Systematic Comparison of Extract Clean-Up with Currently Used Sorbents for Dispersive Solid-Phase Extraction

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Chemistry
• Food Chemistry

Background:

• Dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) is vital for multiresidue analysis, purifying extracts to prevent instrumental contamination and enhance method performance.
• Over-purification during dSPE can cause analyte loss through adsorption, necessitating careful sorbent selection.
• Evaluating established and novel dSPE sorbents is crucial for optimizing analytical methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically compare the clean-up capacity and analyte recovery of various dSPE sorbents.
• To assess the performance of PSA, GCB, C18, chitin, chitosan, MWCNT, and Z-Sep® sorbents.
• To determine the impact of different sorbents on the recovery of 98 analytes in diverse food matrices.

Main Methods:

• Systematic comparison of dSPE sorbents including PSA, GCB, C18, chitin, chitosan, MWCNT, and Z-Sep®.
• Assessment of clean-up capacity via visual inspection, UV, and GC-MS measurements.
• Determination of analyte recovery rates for 98 compounds using GC-MS/MS in spinach, orange, avocado, salmon, and bovine liver matrices.

Main Results:

• Z-Sep® exhibited the highest clean-up capacity, reducing matrix components by a median of 50% in UV and GC-MS measurements.
• Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) significantly impacted analyte recovery, with 14 analytes showing recoveries below 70%.
• PSA sorbent provided the best overall performance, balancing effective clean-up with minimal analyte loss.

Conclusions:

• PSA is the recommended sorbent for achieving optimal results in multiresidue analysis, offering a balance between matrix removal and analyte recovery.
• Sorbent selection critically influences both the purification efficiency and the accuracy of quantitative analysis in complex food samples.
• Novel sorbents like Z-Sep® show promise for matrix reduction, but potential analyte loss must be carefully managed.