Green Bioanalytical Applications of Graphene Oxide for the Extraction of Small Organic Molecules

Abstract

Bioanalysis is the scientific field of the quantitative determination of xenobiotics (e.g., drugs and their metabolites) and biotics (e.g., macromolecules) in biological matrices. The most common samples in bioanalysis include blood (i.e., serum, plasma and whole blood) and urine. However, the analysis of alternative biosamples, such as hair and nails are gaining more and more attention. The main limitations for the determination of small organic compounds in biological samples is their low concentration in these matrices, in combination with the sample complexity. Therefore, a sample preparation/analyte preconcentration step is typically required. Currently, the development of novel microextraction and miniaturized extraction techniques, as well as novel adsorbents for the analysis of biosamples, in compliance with the requirements of Green Analytical Chemistry, is in the forefront of research in analytical chemistry. Graphene oxide (GO) is undoubtedly a powerful adsorbent for sample preparation that has been successfully coupled with a plethora of green extraction techniques. GO is composed of carbon atoms in a sp2 single-atom layer of a hybrid connection, and it exhibits high surface area, as well as good mechanical and thermal stability. In this review, we aim to discuss the applications of GO and functionalized GO derivatives in microextraction and miniaturized extraction techniques for the determination of small organic molecules in biological samples.

Unconventional stationary phases: Nanomaterials, nanoparticles and the future of liquid chromatography

“…At the same time, the porous structure allows for facile diffusion of small molecules, resulting in high efficiency and sensitive detection even of trace components. This enables highly sensitive proteomic analyses, early diagnosis of diseases from low-level biomarkers and monitoring of drug responses [13]. The sensitivity, resolution, and applicability of traditional liquid chromatography techniques are compared in Table 2.…”

Green Extraction Techniques as Advanced Sample Preparation Approaches in Biological, Food, and Environmental Matrices: A Review

“…Since its introduction in 2014, many examples of applications involving biological samples have been reported in the literature, such as the cow and human breast milk sample clean-up for screening bisphenol A and residual dental restorative material [83]; the simultaneous monitoring of inflammatory bowel disease treatment drugs [84] and anticancer drugs [85] in whole blood, plasma, and urine; or the assessment of radiation exposure [86] (Table S1). The use of magnetic nanoparticles as microextraction sorbents in MSPE also results in a very simple and efficient extraction procedure because the sorbent can be tailored to extract specific analytes, and the sorbent-retained analyte complex can be easily recovered from the solution using a magnetic field or magnet [87]. MSPE has been used to extract different drugs from urine, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) [88], methadone [89], pseudoephedrine [90], fluoxetine [91], and statins [92], as well as antiepileptic drugs [93] or ibuprofen [94] from plasma (Table S1).…”

Synthesis and Application of the Magnetic Nanocomposite GO-Chm for the Extraction of Benzodiazepines from Surface Water Samples Prior to HPLC-PDA Analysis

“…Carbon-based nanomaterials and nanocomposites fulfill the requirements discussed above, while also being ideal for the extraction of small organic molecules, preferably aromatic compounds due to the π-π interactions that take place, and of metal ions because of their rich surface chemistry and the variety of functional groups they possess [12,13]. Therefore, they can be used as adsorbents in a variety of microextraction techniques, such as stir bar sorptive dispersive microextraction (SBSDME) [14] or magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) [15].…”