Determination of phthalate esters in soil using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method followed by GC-MS

Application of compost assisted by Fe3O4 nanoparticles in di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate-contaminated soil remediation: Biostimulation strategy, Soil responses, and RSM/CCD Optimization

Globally, contamination of agricultural soils by phthalate esters (PAEs) caused by direct consumption of plastic mulch films has been confirmed. The most widely used plasticizer is di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is a more recalcitrant endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC). Because of its low solubility and hydrophobicity, it remains in the soil longer, causes bioaccumulation in agricultural products, and has negative repercussions for food safety. In this study, the performance of kitchen organic waste compost assisted by Fe3O4 nanoparticles in DEHP removal efficiency (%) and soil C:N ratio (two responses) was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on Central Composite Design (CCD) in Design-Expert software (11.0.3.0). Under optimum conditions, a DEHP concentration of 10 mg·kg-1 (dw soil), a retention time of 35 days, an NPs dose of 0.99 g·kg-1 (media), a removal efficiency of 91.6 %, and a soil C:N ratio of 10.5 with a desirability of 0.963 were determined. A quadratic model (P-value <0.0001, adjusted R2 = 0.974 (Y1), 0.943 (Y2)) was used to predict the variables and their interactions. The agricultural soil responses in the treatments amended by compost and Fe3O4 NPs (SCN) showed a significant increase in SOM, TC, TN, AP, K, and Fe nutrients when compared to the control (P < 0.05). After 35 days, in the SC1N3 treatment (DEHP concentration = 10 mg·kg-1, NPs dose =1.2 g·kg-1), with higher DEHP removal efficiency (89.57 %), the C:N:P ratio was equal to 100: 9.75:0.69, and the total microbial colony count was 3.6 × 109 CFU/ml at pH 7.45. The study found that compost nutrients and Fe-based nanoparticle micronutrients can enhance DEHP degradation by stimulating the soil's native microflora. As a result, the synergistic potential of compost and Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be considered a promising, cost-effective, and agri-environmentally friendly approach in the "assisted bioremediation" strategy of DEHP-contaminated soils.

Modified dispersive solid-phase extraction and cleanup followed by GC-MS/MS analysis to quantify ultraviolet filters and synthetic musk compounds in soil samples

A simple method for the analysis of 13 synthetic musk compounds and six ultraviolet filters in soil samples was developed using a modified dispersive solid-phase methodology known as "Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe," followed by gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The methodology was validated by assessing linearity ranges, detection limits, precision, and accuracy. The method detection limit ranged between 0.01 and 10.00 ng/g dry weight and accuracy from 81 to 122%. A good precision was achieved, with relative standard deviation <10%. The applicability of the methodology was tested using different types of soils. Both synthetic musks and ultraviolet filters were detected in all soil samples. The most frequently detected compounds were benzophenone, octocrylene, 2-ethylhexyl 4-dimethylaminobenzoate, 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate, and galaxolide. Higher levels were detected for benzophenone (maximum value of 158 ng/g dry weight) and octocrylene (137 ng/g dry weight). In comparison with conventional techniques, this method uses lower amounts of solvents and sorbents, producing less waste ("greener" technique) and comparable performances. In addition, it presents as main advantages the simplicity, speed (short extraction/cleaning time), low cost, and minimum handling of extracts, which can minimize the possibility of samples cross-contamination.

Simple and rapid analysis of phthalate esters in marine sediment using ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with gas purge microsyringe extraction followed by GC-MS

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are a class of the emerging pollutants that pose a potential environmental threat to marine ecosystems. In this study, a simple analytical method using ultrasound-assisted extraction combined with gas purges microsyringe extraction (GP-MSE) coupled with GC-MS was utilized for the reliable and rapid determination of PAEs in different types of marine sediment. The analytical results showed that the method exhibited excellent reproducibility, linear responses, and detection limits, which verified the suitability of the method for the determination of PAEs in marine sediment. This approach requires minimal reagents, solvents, and sample pretreatment procedures as well as a short analysis time; thus, procedural blanks can be kept to a minimum. This method was demonstrated to be a highly efficient and sensitive quantitative analytical method for the simple detection of PAEs in marine sediment.

Binary Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Strategy for Accurate and Precise Determination of Micropollutants in Lake, Well and Wastewater Matrices

In this study, a binary mixture in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was used for the preconcentration and determination of selected pesticides, pharmaceutical and hormone by GC-MS. A Box-Behnken experimental design was used to optimize the amounts of binary mixture, dispersive solvent and salt. The optimum parameters obtained were dichloromethane/1,2-dichloroethane binary mixture (200 µL), ethanol (2.0 mL) and potassium nitrate (1.0 g). Analytical performance of each analyte was determined under the optimum conditions and the lowest and highest detection limits calculated were 0.43 and 5.9 ng/mL. Low relative standard deviations were obtained even in the lowest concentrations in linear calibration plots, signifying high precision for the sample preparation procedure and instrumental measurement. Accuracy of the developed method and applicability to real samples was tested on well, lake, hospital and municipal wastewater. The percent recoveries acquired at different spiked concentrations were satisfactory (89%-108%), validating the accuracy of the method for the quantification of the analytes in the selected matrices.

Nanomaterials as alternative dispersants for the multiresidue analysis of phthalates in soil samples using matrix solid phase dispersion prior to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, the application of different nanomaterials as dispersants in matrix solid phase dispersion has been evaluated for the extraction of fifteen phthalates from different environmental samples prior to their separation and quantification by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Within the evaluated nanomaterials, including graphene oxide, multi-walled carbon nanotubes and iron 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate metal-organic framework, the last one showed the best results in terms of extraction capacity and sample clean-up. The effects of the different parameters affecting the sample pretreatment efficiency were exhaustively evaluated. The whole methodology was validated for agricultural soil and sand, using dibutyl phthalate-3,4,5,6-d₄ as surrogate. Recovery values ranged from 70 to 120% for both matrices with RSD values lower than 20% and the limits of quantification of the method achieved were in the range 0.14-2.7 μg/kg dry weight. Finally, the analysis of soil samples from different locations of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) was carried out finding the presence of BBP, DIBP and DBP in the range 5-52 μg/kg dry weight in agricultural soils, and DIPP, DNOP and DINP in the range 2-101 μg/kg dry weight in sand samples.

Preparation of polypyrrole/nanosilica composite for solid-phase microextraction of bisphenol and phthalates migrated from containers to eye drops and injection solutions

This paper describes the electrodeposition of polyphosphate-doped polypyrrole/nanosilica nanocomposite coating on steel wire for direct solid-phase microextraction of bisphenol A and five phthalates. We optimized influencing parameters on the extraction efficiency and morphology of the nanocomposite such as deposition potential, concentration of pyrrole and polyphosphate, deposition time and the nanosilica amount. Under the optimized conditions, characterization of the nanocomposite was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Also, the factors related to the solid-phase microextraction method including desorption temperature and time, extraction temperature and time, ionic strength and pH were studied in detail. Subsequently, the proposed method was validated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry by thermal desorption and acceptable figures of merit were obtained. The linearity of the calibration curves was between 0.01 and 50 ng/mL with acceptable correlation coefficients (0.9956-0.9987) and limits of detection were in the range 0.002-0.01 ng/mL. Relative standard deviations in terms of intra-day and inter-day by five replicate analyses from aqueous solutions containing 0.1 ng/mL of target analytes were in the range 3.3%-5.4% and 5%-7.1%, respectively. Fiber-to-fiber reproducibilities were measured for three different fibers prepared in the same conditions and the results were between 7.3% and 9.8%. Also, extraction recoveries at two different concentrations were ≥96%. Finally, the suitability of the proposed method was demonstrated through its application to the analysis of some eye drops and injection solutions.