Preparation and characterization of sodium dodecyl sulfate doped polypyrrole solid phase micro extraction fiber and its application to endocrine disruptor pesticide analysis

Self-rotating stir mesh screen sorptive extraction for analyzing chlorpyrifos by ion mobility spectrometry

A mesh screen was electrochemically coated with polypyrrole and used as a sorptive extractor device, for the first time. This configuration acts in such a way that it is self-rotating in the presence of a magnetic force and can be used for extraction and concentration of analytes. Actually, applying a mesh screen instead of a bar or plate in sorptive extraction provided a more effective contact area between the sorptive materials and sample solution, resulting in higher sorption efficiency. The device performance was assessed by using chlorpyrifos pesticide as a model analyte. A thermal desorption unit was coupled to an ion mobility spectrometer and applied for evaporating the extracted analyte. Different parameters affecting the extraction efficiency during the electro-polymerization and the extraction process, including the time of electrodeposition, the concentration of pyrrole, oxalic acid and salt, temperature and time of extraction, and the stirring rate of the extractor device were investigated and optimized, simultaneously. The detection and quantification limits of the method were calculated to be 0.035 and 0.1 μg L^-1, respectively. The linear dynamic range obtained was from 0.1 to 20 μg L^-1, with a determination coefficient of 0.9984. The intra-day and inter-day-relative standard deviations (RSD, n = 3) were lower than 3% and 8%, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the absolute recovery and the enrichment factor were found to be 97% and 5820, respectively. Finally, the relative recoveries of the proposed method were calculated to be in the range of 86-111% for spiked water, wastewater, and apple samples. The results obtained from the method were validated by EPA method 622.

Ultrasound Assisted Electrochemical Deposition of Polypyrrole - Carbon Nanotube Composite Film: Preparation, Characterization and Application to the Determination of Droxidopa

Background:

Nowadays, polymeric composites modified with carbonaceous nanomaterials have been popular due to their greater application potentials in many application fields. However, the structural consistency of the composite prepared by electropolymerization suffers from agglomeration of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) probably due to their poor dispersion in the coating solution. Present study describes a new synthesis route for the preparation of polypyrrole/CNT composite film on a Glassy Carbon Electrode (GCE) via combining the ultrasonication and electrochemical pulsed deposition for the first time. The performance of the composite film was tested by monitoring the electrochemical oxidation of droxidopa which is used as a new psychoactive drug and synthetic amino acid precursor which acts as a prodrug to the neurotransmitters.

Methods:

The polypyrrole/CNT composite film was deposited onto a glassy carbon electrode via combining the ultrasonication and electrochemical pulsed deposition. The composite film was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transfer Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). Then after, the electrochemical behavior of droxidopa was investigated on the GCE/PPy-CNT electrode.

Results:

SEM images of the surface morphology have revealed a more ordered film formation and enhanced conductivity of the surface has been confirmed by EIS measurements. The synergetic effect of this composite film was tested by monitoring the electrochemical oxidation of a new psychoactive drug; droxidopa at 0.45 V. The influence of solution parameters such as medium pH, pyrrole concentration and amount of CNT along with the instrumental parameters including applied pulse number on the peak formation was investigated by aid of cyclic voltammetry. Under the optimal conditions, by monitoring the oxidation peak in dp mode, two linear ranges have been observed in 4 - 20 μM which is well suited for droxidopa analysis in pharmaceutical preparations. The limit of detection (S/N=3) was calculated as 1.3 μM.

Conclusion:

Present study offers a fast, easy and sensitive method for the determination of droxidopa by providing a novel route for the preparation of PPy-CNT composite films for any further studies.

A simple strategy based on fibers coated with surfactant-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes to improve the properties of solid-phase microextraction of phenols in aqueous solution

Methods and experiments

In this study, a functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-coated solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was developed for concentrating analytes in aqueous samples. Sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) was used as a dispersing agent for non-covalent modification of MWCNTs. The coating showed porous structure and large adsorption capacity. To investigate the capability of this MWCNTs/NaDC SPME fiber, it was applied to the analysis of phenols in aqueous solution. After extraction, the analytes were desorbed in an acetonitrile–water solution and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results

The MWCNTs/NaDC fiber exhibited good analytical performance, and fine preparation reproducibility was obtained with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 4.9% to 10.2% (n = 6) in one batch, from 5.7% to 11.9% (n = 3) among different batches. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the detection limits were 0.15–0.30 ng/mL(S/N = 3), the linear detection ranges were 1–100 ng/mL (R² ≥ 0.9997) for these analytes, and good recoveries (80.3–95.4%) were obtained for the spiked samples.

Conclusion

This is a simple and accurate pretreatment method for the analysis of phenols in aqueous samples.

Electrochemically Fabricated Solid Phase Microextraction Fibers and Their Applications in Food, Environmental and Clinical Analysis

Background:

Designing an analytical methodology for complicated matrices, such as biological and environmental samples, is difficult since the sample preparation procedure is the most demanding step affecting the whole analytical process. Nowadays, this step has become more challenging by the legislations and environmental concerns since it is a prerequisite to eliminate or minimize the use of hazardous substances in traditional procedures by replacing with green techniques suitable for the sample matrix.

Methods:

In addition to the matrix, the nature of the analyte also influence the ease of creating green analytical techniques. Recent developments in the chemical analysis provide us new methodologies introducing microextraction techniques and among them, solid phase microextraction (SPME) has emerged as a simple, fast, low cost, reliable and portable sample preparation technique that minimizes solvent consumption.

Results:

The use of home-made fibers is popular in the last two decades since the selectivity can be tuned by changing the surface characteristics through chemical and electrochemical modifications. Latter technique is preferred since the electroactive polymers can be coated onto the fiber under controlled electrochemical conditions and the film thicknesses can be adjusted by simply changing the deposition parameters. Thermal resistance and mechanical strength can be readily increased by incorporating different dopant ions into the polymeric structure and selectivity can be tuned by inserting functional groups and nanostructures. A vast number of analytes with wide range of polarities extracted by this means can be determined with a suitable chromatographic detector coupled to the system. Therefore, the main task is to improve the physicochemical properties of the fiber along with the extraction efficiency and selectivity towards the various analytes by adjusting the electrochemical preparation conditions.

Conclusion:

This review covers the fine tuning conditions practiced in electrochemical preparation of SPME fibers and in-tube systems and their applications in environmental, food and clinical analysis.

Rapid multiplug filtration cleanup with multiple-walled carbon nanotubes and gas chromatography-triple-quadruple mass spectrometry detection for 186 pesticide residues in tomato and tomato products

This study reports the development and validation of a novel rapid cleanup method based on multiple-walled carbon nanotubes in a packed column filtration procedure for analysis of pesticide residues followed by gas chromatography-triple-quadruple tandem mass spectrometry detection. The cleanup method was carried out by applying the streamlined procedure on a multiplug filtration cleanup column with syringes. The sorbent used for removing the interferences in the matrices is multiple-walled carbon nanotubes mixed with anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The proposed cleanup method is convenient and time-saving as it does not require any solvent evaporation, vortex, or centrifugation procedures. It was validated on 186 pesticides and 3 tomato product matrices spiked at two concentration levels of 10 and 100 μg kg(-1). Satisfactory recoveries and relative standard deviations are shown for most pesticides using the multiplug filtration cleanup method in tomato product samples. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of pesticide residues in market samples.