A Novel Glass Fiber Coated with Sol-Gel Poly-Diphenylsiloxane Sorbent for the On-Line Determination of Toxic Metals Using Flow Injection Column Preconcentration Platform Coupled with Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.

Eleni Lazaridou,Kenneth G Furton,Abuzar Kabir,Aristidis Anthemidis

doi:10.3390/molecules26010009

Abstract

A novel simple and sensitive, time-based flow injection solid phase extraction system was developed for the automated determination of metals at low concentration. The potential of the proposed scheme, coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), was demonstrated for trace lead and chromium(VI) determination in environmental water samples. The method, which was based on a new sorptive extraction system, consisted of a microcolumn packed with glass fiber coated with sol–gel poly (diphenylsiloxane) (sol–gel PDPS), which is presented here for the first time. The analytical procedure involves the on-line chelate complex formation of target species with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (APDC), retention onto the hydrophobic sol–gel sorbent coated surface of glass fibers, and finally elution with methyl isobutyl ketone prior to atomization. All main chemical and hydrodynamic factors, which affect the complex formation, retention, and elution of the metal, were optimized thoroughly. Furthermore, the tolerance to potential interfering ions appearing in environmental samples was also explored. Enhancement factors of 215 and 70, detection limits (3 s) of 1.1 μg·L−1 and 1.2 μg·L−1, and relative standard deviations (RSD) of 3.0% (at 20.0 μg·L−1) and 3.2% (at 20.0 μg·L−1) were obtained for lead and chromium(VI), respec tively, for 120 s preconcentration time. The trueness of the developed method was estimated by analyzing certified reference materials and spiked environmental water samples.

Highlights

Flow injection and related techniques have been proved to be suitable for on-line fluidic manipulation as well as for the successful sample processing in an automated operation mode, meeting the standards of green analytical chemistry [1,2]
The application of solid phase microextraction (SPME) fiber coated with sol–gel sorbent for extracting organometals from aqueous samples followed by HPLC analysis was first proposed by Gbatu et al [10] while, up until today, the sol–gel sorbents for extracting metals and organometallics are used only as in-tube or capillary surface coatings, prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) determination [11]
PT: preconcentration time, SC: sample consumption, relative standard deviations (RSD): relative standard deviation, LOD: limit of detection, EF: enrichment factor, GF: Sol–gel PDPS: glass fiber coated with sol–gel poly-diphenylsiloxane, PS-NAPdien: chloromethylated polystyrene functionalized with N,N-bis(naphthylideneimino)diethylenetriamine, THAM: tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamine

Summary

Introduction

Flow injection and related techniques have been proved to be suitable for on-line fluidic manipulation as well as for the successful sample processing in an automated operation mode, meeting the standards of green analytical chemistry [1,2]. On-line sorbent extraction is by far the most utilized sample preparation technique in flow systems due to its straightforward operation, high preconcentration and separation efficiency, versatility and miniaturization ability, as well as advent of advanced sorptive materials such as the sol–gel-based ones. The sol–gel PDMS-coated fiber offers better extraction selectivity than the commercially available one and was found to be efficient in extracting both polar and nonpolar analytes from aqueous samples. The application of SPME fiber coated with sol–gel sorbent for extracting organometals from aqueous samples followed by HPLC analysis was first proposed by Gbatu et al [10] while, up until today, the sol–gel sorbents for extracting metals and organometallics are used only as in-tube or capillary surface coatings, prior to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) determination [11]. A comprehensive review of SPME for trace elements speciation was published by Mester et al [12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion