Extraction and preconcentration of parabens from the human follicular fluid through dispersive micro solid phase extraction using microporous MIL-68 (In) followed by in-situ effervescence-boosted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction

Abstract

For the first time in this study, a microextraction method was developed to perform follicular fluid safety assessment analysis. The drastic importance of follicular fluid safety on the proper nourishment and development of oocytes caused the development of the present method. Since women are regularly exposed to parabens through cosmetics, healthcare, and hygienic products, the infection of body fluids is probable in long-term exposures. Also, for the first time, MIL-68 (In) was applied in an analytical method. Moreover, a new method called in-situ effervescence-boosted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was adopted for the simultaneous derivatization and preconcentration of the target parabens. To perform the method, 25 mg of MIL-68 (In) was dispersed into the solution of follicular fluid by vortexing. Then, 1.0 mL of 2-propanol was used to elute the analytes from the absorbent via vortexing. The analyte-enriched organic phase was mixed with 100 µL of acetic anhydride (derivatization agent) and 27 µL 1,2-dibromoethane (extraction solvent) which was swiftly injected into a sodium carbonate solution. Following the centrifugation, the extraction solvent was sedimented at the bottom of a conical bottom glass test tube and an aliquot of it was injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. Wide linear ranges (120–25000 µg L-1), satisfactory extraction recoveries (31–79%) and enrichment factors (31−79), and appreciable limits of detection (7–36 µg L-1) and quantification (25–120 µg L-1) were recorded. The high surface area of MIL-68 (In) (608.82 m2 g-1) and its significantly low average pore diameter (13.829 A°) provide an ideal platform for the extraction of parabens from the complex matrix of follicular fluid.