Air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction based on the solidification of floating deep eutectic solvents for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tea infusions via HPLC

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a new class of green designer solvent; its physicochemical properties can be easily tuned by adjusting DES ' constituents, chemical ratio and water content. In this study, three hydrophobic DESs with low viscosity, low density, and melting points close to room temperature were designed and synthesized. Based on these DESs, an air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction technique was developed based on the solidification of floating DESs for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) via HPLC. The microextraction parameters were optimized via the Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodologies. The method shows satisfactory linearity (R-2 >= 0.9928), a low limit of detection (0.16-0.75 mu g L-1) and satisfactory precision (<= 2.3%), and was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and PAHs from tea infusions with satisfactory recoveries (82.0-116.6%). This method is simple, rapid, economical, environmentally compatible, dispersive solvent-frees and centrifugation free, and has promising applications in food safety.

Automated summary

In this study, three hydrophobic DESs were designed and synthesized with low viscosity, low density, and melting points close to room temperature, and applied in an air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction technique for the simultaneous determination of bisphenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The method showed satisfactory linearity, low detection limits, and good precision, with promising applications in food safety.