An efficient microfluidic device based on electromembrane extraction for the simultaneous extraction of acidic and...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Separation Science
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Simultaneous extraction of acidic and basic compounds presents significant challenges in analytical chemistry.
• Existing methods often lack efficiency and speed for complex biological matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient and rapid microfluidic device for simultaneous electromembrane extraction (EME) of acidic and basic drugs.
• To overcome the limitations of current extraction techniques for simultaneous analyte determination.

Main Methods:

• A novel microfluidic device with three poly(methylmethacrylate) layers and four electrodes was designed for two-step EME.
• Supported liquid membrane (SLM) composition was optimized using 2-nitrophenyl octhyl ether:dodecanol (1:1).
• Analysis was performed using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detector.

Main Results:

• Achieved over 98% extraction efficiency for acidic (ketoprofen, naproxen) and basic (amitriptyline, loperamide) drugs in human urine.
• Demonstrated high recoveries (>84%) and low relative standard deviation (<6%) in diluted bovine plasma.
• The device requires small sample volumes (<50 μL), offers short extraction times (10 min), and exhibits robustness over 30 extractions.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic EME device provides an efficient, fast, and robust method for simultaneous extraction of diverse drug compounds.
• This technology offers excellent clean-up and compatibility with battery-powered operation, suitable for various analytical applications.