Hypercrosslinked particles for the extraction of sweeteners using dispersive solid-phase extraction from...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Sweeteners are increasingly detected in environmental samples, necessitating efficient analytical methods.
• Current extraction techniques may lack the sensitivity or efficiency required for complex matrices.
• Hypercrosslinked magnetic particles offer unique properties for solid-phase extraction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new extraction material, Q-100, for sweetener analysis.
• To optimize dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) parameters using Q-100.
• To apply the developed method for sweetener detection in real environmental samples.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of Q-100: hypercrosslinked magnetic particles.
• Optimization of d-SPE parameters: magnetic particle amount, extraction time.
• Analysis using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Main Results:

• Q-100 exhibited favorable pore size distribution and high surface area for sweetener retention.
• Optimized d-SPE with Q-100 achieved apparent recoveries from 21% to 88% for most sweeteners.
• The validated LC-MS/MS method showed good linearity and limits of quantification from 0.01 to 0.1 μg/L.
• Four sweeteners (acesulfame, saccharin, cyclamate, sucralose) were detected in river water and wastewater effluent.

Conclusions:

• Q-100 is a promising material for d-SPE of sweeteners in environmental monitoring.
• The developed method is sensitive and applicable for analyzing sweeteners in diverse water samples.
• This research contributes to the understanding of sweetener contamination in aquatic environments.