Development of a novel graphene/polyaniline electrodeposited coating for on-line in-tube solid phase microextraction of aldehydes in human exhaled breath condensate

In this work, we introduced a novel graphene/polyaniline (G/PANI) electrodeposited coating for on-line in-tube solid phase microextraction (IT-SPME) for the first time. The G/PANI coating was prepared on the internal surface of stainless steel tube by a facile in-situ electrodeposition method. The morphology and formation of the composite coating were confirmed by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Some important experimental parameters that could affect the extraction and separation such as the coating thickness, internal diameter of tube, sampling flow rate as well as sample volume were optimized. The extraction performance of the IT-SPME coating was evaluated systematically. The coating exhibited enhanced mechanical stability, long lifespan, large specific surface area and good biocompatibility compared with polyaniline coating. The on-line IT-SPME method showed higher enrichment efficiency, faster analysis speed and higher automation level than off-line manual mode. Six aldehydes were determined simultaneously with low limits of detection of 0.02-0.04 nmol L-1 and good linearity (R-2 >= 0.9920). The method has been applied successfully for the determination of aldehydes in human exhaled breath condensates with good recovery (70-120%) and satisfied reproducibility (relative standard deviation: 1.1-11.9%). This on-line IT-SPME method provides a promising approach for the determination of trace aldehydes with approving sensitivity in human exhaled breath condensates. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.