Electrospun polymer nanofibres as solid-phase extraction sorbents for extraction and quantification of microcystins

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Microcystins (MCs) are potent cyanotoxins contaminating water bodies.
• Accurate quantification of MCs is crucial for environmental and public health monitoring.
• Existing methods for MC extraction can be complex and time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate electrospun polymer nanofibers as solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents for microcystin analysis.
• To optimize SPE parameters for efficient extraction of microcystin-RR (MC-RR) and microcystin-LR (MC-LR).
• To evaluate the performance of nanofiber SPE for detecting MCs in natural water samples.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of electrospun polymer nanofibers for SPE.
• Optimization of extraction parameters: nanofiber amount, elution solvent/volume, pH, and sample volume.
• Quantification of MC-RR and MC-LR using HPLC-UV or other suitable detection methods.
• Validation of the method for linearity, recovery, and limit of detection.

Main Results:

• Optimized electrospun nanofiber SPE achieved high extraction efficiency for MC-RR and MC-LR.
• Linearity was demonstrated over the 0.25-4 µg/L range with excellent coefficients of determination (r² > 0.997).
• High extraction recovery (97-102% for MC-RR, 98-100% for MC-LR) was achieved at 0.25-4 µg/L concentrations.
• Sensitive detection of MCs down to 0.05 µg/L was possible with the nanofiber SPE and nitrogen gas assistance.

Conclusions:

• Electrospun polymer nanofibers are effective and novel SPE sorbents for microcystin extraction.
• The developed method is simple, efficient, reusable, and environmentally friendly.
• This nanofiber SPE approach offers a promising tool for routine monitoring of microcystins in aquatic environments.