Hybridization of commercial polymeric microparticles and magnetic nanoparticles for the dispersive micro-solid phase extraction of nitroaromatic hydrocarbons from water

In this article, the combination of commercial polymeric microparticles (OASIS MCX) and cobalt ferrite nanoparticles is evaluated in dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (D-mu SPE) for the determination of six nitroaromatic hydrocarbons in water. The high affinity of the polymeric material toward the target analytes as well as the magnetic behavior of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles are combined in a synergic way to developed an efficient and simple D-mu SPE approach. The sorptive performance of the hybrid material is compared with that most usual sorbents and the effect of its synthesis steps on the extraction capability is also evaluated in depth. After the optimization of selected variables, D-mu SPE method was assessed in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision and accuracy. The new extraction method allows the determination of the target compounds with limits of detection in the range from 0.12 to 1.26 mu g/L and relative standard deviations lower than 9.6%. The recovery study was performed in two different water samples obtaining percentages from 71 to 103%, which demonstrated the applicability of the hybrid sorbent for the selected analytical problem. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.