Development of a green liquid–liquid microextraction method using a solid disperser performed in a narrow-bore tube for trace analysis of some organophosphorus pesticides in fruit juices

Abstract

A green analytical approach for the determination of trace amounts of organophosphorus pesticides has been proposed using solid-based disperser liquid–liquid microextraction performed in a narrow-bore tube followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. In this method, a sugar cube and acetone (at μL-level) are used as solid disperser and co-disperser, respectively, to facilitate formation of a cloudy state and accelerate mass transfer of the analytes from aqueous solution into the organic phase. The proposed method made possible the determination of analytes in the range of 2–1.0×104μgL−1 with good linearity (coefficients of determination, ≥0.996) and favorable repeatability (relative standard deviation <5% for both intra-day, n=6, and inter-day, n=4, at a concentration of 50μgL−1 of each analyte). Moreover, detection limits and enrichment factors of the analytes ranged from 0.2 to 1.4μgL−1 and 466 to 616, respectively. Relative recoveries (72–102%, obtained at three fortification levels) confirmed the usefulness of the method for analysis of the analytes in fruit juices. The method was shown to be fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly with low organic solvent consumption compared to conventional dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction.