A simple and straightforward combination of surfactant-assisted magnetic dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction and hydride generation procedure to determine arsenic (III) species in environmental, biological, and fruit juice samples

Arsenic is a toxic element with various applications. Due to the high toxicity of arsenic and its species, the determination of arsenic species in real samples is significant to control their effects on the environment and human health. A surfactant-assisted dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction was utilized as a simple and efficient sample preparation method to extract and preconcentrate arsenic (III) species in environmental, biological, and fruit samples. The microextraction method was simply combined with a chemical hydride generation strategy to determine arsenic (III) species with the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. A green and magnetic sorbent was synthesized based on coating the prepared magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with chitosan using a simple and straightforward chemical procedure. Usage of surfactant as a dispersion agent in the microextraction procedure enhanced the sorbent dispersion efficiency and reduced the ultrasonic time for the sorbent dispersion. Three surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, and triton X100 were selected as representative of anionic, cationic, and neutral surfactants, respectively, and their effects were investigated in the As(III) extraction; as a result, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide was chosen as the best dispersion agent. Other factors that affected the microextraction method were optimized by an experimental design strategy. Under the optimum condition, a linear range was acquired in the range of 0.009-10.0 mu g mL(-1) with a determination coefficient of 0.9903. Limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and enrichment factor for the As(III) determination with the proposed method were 0.003 mu g L-1, 0.009 mu g L-1, and 21.4, respectively. The relative standard deviation (n = 5) for the As(III) determination with a concentration of 0.1 mu g L-1 was equal to 3.27%. The applicability of the method for the As(III) determination was investigated by analyzing water, urine, and fruit juice samples with a relative recovery and RSD in the ranges of 94.0-97.4% and 3.17-4.54%.

Automated summary

This study developed a surfactant-assisted dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction method combined with a chemical hydride generation strategy for the determination of arsenic (III) species. The method successfully extracted and preconcentrated arsenic (III) species from environmental, biological, and fruit samples. The use of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide as the dispersion agent yielded the best results. By optimizing experimental conditions, a linear range and determination coefficient were obtained. The proposed method demonstrated low detection limits, high enrichment factors, and good repeatability and applicability for arsenic (III) determination.