Ultrasound-assisted surfactant-enhanced emulsification microextraction with solidification of floating organic droplet followed by high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of strobilurin fungicides in fruit juice samples

Extraction and determination of strobilurin fungicides residues in apple samples using ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on a novel hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent followed by H.P.L.C-U.V

In this study, several novel and natural hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (D.E.Ss) were prepared using methyl trioctylammonium chloride (M.T.O.A.C) as H.B.A and different types of straight chain alcohols as H.B.Ds. One of the D.E.Ss composed of M.T.O.A.C and n-butanol was advantageously used to develop an ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (U.A-D.L.L.M.E) method combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (H.P.L.C-U.V) for the determination of some strobilurin fungicides in apple samples. Several important parameters influencing extraction efficiency were investigated and optimised, including the type and volume of extractant in ultrasound stage, sonication time, the type and volume of D.E.S, sample solution pH and effect of salt addition. Under optimal experimental conditions, the method showed good linearity with correlation coefficients (R²) of 0.9985 - 0.9991 in the linear range of 4-1500 μg kg^-1, low limits of detection of 1.5-2 μg kg^-1 and acceptable extraction recoveries in the range of 76-92%. Enrichment factor was in the range of 95-115. The proposed method was successfully applied for the extraction and preconcentration of trace fungicides in apple samples, and the results demonstrated the potential of the synthesised D.E.S for the extraction and determination of contaminants in aqueous samples.

Simultaneous determination of strobilurin fungicides residues in bean samples by HPLC-UV-AD using boron-doped diamond electrode

The aim of this paper was the development of a method for the determination of six strobilurins (fungicides) using boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode with amperometric detection (AD) homemade coupled to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/UV-Vis). HPLC separation of fungicides was performed in a C18 reverse phase column using both UV and AD detectors at 200 mn and 1.9 V, respectively. The linear range for each strobilurin was from 5 to 15 mg L^-1 and the correlation coefficients for all the compounds were above 0.997. Both detectors presented adequate detectability (LOD ranging from 1.33 to 1.57 μg kg^-1) respecting the limits pre-established by regulatory agencies. The method was validated presenting good values of recovery and accuracy. In the spiked samples the recoveries ranged from 61.6% (trifloxystrobin) to 98.8% (azoxystrobin) for UV and 62.3% (trifloxystrobin) to 95.2% (azoxystrobin) for AD. In blanks spikes the recovery varied from 77.8% (picoxystrobin) to 88.4% (kresoxim-methyl) for UV and 76.7% (picoxystrobin) to 87.1% (dimoxystrobin) for AD. The method showed good precision (RSD < 10%). The results obtained by amperometric and UV detections were statistically comparable. Seven bean samples were analyzed to detect fungicide residues.

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating organic droplets for HPLC determination of three strobilurin fungicides in cereals

In this paper, a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method based on the solidification of floating organic droplets, combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (DLLME-SFOD-HPLC), was developed for the detection of strobilurin fungicides (azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, and trifloxystrobin) in cereals. Natural fatty acids were used as an extractant and have low toxicity, density, and freezing point. The extractant nonanoic acid was evenly dispersed as droplets in sample solution and was then solidified in the upper layer of sample solution after centrifugation and ice bath, which improved the extraction and collection efficiency. The dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure was optimised by univariate analysis and the Box-Behnken response surface methodology. Optimum conditions were as follows: the volume of nonanoic acid was 82 μL, the volume of acetonitrile was 620 μL, and the amount of salt was 256 mg. Under optimised conditions, the method had good linearity with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.997, and the limit of detection was 2.57-4.87 μg kg^-1. The recoveries of azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, and trifloxystrobin in rice, corn, and wheat were 82.0%-93.2%, and the relative standard deviations were 1.6%-7.4%. Therefore, the method was successfully applied to detect target fungicides in cereals.

State-of-the-art on the technique of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction is a new sample pretreatment technology based on traditional liquid liquid extraction. In this paper, the application of low-toxicity extractants such as low-density extractants, auxiliary extractants, stripping agents and ionic liquids in this technology and the extraction modes such as solvent de-emulsification, suspension extractant curing, auxiliary extraction, back extraction, and ionic liquid-dispersion liquid microextraction, are summarized. In addition, the synergism of this technique with other sample preparation techniques, such as liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, solid-phase microextraction, dispersive solid phase extraction, matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction, supercritical fluid extraction and ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction is discussed.

Use of magnetic effervescent tablet-assisted ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction to extract fungicides from environmental waters with the aid of experimental design methodology

In this work, a novel effervescence-assisted microextraction technique was proposed for the detection of four fungicides. This method combines ionic liquid-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction with the magnetic retrieval of the extractant. A magnetic effervescent tablet composed of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, sodium carbonate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonimide) was used for extractant dispersion and retrieval. The main factors affecting the extraction efficiency were screened by a Plackett-Burman design and optimized by a central composite design. Under the optimum conditions, good linearity was obtained for all analytes in pure water model and real water samples. Just for the pure water, the recoveries were between 84.6% and 112.8%, the limits of detection were between 0.02 and 0.10 μg L(-1) and the intra-day precision and inter-day precision both are lower than 4.9%. This optimized method was successfully applied in the analysis of four fungicides (azoxystrobin, triazolone, cyprodinil, trifloxystrobin) in environmental water samples and the recoveries ranged between 70.7% and 105%. The procedure promising to be a time-saving, environmentally friendly, and efficient field sampling technique.

Assessment of strobilurin fungicides' content in soya-based drinks by liquid micro-extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

Seven strobilurin fungicides were pre-concentrated from soya-based drinks using dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (DLLME) with a prior protein precipitation step in acid medium. The enriched phase was analysed by liquid chromatography (LC) with dual detection, using diode array detection (DAD) and electrospray-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-IT-MS/MS). After selecting 1-undecanol and methanol as the extractant and disperser solvents, respectively, for DLLME, the Taguchi experimental method, an orthogonal array design, was applied to select the optimal solvent volumes and salt concentration in the aqueous phase. The matrix effect was evaluated and quantification was carried out using external aqueous calibration for DAD and matrix-matched calibration method for MS/MS. Detection limits in the 4-130 and 0.8-4.5 ng g(-1) ranges were obtained for DAD and MS/MS, respectively. The DLLME-LC-DAD-MS method was applied to the analysis of 10 different samples, none of which was found to contain residues of the studied fungicides.

Residues and dissipation of trifloxystrobin and its metabolite in tomatoes and soil

A simple residue analytical method using the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) procedure for the determination of trifloxystrobin and its metabolite trifloxystrobin acid (CGA321113) in tomato and soil was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The limits of detection were 0.0005 mg/kg for trifloxystrobin and 0.001 mg/kg for trifloxystrobin acid, respectively. The average recoveries in tomato and soil ranged from 73-99 % for trifloxystrobin and 75-109 % for trifloxystrobin acid, with relative standard deviations below 15 %. The method was then used to study the dissipation and residues in tomato and soil. The dissipation half-lives of trifloxystrobin in tomato were 2.9 days (Beijing) and 5.4 days (Shandong), while in soil were 1.9 days (Beijing) and 3.0 days (Shandong), respectively. The final results showed that the major residue compound was trifloxystrobin in tomato whereas it was its metabolite, trifloxystrobin acid, in soil. The final residues of total trifloxystrobin (including trifloxystrobin acid) were below the EU maximum residue limit of 0.5 mg kg(-1) in tomato 3 days after the treatment.

Ceria nanocubic-ultrasonication assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for pathogenic bacteria analysis

A new ceria (CeO2) nanocubic modified surfactant is used as the basis of a novel nano-based microextraction technique for highly sensitive detection of pathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus). The technique uses ultrasound enhanced surfactant-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (UESA-DLLME) with and without ceria (CeO2) followed by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). In order to achieve high separation efficiency, we investigated the influential parameters, including extraction time of ultrasonication, type and volume of the extraction solvent and surfactant. Among various surfactants, the cationic surfactants can selectively offer better extraction efficiency on bacteria analysis than that of the anionic surfactants due to the negative charges of bacteria cell membranes. Extractions of the bacteria lysate from aqueous samples via UESA-DLLME-MALDI-MS were successfully achieved by using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB, 10.0 µL, 1.0×10(-3) M) as surfactants in chlorobenzene (10.0 µL) and chloroform (10.0 µL) as the optimal extracting solvent for P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, respectively. Ceria nanocubic was synthesized, and functionalized with CTAB (CeO2@CTAB) and then characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and optical spectroscopy (UV and FTIR). CeO2@CTAB demonstrates high extraction efficiency, improve peaks ionization, and enhance resolution. The prime reasons for these improvements are due to the large surface area of nanoparticles, and its absorption that coincides with the wavelength of MALDI laser (337 nm, N2 laser). CeO2@CTAB-based microextraction offers lowest detectable concentrations tenfold lower than that of without nanoceria. The present approach has been successfully applied to detect pathogenic bacteria at low concentrations of 10(4)-10(5) cfu/mL (without ceria) and at 10(3)-10(4) cfu/mL (with ceria) from bacteria suspensions. Finally, the current approach was applied for analyzing the pathogenic bacteria in biological samples (blood and serum). Ceria assist surfactant (CeO2@CTAB) liquid-liquid microextraction (LLME) offers better extraction efficiency than that of using the surfactant in LLME alone.