Evaluation of 11 ionic liquids as potential extraction solvents for benzodiazepines from whole blood using liquid-liquid microextraction combined with LC-MS/MS

Detection, quantification and degradation kinetic for five benzodiazepines using VAUS-ME-SFO/LC-MS/MS method for water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages

Benzodiazepines can make victims more docile, they are frequently used in drug-facilitated crimes, such as robberies and sexual assaults. Therefore, it is essential to develop techniques for determining whether these chemicals are present in relation with illegal activity is crucial. Therefore, to determine the presence of five benzodiazepines (alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam, lorazepam, and oxazepam) in water, alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic beverages, a simple and direct, miniaturized, and effective vortex assisted ultrasound based microextraction using solidification of floating organic droplets (VAUS-ME-SFO) in combination with LC-MS/MS was developed. 1-Undecanol and acetonitrile, respectively, served as the extractant and disperser solvents. Many other parameters affect the efficiency of the developed analytical procedure VAUS-ME-SFO/LC-MS/MS. These parameters were optimized using Plackett Burman Design and Central Composite Design to obtain reliable results. The optimum conditions for the extraction were: 10.0 mL of sample; 180 μL acetonitrile, as a dispersive solvent; 200 μL of 1-undecanol, as an extraction solvent; pH 7; 105 s of vortex agitation; 120 s of ultrasonication application and 3 min of centrifugation at 7000 rpm. The benzodiazepines were separated by a chromatographic separation technique carried out by a UPLC system consisting of a binary mobile phase. The solvent system comprises of 0.1% Formic acid in Milli-Q (Solvent A) and 0.1% Formic acid in ACN (Solvent B) with a gradient flow of 3.5 min total analysis time. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curve was studied in the range of 0.124-7.810 ng mL^-1. The regression correlation coefficient (R²) value of all targeted analytes ranges from 0.993 to 0.999. The LOD and LOQ of VAUS-ME-SFO methods using LC-MS/MS analysis range from 0.316 to 0.968 ng mL^-1 and 1.055-3.277 ng mL^-1 respectively. The repeatability within a day varied from 0.6 to 3.5%, and the reproducibility across days varied from 2.2 to 6.3%. The recoveries ranges for water, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages from 70.77 to 114.53%, 63.20-102.21% and 66.23-113.28% respectively. Further, the degradation kinetics was studied to establish the half-life of each targeted analyte in the matrix undertaken in the study. The water samples were classified based on their BDZs residues. This implies that the more health care and anthropogenic activity, the more the BDZs residue will be in water samples.

Use of green alternative solvents in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction: A review

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction is one of the most widely used microextraction techniques currently in the analytical chemistry field, mainly due to its simplicity and rapidity. The operational mode of this approach has been constantly changing since its introduction, adapting to new trends and applications. Most of these changes are related to the nature of the solvent employed for the microextraction. From the classical halogenated solvents (e.g., chloroform or dichloromethane), different alternatives have been proposed in order to obtain safer and non-pollutants microextraction applications. In this sense, low-density solvents, such as alkanols, switchable hydrophobicity solvents, and ionic liquids were the first and most popular replacements for halogenated solvents, which provided similar or better results than these classical dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction solvents. However, despite the good performances obtained with low-density solvents and ionic liquids, researchers have continued investigating in order to obtain even greener solvents for dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. For that reason, in this review, the evolution over the last five years of the three types of solvents already mentioned and two of the most promising solvent alternatives (i.e., deep eutectic solvents and supramolecular solvents), have been studied in detail with the purpose of discussing which one provides the greenest alternative.

MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS OF DRUGS OF ABUSE: CHALLENGES AND EMERGING STRATEGIES

Mass spectrometry has been the "gold standard" for drugs of abuse (DoA) analysis for many decades because of the selectivity and sensitivity it affords. Recent progress in all aspects of mass spectrometry has seen significant developments in the field of DoA analysis. Mass spectrometry is particularly well suited to address the rapidly proliferating number of very high potency, novel psychoactive substances that are causing an alarming number of fatalities worldwide. This review surveys advancements in the areas of sample preparation, gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, as well as the rapidly emerging field of ambient ionization mass spectrometry. We have predominantly targeted literature progress over the past ten years and present our outlook for the future. © 2020 Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev.

Bioanalysis of pharmaceuticals using liquid-phase microextraction combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

In this paper, we review recent research articles on liquid-phase microextraction of drug substances from biological fluids, such as plasma, serum, urine, and saliva. We focus on papers where liquid-phase microextraction is combined with liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS), published in the period 2019-2020. First, we discuss different configurations of liquid-phase microextraction, including dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidified floating organic droplet (DLLME-SFO), single-drop microextraction (SDME), hollow-fibre liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME), solvent bar microextraction (SBME), and electromembrane extraction (EME). Second, we discuss new types of solvents used in liquid-phase microextraction, including ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, and nanostructured supramolecular solvents. Especially, we focus on the potential for implementation in routine laboratories, which we consider as the next step for liquid-phase microextraction.

One-pot synthesis of symmetric imidazolium ionic liquids N,N-disubstituted with long alkyl chains

The Debus–Radziszewski imidazole synthesis was adapted to directly yield long-chain imidazolium ionic liquids. Imidazolium acetate ionic liquids with side-chains up to sixteen carbon atoms were synthesised in excellent yields via an on-water, one-pot reaction. The imidazolium acetate ILs acted as surfactants when dissolved in various solvents. The imidazolium acetate ionic liquids were also derivatised via an acid metathesis to the chloride, nitrate, and hydrogen oxalate derivatives. The thermal behaviour of all the ionic liquids was determined via thermogravimetric and calorimetric analysis.

The modified Debus–Radziszewski reaction was used as a one-pot on-water reaction to allow a greener synthesis of long-chain 1,3-dialkylimidazolium acetate ionic liquids in high yield from long-chain linear amines.

The Influence of Ionic Liquids on the Effectiveness of Analytical Methods Used in the Monitoring of Human and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals in Biological and Environmental Samples-Trends and Perspectives

Recent years have seen the increased utilization of ionic liquids (ILs) in the development and optimization of analytical methods. Their unique and eco-friendly properties and the ability to modify their structure allows them to be useful both at the sample preparation stage and at the separation stage of the analytes. The use of ILs for the analysis of pharmaceuticals seems particularly interesting because of their systematic delivery to the environment. Nowadays, they are commonly detected in many countries at very low concentration levels. However, due to their specific physiological activity, pharmaceuticals are responsible for bioaccumulation and toxic effects in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as well as possibly upsetting the body's equilibrium, leading to the dangerous phenomenon of drug resistance. This review will provide a comprehensive summary of the use of ILs in various sample preparation procedures and separation methods for the determination of pharmaceuticals in environmental and biological matrices based on liquid-based chromatography (LC, SFC, TLC), gas chromatography (GC) and electromigration techniques (e.g., capillary electrophoresis (CE)). Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of ILs, which can appear during extraction and separation, will be presented and attention will be given to the criteria to be followed during the selection of ILs for specific applications.

Improvement on the extraction efficiency of low density lipoprotein in an ionic liquid microemulsion

A novel microemulsion is developed at room temperature with 30 µL of sodium alginate sulfate (SAS, 0.02 mol/L), 0.005 g bis (2-ethylhexyl) succinate sulfonate (AOT) and 270 µL of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BmimPF₆) ionic liquid as aqueous phase, surfactant and IL phase, respectively. The SAS/AOT/BmimPF₆ microemulsion significantly improves the extraction efficiency for low density lipoprotein (LDL). 96% LDL in a 300 µL of PBS is selectively extracted into a same volume of microemulsion, with respect to those of 67%, 76% and 85% by BmimPF₆, H₂O/AOT/BmimPF₆ microemulsion and sodium alginate (SA)/AOT/BmimPF₆ microemulsion. LDL in the SAS/AOT/BmimPF₆ microemulsion is distributed both in BmimPF₆ via hydrophobic interaction and in the "pools" of the microemulsion via electrostatic interaction with AOT and specific interaction between LDL with SAS. 83% of LDL in the microemulsion can be readily back extracted into an aqueous phase with 0.8% (m/v) of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as stripping reagent. For practical applications, LDL in human serum is selectively extracted with the microemulsion, as demonstrated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).