Bio-inspired ionic liquid design: An advanced and environmentally friendly microextraction method for the selective...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Green Chemistry
• Phytochemistry

Background:

• Accurate determination of gallic acid (GA), a key antioxidant in grapevine leaves, is crucial for pharmaceutical and food industries.
• Existing methods often lack the selectivity and sensitivity required for complex plant matrices.
• Development of advanced analytical techniques is needed for precise GA quantification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel bio-inspired ionic liquid for selective microextraction of gallic acid.
• To develop a sensitive and accurate analytical method for gallic acid determination in grapevine leaf samples.
• To elucidate the extraction mechanism using computational methods.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of the ionic liquid 1-[(3,4,5-trihydroxybenzyl)methyl]pyridinium chloride ([GaPy][Cl]).
• Development of a microextraction technique utilizing the synthesized ionic liquid.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to understand the gallic acid extraction mechanism.
• Validation of the method using techniques like NMR, FTIR, and elemental analysis.

Main Results:

• The synthesized ionic liquid ([GaPy][Cl]) demonstrated efficient and selective microextraction of gallic acid.
• The method achieved a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.13 ng mL⁻¹, with high precision (RSDs < 2.74%).
• Recovery rates ranged from 94.6% to 99.4% in various real samples, confirming method accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The developed bio-inspired ionic liquid-based microextraction method offers a highly accurate and sensitive approach for gallic acid quantification.
• The method is robust and suitable for analyzing gallic acid in complex plant-derived matrices.
• This advancement supports optimized extraction processes in pharmaceutical and food applications.