Core-shell electrospun polybutylene terephthalate/polypyrrole hollow nanofibers for micro-solid phase extraction

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Triazine herbicides pose environmental and health risks, necessitating sensitive detection methods.
• Existing analytical techniques for herbicide residue analysis can be complex and time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel core-shell nanofibers for micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE).
• To develop and optimize an efficient μ-SPE method for the determination of triazine herbicides in aqueous and food samples.
• To validate the developed method using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Main Methods:

• Electrospinning of polyvinylpyrrolidone-Polybutylene terephthalate/polypyrrole (PVP-PBT/PPy) core-shell nanofibers.
• Preparation of modified hollow nanofibers by removing the central PVP moiety.
• Immersion μ-SPE of triazine herbicides from aqueous samples and wheat grains.
• Analysis of extracted analytes using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
• Optimization of electrospinning parameters, extraction, and desorption conditions.

Main Results:

• Core-shell nanofibers with a porous surface structure were successfully synthesized and characterized.
• Optimized μ-SPE method demonstrated efficient extraction of triazine herbicides.
• Method validation showed good linearity (R(2) > 0.9985) over a wide concentration range (0.3-500 ng mL(-1)).
• Low limits of detection (50-90 ng L(-1)) and good precision (RSD 4-8%) were achieved for real samples.

Conclusions:

• The fabricated core-shell nanofibers are effective sorbents for μ-SPE of triazine herbicides.
• The developed μ-SPE-GC-MS method offers a sensitive, reliable, and efficient approach for herbicide residue analysis in complex matrices.
• This technique holds promise for routine monitoring of triazine contamination in environmental and food samples.