Magnetic solid-phase extraction based on g-C3N4/Fe3O4/MoS2 as a magnetic adsorbent for HPLC-UV determination of fluoroquinolones in chicken and eggs

A ternary nanocomposite, g-C3N4/Fe3O4/MoS2, was successfully synthesized via a reliable and effective hydrothermal method and used as an adsorbent in magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) for separation and concentration of trace fluoroquinolones (FQs) in chicken and eggs. This extraction technique is combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using an ultraviolet-visible (UV) detector to determine the content. The synthesized adsorbent was characterized using different techniques, including X-ray diffraction spectrometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). Various parameters influencing the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, this extraction method provided good linearity over the range of 2-300 mg L-1 with the coefficient of determination, r(2), ranging from 0.9993 to 0.9997; good spiked recoveries (89.3-99.6%) were obtained under the optimum conditions, and the relative standard deviations, which are used to indicate reproducibility, were less than 4.5%. The limits of detection (LOD) were determined to be in the range from 0.5 to 2.0 mg L-1, and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were from 1.7 to 6.7 mg L-1. This study confirmed the potential of using the g-C3N4/Fe3O4/MoS2 adsorbent for extraction of FQs in chicken and eggs.