Microextraction by packed sorbent and salting-out-assisted liquid–liquid extraction for the determination of aromatic amines formed from azo dyes in textiles

In situ formation of chloroform for dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of some aromatic amines from aqueous samples optimized by central composite design prior to GC-MS analysis

In the current research, an in situ solvent formation-liquid phase microextraction method based on chloroform has been introduced as an efficient sample preparation procedure and applied for the extraction and preconcentration of some aromatic amines from wastewaters. In this method, chloral hydrate (2,2,2-trichloroethane-1,1-diol) was added to an alkaline solution of the samples in order to form chloroform as an extraction solvent in the sample solution. Thus, the selected analytes were transferred from the aqueous solution into the tiny droplets of the produced chloroform. Following this, the extracted and enriched analytes were quantified using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Experimental conditions of the proposed method including the chloral hydrate amount, salt effect, extraction time, and sodium hydroxide concentration were studied and optimized by a central composite design approach. By the offered method, high enrichment factors (292-324) with satisfactory extraction recoveries (82-91%), low limits of detection (0.26-0.39 ng mL^-1), and proper repeatability (relative standard deviations ≤6.3% for intra- and inter-day precisions) were achieved under optimum conditions. Eventually, the suggested method was assessed through the quantification of aromatic amines in aqueous samples.

Microextraction approaches for bioanalytical applications: An overview

Biological samples are usually complex matrices due to the presence of proteins, salts and a variety of organic compounds with chemical properties similar to those of the target analytes. Therefore, sample preparation is often mandatory in order to isolate the analytes from troublesome matrices before instrumental analysis. Because the number of samples in drug development, doping analysis, forensic science, toxicological analysis, and preclinical and clinical assays is steadily increasing, novel high throughput sample preparation approaches are calling for. The key factors in this development are the miniaturization and the automation of the sample preparation approaches so as to cope with most of the twelve principles of green chemistry. In this review, recent trends in sample preparation and novel strategies will be discussed in detail with particular focus on sorptive and liquid-phase microextraction in bioanalysis. The actual applicability of selective sorbents is also considered. Additionally, the role of 3D printing in microextraction for bioanalytical methods will be pinpointed.

Enzymatic treatment for removal of hazardous aqueous arylamines, 4,4'-methylenedianiline and 4,4'-thiodianiline

The search for an effective and sustainable treatment method to remove the recalcitrant atom-bridged bis-anilino compounds, 4,4'-methylenedianiline (MDA) and 4,4'-thiodianiline (TDA) from water is a major challenge and focus of this study. The escalating discharge of these two toxic and carcinogenic pollutants from industrial sources may pose a serious threat to the environment. Crude soybean peroxidase (SBP), isolated from soybean seed hulls (coats), catalyzes the oxidative polymerization of these aqueous pollutants in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The effects of several process parameters, i.e., pH, hydrogen peroxide-to-substrate concentration ratio and SBP concentration, were investigated to optimize the performance of enzymatic treatment. The minimum effective SBP concentration required for removal of MDA was 0.70 U/mL, which was higher than that of TDA (0.15 U/mL). The reaction time course to achieve ≥95% removal of these compounds from water was determined under those optimum conditions. Identification of the transformed products was performed by means of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The products generally observed were protonated oxidized oxidative dimers and higher oligomers (most commonly azo-coupled products). Michaelis constant, KM, and maximum reaction velocity, Vmax, obtained from the Michaelis-Menten (M-M) model revealed that TDA had a 65-fold lower KM than MDA (indicating TDA's higher affinity for SBP), and almost 5-fold higher Vmax than MDA. A pro-forma cost analysis is presented to assess the possibility of commercialization of enzymatic treatment as an alternative to conventional/traditional treatment methods.

Aromatic amines equilibrium sorptive interaction with synthesized silica based mesoporous MCM-41: Physicochemical evaluation and isotherm modeling

Present study reports the adsorption of aromatic amine, 4-chloro-o-toluidine (4-COT), onto synthesized mesoporous Mobil Composition of Matter No. 41 (MCM-41) silica nanoparticles, in batch mode. Synthesized MCM-41 was characterized by XRD, BET, FTIR, SEM and TEM analysis. The effects of pH, MCM-41 dose, 4-COT concentration, contact time and temperature were studied, and interaction of 4-COT with the surface of MCM-41 and adsorption process controlling mechanism were investigated. BET analysis of MCM-41 showed 502.77 m² g^-1 of surface area. Kinetic experimental data were well represented by the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models well represented the adsorption equilibrium isotherm data.

Current trends on microextraction by packed sorbent – fundamentals, application fields, innovative improvements and future applications

MEPS, the acronym of microextraction by packed sorbent, is a simple, fast and user- and environmentally-friendly miniaturization of the popular solid-phase extraction technique (SPE).

Novel approach for the rapid screening of banned aromatic amines in dyed textiles using a chromogenic method

A novel and simple method utilizing a chromogenic reaction on filter paper is introduced for the rapid screening of banned aromatic amines released from azo dyes. The proposed method involves the sample preparation protocols outlined by the current standard method and the chromogenic reaction of extracted aromatic amines on filter paper. Based on the principle of the reaction between primary amines and aldehydes, p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB) was used as the chromogenic reagent for the rapid screening of 24 carcinogenic aromatic amines and aniline without any chromatographic instruments under optimized experimental conditions. The detection limit for all the aromatic amines in this study was less than 15 mg/kg. A total of 727 dyed textile samples were analyzed using both the present standard method and the proposed method simultaneously. Using the proposed method, a total of 471 samples did not require further instrumental analysis, which can dramatically save instrumental detection time (61.2%), can decrease instrumental detection costs, and can avoid the use of large amounts of toxic reagents. The proposed method has been applied to detect banned aromatic amines in some inspection institutions and dye factories and has large social and economic benefits. Graphical abstract Chromogenic reaction methods.

Supramolecular nanosolvent-based hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction as a novel method for simultaneous preconcentration of acidic, basic and amphiprotic pollutants

In this study, for the first time, coextraction of acidic, basic and amphiprotic pollutants was performed using supramolecular nano solvent-based hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction.

Coextraction of acidic, basic and amphiprotic pollutants using multiwalled carbon nanotubes/magnetite nanoparticles@polypyrrole composite

The simultaneous extraction of acidic, basic and amphiprotic pollutants from various samples is a considerable and disputable concept in sample preparation strategies. In this study, for the first time, coextraction of acidic, basic and amphiprotic pollutants (polar and apolar) with multiwalled carbon nanotubes/Fe3O4@polypyrrole (MWCNTs/Fe3O4@PPy) composite based dispersive micro-solid phase extraction followed by high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detection was introduced. Firstly, the extraction efficiency of various magnetic nanosorbents including Fe3O4, MWCNTs/Fe3O4, graphene oxide/Fe3O4 (GO/Fe3O4), Fe3O4@PPy, MWCNTs/Fe3O4@PPy and GO/Fe3O4@PPy were compared. The results revealed that MWCNTs/Fe3O4@PPy nanocomposite has higher extraction efficiency for five selected model analytes (4-nitrophenol, 3-nitroaniline, 2,4-dichloroaniline, 3,4-dichloroaniline and 1-amino-2-naphthol). Box-Behnken design methodology combined with desirability function approach was applied to find out the optimal experimental conditions. The opted conditions were: pH of the sample, 8.2; sorbent amount, 12 mg; sorption time, 5.5 min; salt concentration, 14% w/w; type and volume of the eluent, 120 μL acetonitrile; elution time; 2 min. Under the optimum conditions detection limits and linear dynamic ranges were achieved in the range of 0.1-0.25 μg L(-1) and 0.5-600 μg L(-1), respectively. The percent of extraction recovery and relative standard deviations (n=5) were in the range of 45.6-82.2 and 4.0-8.5, respectively. Ultimately, the applicability of this method was successfully confirmed by analyzing rain, snow and river water samples and satisfactory results were obtained.

Use of microextraction by packed sorbents following selective pressurised liquid extraction for the determination of brominated diphenyl ethers in sewage sludge by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

In this work, a method based on selective pressurised liquid extraction followed by microextraction by packed sorbents (MEPS) for the determination of brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) in sewage sludge is presented. The factors affecting the MEPS procedure were optimised. Acetone:water (25:75) sPLE extracts were drawn-ejected 10 times through C18 cartridges at 5 μL s(-1). The cartridge was dried five times with 250 μL of air and the BDEs were eluted at 25 μL s(-1) with 100 μL of n-hexane that were directly injected at 13 μL s(-1) in the GC-MSMS system. Under these conditions, there were no carry-over effects. The method was characterised in terms of limits of detection, repeatability, intermediate precision and accuracy. The use of MEPS for the determination of BDEs in sewage sludge means an improvement of the limits of detection due to the preconcentration and clean-up performed before the injection of the whole elute in the PTV injector. The GC-MSMS LODs (25 pg mL(-1)) were improved with MEPS to less than 3 pg mL(-1). RSD less than 7% and recovery values from 92% to 102% were shown. Finally, the method was applied to the sPLE extract analyses of sewage sludge from several wastewater treatment plants in La Rioja. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the MEPS technique has been applied to the analysis of BDEs, and the first time that it has been used for the analysis of extracts from a solid sample.