Combination of microwave-assisted solvent extraction and effervescence-assisted deep eutectic solvent-based in-syringe dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and its application in the extraction of triazine pesticides from apple samples

In the current study, a combination of microwave-assisted solvent extraction combined with effervescence-assisted deep eutectic solvent-based in-syringe dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction has been developed as a new sample pretreatment method. The offered method was used for the extraction of five triazine pesticides (atrazine, propazine, cyanazine, ametryn, and simazine) from apple samples before their determination by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection. For this purpose, briefly, the apple sample was contacted with a suitable acidified extraction solvent and the mixture was exposed to microwave irradiations. Then, the supernatant was taken and mixed with a few microliters of a low-density deep eutectic solvent. The supernatant phase containing the extracted analytes was injected into a sodium bicarbonate solution filled into a syringe. Consequently, the effervescence reaction occurs and the analytes were extracted into the fine droplets of extractant dispersed throughout the solution. Afterward, an aliquot of this phase was analyzed by the chromatographic system. Satisfactory outcomes include high enrichment factors (228-261) and extraction recoveries (67-87%), good repeatability (relative standard deviations equal to or less than 3.2% and 5.3% for intra- and inter-day precisions), and low limits of detection (0.4-0.7 ng/g) and quantification (1.4-2.3 ng/g) were acquired under the best experimental situations.

Automated summary

In this study, a new sample pretreatment method combining microwave-assisted solvent extraction with effervescence-assisted deep eutectic solvent-based in-syringe dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction was developed. The method was successfully applied to the extraction of five triazine pesticides from apple samples and showed satisfactory enrichment factors, extraction recoveries, repeatability, and low limits of detection and quantification.