ABSTRACT
A new, fast, simple, and environmentally friendly analytical method has been developed to determine six siloxanes in water samples: octamethyltrisiloxane, octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, decamethyltetrasiloxane, decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, dodecamethylpentasiloxane and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane. The analytical method consists of magnetic solid-phase extraction employing graphene oxide/Fe3 O4 as sorbent for the separation and preconcentration of siloxanes prior to GC-MS determination. The extraction procedure was optimized by means of a Plackett-Burman design. Under the optimized extraction conditions (graphene oxide/Fe3 O4 , 20 mg; extraction time, 10 min; eluent volume, 0.5 mL ACN; elution time, 2.5 min; sample volume, 20 mL), the method rendered repeatability levels with a relative standard deviation between 9 and 20% (n = 6, 10 µg/L). Methodological limits of detection ranged from 0.003 to 0.1 µg/L. The linearity of the method was studied between the methodological limit of quantification and 100 µg/L, obtaining correlation coefficient values between 0.990 and 0.999. The applicability of the method was assessed by analyzing drinking, river and wastewater samples. Relative recovery values ranged between 70 and 120% (1 and 60 µg/L spiking level) showing that the matrix had a negligible effect on extraction. Finally, the greenness of this method was confirmed by the semiquantitative Eco-Scale metrics.
ABSTRACT
A fast, simple, economical, and environmentally friendly magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) procedure has been developed to preconcentrate 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) from water samples prior to determination by liquid chromatography-UV-Vis employing graphene oxide/Fe3O4 nanocomposite as sorbent. The nanocomposite synthesis was investigated, and the MSPE was optimized by a multivariate approach. The optimum MSPE conditions were 40 mg of nanocomposite, 10 min of vortex extraction, 1 mL of acetonitrile as eluent, and 6 min of desorption in an ultrasonic bath. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the method was evaluated to obtain a preconcentration factor of 153. The linearity of the method was studied from 1 to 100 µg L-1 (N = 5), obtaining a correlation coefficient of 0.994. The relative standard deviation and limit of detection were found to be 12% (n = 6, 10 µg L-1) and 0.3 µg L-1, respectively. The applicability of the method was investigated, analyzing three types of water samples (i.e., reservoir and drinking water and effluent wastewater) and recovery values ranged between 87 and 120% (50 µg L-1 spiking level), showing that the matrix had a negligible effect upon extraction. Finally, the semiquantitative Eco-Scale metrics confirmed the greenness of the developed method.