Indirectly suspended droplet microextraction of water-miscible organic solvents by salting-out effect for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Abstract

A simple and low-cost method that indirectly suspended droplet microextraction of water-miscible organic solvents (ISDME) by salting-out effect before high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) detection was used for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different samples. The ISDME is a combination of salting-out extraction of water-miscible organic solvent and directly suspended droplet microextraction (DSDME). Ninety-five microliters water-miscible organic solvent (1-propanol) was added to a 500-µL sample. A homogeneous solution was formed immediately. To produce a steady vortex at the top of the solution, the sample was agitated at 700 rpm using a magnetic stirrer. By the addition of ammonium sulfate (saturated solution) to the homogeneous solution, 1-propanol was separated and collected at the bottom of the steady vortex. Finally, 20 µL 1-propanol was injected into HPLC-UV. The effects of important parameters such as water-miscible organic solvent (type and volume), type of salt, and extraction time were evaluated. Under optimum conditions, the method has a good linear calibration range (0.1 µg/L-300 µg/L), coefficients of determination (R(2) > 0.998), low limits of detection (between 0.02 µg/L and 0.27 µg/L), and acceptable recovery (>85.0%).