Rapid and Sensitive Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Green Tea Samples by Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Coupled to High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been developed for the extraction of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), namely phenanthrene (PHE) and fluoranthene (FLA) in green tea beverage samples. The extracted PAHs were separated and determined by using high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). An experimental design using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) was performed to evaluate the interactive effects of the 2 most significant parameters, namely extraction time and sample pH. The optimal conditions were sample pH of 6.5 with 1.25 min extraction time. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the most influential parameter was the extraction time. The predicted values were obtained in good agreement with the actual value (R2 ≥ 0.9086). Under the optimal extraction conditions, the method demonstrated acceptable linearity (R2  ≥ 0.9996) over a concentration range (10 - 1,000 µg L−1) for different PAHs. The limits of detection and quantifications were in the range of (4 - 10 µg L−1) and (18 - 50 µg L−1), respectively. Good analytes recovery (102 - 110  %) and excellent precision level with relative standard deviations (RSD %, n = 3) were obtained between 1.53 and 4.52 %. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of spiked green tea beverage samples. The proposed method is rapid, reliable, sensitive, and environmentally friendly for the detection of PAHs.
 HIGHLIGHTS
 
 A more efficient sample preparation method is required to measure interferences and enrich target analysis of PAHs residues in green tea, as existing methods are time-consuming, significant tendency to form emulsions, consume large volumes of solvents, and involve disposal of toxic or flammable chemicals
 Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method coupled with a high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) was developed for the analysis of selective PAHs, namely fluoranthene (FLA) and phenanthrene (PHE) in green tea beverage samples
 RSM optimized DLLME parameters based on CCD, and the optimal conditions used during the analysis of PHE and FLA in the green tea samples extracted the non-polar PHE and FLA with good sensitivity. The procedure was simple, rapid, sensitive, and minimized the consumption of organic solvent
 
 GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT