Electromembrane extraction based on a fabricated novel carrier-mediated gel membrane: Determination of fluoroquinolones residue in urine and wastewater samples

Abstract

This study reports the fabrication and application of green material, pectin gel containing cationic carrier agent as a green membrane in electromembrane extraction of polar fluoroquinolones for the first time. In this study, apple pomace pectin gel has been used with a low esterification degree (29 %) containing cetyl tributyl ammonium bromide at a concentration lower than its critical micelle concentration as a cationic carrier and ion-pairing agent as a gel membrane for electromembrane extraction of polar fluoroquinolones, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin from urine and wastewater samples successfully. To make a gel membrane, pectin is dissolved in hot water along with the ionic carrier cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and a gel-like substance with the ability to be molded is obtained. The gel-like substance is molded in a warm state inside the Eppendorf microtube and after being placed in the refrigerator for hardening, the end of the microtube is cut and the gel membrane is ready to use. Under optimized conditions, the suggested method demonstrated low detection limits toward target analytes (0.003 and 0.025 ng/mL for levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin respectively), a wide linear dynamic range (0.02–1000 and 0.2–1000 ng/mL for levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin respectively), as well as high sample clean-up and proper precision (intra-day RSD 7.4–13.5 %).