A new procedure for solid-phase microextraction using a flow-through system with air segmentation

Three different procedures for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of trace organic compounds from liquids were evaluated: simple extraction with magnetic stirring, use of a laboratory-made flow-through extraction cell and a new system based on a laboratory-made flow-through extraction cell in which the sample stream is segmented with air bubbles. In this new procedure, the sample flows through the cell as a regular sequence of small plugs separated by air bubbles instead of in a continuous stream. This new system combines the advantages of SPME, as a simple, fast, sensitive and solvent-free sample concentration/introduction technique, with the advantages of on-line processing of aqueous sample as a less time-consuming, efficient and continuous technique. For testing the new flow-through procedure, a mixture of phthalate esters was used for direct absorption from an aqueous solution with a 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane fiber. The efficiency and precision of the procedure were compared with those of extraction with magnetic stirring and the usual flow-through cell concept. The results indicate better contact of the analytes with the extraction film when the air-segmented flow-through extraction cell is employed.