Ionic-liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for high-throughput multiple food contaminant screening.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Safety Science

Background:

• Food contaminants pose significant risks to public health.
• Accurate and efficient detection methods are crucial for food safety monitoring.
• Existing methods for analyzing multiple contaminants can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an innovative dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) technique for simultaneous analysis of multiple food contaminants.
• To enhance sample handling for solid and solid-containing food matrices.
• To provide a sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective analytical method for food safety control.

Main Methods:

• A modified DLLME procedure utilizing an extractant-precoated frit for simultaneous filtration, solvent mixing, and phase dispersion.
• Development of a binary ionic liquid extractant system.
• Validation using Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detection (LC-DAD).

Main Results:

• Successful simultaneous quantification of eight high-priority food contaminants (Sudan dyes and phthalate plasticizers).
• Method validation demonstrated good precision (6.9–9.8% RSD) within a linear range of 2–1000 μg/L.
• Achieved enrichment factors up to 451 and sensitive detection limits (0.09–1.01 μg/L).
• Practical applicability verified in real food samples (condiments, sauces) with 70–120% recovery.

Conclusions:

• The developed DLLME method offers significant advantages, including minimal solvent and sample consumption (1.5 mL, 0.1 g).
• Achieved ultra-high analytical throughput with a 6-minute analysis time.
• The method effectively handles complex solid matrices, improving operational efficiency in food control routines.