Hollow Fiber-based Liquid Phase Microextraction Research Articles

Sample preparation and instrumental methods for illicit drugs in environmental and biological samples: A review

Detection of illicit drugs in the environmental samples has been challenged as the consumption increases globally. Current review examines the recent developments and applications of sample preparation techniques for illicit drugs in solid, liquid, and gas samples. For solid samples, traditional sample preparation methods such as liquid-phase extraction, solid-phase extraction, and the ones with external energy including microwave-assisted, ultrasonic-assisted, and pressurized liquid extraction were commonly used. The sample preparation methods mainly applied for liquid samples were microextraction techniques including solid-phase microextraction, microextraction by packed sorbent, dispersive solid-phase extraction, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction, hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction, and so on. Capillary microextraction of volatiles and airborne particulate sampling were primarily utilized to extract illicit drugs from gas samples. Besides, the paper introduced recently developed instrumental techniques applied to detect illicit drugs. Liquid chromatograph mass spectrometry and gas chromatograph mass spectrometry were the most widely used methods for illicit drugs samples. In addition, the development of ambient mass spectrometry techniques, such as desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and paper spray mass spectrometry, created potential for rapid in-situ analysis.

Differential pulse voltammetric determination of homovanillic acid as a tumor biomarker in human urine after hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction

Novel method for the determination of a tumor marker homovanillic acid (HVA) in human urine was developed. Combination of hollow fiber – based liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at a cathodically pre-treated boron doped diamond electrode (BDDE) was applied for these purposes. Optimum conditions were: butyl benzoate as supported liquid membrane (SLM) formed on polypropylene HF, 0.1 mol L−1 HCl as donor phase, 0.1 mol L−1 sodium phosphate buffer of pH 6 as acceptor phase, and 30 min extraction time. HF-LPME-DPV concentration dependence was linear in the range from 1.2 to 100 μmol L−1. Limits of quantification (LOQ) and detection (LOD) were 1.2 and 0.4 μmol L−1, respectively. The applicability of the developed method was verified by analysis of human urine. Standard addition method was used, found HVA concentration was 13.5 ± 1.3 μmol L−1, RSD = 9.3% (n=5).

Hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction and HPLC-UV determination of lovastatin in biological fluids

In this study, a hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) method coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was successfully developed for the determination of trace levels of lovastatin in urine and plasma samples. Lovastatin was extracted from 15 mL of the acidic sample solution with a pH of 2 into an organic extracting solvent (n-octanol) impregnated in the pores of a hollow fiber and then back extracted into an acidified aqueous solution in the lumen of the hollow fiber. After extraction, 10 µL of the acceptor phase was injected into HPLC system. To obtain high extraction efficiency, the parameters affecting the HF-LPME, including pH of the sample and extractant phases, type of organic phase, ionic strength, stirring rate, extraction time, and temperature, were studied and optimized. Under the optimized conditions (solvent 1-octanol, pH = 2, 45 min stirring at 45°C with 750rpm), the relative recovery percentage was 85.2–97, which shows the capability of the method to analyze the analyte concentration. This technique provided preconcentration factor 199, 185, and 170 for water, urine, and plasma, respectively. Good precisions values (with relative standard division ≤ 10.5%) were obtained. The results indicated that the HF-LPME method has an excellent cleanup capacity and a high preconcentration factor and could serve as a simple and sensitive method for monitoring the drug in biological samples.

Mechanism of the effect of pH and biochar on the phytotoxicity of the weak acid herbicides imazethapyr and 2,4-D in soil to rice (Oryza sativa) and estimation by chemical methods

The existing form of an ionizable organic compound can simultaneously affect its soil adsorption and plant bioactivity. In this experiment, the adsorption and bioactivity of two weak acid herbicides (WAHs), imazethapyr and 2,4-D, were studied to explore the predominant mechanism by which the soil pH and the addition of biochar can influence the phytotoxicity of WAHs in soil. Then, the WAH concentration extracted by hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction (CHF-LPME), the in situ pore water concentration (CIPW) and the added concentration (CAC) were employed to estimate the phytotoxicity. The results showed that with increased pH from 5.5 to 8.5, the phytotoxicity of the WAHs to rice increased about 1-fold in the soil, but decreased in aqueous solutions, the IC50 values for imazethapyr and 2,4-D at pH 5.0 were 3- and 2-fold higher than that at pH 8.0. In addition, the soil adsorption decreased, indicating that the adsorption process was the dominant factor for the variation of the phytotoxicity of the WAHs in the tested soil instead of the decreasing bioactivity. The concentration that inhibits plant growth by 50% (IC50) calculated by the CAC in different pH and biochar soils ranged from 0.619 to 3.826 mg/kg for imazethapyr and 1.871–72.83 mg/kg for 2,4-D. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the IC50 values reached 65.61% for imazethapyr and 130.0% for 2,4-D. However, when IC50 was calculated by CIPW and CHF-LPME, the CVs of the IC50 values decreased to 23.51% and 36.23% for imazethapyr and 40.21% and 50.93% for 2,4-D, respectively. These results suggested that CIPW and CHF-LPME may be more appropriate than CAC for estimating the phytotoxicity of WAHs.

Multivariate optimization of the hollow fiber-based liquid phase microextraction of lead in human blood and urine samples using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The present study developed a liquid-phase microextraction based on hollow fiber coupled with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry for the effective extraction and quantitation of lead from urine and blood samples. A multivariate design was used for the optimization of the experimental conditions to ensure high extraction efficiency. Six factors (solvent type, chelating agent, time extraction, temperature, donor phase pH, and acceptor phase pH) were obtained by screening eleven factors of the Plackett–Burman design; these were optimized using the central composite design of response surface methodology. The optimum conditions of donor phase pH, acceptor phase pH, temperature, and extraction time were 5, 9.5, 40 °C, and 120 min, respectively. In addition, oleic acid containing dicyclohexyl-18-krone-6 was used for the membrane phase. Under optimal conditions, the enrichment factor, limit of detection, and limit of quantification were obtained in the ranges of 21.3–18.7, 0.001–0.002 ng mL−1, and 0.008–0.01 ng mL−1, respectively, in urine and blood samples. The linearity of the calibration curve was established for the concentration of Pb in the range of 1–50 ng mL−1 (r2 = 0.9983). Finally, the performance of the developed method was evaluated for the determination of lead in urine and blood samples, and satisfactory results were obtained (RSDs 95).

Inorganic selenium speciation in water and biological samples by three phase hollow fiber-based liquid phase microextraction coupled with HPLC-UV

A rapid, sensitive, high clean-up and economic three phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction method followed by HPLC-UV was applied for speciation of inorganic selenium in water and biological samples.

Preconcentration and Determination of Solifenacin Using Hollow Fiber Microextraction Coupled with HPLC

Background: Solifenacin is used for the treatment of overactive bladder. At present, a number of separation and determination techniques, including high-performance liquid chromatography, Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and spectrophotometric techniques have been used for the analysis of solifenacin in different samples. Objective: In the present work, for the first time, a Hollow fiber based liquid phase microextraction (HFLPME) followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-UV) was used for extraction of solifenacin from biological samples. Method: Chemometric method was used for optimization of the effects of different parameters influencing the extraction efficiency of the proposed method. The organic liquid membrane consists of 1-Octanol immobilized in the pores of a hollow fiber wall. A pH gradient was applied to migrate analytes from alkaline sample solution with pH 10.9, through the organic liquid membrane into an acidic acceptor solution with pH 2.9. which was located inside the lumen of hollow fiber. Results: Under optimized experimental conditions, extraction recoveries higher than 85% were obtained in different biological matrices which resulted in preconcentration factors higher than 163 and acceptable repeatability(RSD% within day:3.47%..RSD% between day: 4.12%). Conclusion: The method offers good linearity with estimation of coefficient higher than 0.9900. Finally, it was applied to the detection and determination of solifenacin in human plasma and urine samples. Keywords: Solifenacin, High-performance liquid chromatography, Hollow fiber based liquid phase microextraction, chemometric method.

Cooling-Assisted Headspace Hollow Fiber-Based Liquid-Phase Microextraction Setup for Direct Determination of PAHs in Solid Samples by Using Volatile Solvents

To reinforce the extraction efficiency of the liquid- and solid-phase microextraction methods, different cooling-assisted setups have been employed, most of which are complicated, expensive, tedious, and do not show good performances due to indirect transfer of cold to the extraction phase. In this research, a simple, low-cost and effective cooling-assisted headspace hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction (CA-HS-HF-LPME) device was fabricated and evaluated, which is able to directly cool down the extraction phase in different modes of LPME. It was coupled to GC-FID and utilized for the direct determination of PAHs in contaminated soil samples using volatile organic solvents. Different effective experimental variables including type and volume of extraction solvent, extraction time and temperature, and temperature of the cooled organic solvent were evaluated and optimized. Under the optimized experimental conditions (e.g., organic extracting solvent: 3 µL of acetone; extraction time: 20 min; extraction temperature: 90 °C; and temperature of cooled organic drop: −25 °C), good linearity of calibration curves (R 2 > 0.99) was obtained in a concentration range of 1–10,000 ng g−1. The limits of detection (LODs) were obtained over the range of 0.01–0.1 ng g−1. The relative standard deviations (RSD%, n = 6) of 0.1 µg g−1 PAHs were found to be 4.7–10.1 %. The CA-HS-HF-LPME-GC-FID method was successfully used for the direct determination of PAHs in contaminated soil and plant samples, with no sample manipulation. The results were in agreement with those obtained by a validated ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction (UA-SE) method.

A Novel Application of Three Phase Hollow Fiber Based Liquid Phase Microextraction (HF-LPME) for the HPLC Determination of Tamsulosin from Biological Fluids

Background: Tamsulosin is used for the treatment of difficult urination, a common symptom of an enlarged prostate. Objective: In the present paper, for the first time a microextraction technique was introduced for the detection and determination of tamsulosin in urine and plasma samples. Method: Procedure for extraction of tamsulosin consists of hollow ber based liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The organic liquid membrane consists of 1-Octanol immobilized in the pores of a hollow fiber. A pH gradient was applied to migrate analytes from the sample solution with pH 10.5, through the organic liquid membrane into an acidic acceptor solution with pH 3.0 which was located inside the lumen of hollow fiber. Results: Extraction recoveries greater than 80% were obtained in different biological matrices which resulted in preconcentration factors greater than 102 and acceptable repeatability (2.5 < RSD% <3.5). Conclusion: The method offers good linearity with estimation of coefficacy higher than 0.9990. Finally, it was applied for the determination and quantification of tamsulosin in human plasma and urine samples. Keywords: Tamsulosin, high performance liquid chromatography, hollow ber based liquid phase microextraction, Microextraction.

Reduced sulfentrazone phytotoxicity through increased adsorption and anionic species in biochar-amended soils.

Burning straw in the field is a common agricultural practice. The effects of adding biochar derived from rice straw to soils on the phytotoxicity of sulfentrazone to Oryza sativa L. were observed. Overall, when 1% biochar was added to three different soils, the phytotoxicity of sulfentrazone to O. sativa L. decreased, and the concentration that inhibits growth by 50% (IC50) increased by 1.4 to 7.6 times. To illuminate the influencing mechanisms, the changes in sulfentrazone adsorption to the soil, the soil pH, and the bioavailable sulfentrazone extracted from the soil solution using hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction were studied. The Freundlich constant (K f ) of sulfentrazone to the soil increased 1.5 to 25 times relative to the K f in the three unamended soils, and the soil pH increased by 0.36 to 1.36 units resulted in a fraction of dissociated sulfentrazone increased by 10.2-17.4%. In addition, the average concentrations of sulfentrazone in the three unamended soil solutions were 1.3-6.1 times relative to those in the three biochar-amended soil solutions. These results suggest that the sulfentrazone adsorption and soil pH increased when soils were amended with biochar, which decreased the bioavailable concentrations and reduced its phytotoxicity to O. sativa L.

Two-phase and three-phase liquid-phase microextraction of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene in urine samples.

This paper reports the applicability of two-phase and three-phase hollow fiber based liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) for the extraction of hydrochlorothiazide (HYD) and triamterene (TRM) from human urine. The HYD in two-phase HF-LPME is extracted from 24 mL of the aqueous sample into an organic phase with microliter volume located inside the pores and lumen of a polypropylene hollow fiber as acceptor phase, but the TRM in three-phase HF-LPME is extracted from aqueous donor phase to organic phase and then back-extracted to the aqueous acceptor phase, which can be directly injected into HPLC for analysis. Under optimized conditions preconcentration factors of HYD and TRM were obtained as 128 and 239, respectively. The calibration curves were linear (R(2) ≥ 0.995) in the concentration range of 1.0-100 µg/L for HYD and 2.0-100 µg/L for TRM. The limits of detection for HYD and TRM were 0.5 µg/L. The intra-day and inter-day RSD based on four replicates were obtained as ≤5.8 and ≤9.3%, respectively. The methods were successfully applied for determining the concentration of the drugs in urine samples. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

New method for the determination of bile acids in human plasma by liquid-phase microextraction using liquid chromatography-ion-trap-time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Bile acids (BAs) are derived from cholesterol and produced in the liver. The most abundant bile acids in humans are usually conjugated with glycine and taurine and are divided into primary BAs such as cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and secondary BAs like deoxycholic acid (DCA), lithocholic acid (LCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).The differences amongst individual bile acids (BAs) are significant in order to distinguish different pathological processes and exposure to chemical compounds. Hollow fiber based liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) is a technique that combines sample cleansing, extraction and the concentration of analytes, where a hydrophobic porous capillary membrane is impregnated with an organic extraction solvent and the lumen is filled with microliters of a phase acceptor both organic by nature. The aim of this study was to develop a new method to extract bile acids from plasma through HF-LPME of two phases (octanol as the acceptor phase) using LCMS-IT-TOF. The optimized two-phased LPME procedure for the extraction of bile acids showed limits of detection 1.0μgL−1 and limits of quantification of 5.0μgL−1. The intra-assay precision ranged from 2.1 to 11.9%. The method developed was linear over the range of 5.0–200.0μgL−1 for all analytes. The hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction method was applied to human plasma from workers exposed to organic and halogenated solvents and also to unexposed volunteers. The method is simple, low cost and it does not require large amounts of organic solvents, therefore it is quite suitable for the analysis of bile acids exposed to hepatotoxic compounds.

Hollow fiber supported ionic liquid membrane microextraction for preconcentration of kanamycin sulfate with electrochemiluminescence detection

Three-phase hollow fiber based liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) was developed for the preconcentration of kanamycin sulfate combined with electrochemiluminescence detection. The extractant was 1-octyl-methylmidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([OMIM]PF6). A hollow fiber supported liquid membrane was used between phosphate buffer solution (PBS) containing analyte (kanamycin sulfate) as donor phase and aqueous solution (pH 10) as acceptor phase. The effects of various parameters on the extraction efficiency were studied, such as pH of ECL working solution, extraction temperature, pH of donor phase, extraction time and salt content of sample. Under the optimized conditions, the linear range was 0.002–0.1μgmL−1, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.00067μgmL−1. No expensive equipment is necessary to perform this assay which makes it a viable replacement.

Sol–gel coated polypropylene hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction of triazine herbicides in real water samples

AbstractA sol–gel coated hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) method was developed for the extraction of triazine herbicides. The polypropylene hollow fiber was coated with polydimethylsiloxane–divinylbenzene using sol–gel method and characterized. The developed method was compared with uncoated hollow fiber LPME method for the extraction of simazine, atrazine, and propazine prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Optimized conditions for both coated and uncoated hollow fibers LPME methods were toluene as an acceptor phase, length of hollow fiber (1.5 cm), volume of acceptor phase (3.0 μL), stirring rate (1200 rpm), and no addition of salt (sodium chloride). The optimized volumes of donor phase for uncoated fiber and coated fiber were 4.0 and 4.5 mL, respectively, while the optimized extraction times were 30 min for uncoated hollow fiber and 10 min for coated hollow fiber. The developed sol–gel coated hollow fiber LPME method provided good enrichment factors (EFs) ranging...

Analysis of Paraben Preservatives in Cosmetic Samples: Comparison of Three Different Dynamic Hollow Fiber Liquid-Phase Microextraction Methods

This study focused on a comparison of three different dynamic hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction (DHF-LPME) methods for extraction and preconcentration of parabens from wastewater, toothpaste, cream, and shampoo samples. The first method is two-phase DHF-LPME, in which n-octanol was used as the extraction solvent. The second is three-phase DHF-LPME, in which n-octanol and basic aqueous solution were used as the extraction solvent and acceptor phase, respectively. High-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC–UV) was applied for determination of the parabens in both methods. The third method is a recently introduced method; three-phase DHF-LPME based on two immiscible organic solvents (n-dodecane as organic solvent and acetonitrile as an acceptor phase). The quantitative analyses were performed by the use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) after injection port derivatization. The effect of different extraction conditions (i.e., extraction solvent, pH, ionic strength, stirring rate, and dynamic and extraction times) on the extraction efficiency of the parabens was investigated and optimized. All the three procedures provide similar working parameters characterized by high repeatability (3.9–6.3 %) and good linearity (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.989 to 0.998). Results of real sample analyses obtained by these three methods were highly correlated. Although all methods provide compatible alternatives for paraben analysis, the three-phase DHF-LPME based on two immiscible organic solvents may be a more appropriate technique due to its higher extraction efficiency and thus lower limits of detection (LODs). LODs for all the parabens ranged from 0.2 to 5.0 μg L−1 using the two first methods combined with HPLC–UV. An improvement in sensitivity of several orders of magnitude was achieved using three-phase DHF-LPME based on two immiscible organic solvents followed by single-ion monitoring GC–MS analyses (0.01–0.2 μg L−1) due to compatibility of this technique with GC instrument.

Sensitive determination of chloroanilines in water samples by hollow fiber‐based liquid‐phase microextraction prior to capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection

A hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction method has been developed for enrichment of trace chloroanilines in water samples. Target analytes including aniline, three mono-chlorinated aniline isomers (o-chloroaniline, m-chloroaniline, and p-chloroaniline) and four mono-chlorinated methylaniline isomers (2-chloro-4-methylaniline, 3-chloro-4-methylaniline, 4-chloro-2-methylaniline, and 5-chloro-2-methylaniline) were determined by CE with amperometric detection after microextraction. Several factors that affect separation, detection, and extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, eight aniline compounds could be well separated from other components coexisting in water samples within 25 min, exhibiting a linear calibration over three orders of magnitude (r > 0.998); the obtained enrichment factors were between 51 and 239, and the LODs were in the range of 0.01-0.1 ng/mL. The proposed method has been applied for the analyses of real environmental water and sewage samples with relative recoveries in the range of 83-108%.

Simultaneous trace determination of acidic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in purified water, tap water, juice, soda and energy drink by hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction and ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, a two-phase hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) coupling with ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for determination of four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs)—salicylic acid, ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac in real water samples. The influencing parameters of HF-LPME sample preparation method, such as organic solvents (acceptor phase), pH of sample solution (donor phase), extraction time, stirring speed, extraction temperature and ionic strength were systematically optimized. Through the developed determination method, high enrichment factors (195–346) were achieved for the four drugs. The instrumental calibration curves of salicylic acid, naproxen, diclofenac, and ibuprofen show good linear relations (R>0.998) in the concentration range of 1–500, 5–2500, 10–5000 and 5–2500μgL−1, respectively. The average recoveries of the four drugs in the low, medium and high spiked concentration levels (20–200, 50–500 and 100–1000μgL−1) were between 98–115% with relative standard deviation (RSD) values were less than 12% (n=6). Limits of detection (LOD) of salicylic acid, naproxen, diclofenac, and ibuprofen in water were 0.5, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.25μgL−1, respectively. The determination method has been applied for the real samples (purified water, tap water, juice, soda and energy drinks), and the results show that salicylic acid was detected in tap water and soda, the concentrations were 2.85μgL−1 and 61.22μgL−1 separately, the RSD values were less than 9% (n=6). Salicylic acid and diclofenac were detected in energy drink, the concentrations were 44.62μgL−1 and 8.31μgL−1, the RSD values were less than 11% (n=6).

Hollow fiber-based liquid phase microextraction combined with HPLC for the simultaneous determination of two pyrimidines in Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC.

A simple, inexpensive and efficient three phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction technique combined with HPLC was used for the simultaneous determination of uracil and thymine in Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC. Different factors affecting the hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction procedure were investigated and optimized. The optimized extraction conditions were as follows: 1-octanol as the organic solvent, pHdonor = 9.5, pHacceptor = 3.0, 600 rpm stirring speed, 50 min extraction time, and without addition of salt. Under these conditions, the value of the enrichment factor for uracil and thymine was 48.2 and 43.6, respectively. Calibration curves showed good linearity (r > 0.999) within the test ranges. The limit of detection was 8.2 ng mL−1 and 10.7 ng mL−1, respectively and the intra- and inter-day RSDs were no more than 9.6%. The content of uracil and thymine in Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC. was 0.106 μg g−1 and 0.132 μg g−1, respectively. The method was applied successfully for the simultaneous determination of uracil and thymine in Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC.

Application of ionic liquids for liquid–liquid microextraction

Because of their unique properties and good solubility for many different materials, ionic liquids (ILs) have been applied in all areas of the chemical industry. ILs' lack of volatility and flammability are the common characteristics that give them an advantage in various applications such as electrolytes in batteries, solvents and catalysts in synthesis, lubricants, solvents to manufacture functional materials, extraction, gas absorption agents, etc. The major purpose of this review paper is to provide an overview of the representative applications of ILs in liquid–liquid microextraction (LLME) techniques that benefit from the unique properties of ILs, including the developments achieved by combination of ILs with miniaturized approaches to sample preparation—namely, single drop microextraction (SDME), dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and hollow fiber-based liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME)—to improve both their sensitivity and selectivity. IL-based microextraction provides unique advantages, including low cost, simplicity of operation, speed, precision and accuracy, making ILs a powerful tool in chemical analysis.

Determination of artemisinin in Artemisia species by hollow fiber-based liquid-phase microextraction and electrospray ionization-ion mobility spectrometry

A method based on hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) combined with electrospray ionization-ion mobility spectrometry was developed for the determination of artemisinin in the leaf, stem and root of six Artemisia species. Artemisinin was extracted from an aqueous sample through a thin phase of organic solvent (n-dodecane) filling the pores of the hollow fiber wall and then back extracted into the methanol located in the lumen of the hollow fiber. The effect of experimental parameters on the extraction efficiency of HF-LPME including sample ionic strength, stirring rate and extraction time were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the linear dynamic range for the analyte was found to be 50–1000 ng mL−1 for the leaf and stem, and 20–500 ng mL−1 for the root of Artemisia vulgaris L. Detection limits were 24, 12 and 20 ng mL−1 (0.72, 0.36 and 0.61 mg kg−1 of dried sample) for the leaf, root and stem, respectively. The relative standard deviations for three replicate measurements of the method varied from 5.8% to 10.2% at a concentration level of 50–200 ng mL−1.