Insights into the Effect of the PDMS-Layer on the Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Analyte Sorption onto the Matrix-Compatible Solid Phase Microextraction Coating

Combined effects of pH and dissolved organic matter on the availability of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aqueous environment

The interaction between pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) with dissolved organic matter (DOM) can alter their bioavailability and toxicity. Nevertheless, little is known about how pH and DOM work together to affect the availability of PPCPs. This study investigated the impact of pH and DOM on the availability of seven PPCPs, namely Carbamazepine, Estrone, Bisphenol A, Testosterone Propionate, Triclocarban, 4-tert-Octylphenol and 4-n-Nonylphenol, using negligible depletion solid-phase microextraction (nd-SPME). The uptake kinetics of PPCPs by the nd-SPME fibers increased proportionally with DOM concentrations, likely due to enhanced diffusive conductivity in the unstirred water layer. At neutral pH, the partitioning coefficients of PPCPs for Humic Acid (log KDOC 3.87-5.25) were marginally higher than those for Fulvic Acid (log KDOC 3.64-5.11). Also, the log KDOC values correlated linearly with the log DOW (pH 7.0) values of PPCPs, indicating a predominant role for hydrophobic interactions in the binding of DOM and PPCPs. Additionally, specific interactions like hydrogen bonding, π-π, and electrostatic interactions occur for certain compounds, influenced by the polarity and spatial conformation of the compounds. For these ionizable PPCPs, the log DDOC values exhibit a strong dependence on pH due to the dual influence of pH on both DOM and PPCPs. The log DDOC values rose from pH 1.0 to 3.0, peaked at pH 5.0 to 9.0, and then (sharply) declined from 11.0 to 13.0. The reasons are that in strong acidic circumstances, the coiled and compressed shape of DOM inhibits the hydrophobic interaction, whereas in strong alkaline conditions, significant electrostatic repulsion reduces the sorption. This study reveals that the effects of DOM on the bioavailability of PPCPs are dependent on both pH and the specific compound involved.

Nanoscale-controlled organicinorganic hybrid spheres for comprehensive enrichment of ultratrace chlorobenzenes in marine and fresh water

The size of the adsorbent has the potential to influence extraction performance, but the size effect at the nanoscale is still poorly understood. In this study, organic-inorganic hybrid nanospheres (OIHNs) with controllable nanoscale sizes of 30, 50, and 100 nm were successfully prepared. These materials were further fabricated as solid phase microextraction (SPME) coatings with similar thicknesses, and coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to investigate their extraction performance. The results showed that the extraction capacities of OIHNs for chlorobenzenes (CBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were much better than those of their corresponding derived carbon materials, despite the smaller specific surface areas and lower porosities of them. In addition, the enrichment performance increased significantly with decreasing particle size, and the OIHN-30 coating demonstrated the best performance, with enrichment factors ranging from 1098 to 6853 for CBs. Finally, a highly sensitive and practical analytical method was established with a wide linear range of 0.5-5000 ng·L-1, and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.43-1.7 ng·L-1. The determinations of ultratrace CBs in five marine water samples and five fresh water samples were realized successfully. This study is expected to contribute to a deep understanding of the environmental effects of nanoparticles and the design of high-performance adsorbents.

Effects of nanoplastics and microplastics on the availability of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aqueous environment

Nanoplastics (NPs) and microplastics (MPs) could act as potential carriers for pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and alter the bioavailability in the aquatic environment. The effects of NPs and MPs of polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE) on the availability of five PPCPs including carbamazepine, bisphenol A, estrone, triclocarban and 4-tert-octylphenol were investigated by negligible depletion solid- phase microextraction (nd-SPME). The freely dissolved concentrations of PPCPs decreased with the increasing concentrations of NPs/MPs. The overall order of the sorption coefficients (logK_NP / logK_MP) of PPCPs was as follows: 100 nm PS > 50 nm PS > 1 µm PS > 100 µm PS > 100 µm PE. Sorption of PPCPs by NPs was generally 1-2 orders of magnitude stronger than to MPs. The log K_NP / log K_MP values (3.16-5.21) increased with the log K_OW (2.45-5.28) of PPCPs, however, linear correlation was only observed between log K_MP and log K_OW. The particle size, specific surface area, aggregation state as well as hydrophobicity played an important role in the sorption. Coexistence of fulic acid (FA) with NPs inhibited the sorption due to the fouling of FA on NPs. This study suggests that sorption of PPCPs to MPs/NPs could reduce bioavailability of PPCPs in the aquatic environment.

Novel solid-phase microextraction fiber coatings: A review

The materials used for the fabrication of solid-phase microextraction fiber coatings in the past five years are summarized in the current review, including carbon, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks, aerogel, polymer, ionic liquids/poly (ionic liquids), metal oxides, and natural materials. The preparation approaches of different coatings, such as sol-gel technique, in-situ growth, electrodeposition, and glue methods, are briefly reviewed together with the evolution of the supporting substrates. In addition, the limitations of the current coatings and the future development directions of solid-phase microextraction are presented.

The Effect of Sorbent Particles in a Binder on the Mass Transfer Kinetics in Separation Media: In Silico Study and Experimental Verification

Selecting the optimal binder and the sorbent affinity for selected compounds can cause the composite to behave either as an efficient extraction coating, as a permeable membrane, or as an impermeable barrier. If the compound partitions onto the sorbent with high preference, it becomes stationary and the composite behaves as an impermeable barrier, while appropriately optimized affinity will result in effective permeation. To understand this phenomenon, we utilize solid-phase microextraction to characterize the mass transfer attributes of different separation composites. Our results indicate that for strong sorbents, the extraction rate is primarily controlled by the diffusion in the extraction phase rather than the sample matrix, even if it is relatively thin. Low analyte diffusion is caused by the retarding force generated by the partitioning of analytes into the sorbent, as migration through the composite is driven by the unbound form of the compound in the binder. One of the main contributions of this work is that an understanding of the extraction composite parameters that control mass transfer during extraction enables better optimization of binder/sorbent extraction phase composition for a given application. Another contribution of this work shows how a heterogeneous coating model can be simplified into a homogeneous coating model. The developed models enable an enhanced understanding of mass transfer kinetics, and they provide insight into how to optimize the extraction phase parameters for a given method involving sorbent particles in polymeric media, including membranes and paints, in addition to extraction coatings.

Overcoming matrix effects in the analysis of pyrethroids in honey by a fully automated direct immersion solid-phase microextraction method using a matrix-compatible fiber

Pyrethroids insecticides may constitute a major hazard to honeybees, leading to colony collapse disorder. However, the determination of pyrethroids in honey has remained a challenging undertaking for analysts to date due to the high complexity of this matrix as well as the MRLs. This paper presents a fully automated method to overcome matrix influences using matrix-compatible overcoated SPME fiber for quantitative analysis of pyrethroids in diluted honey by GC-MS. The developed method was optimized using a multivariate approach providing LOQ values much lower than the stablished MRL (0.10-10 ng/g), while granting satisfactory linearity (R² > 0.998) in a wide linear range of 0.1-2000 ng/g, repeatability with RSDs < 10%, reproducibility RSDs < 20%, and accuracy ranging from 75 to 118% and from 82 to 120 % for inter-day and intra-day assays, respectively by using five replicates. The method herein proposed overcomes challenges presented by complex matrices while minimizing sample handling and the overall complexity of the procedure.

Green solid-phase microextraction fiber coating based on the metal-organic framework CIM-80(Al): Analytical performance evaluation in direct immersion and headspace using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the analysis of water, urine and brewed coffee

A new solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coating was prepared by the immobilization of the metal-organic framework (MOF) CIM-80(Al) on nitinol wires by a green in situ growth approach, using an aqueous synthetic approach, and without the need of any additional material to ensure the attachment of the MOF to the nitinol support. The coating was used for the development of headspace (HS) and direct immersion (DI) SPME methods in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as model compounds. Both methods were optimized and validated using the MOF-based fiber together with the commercial polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber. The MOF extraction phase exhibited superior analytical performance for most of the PAHs in HS-SPME mode (and particularly for less volatiles), while the PDMS fiber presented better results in the DI-SPME method. The analytical performance of the MOF sorbent coating in HS- and DI-SPME methods was also evaluated in urine and brewed coffee samples, without requiring any pretreatment step apart from dilution for DI-SPME experiments, thus showing suitability of the novel coatings for the analysis of complex samples. The proposed CIM-80(Al) fiber was efficient and biocompatible (for using a low cytotoxic sorbent and a biocompatible core support), and it also demonstrated stability and robustness, with inter-fiber (and inter-day) relative standard deviation values lower than 19%, and reusability for more than 80 extraction cycles using 280 °C as desorption temperature.

Inhibition of water adsorption into polar solid-phase microextraction materials with ultrathin polydimethylsiloxane coating for thermal desorption-gas chromatography analysis

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with thermal desorption-gas chromatography (TD-GC) has become a powerful analysis tool for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in water samples. However, water adsorption into polar microextraction phase is usually unavoidable during the extraction process, and the burst of large amounts of water vapour during thermal desorption will cause serious problems to GC separation and detectors. Pawliszyn's group had demonstrated that the tens of micron-thick, defect-free polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating could act as a perfect barrier for water adsorption and offer much better compatibility in complex matrices. However, the PDMS overcoat largely decreased the uptake rate of polar analytes into the inner sorbent. In order to quantify the effect of PDMS coating thickness on water adsorption amount and the extraction kinetics, ultrathin PDMS layer was used to coat the polar extraction phase with polyimide (PI) as a model in this work. It was surprising to find that the PDMS coating with the thickness less than one micron can decrease the water adsorption by 96%, while the extraction efficiency for polar analytes (phenolic compounds and nitroaromatic explosives) was decreased by less than 20% at the extraction time of 30 min. Moreover, the kinetic data showed that the thinner the PDMS coating was, the less the uptake rate of polar analytes into PI extraction phase decreased. Finally, polar poly (phthalazine ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK) extraction phase was also coated with ultrathin PDMS coating to verify the universality of the strategy. Generally, the water adsorption problem in polar SPME was overcome to a great extent, and the extraction efficiency of polar analytes was mainly preserved with this ultrathin PDMS coating, which could broaden the application of SPME in the environmental field.

Optimization of Time-Weighted Average Air Sampling by Solid-Phase Microextraction Fibers Using Finite Element Analysis Software

Determination of time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is advantageous over other sampling techniques, but is often characterized by insufficient accuracies, particularly at longer sampling times. Experimental investigation of this issue and disclosing the origin of the problem is problematic and often not practically feasible due to high uncertainties. This research is aimed at developing the model of the TWA extraction process and optimization of TWA air sampling by SPME using finite element analysis software (COMSOL Multiphysics, Burlington, MA, USA). It was established that sampling by porous SPME coatings with high affinity to analytes is affected by slow diffusion of analytes inside the coating, an increase of their concentrations in the air near the fiber tip due to equilibration, and eventual lower sampling rate. The increase of a fiber retraction depth (Z) resulted in better recoveries. Sampling of studied VOCs using 23 ga Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (Car/PDMS) assembly at maximum possible Z (40 mm) was proven to provide more accurate results. Alternative sampling configuration based on 78.5 × 0.75 mm internal diameter SPME liner was proven to provide similar accuracy at improved detection limits. Its modification with the decreased internal diameter from the sampling side should provide even better recoveries. The results obtained can be used to develop a more accurate analytical method for determination of TWA concentrations of VOCs in air using SPME. The developed model can be used to simulate sampling of other environments (process gases, water) by retracted SPME fibers.

Fabrication of a Flexible and Stretchable Nanostructured Gold Electrode Using a Facile Ultraviolet-Irradiation Approach for the Detection of Nitric Oxide Released from Cells

We developed a simple and environmentally friendly ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation-assisted technique to fabricate a stretchable, nanostructured gold film as a flexible electrode for the detection of NO release. The flexible gold film endows the electrode with desirable electrochemical stability against mechanical deformation, including bending to different curvatures and bearing repeated bending circumstances (200 times). The flexible nanostructured gold electrodes can catalyze NO oxidation at 0.85 V (as opposed to Ag/AgCl) and detect NO within a wide linearity in the range of 10 nM to 1.295 μM. Its excellent NO-sensing ability and its stretchability together with its biocompatibility allows the electrode to electrochemically monitor NO release from mechanically sensitive HUVECs in both their unstretched and stretched states. This result paves the way for an effective and easily accessible platform for designing stretchable and flexible electrodes and opens more opportunities for sensing chemical-signal molecules released from cells or other biological samples during mechanical stimulation.

SPME-GC×GC-TOF MS fingerprint of virally-infected cell culture: Sample preparation optimization and data processing evaluation

Untargeted metabolomics study of volatile organic compounds produced by different cell cultures is a field that has gained increasing attention over the years. Solid-phase microextraction has been the sampling technique of choice for most of the applications mainly due to its simplicity to implement. However, a careful optimization of the analytical conditions is necessary to obtain the best performances, which are highly matrix-dependent. In this work, five different solid-phase microextraction fibers were compared for the analysis of the volatiles produced by cell culture infected with the human respiratory syncytial virus. A central composite design was applied to determine the best time-temperature combination to maximize the extraction efficiency and the salting-out effect was evaluated as well. The linearity of the optimized method, along with limits of detection and quantification and repeatability was assessed. Finally, the effect of i) different normalization techniques (i.e. z-score and probabilistic quotient normalization), ii) data transformation (i.e. in logarithmic scale), and iii) different feature selection algorithms (i.e. Fisher ratio and random forest) on the capability of discriminating between infected and not-infected cell culture was evaluated.