Micro-spectrophotometric determination of nickel in Gentiana rigescens after switchable hydrophilicity solvent-based ultrasound-assisted liquid phase microextraction

Abstract

Abstract In this work, switchable hydrophilicity solvent-based ultrasound-assisted liquid phase microextraction (SHS-UA-LPME) was combined with micro-volume UV-vis spectrophotometry for the determination of trace nickel in the medicinal plant Gentiana rigescens Franch. ex Hemsl. (G. rigescens) samples for the first time. Micro-volume spectrophotometry has the characteristics of microanalysis, economy and low operation cost, which is feasible to be combined with miniaturized enrichment method. Dipropylamine (DPA) as a switchable solvent completed the extraction during the phase conversion process. It was changed from hydrophobic to hydrophilic under the action of HCl, and then completed phase transition under the action of NaOH. The parameters influencing the extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the enhancement factor (EF), the limit of detection (LOD), the limit of quantitation (LOQ) and relative standard deviation (RSD, n = 7) were 28, 0.02 µg/L, 0.067 µg/L and 1.4 %, respectively. The established method was applied to the determination of G. rigescens samples collected from the local field with satisfactory results.