Supramolecular solvent-based vortex-mixed microextraction: determination of glucocorticoids in water samples

Glucocorticoids contamination has become a big environmental issue in China and other developing countries, due to increasing needs in medical prescription and farming. However, no highly sensitive and precise methods have been reported to quantify glucocorticoids so far. In the past several years, supramolecular solvent-based vortex-mixed microextraction (SS-BVMME) has been shown to be effective. However, the mechanism of SS-BVMME is still unknown. In this report, a novel method has been proposed for rapid quantification of trace amount of glucocorticoids, beclomethasone dipropionate (BD), hydrocortisone butyrate (HB) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (NPP) in water samples from the Green Lake. This method is simple, safe and cost effective. It contains two steps: supramolecular solvent-based vortex-mixed microextraction (SS-BVMME) technique and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. First, ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]BF4) and n-butanol were mixed to form the supramolecular solvent. After mixing the supramolecular solvent with an aqueous sample to test, a homogenous mixture was formed immediately. BD, HB and NPP were then extracted based on their binding interactions, particularly hydrogen bond formed between their hydroxyl group and the supramolecular solvent. The overall process of sample preparation took only 20min and more than 5 samples could be simultaneously prepared. The minimum detectable concentrations of samples in this method were 0.09925, 0.5429 and 2.428ngmL(-1) for BD, HB and NPP, respectively. Product recoveries ranged from 88% to 103% with relative standard deviations from 0.6% to 4%. For the first time, we report that hydrogen bond plays a key role in SS-BVMME. We also improve the sensitivity significantly to quantify glucocorticoids, which may greatly benefit environmental safety management in China.