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Ion exchange chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (IEC-MS/MS) has recently become the preferred method for detecting ionic substances in tea. In this study, an IEC-MS/MS method was developed for the rapid determination of chlorate and perchlorate residues in tea samples. The optimal sample extraction process, pretreatment column, and chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions were systematically investigated. In the optimal process, the tea samples were ultrasonically extracted with methanol-water (13∶7, v/v), and a PRiME HLB SPE column was used to purify the sample extract. An AceChrom Hybri-A IEC column (150 mm×2.1 mm, 5.0 μm) was used for separation, and 100 mmol/L ammonium acetate-acetonitrile (40∶60, v/v) was used as the mobile phase for isocratic elution. The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min, the column temperature was 40 ℃, and the injection volume was 5.0 μL. The mass spectrometric data were collected in negative electrospray ionization mode combined with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode to achieve the rapid and accurate separation and qualitative analysis of the desired chemical components. Quantification was performed using the internal standard (IS) method. The measurement results showed a good linear relationship when the mass concentrations of chlorate and perchlorate were between 2.00-200 and 1.00-100 μg/L, respectively, with correlation coefficients ( r 2 ) greater than 0.9990. The average recoveries of chlorate and perchlorate at three spiked levels of low, medium, and high ranged from 88.54% to 97.25% with relative standard deviations (RSDs, n =7) of 3.2%-5.2%. The limits of detection for chlorate and perchlorate were 12.0 and 8.0 μg/kg, respectively, while the limits of quantification were 40.0 and 26.6 μg/kg, respectively. The results of tests conducted to assess the linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision, and applicability of the method to the analysis of chlorate and perchlorate in 15 tea samples collected from a local market demonstrated its validity for the routine analysis of tea samples. The proposed method is simple, rapid, sensitive, and accurate, and can meet requirements for the rapid screening and quantitative analysis of residual trace chlorate and perchlorate in large quantities of tea samples.

Because of the "enterohepatic circulation" of bile acid, liver damage can be reflected by monitoring the content of bile acid in the serum of the organism. To monitor the concentration of 15 bile acids in plasma samples, a new technique of PRiME (process, ruggedness, improvement, matrix effect, ease of use) pass-through cleanup procedure combined with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was developed. The sorbent used in the PRiME pass-through cleanup procedure is a new type of magnetic organic resin composite nano-material modified by C18 (C18-PS-DVB-GMA-Fe 3 O 4 ), which has high cleanup efficiency of plasma samples. It also shows good performance in the separation and analysis of 15 kinds of bile acids. Under the optimal conditions, the results show higher cleanup efficiency of C18-PS-DVB-GMA-Fe 3 O 4 with recoveries in the range of 82.1-115 %. The limit of quantitative (LOQs) of 15 bile acids were in the range of 0.033 µg/L-0.19 µg/L, and the RSD values of 15 bile acids were in the range of 3.00-11.9 %. Validation results on linearity, specificity, accuracy and precision, as well as on the application to analysis of 15 bile acids in 100 human plasma samples demonstrate the applicability to clinical studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel hydrophilicity nano-titania coating modified magnetic graphene oxide (HTC-Mag-GO) has been synthesized. It has been evaluated in PRiME (process, robustness, improvements, matrix effects, ease of use) pass-through cleanup procedure for human blood prior to analysis of fipronil and its metabolites, i.e., fipronil sulphone, fipronil sulphide and fipronil desulfinyl by liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Compared with the Oasis PRiME HLB cartridge, HTC-Mag-GO is much more effective for the removal of matrix effect. Furthermore, it is beneficial to protect the chromatographic column and ESI source by the HTC-Mag-GO PRiME pass-through cleanup procedure, resulting from the much cleaner blood samples. Under the optimum conditions, the results show higher cleanup efficiency of HTC-Mag-GO with recoveries in the range of 92.4%-108%. Especially, the HTC-Mag-GO is also evaluated for reuse (20 times) without much sacrifice of the cleanup efficiency. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for fipronil, fipronil sulphone, fipronil sulphide and fipronil desulfinyl are 8.9 ng/L, 7.2 ng/L, 8.0 ng/L and 42 ng/L, respectively. The developed method has also been successfully applied to monitoring fipronil and its metabolites in 120 blood samples, and fipronil sulphone is detected in six samples with concentrations in the range of 12.1 ng/L-106 ng/L. Further, the well validation results and the application to analysis of fipronil and its metabolites in real samples demonstrate the applicability to toxico kinetic studies and clinical studies., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We report the template-free fabrication of three-dimensional hierarchical nanostructures, i.e., three-dimensional interconnected magnetic chemically modified graphene oxide (3D-Mag-CMGO), through a simple and low-cost self-assembly process using one-pot reaction based on solvothermal method. The excellent properties of the 3D-Mag-CMGO are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), FTIR, elementary analyzer (EA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The easiness-to-handle of the magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction (Mag-dSPE) procedure is developed for preconcentration of 21 allergenic disperse dyes from river water. The obtained results show the higher extraction capacity of 3D-Mag-CMGO with recoveries between 80.0-112.0%. Furthermore, an ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method for determination of 21 allergenic disperse dyes in river at sub-ppt levels has been developed with pretreatment of the samples by Mag-dSPE. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the allergenic disperse dyes are between 0.57-34.05ng/L. Validation results on linearity, specificity, trueness and precision, as well as on application to the analysis of 21 allergenic disperse dyes in fifty real samples demonstrate the applicability to environment monitoring analysis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel, simple and sensitive method based on the use of dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (d-μ-SPE) procedure combined with ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) for the determination of catecholamines, i.e., dopamine (DA), norepinephrine(NE) and epinephrine (E), was developed and validated. The novel catecholamines molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) on the surface of carboxyl-functionalized magnetic-carbon nanotube (CF@m-CNTs-MIP) was synthesized and characterized by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The CF@m-CNTs-MIP was used as the d-μ-SPE sorbent to extract catecholamines from human plasma samples. The obtained results demonstrated the higher extraction capacity of CF@m-CNTs-MIP with recoveries between 87.5-110%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for NE, E and DA were 76 ng/L, 18 ng/L and 10 ng/L, respectively. Validation results on linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision and stability, as well as on application to the analysis of catecholamines in 120 healthy volunteers demonstrated the applicability to clinical studies., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The easiness-to-handle of the magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction (Mag-dSPE) procedure was developed for preconcentration of 24 steroid hormones in river water. Ethylenediamine-functionalized magnetic carbon nanotubes (EDA@Mag-CNTs) were synthesised by a simple one-pot reaction and were used as sorbent in Mag-dSPE procedure. The properties of the EDA@Mag-CNTs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). An ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method for determination of 24 steroid hormones in river water at nanograms per liter had been developed with pretreatment of the samples by Mag-dSPE. The obtained results demonstrated the higher extraction capacity of EDA@Mag-CNT Mag-dSPE with recoveries between 82.1 and 113%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the steroid hormone were between 0.020 and 1.00 ng/L. The developed method had been successfully applied to 60 river water samples, and it was confirmed that EDA@Mag-CNT Mag-dSPE was a highly effective extraction method for the steroid hormone analyses.

Microcystins (MCs), a group of cyclic heptapeptide heaptoxins and tumor promoters, are generated by cyanobacteria occurring in surface waters, such as eutrophic lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. In this present study, a novel double-sided magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer modified graphene oxide (DS-MMIP@GO) based magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method was developed for fast, effective and selective enrichment, and recognition of trace MCs in environmental water samples combined with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The synthesized novel DS-MMIP@GO was used as the adsorbents in this work and was carefully characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectra. The adsorption and desorption conditions of DS-MMIP@GO toward MCs were optimized in detail to obtain the highest binding capacity, selectivity, and release efficiency. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors of the method for eight target MCs were found to be 2000. The limits of quantitation (LOQs) of the method for eight MCs were in range of 0.1-2.0ngL(-1). The double-sided MMIP modified structure provided DS-MMIP@GO with abundant adsorption sites and permitted it to exhibit excellent enrichment and selectivity toward trace-level MCs. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of environmental water samples with recoveries ranging from 84.1 to 98.2%. Compared to conventional methods for MCs detection reported in literatures, the one developed in this work based on DS-MMIP@GO and LC-MS/MS showed much faster, more sensitive, and more convenient., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, a rapid and accurate ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method coupled with the isotope internal standard dilution technique was established and validated to determine trace dicyandiamide (DCD) in mussels. The sample was extracted by acetonitrile, and chromatographic separations were performed on an Acquity UPLC BEH Amide column by using water-acetonitrile (9:91, v/v) as the mobile phase within 3 min. DCD was determined by using DCD-(15)N4 as an internal standard. The results showed that the recoveries were between 96.2 and 103 % with relative standard deviations (RSDs) in the range of 0.6-6.0 %. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.05 μg/kg. This method can be applied to the routine analysis for the rapid and sensitive determination of trace DCD in mussels. Overall, the data reiterate the importance of investigating the presence of DCD in marine biological samples, which can act as food quality controls for human health.

A novel planar-structure amine-functional magnetic polymer modified graphene oxide nanocomposite (NH2-MP@GO) was synthesized. The properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The obtained adsorption results showed that the NH2-MP@GO had great adsorptive ability toward five chlorophenols (CPs), including 2-chlorophenol (2-CP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,6-TeCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP). Based on these, an effective magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) procedure coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the preconcentration and determination of the five CPs in environmental water samples was developed. Various experimental parameters that could affect the extraction efficiencies had been investigated in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors of the method for the target CPs were found to be 1000. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of environmental water samples with recoveries ranging from 86.4 to 99.8% with correlation coefficients (R) higher than 0.9994. Good linearities were obtained ranging from 10 to 500ng/L for 2-CP, 5 to 500ng/L for 2,4-DCP, 2 to 500ng/L for 2,4,6-TeCP and 2,3,4,6-TeCP, and 1 to 500ng/L for PCP, respectively. The limits of quantitation for the five CPs were 0.6-9.2ng/L. It was confirmed that the planar-structure NH2-MP@GO was a kind of highly effective MSPE materials used for the trace CPs analyses., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel, simple and sensitive method based on the use of magnetic dispersive solid-phase extraction (M-dSPE) procedure combined with ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) was developed to determine seven synthetic pigments (tartrazine, amaranth, carmine, sunset yellow, allura red, brilliant blue and erythrosine) in wines and soft drinks. An amino-functionalized low degrees of cross-linking magnetic polymer (NH2-LDC-MP) was synthesized via suspension polymerization, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The NH2-LDC-MP was used as the M-dSPE sorbent to remove the matrix from the solution, and the main factors affecting the extraction were investigated in detail. The obtained results demonstrated the higher extraction capacity of NH2-LDC-MP with recoveries between 84.0 and 116.2%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) for the seven synthetic pigments were between 1.51 and 5.0μg/L in wines and soft drinks. The developed M-dSPE UFLC-MS/MS method had been successfully applied to the real wines and soft drinks for food-safety risk monitoring in Zhejiang Province, China. The results showed that sunset yellow was in three out of thirty soft drink samples (2.95-42.6μg/L), and erythrosine in one out of fifteen dry red wine samples (3.22μg/L), respectively. It was confirmed that the NH2-LDC-MP was a kind of highly effective M-dSPE materials for the pigments analyses., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel, simple and sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 22 sulfonamides (SAs) in chicken breast muscle by using the dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (d-μ-SPE) procedure combined with ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS). The excellent core-shell nanoring amino-functionalized superparamagnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (CS-NR-Mag-MIP) was used as sorbent, and the main factors affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated in detail. All target compounds showed good linearities in the tested range with correlation coefficients (r) higher than 0.9980. The mean recoveries were in the range of 85.0-112.2% at low, medium and high concentration levels (0.1, 1.0 and 5.0 ng/g). The intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) were lower than 6.0% and 8.9%, respectively. The limits of quantification for the 22 SAs were between 0.013 and 0.099 ng/g. The developed d-μ-SPE-UFLC-MS/MS method had been successfully applied to the chicken breast muscle samples for food-safety risk monitoring in Zhejiang Province, China. The results showed sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole and sulfaquinoxaline in five out of three hundred collected samples were detected with concentrations of 0.418-2.28, 16.4 and 2.93 ng/g, respectively. It was confirmed that the CS-NR-Mag-MIP was a kind of highly effective d-μ-SPE materials used for the SAs analyses., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, a rapid and accurate ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method combined with dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (d-µ-SPE) using a core-shell nanoring amino-functionalized magnetic polymer (CS-NR-MP) was established and validated to determine trace dicyandiamide (DCD) in powdered milk. The developed d-µ-SPE cleanup procedure can dramatically reduce the matrix in samples, and lead to a significant reduction in absolute matrix effects. Chromatographic separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC BEH Amide column by using water-acetonitrile (9:91, v/v) as the mobile phase within 2 min. DCD was quantitatively analyzed by using DCD-(15)N2(13)C2 as an internal standard. The results showed that the recoveries were between 99.8 and 105.6% with RSDs in the range of 0.5-4.9%. The target compound had good linearity in the range of 0.1-20.0 µg L(-1) with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9996. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.06 µg kg(-1). This method can be used for the rapid and sensitive determination of ultratrace DCD residue in powdered milk samples., (© 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A new method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of 11 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in water samples at trace levels by gas chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ-MS/MS). Water samples were extracted by the QuEChERS (Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe) method. The QqQ analyzer acquired data in multiple reactions monitoring (MRM), permitting both quantification and confirmation in a single injection with a running time reduced up to 11.0 min. The effect of matrix interferences in extracts on analyte quantification and the identification of PCBs in water samples was deeply studied. The results showed that PCBs were prone to strong matrix interactions in water samples, and the quantification and identification of PCBs were highly affected by a matrix enhancement effect. To evaluate the performance of the method, validation experiments were carried out on water samples at three spiking levels (1.6, 8.0, 40.0 µg L(-1)). Recovery was in the range of 95 - 109% at 1.6 µg L(-1), 90 - 95% at 8.0 µg L(-1) and 97 - 102% at 40.0 µg L(-1), respectively. Precision values expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD) were lower than 15%. Linearity in the range of 0.5 - 50.0 µg L(-1) provided determination coefficients (R(2)) higher than 0.999 for all compounds. The limits of detection (LODs) for PCBs were ≤0.1 µg L(-1) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 0.04 to 0.3 µg L(-1). The applicability of the proposed method to detect and quantify PCBs has been demonstrated in analyse of 15 real samples., (2012 © The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry)

Abstract: A novel and effective dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) procedure with rapid magnetic separation using ethylenediamine-functionalized magnetic polymer as an adsorbent was developed. The new procedure had excellent clean-up ability for the selective removal of the matrix in red wine. An accurate, simple, and rapid analytical method using ultra-fast liquid chromatography–tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UFLC–MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of nine food additives (i.e., acesulfame, saccharin, sodium cyclamate, aspartame, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, stevioside, dehydroacetic acid, and neotame) in red wine was also used and validated. Recoveries ranging from 78.5% to 99.2% with relative standard deviations ranging from 0.46% to 6.3% were obtained using the new method. All target compounds showed good linearities in the tested range with correlation coefficients (r) higher than 0.9993. The limits of quantification for the nine food additives were between 0.10μg/L and 50.0μg/L. The proposed dSPE–UFLC–MS/MS method was successfully applied in the food-safety risk monitoring of real red wine in Zhejiang Province, China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]