A new microextraction technique termed hollow fiber-protected liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) was developed. Triazines were employed as model compounds to assess the extraction procedure and were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Toluene functioned as both the extraction solvent and the impregnation solvent. Some important extraction parameters, such as effect of salt, agitation, pH, and exposure time were optimized. The new method provided good average enrichment factors of > 150 for eight analytes, good repeatability (RSDs <3.50%, n = 7), and good linearity (r2 > or = 0.9995) for spiked deionized water samples. The limits of detection (LODs) were in the range of 0.007-0.063 microg/L (S/N = 3) under selected ion monitoring mode. In addition to enrichment, hollow fiber-protected LPME also served as a technique for sample cleanup because of the selectivity of the membrane, which prevented large molecules and extraneous materials, such as humic acids in solution, from being extracted. The utilization of this procedure in the extraction of a slurry sample (mixture of soil and water) also gave good precision (RSDs <5.00%, n = 3) and LODs (0.04-0.18 microg/L, S/N = 3). Finally, the comparison of the new method with the static solvent drop LPME and solid-phase microextraction was performed. The results demonstrated that hollow fiber-protected LPME was a fast, accurate, and stable sample pretreatment method that gave very good enrichment factors for the extraction of triazine herbicides from aqueous or slurry samples.

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A novel, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-supported micro-solid-phase extraction (mu-SPE) procedure has been developed. A 6-mg sample of MWCNTs was packed inside a (2 cm x 1.5 cm) sheet of porous polypropylene membrane whose edges were heat-sealed to secure the contents. The mu-SPE device, which was wetted with dichloromethane, was then placed in a stirred sewage sludge sample solution to extract organophosporous pesticides, used here as model compounds. Tumbling of the extraction device within the sample solution facilitated extraction, and the porous membrane acted as a filter to exclude the extraction of extraneous materials. After extraction, analytes were desorbed in hexane and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Since the porous membrane afforded protection of the MWCNTs, no further cleanup of the extract was required. The pi-pi electrostatic interaction with the analytes and the large surface area of MWCNTs facilitated the adsorption of analytes, with good selectivity and reproducibility. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the method showed good linearity in the range of 0.1-50 mug/L, repeatability of the extractions (RSD 2-8%, n = 4), and low limits of detection (1-7 pg/g). No analyte carryover effect was observed, and each mu-SPE device could be used for up to 30 extractions. Comparison was made with hollow fiber protected solid-phase microextraction and headspace solid-phase microextraction; mu-SPE was demonstrated to be a fast, accurate, and cost-effective pretreatment method for sewage sludge samples.

A dynamic liquid-phase microextraction technique combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is described for the extraction of 10 chlorobenzenes from water samples into 1 microL of organic solvent by using a conventional microsyringe. The effects of extraction solvent, plunger movement pattern, sampling volume, number of samplings, and salt concentration on the extraction performance were investigated. Good repeatabilities of extraction were obtained, with the RSD values below 5.3% except for hexachlorobenzene (9.3%). By using a sampling volume of 6 microL and 15 samplings, detection limits were found to be between 0.02 and 0.05 microgram/L under GC/MS-selective ion monitoring mode.

This paper describes a straightforward approach for stacking extremely large volumes of sample solutions containing small organic and inorganic anions in capillary electrophoresis. The methodology involves the stacking of large sample volumes and the separation of the stacked anions in an acidic buffer (pH <4) without intermediate polarity switching. More than 300-fold enrichment was readily attained in a few minutes in the stacking of two similar organic (maleic and fumaric acids) and two inorganic (bromide and nitrate) anions. The applicability of the technique was tested in the determination of trace amounts of nitrate anion (analyte-to-matrix ratio being 1:2 × 10(4) and 1:2.5 × 10(6)) in analytical-grade potassium bromide and boric acid.

A new two-step microextraction technique, combining dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) and dispersive microsolid-phase extraction (D-micro-SPE), was developed for the fast gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental samples. A feature of the new procedure lies in that any organic solvent immiscible with water can be used as extractant in DLLME. A special apparatus, such as conical-bottom test tubes, and tedious procedures of centrifugation, refrigeration of the solvent, and then thawing it, associated with classical DLLME or similar techniques are not necessary in the new procedure, which potentially lends itself to possible automation. In the present D-micro-SPE approach, hydrophobic magnetic nanoparticles were used to retrieve the extractant of 1-octanol in the DLLME step. It is noteworthy that the target of D-micro-SPE was the 1-octanol rather than the PAHs. Because of the rapid mass transfer associated with the DLLME and the D-micro-SPE steps, fast extraction could be achieved. Parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated in detail. The optimal conditions were as follows: vortex at 3200 rpm in the DLLME step for 2 min and in D-micro-SPE for 1 min and then desorption by sonication for 4 min with acetonitrile as the solvent. The results demonstrated that enrichment factors ranging from 110- to 186-fold were obtained for the analytes. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification were in the range of 11.7-61.4 pg/mL and 0.04-0.21 ng/mL, respectively. The linearities were 0.5-50, 1-50, or 2-50 ng/mL for different PAHs. Finally, the two-step extraction method was successfully used for the fast determination of PAHs in river water samples. This two-step method, combining two different and efficient miniaturized techniques, provides a fast means of sample pretreatment for environmental water samples.

Two modes of liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) combined with hollow fiber (HF) were developed for gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Both methodologies, that is, static LPME with HF and dynamic LPME with HF, involved the use of a small volume of organic solvent impregnated in the hollow fiber, which was held by the needle of a conventional GC syringe. In static LPME/HF, the hollow fiber impregnated with solvent was immersed in the aqueous sample, and the extraction processed under stirring; in dynamic LPME/HF, the solvent was repeatedly withdrawn into and discharged from the hollow fiber by a syringe pump. This is believed to be the first reported instance of a semiautomated liquid microextraction procedure. The performance of the two techniques was demonstrated in the analysis of two PAH compounds in an aqueous sample. Static LPME/HF provided approximately 35-fold enrichment in 10 min and good reproducibility (approximately 4%). Dynamic LPME/HF could provide higher enrichment (approximately 75-fold) in 10 min and even better reproducibility (approximately 3%). Both methods allow the direct transfer of extracted analytes to a GC/MS system for analysis.