Magnetic boron nitride nanosheets as a novel magnetic solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the determination of plant growth regulators in tomatoes

A novel magnetic boron nitride nanosheets (Fe3O4@BNNSs) composite-based magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method was employed to analyse six plant growth regulators (PGRs) in tomatoes combined with highperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The novel Fe3O4@BNNSs composite was prepared via an in situ chemical coprecipitation process and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Xray diffraction (XRD), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Several factors that may affect the extraction efficiencies were optimized. Under the optimal factors, low limits of detection (0.002-0.010 ng g(-1)), good linear ranges (0.05-10 ng g(-1)) and satisfactory precisions (intra-day: 1.2%-3.9%; inter-day: 2.1%-6.9%) were achieved. The established approach was successfully employed to extract and determine PGRs in tomatoes, and the spiked recoveries were between 85.2 and 109.0%.

Automated summary

A novel magnetic solid-phase extraction method using Fe3O4@BNNSs composite was developed for the analysis of plant growth regulators (PGRs) in tomatoes with HPLC-MS/MS. The optimized method showed excellent detection performance and successfully extracted and determined PGRs in tomatoes.