Simultaneous extraction and determination of albendazole and triclabendazole by a novel syringe to syringe dispersive liquid phase microextraction-solidified floating organic drop combined with high performance liquid chromatography

Microextraction Techniques for Sample Preparation of Amphetamines in Urine: A Comprehensive Review

Psychological disorders and dramatic social problems are serious concerns regarding the abuse of amphetamine and its stimulant derivatives worldwide. Consumers of such drugs experience great euphoria along with serious health problems. Determination and quantification of amphetamine-type stimulants are indispensable skills for clinical and forensic laboratories. Analysis of low drug doses in bio-matrices necessitates applications of simple and also effective preparation steps. The preparation procedures not only eliminate adverse matrix effects, but also provide reasonable clean-up and pre-concentration benefits. The current review presents different methods used for sample preparation of amphetamines from urine as the most frequently used biological matrix. The advantages and limitations of various sample preparation methods were discussed focusing on the miniaturized methods.

Determination of phenytoin at trace levels in domestic wastewater and synthetic urine samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after its preconcentration by simple liquid-phase microextraction

This work presents a sensitive and accurate analytical method for the determination of phenytoin at trace levels in domestic wastewater and synthetic urine samples by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after the metal sieve-linked double syringe liquid-phase microextraction (MSLDS-LPME) method. A metal sieve was produced in our laboratory in order to disperse water-immiscible extraction solvents into aqueous media. Univariate optimization studies for the selection of proper extraction solvent, extraction solvent volume, mixing cycle, and initial sample volume were carried out. Under the optimum MSLDS-LPME conditions, mass-based dynamic range, limit of quantitation (LOQ), limit of detection (LOD), and percent relative standard deviation (%RSD) for the lowest concentration in calibration plot were figured out to be 100.5-10964.2 μg kg-1, 150.6 μg kg-1, 45.2 μg kg-1, and 9.4%, respectively. Detection power was improved as 187.7-folds by the developed MSLDS-LPME-GC-MS system while enhancement in calibration sensitivity was recorded as 188.0-folds. In the final step of this study, the accuracy and applicability of the proposed system were tested by matrix matching calibration strategy. Percent recovery results for domestic wastewater and synthetic urine samples were calculated as 95.6-110.3% and 91.7-106.6%, respectively. These results proved the accuracy and applicability of the proposed preconcentration method, and the obtained analytical results showed the efficiency of the lab-made metal sieve apparatus.

Fosfatriclaben, a prodrug of triclabendazole: Preparation, stability, and fasciolicidal activity of three new intramuscular formulations

In this study, we present the preparation, stability, and in vivo fasciolicidal activity of three new intramuscular formulations in sheep of a prodrug based on triclabendazole, named fosfatriclaben. The new formulations were ready-to-use aqueous solutions with volumes recommended for intramuscular administration in sheep. The use of poloxamers (P-407 and P-188) and polysorbates (PS-20 and PS-80) in the new formulations improved the aqueous solubility of fosfatriclaben by 8-fold at pH 7.4. High-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was used to evaluate the stability of fosfatriclaben in the three formulations. High recovery (> 90%) of fosfatriclaben was found for all formulations after exposure at 57 ± 2 °C for 50 h. The three intramuscular formulations showed high fasciolicidal activity at a dose of 6 mg/kg, which was equivalent to the triclabendazole content. The fasciolicidal activity of fosfatriclaben was similar to commercial oral (Fasimec®) and intramuscular (Endovet®) triclabendazole formulations at a dose of 12 mg/kg. In the in vivo experiments, all formulations administered intramuscularly reduced egg excretion by 100%, and formulations F1, F2, and F3 presented fasciolicidal activities of 100%, 100%, and 99.6%, respectively.

Dual-emissive Eu(III)-functionalized metal-organic frameworks for visual, rapid, and intelligent sensing of albendazole and albendazole sulfoxide in animal-origin food

Albendazole (ABZ), a benzimidazole-based anthelmintic, is widely used to treat helminth infections. The extensive and improper use of ABZ may cause drug residues in animal-origin food and anthelmintics resistance, which potentially threaten human health. Meanwhile, albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO), a metabolite of ABZ, also exhibits toxic effects. Therefore, the detection of ABZ and ABZSO in animal-derived food is significantly necessary. Herein, a dual-emission europium fluorescent sensor (EuUHC-30) was rationally designed and constructed. EuUHC-30 exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity towards ABZ and ABZSO with a detection limit of 0.10 and 0.13 μM, respectively. Furthermore, EuUHC-30 was successfully applied for quantification of ABZ and ABZSO in milk and pig kidney, which were verified by HPLC analysis. Moreover, a smartphone-assisted EuUHC-30 fluorescent paper sensor was fabricated for the practical determination of ABZ and ABZSO in real food. Overall, this work provides a visual, rapid, and intelligent method for the detection of ABZ and ABZSO in animal-origin food.

Magnetic nanofluid based on green deep eutectic solvent for enrichment and determination of chloramphenicol in milk and chicken samples by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet: Optimization of microextraction

In this work, magnetic nanofluid based on a deep eutectic solvent that constricts through a simple and easy route, and subsequently applied for the preconcentration and microextraction of chloramphenicol (CAP) as a hazardous drug from milk and chicken samples via syringe-to-syringe microextraction prior to its determination by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV). In addition, the optimum conditions of effective factors were searched by the central composite design (CCD), and subsequently, at their optimum value, the figures of merit were evaluated. Also, the suggested method illustrated a low limit of detection (0.2 ng mL^-1), a low limit of quantitation (0.67 ng mL^-1), and a good linear range with an R² of 0.996. The CAP relative recoveries in milk and chicken samples were 90.3%-95.1%, with relative standard deviations lower than 4.2%. The current enhancement technique is simple, easy, and rapid, which makes it suitable for quantification of CAP by HPLC-UV at trace levels in complicated materials with reliable and reproducible results.

Separation and Detection of Abamectin, Ivermectin, Albendazole and Three Metabolites in Eggs Using Reversed-Phase HPLC Coupled with a Photo Diode Array Detector

An innovative and sensitive approach using high-performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detection (HPLC-PDAD) was developed and optimized for the simultaneous determination of abamectin (ABM), ivermectin (IVM), albendazole (ABZ) and three metabolites in eggs. The samples were extracted with acetonitrile (MeCN)/water (90:10, v/v), and the extracts containing the targets were cleaned up and concentrated by a series of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) steps. A reversed-phase C18 column and a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) aqueous solution and methanol (MeOH) were utilized to perform optimal chromatographic separation. The developed method was validated on the basis of international guidelines. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantitation (LOQs) were 2.1-10.5 µg/kg and 7.8-28.4 µg/kg, respectively. Satisfactory linear relationships were observed for the targets in their corresponding concentration ranges. The mean recoveries ranged from 85.7% to 97.21% at 4 addition levels, with intraday and interday relative standard deviations (RSDs) in the ranges of 1.68-4.77% and 1.74-5.31%, respectively. The presented protocol was demonstrated to be applicable and reliable by being applied for the detection of target residues in locally sourced egg samples.

Development of a metal sieve-linked double syringe liquid phase microextraction method for the determination of copper in olive leaf extract samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

This work reports the development of a simple, sensitive and low-cost analytical method for the trace determination of copper. A metal sieve-linked double syringe liquid phase microextraction method was used to preconcentrate copper into measurable quantities for FAAS system. The pressurized mixing offered by the automated syringe system and the sieve connector enhanced surface area for analyte and extraction solvent interaction, this significantly increased the extraction efficiency for copper. There was therefore no need for auxiliary organic solvents as disperser solvents for the extractant dichloromethane. The limits of detection and quantification, linear dynamic range and percent relative standard deviation values calculated for copper under optimum conditions of the method were 1.5 and 5.1 µg L^-1, 5.0-500 µg L^-1 and 8.4%, respectively. The developed method was successfully employed to determine copper (0.75-8.06 mg kg^-1) in unspiked olive leaf samples.

Artificial networks for spectral resolution of antibiotic residues in bovine milk; solidification of floating organic droplet in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for sample treatment

The intensive use of antibiotics in livestock practice has a negative impact on human health and increases the antibiotic resistance. In this study feasible data interpretation algorithm along with efficient extraction protocol were combined for selective analysis of three antibiotics in milk samples. Trimethoprim, sulphamethoxazole and oxytetracycline are widely used antibiotics in veterinary pharmaceuticals. The studied antibiotics were efficiently extracted from milk samples with solidification of floating organic droplet in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. This extraction protocol was optimized not only to maximize extraction recoveries but also to approach the lower residue limits specified by European Union. Artificial neural networks succeeded in resolving spectral overlap between the studied drugs. The network architecture was optimized and validated for accurate and precise analysis. The proposed method outweighs the reported chromatographic methods for being simple and inexpensive and compared favorable to official methods.

Single-drop microextraction technique for the determination of antibiotics in environmental water

Growing concerns related to antibiotic residues in environmental water have encouraged the development of rapid, sensitive, and accurate analytical methods. Single-drop microextraction has been recognized as an efficient approach for the isolation and preconcentration of several analytes from a complex sample matrix. Thus, single-drop microextraction techniques are cost-effective and less harmful to the environment, subscribing to green analytical chemistry principles. Herein, an overview and the current advances in single-drop microextraction for the determination of antibiotics in environmental water are presented were included. In particular, two main approaches used to perform single-drop microextraction (direct immersion-single-drop microextraction and headspace-single-drop microextraction) are reviewed. Furthermore, the impressive analytical features and future perspectives of single-drop microextraction are discussed in this review. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous Determination of Albendazole and Its Three Metabolites in Pig and Poultry Muscle by Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Fluorescence Detection

A fast, simple and efficient ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (UPLC-FLD) method for the determination of residues of albendazole (ABZ) and its three metabolites, albendazole sulfone (ABZ-SO₂), albendazole sulfoxide (ABZ-SO), and albendazole-2-aminosulfone (ABZ-2NH₂-SO₂), in pig and poultry muscle (chicken, duck and goose) was established. The samples were extracted with ethyl acetate, and the extracts were further subjected to cleanup by utilizing a series of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) steps. Then, extracts were purified by OASIS^® PRiME hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges (60 mg/3 mL). The target compounds were separated on an ACQUITY UPLC^® BEH C₁₈ (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) chromatographic column, using a mobile phase composed of 31% acetonitrile and 69% aqueous solution (containing 0.2% formic acid and 0.05% triethylamine). The limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) of the four target compounds in pig and poultry muscle were 0.2-3.8 µg/kg and 1.0-10.9 µg/kg, respectively. The recoveries were all above 80.37% when the muscle samples were spiked with the four target compounds at the LOQ, 0.5 maximum residue limit (MRL), 1.0 MRL, and 2.0 MRL levels. The intraday relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 5.11%, and the interday RSDs were less than 6.29%.

Pretreatment and determination methods for benzimidazoles: An update since 2005

Benzimidazoles, commonly used as pesticides and veterinary drugs, have posed a threat to human health and the environment due to unreasonable use and lack of valid regulation. Therefore, an up-to-date and comprehensive summary of the pretreatment and analytical approaches in different substrates is urgently needed. The present review consequently updates and covers various newly developed pretreatment methods (e.g., cationic micellar precipitation, magnetic-solid phase extraction, hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction, disperse liquid-liquid microextraction-solidified floating organic drop, stir cake sorptive extraction, solid phase microextraction method, QuEChERS, and molecular imprinted polymer-based methods) since 2005. The review also elaborates and discusses different determination methods (e.g., newly developed HPLC and related methods, improved spectrofluorimetry methods, capillary electrophoresis, and the electrochemical sensor). Furthermore, some critical points and prospects are highlighted, to describe the trends in this area.

Review: Microextraction Technique Based New Trends in Food Analysis

Food chemistry is the study and classification of the quality and origin of foods. The identification of definite biomarkers and the determination of residue contaminants such as toxins, pesticides, metals, human and veterinary drugs, which are a very common source of food-borne diseases. The food analysis is continuously demanding the improvement of more robust, sensitive, highly efficient, and economically beneficial analytical approaches to promise the traceability, safety, and quality of foods in the acquiescence with the consumers and legislation demands. The traditional methods have been used at the starting of the 20th century based on wet chemical methods. Now it existing the powerful analytical techniques used in food analysis and safety. This development has led to substantial enhancements in the analytical accuracy, precision, sensitivity, selectivity, thereby mounting the applied range of food applications. In the present decade, microextraction (micro-scale extraction) pays more attention due to its futures such as low consumption of solvent and sample, throughput analysis easy to operate, greener, robotics, and miniaturization, different adsorbents have been used in the microextraction process with unique nature recognized with wide range applications.

Liquid phase microextraction techniques combined with chromatography analysis: a review

Sample pretreatment is the first and the most important step of an analytical procedure. In routine analysis, liquid–liquid microextraction (LLE) is the most widely used sample pre-treatment technique, whose goal is to isolate the target analytes, provide enrichment, with cleanup to lower the chemical noise, and enhance the signal. The use of extensive volumes of hazardous organic solvents and production of large amounts of waste make LLE procedures unsuitable for modern, highly automated laboratories, expensive, and environmentally unfriendly. In the past two decades, liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was introduced to overcome these drawbacks. Thanks to the need of only a few microliters of extraction solvent, LPME techniques have been widely adopted by the scientific community. The aim of this review is to report on the state-of-the-art LPME techniques used in gas and liquid chromatography. Attention was paid to the classification of the LPME operating modes, to the historical contextualization of LPME applications, and to the advantages of microextraction in methods respecting the value of green analytical chemistry. Technical aspects such as description of methodology selected in method development for routine use, specific variants of LPME developed for complex matrices, derivatization, and enrichment techniques are also discussed.

Dispersed Solidified Fine Droplets Based on Sonication of a Low Melting Point Deep Eutectic Solvent: a Novel Concept for Fast and Efficient Determination of Cr(VI) in Urine Samples

Cr(VI) has carcinogenic effects, so determination of trace amount of chromium in human body such as urine has a great deal of importance. In this work, a novel microextraction method was developed based on solidification of dispersed fine droplets (SDFD) of a low melting point deep eutectic solvent (DES), produced with the aid of sonication, for fast and efficient determination of Cr(VI) in urine samples. Cr(VI) contents of the human urine samples were first complexed using 1,5-diphenylcarbazone at pH ≈ 2.0 and then extracted by the method. A cloudy solution was achieved by the sonication of a microliter volume of a new water-immiscible DES consisting of benzyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (BTPPB) and phenol. Low freezing point of DES makes it possible to use simple, precise, and fast collection of the extraction phase by solidification and the subsequent centrifugation. Finally, the sedimented phase was diluted with methanol and analyzed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The influences of the main factors on the efficiency of the procedure were investigated by a four-factor central composite design (CCD). Under the optimum conditions, the calibration curve was linear within the range of 10-1000 ng L^-1. The intra- and inter-day RSD% values of 2.6 and 4.7% were obtained at the concentration of 50.0 ng L^-1, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were calculated as 2.0 and 7.0 ng L^-1, respectively. Moreover, compared to the other approaches, the proposed method presented better or comparable analytical performance and provided accurate, precise, and reliable results for trace analysis of Cr(VI) in urine samples.

Air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction using floating organic droplet solidification for simultaneous extraction and spectrophotometric determination of some drugs in biological samples through chemometrics methods

An air assisted liquid-liquid microextraction by applying the solidification of a floating organic droplet method (AALLME-SFOD) coupled with a multivariate calibration method, namely partial least squares (PLS), was introduced for the fast and easy determination of Atenolol (ATE), Propanolol (PRO) and Carvedilol (CAR) in biological samples via a spectrophotometric approach. The analytes would be extracted from neutral aqueous solution into 1-dodecanol as an organic solvent, using AALLME. In this approach a low-density solvent with a melting point close to room temperature was applied as the extraction solvent. The emulsion was immediately formed by repeatedly pulling in and pushing out the aqueous sample solution and extraction solvent mixture via a 10-mL glass syringe for ten times. After centrifugation, the extractant droplet could be simply collected from the aqueous samples by solidifying the emulsion at a lower than the melting point temperature. In the next step, analytes were back extracted simultaneously into the acidic aqueous solution. Derringer and Suich multi-response optimization were utilized for simultaneous optimizing the parameters of three analytes. This method incorporates the benefits of AALLME and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction considering the solidification of floating organic droplets (DLLME-SFOD). Calibration graphs under optimized conditions were linear in the range of 0.30-6.00, 0.32-2.00 and 0.30-1.40μg mL^-1 for ATE, CAR and PRO, respectively. Other analytical parameters were obtained as follows: enrichment factors (EFs) were found to be 11.24, 16.55 and 14.90, and limits of detection (LODs) were determined to be 0.09, 0.10 and 0.08μg mL^-1 for ATE, CAR and PRO, respectively. The proposed method will require neither a highly toxic chlorinated solvent for extraction nor an organic dispersive solvent in the application process; hence, it is more environmentally friendly.

Magnetic sulfur-doped porous carbon for preconcentration of trace mercury in environmental water prior to ICP-MS detection

A novel magnetic sulfur-doped porous carbon (MSPC) was fabricated via a simple one-step carbonization of a mixture of sucrose, basic magnesium sulfate whiskers and Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ nanoparticles.