Magnesium ferrite as a dispersive solid-phase extraction sorbent for the determination of organic pollutants using spectrophotometry.

• Initial study by ultrasound-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction using magnesium ferrite as a magnetic adsorbent. • The spectrophotometric method was successfully applied. • Response surface methodology was used to optimize the extraction of dyes. • The proposed method was sensitive, fast, inexpensive, reliable, simple, and eco-friendly. This study aimed to determine of malachite green (MG) and auramine O (AO) dyes in different environmental water samples. For this purpose, MG and AO dyes were pre-concentrated by ultrasound-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction (UA-DSPE) and measured by spectrophotometry. Magnesium ferrite (MgFO) was applied as a magnetic adsorbent in the UA-DSPE-UV/Vis method. The effect of different parameters on the dye extraction efficiency, including pH of the solution, sorbent mass, sample volume, ultrasound frequencies, irradiation time, and type and volume of eluent, were investigated. In addition, response surface methodology (RSM) approach-based central composite design (CCD) was used to design and optimize parameters affecting the process. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) results based on high F-values, low p-values, coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.99), and adjusted-R2 (R2adj > 0.99) revealed that the quadratic model was the best model for defining the interaction of the studied variables. The calibration curve, the limit of detection (LOD), and relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 5) for MG and AO dyes were 1–800 ng mL−1 and 3–1200 ng mL−1, 0.33 ng mL−1 and 1 ng mL−1, and 3.2% and 2.8%, respectively. The effect of some external species (including cations and anions) on the determination of MG and AO dye was investigated. The results revealed that adding different ions does not significantly interfere with determining MG and AO dyes. The reusability of the MgFO adsorbent showed that it could be reused for up to 7 cycles, maintaining its high efficiency in the extraction of MG and AO dyes. Moreover, the proposed method was used for the extraction of MG and AO dyes from different water samples. The obtained extraction efficiency was in the range of 95.37–99.54%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]