Ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid antisolvent precipitation for extraction of polar organic compounds in water

• Published in: Analytica chimica acta 2020-10, Vol.1135, p.91-98
• Main Authors: Hosseini, Zahra, Madrakian, Tayyebeh, Ahmadi, Mazaher, Afkhami, Abbas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Congo Red; Determination; Doxorubicin; Liquid antisolvent precipitation; Methylene blue; Polar organic compounds
• ISSN: 0003-2670; 1873-4324
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.08.027

This paper reports on the development of an extraction method called “ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid antisolvent precipitation (UA-DLAP)”. The developed method is a combination of dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) and liquid antisolvent precipitation (LAP) methods. Unlike DLLME, the extraction solvent in UA-DLAP is replaced with a bad solvent for the analyte which has a low affinity toward the analyte (antisolvent). Unlike LAP, in UA-DLAP the analyte is dissolved in water, the antisolvent is water-immiscible and denser than water, and the needed volume of the antisolvent is in microliter range. In UA-DLAP, after the addition of a mixture of the antisolvent and a disperser solvent to the sample solution under sonication, a cloudy mixture containing the antisolvent micro/nanodroplets appears. After centrifugation of the mixture, three phases appear (a water-rich phase in the top, an analyte rich precipitate phase in middle, and an antisolvent rich phase in the bottom). Finally, the analyte rich precipitate phase is separated and dissolved in a back-extraction solvent. To evaluate the efficiency of the UA-DLAP method and its possible mechanism of action, three model polar organic compounds in water were extracted by UA-DLAP and determined spectrophotometrically. The results showed that the precipitate phase for all of the investigated analytes was nanostructured. The limits of detection were 22 ng mL−1, 11 ng mL−1, and 3.9 ng mL−1 for doxorubicin, methylene blue, and Congo red, respectively. Respective experimental enrichment factors were 18.3, 27.8, and 31.1. [Display omitted] •UA-DLAP, a combination of DLLME and LAP methods was developed.•Unlike DLLME, the extraction solvent in UA-DLAP is an antisolvent.•Unlike LAP, in UA-DLAP the needed volume of the antisolvent is in the microliter range.•The effective extraction of polar organic compounds in water was achieved using UA-DLAP.