Determination of B Vitamins by Double-Vortex-Ultrasonic Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction and Evaluation of their Possible Roles in Susceptibility to COVID-19 Infection: Hybrid Box-Behnken Design and Genetic Algorithm.

Abstract

In this study, double-vortex-ultrasonic assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DVUDLLME) was applied to determine the concentration of vitamin B9, 5-methyl tetrahydrofolate (5-MeTHF) and vitamin B12 in human serum samples. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with DVUDLLME was applied to analyze vitamins B in patients with Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Then, significant variables were chosen and optimized using the hybrid Box-Behnken design and genetic algorithm. The detection limits of DVUDLLME-HPLC were 0.21ngmL-1, 0.18ngmL-1 and 55 pgmL-1 for vitamin B9, 5-MeTHF and vitamin B12, respectively. Subsequently, DVUDLLME-HPLC was applied to measure B vitamins and investigated their possible roles in susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. Fifty-seven percent of the patients without an underlying disease have significantly lower serum vitamin B12 levels in comparison to controls. The advantages of this method are low detection limit, simple preparation, low retention time and the use of a cheaper technique instead of expensive mass detectors. The results suggest that vitamin B12 deficiency may decrease the immune system defenses against COVID-19 patients without an underlying disease and cause the disease to become severe. However, these works need a large population and further research, such as a randomized trial and a cohort study.