In-situ synthesis of nanocubic cobalt oxide @ graphene oxide nanocomposite reinforced hollow fiber-solid phase microextraction for enrichment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from human urine prior to their quantification via high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection

The in-situ synthesis and application of nanocubic Co3O4-coated graphene oxide (Co3O4@ GO) was introduced for the first time to present a cost-effective, stable and convenient operation and a simple device for hollow fiber solid-phase microextraction (HF-SPME) of four selected nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including diclofenac, mefenamic acid, ibuprofen and indomethacin. The extracted analytes were desorbed by an appropriate organic solvent and analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV). The prepared sorbent was approved using different characterization methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The variables effective on the Co3O4@GO-HF-SPME method including extraction time, desorption time, desorption solvent volume, sample pH, stirring rate and ionic strength were screened via Plackett-Burman design and then optimized by Box-Behnken design. Under optimal condition, the calibration curves were linear within the range of 1.0-200.0 mu g L-1 of analyte concentration with detection limits of 0.18-1.1 mu g L-1 and the relative standard deviations less than 10.1%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 0.60-3.67 mu g L-1. Matrix effect was not observed with this method; therefore, standard addition is not necessary for quantification of target compounds. The enrichment factors were obtained in the range of 49-68. The relative recoveries of the urine sample analysis were calculated in the range of 93-102%. Finally, the presented method exhibited good sensitivity, excellent repeatability, high reusability and acceptable precision, which will be a promising method to analyze various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in urine samples. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, the in-situ synthesis and application of nanocubic Co3O4-coated graphene oxide for solid-phase microextraction were introduced for the first time. The method was cost-effective, stable, and convenient for analyzing nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in urine samples with good sensitivity and repeatability.