Rapid determination of anilines in water samples by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Abstract

A rapid, sensitive and environmentally friendly method for the analysis of 14 anilines in water samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on solidification of floating organic drop (DLLME-SFO) prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed and optimized. In the proposed method, cyclohexane was used as the extraction solvent as its toxicity was much lower than that of the solvent usually used in dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). In the optimized conditions, the method exhibited good analytical performance. Based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3, limits of detection for anilines were in the range of 0.07 to 0.29 μg L(-1), and the linear range was 0.5-200 μg L(-1) with regression coefficients (r(2)) higher than 0.9977. It was efficient for qualitative and quantitative analysis of anilines in water samples. The relative standard deviations varied from 2.9 to 8.6% depending on different compounds indicating good precision. Tap water and river water were selected for evaluating the application to real water samples. The relative recoveries of anilines for the two real samples spiked with 10 μg L(-1) anilines were in the scope of 78.2-114.6% and 77.3-115.6%, respectively.