Solid phase extraction as a cleanup step before microextraction of diclofenac and mefenamic acid using nanostructured solvent

A new pretreatment method, solid-phase extraction combined with supramolecular solvents, was proposed for the first time for extraction of diclofenac (DIC) and mefenamic acid (MEF) from urine and water samples. Supramolecular solvent (SUPRAS) is a nano-structured liquid, generated from the amphiphiles through a sequential self-assembly process occurring on two scales, molecular and nano. SUPRAS tested were generated from solutions of reverse micelles of decanoic acid (DeA) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) by addition of water, which acted as the coacervating agent. In the present study, due to matrix effect, drugs were first extracted from the samples by SPE. The extracted analytes were then eluted from the sorbent with THF, and the eluate was subjected to SUPRAS formation (SUPRASF) process. Finally, the analytes in the SUPRAS were separated and determined by HPLC-UV. Several parameters affecting the SPE-SUPRASF process were investigated and optimized. The new method provides enrichment factors in the range of 431-489 for MEF and DIC, respectively. Calibration plots are linear in the range of 2-200 mu g L-1 for MEF and 1-200 mu g L-1 for DIC, with correlation of determination (r(2)) ranging from 0.996 to 0.999. The method was successfully applied for extraction and determination of analytes in urine and water samples and relative recoveries of the studied compounds were obtained in the range of 90.4-103.8%. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.