A multi-functional effervescent tablet for one-pot effervescent/derivatization/extraction: An integrated strategy for...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Sulfonamide residues in food pose health risks, including allergies and antimicrobial resistance.
• Sensitive and efficient monitoring methods are crucial for enforcing strict residue limits.
• Conventional methods for sulfonamide analysis are time-consuming due to multi-step extraction and derivatization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a streamlined, single-step strategy for sulfonamide residue analysis.
• To integrate effervescence, derivatization, and extraction into one operation for complex food matrices.
• To provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative for food safety surveillance.

Main Methods:

• Development of a multi-functional effervescent tablet containing effervescent precursors, fluorescamine, Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes.
• Simultaneous derivatization and magnetic solid-phase extraction of sulfonamides facilitated by CO2 bubbles generated by the tablet.
• Rapid desorption using acetone for subsequent analysis, typically with LC-FLD.

Main Results:

• The tablet-mediated procedure requires only 4 minutes for extraction and 0.5 minutes for desorption.
• Achieved excellent linearity (R2 > 0.998), low detection limits (0.130-0.285 ng/g), and high recoveries (82.6-107.0%) with low RSDs (<10%).
• Demonstrated accurate quantification in spiked honey samples with minimal relative errors, comparable to conventional methods but with reduced steps and solvent use.

Conclusions:

• The integrated effervescence/derivatization/extraction strategy offers a rapid, cost-effective, and automatable workflow for sulfonamide residue analysis.
• This tablet-based approach significantly reduces manual handling and solvent consumption in sample preparation.
• The method is compatible with LC-FLD, providing a practical alternative to LC-MS for reliable food safety monitoring.