of trace amounts of these metal ions in water samples. Graphical AbstractGraphene oxide was coupled to ethylenediamine in order to obtain an effective sorbent (GO-EDA) for preconcentration of Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) from environmental water samples.

Recent advances in applications of nanomaterials for sample preparation

Sample preparation is a key step for qualitative and quantitative analysis of trace analytes in complicated matrix. Along with the rapid development of nanotechnology in material science, numerous nanomaterials have been developed with particularly useful applications in analytical chemistry. Benefitting from their high specific areas, increased surface activities, and unprecedented physical/chemical properties, the potentials of nanomaterials for rapid and efficient sample preparation have been exploited extensively. In this review, recent progress of novel nanomaterials applied in sample preparation has been summarized and discussed. Both nanoparticles and nanoporous materials are evaluated for their unusual performance in sample preparation. Various compositions and functionalizations extended the applications of nanomaterials in sample preparations, and distinct size and shape selectivity was generated from the diversified pore structures of nanoporous materials. Such great variety make nanomaterials a kind of versatile tools in sample preparation for almost all categories of analytes.

Optimized syringe-assisted dispersive micro solid phase extraction coupled with microsampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry for the simple and fast determination of potentially toxic metals in fruit juice and bio-fluid samples

Syringe assisted dispersive micro solid phase extraction coupled with microsampling flame atomic absorption spectrometry as a novel method for potentially toxic metals extraction.