Dual functional monomers modified magnetic adsorbent for the enrichment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in water and urine samples

Abstract

According to the molecular properties of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSADs), a new adsorbent for magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) was designed and synthesized. Triethyl-(4-vinylbenzyl)aminium chloride and 4-vinylbenzeneboronic acid were utilized as dual functional monomers to copolymerize with divinylbenzene on the surface of pre-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The prepared magnetic adsorbent (Fe3O4@TCVA) was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. Due to the abundant boronic acid, quaternary amine and phenyl groups, the Fe3O4@TCVA displayed satisfactory extraction performance for target NSADs (diclofenac acid, ibuprofen and mefenamic acid) by means of B-N coordination, anion-exchange, π-π and hydrophobic interactions. Under the optimized conditions, the Fe3O4@TCVA/MSPE was combined with high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) to sensitively analyze NSADs in water and human urine samples. Results indicated that the limits of detection for water and urine samples were in the ranges of 0.014–0.031 μg/L and 0.029–0.11 μg/L, respectively. The relative standard deviations for the intra-day and inter-day assay variability were below 10%. The applicability of the proposed Fe3O4@TCVA/MSPE-HPLC-DAD method was demonstrated by the successful extraction and quantification of trace levels of NSADs in real water and human urine samples. Satisfactory spiked recovery and reproducibility were achieved.