Phytic acid-stabilized super-amphiphilic Fe 3 O 4 -graphene oxide for extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from vegetable oils

Simple and sensitive monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils by polydimethylsiloxane/pyrazine-based hyper-crosslinked polymer coated stir bar sorptive extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection

BACKGROUND

Edible oils are susceptible to contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) throughout production, storage, and transportation processes due to their lipophilic nature. The necessity of quantifying PAHs present in complex oil matrices at trace levels, which bind strongly to impurities in oil matrices, poses a major challenge to the accurate quantification of these contaminants. Therefore, the development of straightforward and effective methods for the separation and enrichment of PAHs in oil samples prior to instrumental analysis is paramount to guaranteeing food safety.

RESULTS

A pyrazine embedded hyper-crosslinked porous polymer, HCPPz-TPB, was synthesized via a Friedel-Crafts reaction, utilizing triphenylbenzene (TPB) as the monomer and 2,5-dibromomethylpyrazine as the cross-linking reagent. The material was combined with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using the sol-gel method, and applied as a coating to a dumbbell-shaped stir bar prepared in-house. Using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 15 PAHs in edible oils were successfully quantified. Optimal conditions for the extraction of PAHs were experimentally investigated, with factors such as stirring rate, extraction time, extraction temperature, desorption solvent, and desorption time systematically optimized. The final method demonstrated a broad linear range (0.12-150 ng g-1), and low limits of detection (0.04-0.28 ng g-1). The recoveries of PAHs in real edible oil samples ranged from 83.14 % to 128.01 %, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 13.47 %.

SIGNIFICANCE

This method simplifies PAH extraction by eliminating steps such as saponification, liquid-liquid extraction, drying, and re-dissolution, thus reducing potential analyte loss and errors associated with the inclusion of multiple pretreatment steps typical of conventional methods reported in the literature. Notably, the adsorbent materials prepared in this study can be reused up to 30 times, underscoring its sustainability. The proposed research broadens the diversity of coating choices for SBSE applications while offering a streamlined, cost-effective, and greener alternative for PAH determinations in edible oils via SBSE/GC-MS.

Recent Advances in Sample Preparation and Chromatographic/Mass Spectrometric Techniques for Detecting Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Edible Oils: 2010 to Present

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are considered to be potentially genotoxic and carcinogenic to humans. For non-smoking populations, food is the main source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure. Due to their lipophilic nature, oils and fats rank among the food items with the highest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content. Consequently, the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils is critical for the promotion of human health. This paper reviews sample pretreatment methods, such as liquid-phase-based extraction methods, adsorbent-based extraction methods, and the QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method, combined with detection techniques like mass spectrometry and chromatography-based techniques for accurate quantification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils since 2010. An overview on the advances of the methods discussed herein, along with a commentary addition of current challenges and prospects, will guide researchers to focus on developing more effective detection methods and control measures to reduce the potential risks and hazards posed by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Poly-(ionic liquid) coated with magnetic nanoparticles for micro solid phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in food samples

Poly(methyl methacrylate-vinyl imidazole bromide) (poly-MMA-IL)-grafted magnetic nanoparticles were successfully developed and applied in the micro-magnetic solid phase extraction (μ-MSPE) for 16 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from tea, fried food, and grilled food samples via gas chromatography flame ionization detector (GC-FID). One variable at a time (OVAT) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used for efficient optimization. The validation method showed a good coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.9901 to 0.9982 (n = 3) with linearity of 0.2 μg L-1-500 μg L-1. Detection and quantification limits were 0.06 µg L-1-0.32 µg L-1 and 0.18 µg L-1-0.97 µg L-1. Additionally, satisfactory reproducibility was attained with intra-day and inter-day precisions having RSD ranges of 3.6%-11.1%. The spiked recovery value of 16 PAHs in fried food, grilled food and tea samples obtained from the night market in Malaysia ranged from 80%-12%, respectively.

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Chinese herbal medicines by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with graphene-functionalized nickel foam

Graphene-functionalized nickel foam (NF) sorbent materials were prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric analysis. For the separation and detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in five Chinese medicine samples, namely dandelion, fructus aurantii, peppermint, mulberry leaf and embryo chrysanthemum, a method combining dispersive micro-solid phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed. Four conditions affecting the extraction efficiency, such as the type of desorption solvent, the amount of sorbent, the extraction time and the volume of water sample, were optimized. The results of the methodological validation showed that NF@SiO₂@G was able to adsorb PAHs well and with good reproducibility. All analytes showed good linearity in the concentration range of 20-2000 ng/mL with coefficient of determination R²≥0.9956. The limit of detection was 0.98-13.34 ng/mL, and the limit of quantification ranged from 3.25 to 44.47 ng/mL. Both the intra-day and inter-day precision were lower than 15.46%, and the spiked recoveries were in the range of 75.5-118.4%. The total contents of the 16 PAHs contained in these five Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) were varied from 450 to 1557 µg/kg. The results indicated that the graphene-functionalized NF sorbent combined with GC-MS can effectively detect PAHs in CHMs.

Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Traditional Chinese Medicine Raw Material, Extracts, and Health Food Products

The four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon markers (PAH4) of benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), chrysene (Chr), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are indicators showing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination levels in Chinese medicine raw materials (CMRMs), extracts and health food products; Samples of herbal medicine, herbal extracts, and food supplements were extracted with n-hexane, then cleaned up sequentially on Florisil and EUPAH solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method for the determination of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon markers in Chinese medicine raw material, extracts, and health food products was established; In spiked-recovery experiments, the average recovery was about 78.6-107.6% with a precision of 2.3-10.5%. The limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) of the PAH4 markers in this method were 2.0 μg/kg and 0.7 μg/kg, respectively. When the developed method was utilized to determine PAH4 contents in 12 locally available health food products, 3 samples contained over 10.0 μg/kg BaP, and 5 samples contained over 50.0 μg/kg PAH4. The European Union (EU) limits for BaP and PAH4 are 10 and 50.0 μg/kg, respectively; therefore, more attention must be drawn to the exposure risk of BaP and PAH4 in CMRMs, their extracts, and health food products. According to the risk assessment based on the Margin of Exposure (MOE) method, it is recognized that the products mentioned in this study pose a low risk.

Adsorptive remediation of environmental pollutants using magnetic hybrid materials as platform adsorbents

Effective separation and remediation of environmentally hazardous pollutants are burning areas of research because of a constant increase in environmental pollution problems. An extensive number of emerging contaminants in the environmental matrices result in serious health consequences in animals, humans, and plants, even at trace levels. Therefore, it is of paramount significance to quantify these undesirable pollutants, even at a very low concentration, from the natural environment. Magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) has recently achieved huge attention because of its strong magnetic domain and easy separation through an external magnetic field compared with simple solid-phase extraction. Therefore, MSPE appeared the most promising technique for removing and pre-concentration of emerging pollutants at trace level. Compared to the normal solid-phase extraction, MSPE as magnetic hybrid adsorbents offers the unique advantages of distinct nanomaterials and magnetic hybrid materials. It can exhibit efficient dispersion and rapid recycling when applying to a very complex matrix. This review highlights the possible environmental applications of magnetic hybrid nanoscale materials as effective MSPE sorbents to remediate a diverse range of environmentally toxic pollutants. We believe this study tends to evoke a variety of research thrust that may lead to novel remediation approaches in the forthcoming years.

Covalent organic framework-LZU1@PEI@Fe3O4-based magnetic dispersive micro-solid phase extraction of tetracyclines from environmental water prior to HPLC analysis

In this work, COF-LZU1@PEI@Fe₃O₄ was synthesized by immobilization of COF-LZU1 onto the surface of polyethyleneimine-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (PEI@Fe₃O₄) and employed as an adsorbent for magnetic dispersive micro-solid phase extraction of tetracyclines (TCs). COF-LZU1@PEI@Fe₃O₄ was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms analysis. The optimal extraction and desorption conditions were as follows: 15.00 mL sample solution (pH 7.0) extracted with 5.0 mg of adsorbent for 30 min at 30 °C, and then desorbed with 1.50 mL methanol/acetonitrile/0.02 mol L^-1 oxalic acid solution (v/v, 1 : 2 : 7). Good linearities were obtained between the peak area and TC concentration ranging from 5-500 μg L^-1 with correlation coefficients (R²) higher than 0.9992 and limits of detection lower than 0.51 μg L^-1. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of intra-day and inter-day were less than 5.7% and 7.4%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of TCs in environmental water samples with recoveries in the range of 87.0-113.8% and RSDs less than 5.1%, suggesting great potential of COF-LZU1@PEI@Fe₃O₄ for efficient extraction and analysis of trace TCs in water samples.

A low-cost and effective bagasse-based magnetic porous biochar as an adsorbent for solid phase extraction of triazine herbicides in brown sugar

A rapid and sensitive approach for enriching and extracting triazines from brown sugar samples was developed by combining magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction and HPLC/UV. In this work, a magnetic porous biochar (MPB) derived from low-cost bagasse was prepared and successfully employed as an adsorbent. A particular emphasis was placed on optimizing the extraction conditions, including the amount of MPB, extraction time, pH, type and volume of eluent, and salt concentration. Under optimized MSPE conditions, the method showed satisfactory linearity over concentration ranges of 2-200 μg L^-1 for four triazines, with correlation coefficient values no less than 0.9981. Low limits of detection (0.27-0.33 μg L^-1), good recoveries (81.7-100.7%), and satisfactory repeatability (RSDs ≤ 8.1%) were also demonstrated with respect to the analytical performance. The results demonstrated that the developed method was simple, rapid, sensitive, and efficient, indicating that it could extract and enrich trace triazines from real samples.

One-pot synthesis of magnetic self-assembled carrageenan-ε-polylysine composites: A reusable and effective antibacterial agent against Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris

Epsilon-polylysine (EPL) is a cationic polymer with broad antibacterial activity. Base on this property, anionic carrageenan (CG) was self-assembled with EPL and introduced into the one-pot coprecipitation process to fabricate the magnetic Fe₃O₄-CG-EPL composites. To demonstrate the successful synthesis of composites, characterization techniques including XRD, FT-IR, TEM, XPS and VSM were employed. The prepared composites exhibited effective antibacterial activity against Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris with the minimum inhibitory concentration of 10.0 mg mL^-1. Investigations into deciphering the antibacterial mechanism demonstrated that the presence of Fe₃O₄-CG-EPL caused irreversible damage to the cell membrane and serious leakage of intracellular protein, resulting in the inactivation of bacteria. The aim of this work is to develop a new effective control method for A. acidoterrestris in food field.

A Review on the Occurrence and Analytical Determination of PAHs in Olive Oils

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental and processing contaminants, which may contaminate vegetable oils due to atmospheric fall-out or bad production practices. Due to their carcinogenic and toxic effects, surveillance schemes and mitigation strategies are needed to monitor human exposure to PAHs. In particular, due to the lipophilic nature of these substances, edible oils may present unsafe levels of these compounds. Among these, olive oil, and in particular extra virgin olive oil, is a high-value commodity, also known for its health benefits. Therefore, the occurrence of contaminants in this product is not only of health concern but also causes economic and image damage. In this review, an overview of the occurrence of PAHs in all categories of olive oil is provided, as well as a description of the official methods available and the analytical developments in the last 10 years.

Determination of trace bisphenols in functional beverages through the magnetic solid-phase extraction with MOF-COF composite

In this study, a novel porous composite (Fe₃O₄@TAPB-COF@ZIF-8) consisting of metal-organic and covalent organic frameworks was developed and applied to the magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) of bisphenols. The extraction parameters such as the extraction time, solution pH, amounts of adsorbent, and ionic strength were investigated to obtain the best extraction conditions. By optimizing the MSPE, a convenient and sensitive analytical method was established in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography. The method achieved low detection limits (0.04-0.05 ng mL^-1), wide linear range (0.25-1000 ng mL^-1), good repeatability (1.20-4.30%), good reproducibility (1.34-4.03%), and satisfactory recoveries of four functional beverages (66.2-116.6%).

Review: Microextraction Technique Based New Trends in Food Analysis

Food chemistry is the study and classification of the quality and origin of foods. The identification of definite biomarkers and the determination of residue contaminants such as toxins, pesticides, metals, human and veterinary drugs, which are a very common source of food-borne diseases. The food analysis is continuously demanding the improvement of more robust, sensitive, highly efficient, and economically beneficial analytical approaches to promise the traceability, safety, and quality of foods in the acquiescence with the consumers and legislation demands. The traditional methods have been used at the starting of the 20th century based on wet chemical methods. Now it existing the powerful analytical techniques used in food analysis and safety. This development has led to substantial enhancements in the analytical accuracy, precision, sensitivity, selectivity, thereby mounting the applied range of food applications. In the present decade, microextraction (micro-scale extraction) pays more attention due to its futures such as low consumption of solvent and sample, throughput analysis easy to operate, greener, robotics, and miniaturization, different adsorbents have been used in the microextraction process with unique nature recognized with wide range applications.

Magnetic Solid-Phase Extraction of Organic Compounds Based on Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites

Graphene oxide (GO) is a chemical compound with a form similar to graphene that consists of one-atom-thick two-dimensional layers of sp²-bonded carbon. Graphene oxide exhibits high hydrophilicity and dispersibility. Thus, it is difficult to be separated from aqueous solutions. Therefore, functionalization with magnetic nanoparticles is performed in order to prepare a magnetic GO nanocomposite that combines the sufficient adsorption capacity of graphene oxide and the convenience of magnetic separation. Moreover, the magnetic material can be further functionalized with different groups to prevent aggregation and extends its potential application. Until today, a plethora of magnetic GO hybrid materials have been synthesized and successfully employed for the magnetic solid-phase extraction of organic compounds from environmental, agricultural, biological, and food samples. The developed GO nanocomposites exhibit satisfactory stability in aqueous solutions, as well as sufficient surface area. Thus, they are considered as an alternative to conventional sorbents by enriching the analytical toolbox for the analysis of trace organic compounds.

Functionalization of amino terminated carbon nanotubes with isocyanates for magnetic solid phase extraction of sulfonamides from milk and their subsequent determination by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry

A simple modification method was developed for the functionalization of amino terminated carbon nanotubes (CNT-NH₂) by using isocyanates as modifiers via the nucleophilic addition reaction. Two types of functionalized magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNT) were prepared through deposition of magnetic nanoparticles on CNT-NH₂ and modification with different isocyanates. p-Tolyl-functionalized MCNT (Tol-MCNT) with better adsorption performance were selected as adsorbent for magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE), which could extract sulfonamides (SAs) from various milk samples with a enrichment factor of about 30 after optimization. By combining the MSPE with liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), a new method was developed. Both skimmed and whole milk samples of three brands were analyzed with this method, and 4 SAs including sulfadiazine, sulfisomidine, sulfamethazine and sulfameter were detected with the concentration from unquantifiable to 72 ng/L, which were all well below the maximum residue limits in milk according to the regulations of China and EU.

Fe3 O4 /reduced graphene oxide-carbon nanotubes composite for the magnetic solid-phase extraction and HPLC determination of sulfonamides in milk

A novel magnetic adsorbent Fe₃ O₄ /reduced graphene oxide-carbon nanotubes, was prepared by one-pot solvothermal synthesis method. It was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. The diameter of Fe₃ O₄ microparticles was about 350 nm, which were covered by carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide sheets, while carbon nanotubes inserted between the reduced graphene oxide sheets effectively prevented their aggregation. The composite had large surface area and good magnetic property, suiting for magnetic solid-phase extraction and the determination of sulfonamides, by coupling with high-performance liquid chromatography. Under the optimized conditions (including extraction time, amount of adsorbent, solution pH, ionic strength and desorption conditions), a good linear was achieved in the concentration range of 5-500 μg/L and the low limits of detection and low limits of quantification were 0.35-1.32 and 1.16-4.40 μg/L, respectively. The enrichment factors were estimated to be 24.72 to 30.15 fold. The proposed method was applied for the detection of sulfonamides in milk sample and the recoveries were 88.4-105.9%, with relative standard deviations of 0.74-5.38%.