Vortex-assisted surfactant-enhanced emulsification microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for speciation of antimony (ΙΙΙ, V)

Simultaneous biomonitoring of volatile organic compounds' metabolites in human urine samples using a novel in-syringe based fast urinary metabolites extraction (FaUMEx) technique coupled with UHPLC-MS/MS analysis

Assessing the impact of human exposure to environmental toxicants is often crucial to biomonitoring the exposed dose. In this work, we report a novel fast urinary metabolites extraction (FaUMEx) technique coupled with UHPLC-MS/MS analysis for the highly sensitive and simultaneous biomonitoring of the five major urinary metabolites (thiodiglycolic acid, s-phenylmercapturic acid, t,t-muconic acid, mandelic acid, and phenyl glyoxylic acid) of common volatile organic compounds' (VOCs) exposure (vinyl chloride, benzene, styrene, and ethylbenzene) in human. FaUMEx technique comprises of two-steps, liquid-liquid microextraction was performed first in an extraction syringe using 1 mL of methanol (pH 3) as an extraction solvent and then, the extractant was passed through a clean-up syringe (pre-packed-with various sorbents including 500 mg anhydrous MgSO₄, 50 mg C18, and 50 mg SiO₂) to obtain the high order of matrice clean-up and preconcentration efficiency. The developed method displayed excellent linearity, and the correlation coefficients were >0.998 for all the target metabolites with detection and quantification limits of 0.02-0.24 ng mL^-1 and 0.05-0.72 ng mL^-1, respectively. Furthermore, the matrix effects were < ±5%, and inter and intra-day precision were <9%. Moreover, the presented method was applied and validated to real sample analysis for biomonitoring of VOC's exposure levels. The results showed that the developed FaUMEx-UHPLC-MS/MS method is fast, simple, low-cost, low-solvent consumption, high sensitivity with good accuracy and precision for five targeted urinary VOCs' metabolites. Therefore, the presented dual-syringe mode FaUMEx strategy with UHPLC-MS/MS technique can be applied to biomonitoring of various urinary metabolites to assess human exposure to environmental toxicants.

Determination of Trace Antimony (III) in Water Samples with Single Drop Microextraction Using BPHA-[C4mim][PF6] System Followed by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A new sensitive method for antimony (III) determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) has been developed by using N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C₄mim][PF₆]) single drop microextraction. The single drop microextraction (SDMM) system is more competitive compared with other traditional extraction methods. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio is 3) and the enrichment factor of antimony (III) are 0.01 μg·L^-1 and 112, respectively. The relative standard deviation of the 0.5 μg·L^-1 antimony (III) is 4.2% (n=6). The proposed method is rather sensitive to determinate trace antimony (III) in water.

Hydride generation coupled with thioglycolic acid coated gold nanoparticles as simple and sensitive headspace colorimetric assay for visual detection of Sb(III)

Antimony (Sb) is a toxic element which causes different health problems including cardiac problems and lung cancer in humans, and its levels in surface water can be noticeably increased to 100 μg/L typically in the proximity of anthropogenic sources. Thus, besides instrumental techniques, it is of great significance to develop a simple, sensitive and selective analytical method for direct analysis of Sb(III) at trace level without the need of any expensive and/or complicated instrumentations and sample preparation processes. Herein, a simple and sensitive headspace colorimetric assay was developed for the detection of Sb(III) by hydride generation coupled with thioglycolic acid functionalized gold nanoparticles (TGA-AuNPs). Sb(III) in the 30 mL sample solution was converted into its volatile form (SbH₃) through hydride generation reaction and headspace extracted into 100 μL chromogenic reagent, which contains methanol as extractant and TGA-AuNPs as nanosensors, leading to aggregation of TGA-AuNPs and therefore a red-to-blue color change. Parameters influencing the chromogenic and hydride generation reactions were optimized. Addition of 300 μM ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as masking agent largely suppressed the inferences from mercury and arsenic. The proposed method can tolerate at least 10-fold As(III) and 100-fold other metal ions including Hg(II). The detection limits were 6.0 and 1.2 μg/L Sb(III) by naked-eye and UV-Vis spectrometer, respectively, which meet the maximum admissible level in drinking water (6 μg/L) set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The feasibility of the proposed method was demonstrated by rapid detection of Sb(III) in river water, lake water, ground water and sea water samples by naked-eye at a spiking level of 6 μg/L Sb(III).

Fabrication of Sb3+sensor based on 1,1′-(-(naphthalene-2,3-diylbis(azanylylidene))bis(methanylylidene))bis(naphthalen-2-ol)/nafion/glassy carbon electrode assembly by electrochemical approach

A new Schiff base named 1,1′-(-(naphthalene-2,3-diylbis(azanylylidene))bis(methanylylidene))bis(naphthalen-2-ol) (NDNA) was synthesized by condensation reaction and then characterized by spectroscopic techniques for structure elucidation.

Speciation of very low amounts of antimony in waters using magnetic core-modified silver nanoparticles and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A micro-solid phase extraction procedure for the separation and preconcentration of antimony based in the use of magnetic particles covered with silver nanoparticles functionalized with the sodium salt of 2-mercaptoethane-sulphonate (MESNa) is discussed. After separation by means of a magnetic field, the solid phase is directly introduced into an electrothermal atomizer for antimony determination. Alternatively, the solid can be slurried and then injected into the atomizer. In all cases, palladium nitrate is used as a chemical modifier. The preconcentration factors are close to 205 and 325, with detection limits of 0.02 and 0.03µgL^-1 antimony, for the slurry and solid sampling procedures, respectively. Speciation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) is achieved by means of two extractions carried out at different acidity. The results for total antimony are verified using certified reference materials. Water samples are analyzed for antimony speciation.