Development of Ultra-sensitive Method for Determination of Trace Atrazine Herbicide in Environmental Water Using Magnetic Graphene Oxide-Based Solid-Phase Extraction Coupled with Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Prior to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides and has caused much concern about its toxic effects on human and ecosystem. In the present work, a new and efficient method for ultra-trace determination of atrazine in water was developed, using magnetic graphene oxide-based solid-phase extraction combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometric determination. The effects of sample pH, contact time, type and volume of elution solvent and extraction solvent, desorption time, and salt addition on the extraction efficiency of atrazine were examined and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, an enrichment factor of 1033 and a detection limit of 0.6 ng L−1 for atrazine were achieved. The developed method was applied to the detection of atrazine in river water, lake water, pond water, and groundwater samples, with spiked recovery of 96–102% and RSD of 2.9–10.5%. Therefore, the proposed method allows proper monitoring of trace atrazine in various environmental waters.