Temperature-controlled air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating deep eutectic solvents for the determination of triclosan and alkylphenols in water samples via HPLC

Abstract

A novel and green microextraction technique, temperature-controlled air-assisted liquid–liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating deep eutectic solvents (DESs), was developed and applied for the extraction of triclosan and alkylphenols in different environmental waters. Hydrophobic DESs composed of menthol and myristic acid with melting points slightly higher than room temperature (25 ± 2 °C) were prepared and used as extraction solvent. First, the solid DES was transformed into liquid DES while the aqueous sample was heated in a water bath. Then, fine droplets were formed by withdrawing and injecting the mixture of aqueous sample and DES with a 1 mL pipette several times. After extraction, the solidified DES phase was obtained in an ice water bath. And then the analyses were performed by HPLC-UV. The microextraction parameters were investigated by the Plackett-Burman design and central composite design. The analytical parameters of this method were investigated and good linear ranges (0.5/1.0–400 μg/L, R2 ≥ 0.9950), limits of detection (0.1–0.5 μg/L) and precision (≤5.9 %) were obtained. This method was successfully applied for the determination of triclosan and alkylphenols from five water samples with satisfactory recoveries (80.0–104.3 %). Subsequently, the green profile of the method was assessed by analytical Eco-Scale and Complementary Green Analytical Procedure Index. This method has the advantages of simplicity, rapidity, low cost, high sensitivity and green, which expands the application of solid solvents in liquid–liquid microextraction and has a wide application prospect.