Determination of three antidepressants in urine using simultaneous derivatization and temperature-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection.

This paper presents a fast and simple method for the extraction, preconcentration and determination of fluvoxamine, nortriptyline and maprotiline in urine using simultaneous derivatization and temperature-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (TA-DLLME) followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). An appropriate mixture of dimethylformamide (disperser solvent), 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (extraction solvent) and acetic anhydride (derivatization agent) was rapidly injected into the heated sample. Then the solution was cooled to room temperature and cloudy solution formed was centrifuged. Finally a portion of the sedimented phase was injected into the GC-FID. The effect of several factors affecting the performance of the method, including the selection of suitable extraction and disperser solvents and their volumes, volume of derivatization agent, temperature, salt addition, pH and centrifugation time and speed were investigated and optimized. Figures of merit of the proposed method, such as linearity (r(2) > 0.993), enrichment factors (820-1070), limits of detection (2-4 ng mL(-1)) and quantification (8-12 ng mL(-1)), and relative standard deviations (3-6%) for both intraday and interday precisions (concentration = 50 ng mL(-1)) were satisfactory for determination of the selected antidepressants. Finally the method was successfully applied to determine the target pharmaceuticals in urine.

Solid-based disperser liquid-liquid microextraction for the preconcentration of phthalate esters and di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection or mass spectrometry.

A new approach for the development of a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by GC with flame ionization detection was proposed for the determination of phthalate esters and di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate in aqueous samples. In the proposed method, solid and liquid phases were used as the disperser and extractant, respectively, providing a simple and fast mode for the extraction of the analytes into a small volume of an organic solvent. In this method, microliter levels of an extraction solvent was added onto a sugar cube and it was transferred into the aqueous phase containing the analytes. By manual shaking, the sugar was dissolved and the extractant was released into the aqueous phase as very tiny droplets to provide a cloudy solution. Under optimized conditions, the proposed method showed good precision (RSD less than 5.2%), high enrichment factors (266-556), and low LODs (0.09-0.25 µg/L). The method was successfully applied for the determination of the target analytes in different samples, and good recoveries (71-103%) were achieved for the spiked samples. No need for a disperser solvent and higher enrichment factors compared with conventional dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and low cost and short sample preparation time are other advantages of the method.

Development of salt and pH-induced solidified floating organic droplets homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction for extraction of ten pyrethroid insecticides in fresh fruits and fruit juices followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A new microextraction method named salt and pH-induced homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction has been developed in a home-made extraction device for the extraction and preconcentration of some pyrethroid insecticides from different fruit juice samples prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the present work, an extraction device made from two parallel glass tubes with different lengths and diameters was used in the microextraction procedure. In this method, a homogeneous solution of a sample solution and an extraction solvent (pivalic acid) was broken by performing an acid-base reaction and the extraction solvent was produced in whole of the solution. The produced droplets of the extraction solvent went up through the solution and solidified using an ice-bath. They were collected without centrifugation step. Under the optimum conditions, limits of detection and quantification were obtained in the ranges of 0.006-0.038, and 0.023-0.134ngmL-1, respectively. The enrichment factors and extraction recoveries of the selected analytes ranged from 365-460 to 73-92%, respectively. The relative standard deviations were lower than 9% for intra- (n = 6) and inter-day (n = 4) precisions at a concentration of 1ngmL-1 of each analyte. Finally, some fruit juice samples were effectively analyzed by the proposed method.