Fabric phase sorptive extraction for simultaneous observation of four penicillin antibiotics from human blood serum prior to high performance liquid chromatography and photo-diode array detection

Adapting Fabric Phase Sorptive Extraction as an Innovative Multitool for Sample Transfer and Extraction in Pharmacokinetic Analysis Followed by LC-MS Determination of Levofloxacin in Plasma Samples

Fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) is a simple microextraction technique that allows analytes to be rescued from matrix components while using a small volume of samples to analyze complex biological systems. This study used FPSE as a microextraction tool and a sample storage and transfer device. Levofloxacin as a model molecule was applied intravenously (IV) to New Zealand male rabbits. The samples were simultaneously extracted by using FPSE and protein precipitation methods. The final solutions were analyzed using LC-MS equipped with an ACE C18 LC Column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) at 25 °C employed in isocratic elution mode using solution A (0.1% formic acid in water)/solution B (0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile) (80:20, v/v). The total analysis time was less than 15 min. The developed method was validated using the ICH M10 bioanalytical method validation and study sample analysis guidelines. The results obtained using FPSE were statistically identical to those obtained using protein precipitation. The plasma samples applied onto FPSE (10 μL onto 1.0 cm × 1.0 cm Biofluid Sampler) were stored in three different temperatures [refrigerator (2-8 °C), at ambient temperature (20 ± 5 °C), and in the stability cabinet (40 °C, 75% humidity)] and three different storage conditions (Eppendorf tubes, plastic containers, and straw paper envelopes). Levofloxacin in plasma samples adsorbed by FPSE biofluid sampler remained stable at 2-8 °C in Eppendorf tubes for at least 1 week. This study showed that FPSE could be used as a sample storage and transfer device for pharmacokinetic applications that need to work with small sample volumes and discard aggressive cold chains to store and transfer the plasma samples.

Novel Sorptive Sample Preparation Techniques for Separation Science

The primary analytical challenge is to selectively extract the target analytes using a suitable sample preparation technique and introduce them into the downstream analytical instrument. The critical step in the chemical analysis is sample preparation. Sorptive sample preparation techniques are among the new generation of microextraction approaches, and are compliant with green analytical chemistry principles. A recent intercontinental collaboration between two academic research laboratories—the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and the Florida International University, USA—has yielded a significant number of analytical/bioanalytical methods using fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE), magnet integrated fabric phase sorptive extraction (MI-FPSE), and capsule phase microextraction (CPME) for the isolation of various analytes from different complex sample matrices. A brief description of these techniques with regards to principle, synthesis, applications, and advantages and disadvantages along with paradigms is presented.

Green bioanalysis: an innovative and eco-friendly approach for analyzing drugs in biological matrices

Green bioanalytical techniques aim to reduce or eliminate the hazardous waste produced by bioanalytical technologies. A well-organized and practical approach towards bioanalytical method development has an enormous contribution to the green analysis. The selection of the appropriate sample extraction process, organic mobile phase components and separation technique makes the bioanalytical method green. UHPLC-MS is the best option, whereas supercritical fluid chromatography is one of the most effective green bioanalytical procedures. Nevertheless, there remains excellent scope for further research on green bioanalytical methods. This review details the various sample preparation techniques that follow green analytical chemistry principles. Furthermore, it presents green solvents as a replacement for conventional organic solvents and highlights the strategies to convert modern analytical techniques to green methods.

Fabric phase sorptive extraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as an innovative analytical technique for the determination of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in herbal infusions and tea samples

This study presents a fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) protocol for the isolation and preconcentration of four selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from tea samples and herbal infusions, followed by their separation and quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In FPSE, extraction of the target analytes is performed utilizing a flexible fabric substrate that is coated with a highly efficient sol–gel sorbent. In this work, eighteen different FPSE membranes were examined, with the highest extraction recoveries being observed with the sol–gel C₁₈ coated FPSE membrane. The main parameters that influence the adsorption and desorption of the PAHs were optimized and the proposed method was validated. The detection limits and the quantification limits were 0.08–0.17 ng mL⁻¹ and 0.25–0.50 ng mL⁻¹, respectively, for the different target compounds with a 10 mL sample. The relative standard deviations for intra-day and inter-day repeatability were less than 7.9% and 8.5%, respectively. The sol–gel C₁₈ coated FPSE membrane could be used for at least 5 subsequent sample preparation cycles. Finally, the proposed protocol was successfully employed for the determination of PAHs in a wide range of tea and herbal infusion samples.

A fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) protocol for the isolation and preconcentration of four selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from tea samples and herbal infusions is presented, followed by their quantitative analysis by GC-MS.

Novel Applications of Microextraction Techniques Focused on Biological and Forensic Analyses

In recent years, major attention has been focused on microextraction procedures that allow high recovery of target analytes, regardless of the complexity of the sample matrices. The most used techniques included liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), solid-phase extraction (SPE), solid-phase microextraction (SPME), dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS), and fabric-phase sorptive extraction (FPSE). These techniques manifest a rapid development of sample preparation techniques in different fields, such as biological, environmental, food sciences, natural products, forensic medicine, and toxicology. In the biological and forensic fields, where a wide variety of drugs with different chemical properties are analyzed, the sample preparation is required to make the sample suitable for the instrumental analysis, which often includes gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass detectors or tandem mass detectors (MS/MS). In this review, we have focused our attention on the biological and forensic application of these innovative procedures, highlighting the major advantages and results that have been accomplished in laboratory and clinical practice.

Development of highly hydrophobic fabric phase sorptive extraction membranes and exploring their applications for the rapid determination of tocopherols in edible oils analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography-diode array detection

Α novel, green, and facile fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) prior to high pressure liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) methodology was developed for the efficient extraction and quantitative determination of tocopherols (α-, sum of (β+γ), and δ-) in edible oils. Among several highly hydrophobic FPSE membranes, sol-gel polycaprolactone-polydimethylsiloxane-polycaprolactone (sol-gel PCAP-PDMS-PCAP) coated polyester FPSE membrane was found as the most efficient in extracting tocopherol homologues from edible oil samples. To maximize the extraction efficiency of FPSE membrane, major parameters of FPSE including the membrane size, sample loading time, the choice of the appropriate elution solvent and the elution solvent volume, desorption time, and the influence of stirring were systematically optimized. The developed FPSE-HPLC-DAD methodology was validated and presented adequately low limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) over the ranges 0.05-0.10 μg/g, and 0.17-0.33 μg/g, respectively. The RSD% of the within-day and between-day assays were lower than 1.3, and 11.8, respectively, demonstrating good method precision. The trueness of the method was assessed by means of relative percentage of recovery and ranged between 90.8 and 95.1% for within-day assay, and between 88.7-92.8% for between-day assay. The developed methodology was applied in the analysis of edible oils.

Exploring sol-gel zwitterionic fabric phase sorptive extraction sorbent as a new multi-mode platform for the extraction and preconcentration of triazine herbicides from juice samples

Triazine herbicides are a class of common pesticides which are widely used to control the weeds in many agricultural crops. Although many studies have described methodologies for the determination of triazine herbicides in aqueous samples, the attention given to agricultural crops and their products is far more limited. In this study, a novel sol-gel zwitterionic multi-mode fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) platform was developed for the matrix clean-up, extraction and preconcentration of five triazine herbicides from fruit juice samples prior to their determination by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The novel zwitterionic multi-mode sorbent was characterized and its performance for fruit juice analysis was evaluated. Compared to other sol-gel sorbents, the novel zwitterionic sorbent helped cleaning all the acidic interferences from fruit juices. The herein reported FPSE protocol was optimized and validated. Under optimum conditions, the FPSE method showed good accuracy, precision and sensitivity. The limits of detection and limits of quantification for all analytes were 0.15 ng mL^-1 and 0.50 ng mL^-1, respectively. The enhancement factors of this method ranged between 36.7 and 51.8. The relative standard deviation for intra-day precision was below 5.6% and for inter-day precision was below 8.8%. Finally, the proposed FPSE-HPLC-DAD method was successfully employed for the analysis of various fruit juice samples.

Multi-Element Analysis Based on an Automated On-Line Microcolumn Separation/Preconcentration System Using a Novel Sol-Gel Thiocyanatopropyl-Functionalized Silica Sorbent Prior to ICP-AES for Environmental Water Samples

A sol-gel thiocyanatopropyl-functionalized silica sorbent was synthesized and employed for an automated on-line microcolumn preconcentration platform as a front-end to inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) for the simultaneous determination of Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II), Cr(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), Mn(II), Hg(II), and V(II). The developed system is based on an easy-to-repack microcolumn construction integrated into a flow injection manifold coupled directly to ICP-AES’s nebulizer. After on-line extraction/preconcentration of the target analyte onto the surface of the sorbent, successive elution with 1.0 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ was performed. All main chemical and hydrodynamic factors affecting the effectiveness of the system were thoroughly investigated and optimized. Under optimized experimental conditions, for 60 s preconcentration time, the enhancement factor achieved for the target analytes was between 31 to 53. The limits of detection varied in the range of 0.05 to 0.24 μg L⁻¹, while the limits of quantification ranged from 0.17 to 0.79 μg L⁻¹. The precision of the method was expressed in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD%) and was less than 7.9%. Furthermore, good method accuracy was observed by analyzing three certified reference materials. The proposed method was also successfully employed for the analysis of environmental water samples.

Green bioanalytical sample preparation: fabric phase sorptive extraction

Fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) is a recently introduced sample preparation technique that has attracted substantial interest of the scientific community dealing with bioanalysis. This technique is based on a permeable and flexible substrate made of fabric, coated with a sol-gel organic-inorganic sorbent. Among the benefits of FPSE are its tunable selectivity, adjustable porosity, minimized sample preparation workflow, substantially reduced organic solvent consumption, rapid extraction kinetics and superior extraction efficiency, many of which are well-known criteria for Green Analytical Chemistry. As such, FPSE has established itself as a leading green sample preparation technology of 21st century. In this review, we discuss the principal steps for the development of an FPSE method, the main method optimization strategies, as well as the applications of FPSE in bioanalysis for the extraction of a wide range of analytes (e.g., estrogens, benzodiazepines, androgens and progestogens, penicillins, anti-inflammatory drugs, parabens etc.).

Fabric Phase Sorptive Extraction: A Paradigm Shift Approach in Analytical and Bioanalytical Sample Preparation

Fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) is an evolutionary sample preparation approach which was introduced in 2014, meeting all green analytical chemistry (GAC) requirements by implementing a natural or synthetic permeable and flexible fabric substrate to host a chemically coated sol-gel organic-inorganic hybrid sorbent in the form of an ultra-thin coating. This construction results in a versatile, fast, and sensitive micro-extraction device. The user-friendly FPSE membrane allows direct extraction of analytes with no sample modification, thus eliminating/minimizing the sample pre-treatment steps, which are not only time consuming, but are also considered the primary source of major analyte loss. Sol-gel sorbent-coated FPSE membranes possess high chemical, solvent, and thermal stability due to the strong covalent bonding between the fabric substrate and the sol-gel sorbent coating. Subsequent to the extraction on FPSE membrane, a wide range of organic solvents can be used in a small volume to exhaustively back-extract the analytes after FPSE process, leading to a high preconcentration factor. In most cases, no solvent evaporation and sample reconstitution are necessary. In addition to the extensive simplification of the sample preparation workflow, FPSE has also innovatively combined the extraction principle of two major, yet competing sample preparation techniques: solid phase extraction (SPE) with its characteristic exhaustive extraction, and solid phase microextraction (SPME) with its characteristic equilibrium driven extraction mechanism. Furthermore, FPSE has offered the most comprehensive cache of sorbent chemistry by successfully combining almost all of the sorbents traditionally used exclusively in either SPE or in SPME. FPSE is the first sample preparation technique to exploit the substrate surface chemistry that complements the overall selectivity and the extraction efficiency of the device. As such, FPSE indeed represents a paradigm shift approach in analytical/bioanalytical sample preparation. Furthermore, an FPSE membrane can be used as an SPME fiber or as an SPE disk for sample preparation, owing to its special geometric advantage. So far, FPSE has overwhelmingly attracted the interest of the separation scientist community, and many analytical scientists have been developing new methodologies by implementing this cutting-edge technique for the extraction and determination of many analytes at their trace and ultra-trace level concentrations in environmental samples as well as in food, pharmaceutical, and biological samples. FPSE offers a total sample preparation solution by providing neutral, cation exchanger, anion exchanger, mixed mode cation exchanger, mixed mode anion exchanger, zwitterionic, and mixed mode zwitterionic sorbents to deal with any analyte regardless of its polarity, ionic state, or the sample matrix where it resides. Herein we present the theoretical background, synthesis, mechanisms of extraction and desorption, the types of sorbents, and the main applications of FPSE so far according to different sample categories, and to briefly show the progress, advantages, and the main principles of the proposed technique.

Fabric phase sorptive extraction combined with high-performance-liquid chromatography-photodiode array analysis for the determination of seven parabens in human breast tissues: Application to cancerous and non-cancerous samples

An improved pretreatment approach of human breast tissue is demonstrated for subsequent analysis of seven parabens including methyl paraben (MPB), ethyl paraben (EPB), propyl paraben (PPB), butyl paraben (BPB), isopropyl paraben (iPPB), isobutyl paraben (iBPB), and benzyl paraben (BzPB). Specifically, a well-designed homogenization procedure, conjugated with an optimized fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) protocol, resulted in a carefully outlined sample preparation process as part of a green, simple, sensitive, economical and fast HPLC-PDA analytical method in agreement with Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) demands. Among all tested FPSE membranes, the highest extraction efficiency was achieved by employing sol-gel poly(tetrahydrofuran) (sol-gel PTHF) coating on 100% cotton cellulose fabric that represents a medium polarity microextraction device, which combined the advanced material characteristics of sol-gel sorbent and the rich surface chemistry of an inherent porous cellulose fabric substrate. The chromatographic separation was accomplished with a Spherisorb C18 column and an isocratic mobile phase consisted of ammonium acetate and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1.4 mL/min. The total analysis time was 13.6 min. The analytical adequacy of the composite sample preparation and chromatographic separation method was strongly evidenced by its successful application in the bioanalysis of real cancerous and non-cancerous tissue samples originated from different sub regions of human breast including axila, the upper left and the right quadrant. In all samples, at least one paraben was detected, while 35% of the samples were tested positive for all seven target parabens. Moreover, concentration levels of parabens in cancerous tissues were unambiguously higher than in healthy tissues. The obtained results underlined bioaccumulation potential of parabens in human breast tissue as a consequence of constant low-dose exposure of humans, despite the statutory concentration limits. The developed methodology has demonstrated to be suitable and efficient for future epidemiological and toxicological studies.

Comparison of dried matrix spots and fabric phase sorptive extraction methods for quantification of highly potent analgesic activity agent (2R,4aR,7R,8aR)-4,7-dimethyl-2-(thiophen-2-yl)octahydro-2H-chromen-4-ol in rat whole blood and plasma using LC-MS/MS

The methods for quantification of highly potent analgesic agent (2R,4aR,7R,8aR)-4,7-dimethyl-2-(thiophen-2-yl)octahydro-2H-chromen-4-ol in rat whole blood and plasma were developed and validated using dried matrix spots (DMS) or fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) techniques in combination with LC-MS/MS. 2-Adamantylamine hydrochloride was used as an internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was carried out on a reversed-phase column (2.0×75 mm, 5 μm) using water containing 0.1% formic acid and methanol containing 0.1% formic acid as mobile phases in gradient mode at a flow rate of 200 μL/min. The mass spectrometric detection was performed using electrospray ionization (ESI) in positive ion mode. MRM transitions were m/z 284.5 → 137.2/157.4 for the analgesic agent and m/z 152.3 → 93.1/107.2 for IS. Calibration curves were linear within 20-5000 ng/mL in dried plasma spots (DPS) or dried blood spots (DBS) experiments. The linearity was obtained in the range of 20-5000 ng/mL and 50-5000 ng/mL for plasma-FPSE and blood-FPSE experiments, respectively. The intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision did not exceed acceptable limits. The mean extraction recovery (%) was 26 for DPS, 25 for DBS, 38 for plasma-FPSE, 31 for blood-FPSE.