Recent applications of carbon nanotube sorbents in analytical chemistry

Preparation and evaluation of micro and meso porous silica monoliths with embedded carbon nanoparticles for the extraction of non-polar compounds from waters

A novel hybrid micro and meso porous silica monolith with embedded carbon nanoparticles (Si-CNPs monolith) was prepared inside a fused silica capillary (3cm in length) and used as a sorbent for solid-phase microextraction. The hybrid monolithic capillary was synthetized by hydrolysis and polycondensation of a mixture of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), ethanol, and three different carbon nanoparticles such as carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes (c-SWCNTs), carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNTs), and oxidized single-walled carbon nanohorns (o-SWNHs) via a two-step catalytic sol-gel process. Compared with silica monolith without carbon nanoparticles, the developed monolithic capillary column exhibited a higher extraction efficiency towards the analytes which can be ascribed to the presence of the carbon nanoparticles. In this regard, the best performance was achieved for silica monolith with embedded c-MWCNTs. The resulted monolithic capillaries were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental analysis and nitrogen intrusion porosimetry. Variables affecting to the preparation of the sorbent phase including three different carbon nanoparticles and extraction parameters were studied in depth using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as target analytes. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was selected as instrumental technique. Detection limits range from 0.1 to 0.3μgL^-1, and the inter-extraction units precision (expressed as relative standard deviation) is between 5.9 and 14.4%.

Current trends in sample preparation for cosmetic analysis

The widespread applications of cosmetics in modern life make their analysis particularly important from a safety point of view. There is a wide variety of restricted ingredients and prohibited substances that primarily influence the safety of cosmetics. Sample preparation for cosmetic analysis is a crucial step as the complex matrices may seriously interfere with the determination of target analytes. In this review, some new developments (2010-2016) in sample preparation techniques for cosmetic analysis, including liquid-phase microextraction, solid-phase microextraction, matrix solid-phase dispersion, pressurized liquid extraction, cloud point extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and microwave digestion, are presented. Furthermore, the research and progress in sample preparation techniques and their applications in the separation and purification of allowed ingredients and prohibited substances are reviewed.