Sonication-assisted emulsification microextraction combined with vortex-assisted porous membrane-protected...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are significant environmental pollutants.
• Efficient extraction of PAHs from water samples is crucial for accurate environmental monitoring.
• Existing microextraction techniques may have limitations in efficiency and speed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a novel mixed zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8) sorbent for PAH extraction.
• To couple sonication-assisted emulsification microextraction with vortex-assisted porous membrane-protected micro-solid-phase extraction (SAE-VA-μ-SPE).
• To evaluate the efficiency and robustness of the developed method for PAH analysis in water samples.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of mixed nanometer and micron-sized ZIF-8 material as a sorbent.
• Application of SAE-VA-μ-SPE for the extraction of six PAHs from water samples.
• Optimization of key parameters including desorption solvent, extraction solvent volume, emulsification time, desorption time, and salt concentration.
• Analysis of PAHs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Main Results:

• The mixed ZIF-8 sorbent demonstrated superior extraction efficiency compared to individual nanometer or micron-sized ZIF-8.
• The developed SAE-VA-μ-SPE method achieved a total extraction time of less than 10 minutes.
• Low limits of detection (0.004–0.011 ng/ml) and high correlation coefficients (>0.9943) were obtained.
• The method proved to be time-saving, highly efficient, accurate, and robust.

Conclusions:

• Combining different microscale sample preparation methods offers an innovative approach to solve complex analytical challenges.
• The developed mixed ZIF-8 based SAE-VA-μ-SPE method is a promising technique for rapid and efficient PAH determination in water.
• This approach provides a valuable tool for environmental monitoring and analysis of organic pollutants.