Wentao Bi

Evaluation of alcohol-based deep eutectic solvent in extraction and determination of flavonoids with response surface methodology optimization

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are emerging rapidly as a new type of green solvent instead of an ionic liquid (IL), and are typically formed by mixing choline chloride with hydrogen bond donors. Few studies have applied DESs to the extraction and determination of bioactive compounds. Therefore, in the present study, DESs were used to extract flavonoids (myricetin and amentoflavone), which are well known and widely used antioxidants, to extend their applications. A range of alcohol-based DESs with different alcohols to choline chloride (ChCl) mixing ratios were used for extraction using several extraction methods. Other factors, such as temperature, time, water addition and solid/liquid ratio, were examined systematically using a response surface methodology (RSM). A total of 0.031 and 0.518 mg g(-1) of myricetin and amentoflavone were extracted under the optimized conditions: 35 vol% of water in ChCl/1,4-butanediol (1/5) at 70.0 °C for 40.0 min and a solid/liquid ratio of 1/1 (g 10 mL(-1)). Good linearity was obtained from 0.1 × 10(-3) to 0.1 mg mL(-1) (r(2)>0.999). The excellent properties of DESs highlight their potential as promising green solvents for the extraction and determination of a range of bioactive compounds or drugs.

Application of ionic liquids in high performance reversed-phase chromatography.

Ionic liquids, considered “green” chemicals, are widely used in many areas of analytical chemistry due to their unique properties. Recently, ionic liquids have been used as a kind of novel additive in separation and combined with silica to synthesize new stationary phase as separation media. This review will focus on the properties and mechanisms of ionic liquids and their potential applications as mobile phase modifier and surface-bonded stationary phase in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Ionic liquids demonstrate advantages and potential in chromatographic field.

Synthesis of g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposites and application as a new sorbent for solid phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples.

An easy preparation of g-C3N4/Fe3O4 nanocomposites by chemical co-precipitation has been demonstrated. The as-prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The high affinity of g-C3N4 toward polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the magnetic behavior of Fe3O4 were combined to provide an efficient and simple magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE). The adsorption and desorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on g-C3N4/Fe3O4 were examined. Different factors affecting the magnetic solid phase extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were assessed in terms of adsorption, desorption, and recovery. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method showed good limits of detection (LOD, S/N=3) in the range of 0.05-0.1 ng mL(-1) and precision in the range of 1.8-5.3% (RSDs, n=3). This method was also successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples; good spiked recoveries over the range of 80.0-99.8% were obtained.

Application of magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites for the solid-phase extraction of phthalate esters in water samples.

Magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites were successfully prepared in situ and used to develop a highly sensitive magnetic solid-phase extraction method for the preconcentration of phthalate esters such as di-n-butyl phthalate, butyl phthalate, dihexyl phthalate, and di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate from water. The adsorption and desorption of the phthalate esters on magnetic graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites were investigated and the parameters affecting the partition of the phthalate esters, such as adsorption, desorption, recovery, were assessed. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method showed excellent sensitivity with limits of detection (S/N = 3) in the range of 0.05-0.1 μg/L and precision in the range of 1.1-2.6% (n = 5). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples, and good spiked recoveries over the range of 79.4-99.4% were obtained. This research provides a possibility to apply this nanocomposite for adsorption, preconcentration, or even removal of various carbon-based ring or hydrophobic pollutants.

Fast environment-friendly ball mill-assisted deep eutectic solvent-based extraction of natural products

A fast environment-friendly extraction method, ball mill-assisted deep eutectic solvent-based extraction, was used for the extraction of natural products from plants. In this study, tanshinones were selected as target compounds to evaluate the efficiency of the developed extraction method. Under the optimized experimental conditions, cryptotanshinone (0.176 mg/g), tanshinone I (0.181 mg/g), and tanshinone II A (0.421 mg/g) were extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, and the developed method was found to be greener, more efficient, and faster than conventional, environmentally harmful extraction methods such as methanol-based ultrasound-assisted extraction and heat reflux extraction. The analytical performances including recovery, reproducibility (RSD, n=5), correlation of determination (r(2)), and the limit of detection, with the ranges of 96.1-103.9%, 1.6-1.9%, 0.9973-0.9984, and 5-8 ng/mL, were respectively obtained. Application of ball mill-assisted deep eutectic solvent-based extraction may fundamentally shape the future development of extraction methods.

Facile synthesis of poly(ionic liquid)-bonded magnetic nanospheres as a high-performance sorbent for the pretreatment and determination of phenolic compounds in water samples

Poly(ionic liquid)-bonded magnetic nanospheres were easily synthesized and applied to the pretreatment and determination of phenolic compounds in water samples, which have detrimental effects on water quality and the health of living beings. The high affinity of poly(ionic liquid)s toward the target compounds as well as the magnetic behavior of Fe3 O4 were combined in this material to provide an efficient and simple magnetic solid-phase extraction approach. The adsorption behavior of the poly(ionic liquid)-bonded magnetic nanospheres was examined to optimize the synthesis. Different parameters affecting the magnetic solid-phase extraction of phenolic compounds were assessed in terms of adsorption and recovery. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed method showed excellent detection sensitivity with limits of detection in the range of 0.3-0.8 ng/mL and precision in the range of 1.2-3.3%. This method was also applied successfully to the analysis of real water samples; good spiked recoveries over the range of 82.5-99.2% were obtained.

A Taiji-principle-designed magnetic porous C-doped graphitic carbon nitride for environment-friendly solid phase extraction of pollutants from water samples

A new magnetic porous carbon-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite and experimental strategies were environment-friendly designed for solid phase extraction of brominated flame retardants from water sample. The easily synthesized and low cost nanocomposite was characterized using techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrometry, elemental analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The large surface area and enhanced interactions of this nanocomposite with its adsorption behavior in Taiji principle (a balance of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity) in aqueous phase benefit the extraction. Magnetic solid phase extraction has advantages such as low solvent consumption and reusability of the sorbent, and was therefore employed in this study. In addition, a quicker and less laborious statistical method, known as response surface methodology, was used to investigate and optimize some crucial factors that affected the adsorption. The combined use of this new nanocomposite and experimental strategy showed excellent precision (2.7-5.2%) and sensitivity (limits of detection (S/N=3): 0.1-0.2 μg L(-1)). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples giving good spiked recoveries over the range of 92.4-99.8%. This research provides an environment-friendly strategy to prepare suitable sorbents for extraction or adsorption of various compounds within different matrices.

Ball mill assisted rapid mechanochemical extraction method for natural products from plants.

A ball mill assisted mechanochemical extraction method was developed to extract compounds of natural product (NP) from plant using ionic liquid (IL). A small volume ball mill, also known as PastPrep(®) Homogenizer, which is often used for high-speed lysis of biological samples and for other applications, was used to dramatically increase the speed, completeness and reproducibility of the extraction process at room temperature to preserve the chemical integrity of the extracted compounds. In this study, tanshinones were selected as target compounds to evaluate the performance of this extraction method. Factors affecting the extraction efficiency, such as the duration, IL concentration and solid/liquid ratio were systematically optimized using the response surface methodology. Under the optimized conditions, the described method was more efficient and much faster than the conventional extraction methods such as methanol based ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and heat reflux extraction (HRE) that consumes a lot more organic solvent. In addition, the natural products of interest were enriched by anion metathesis of ionic liquids, combining extraction and preconcentration in the same process. The extractant was analyzed by HPLC and LC-MS. The reproducibility (RSD, n=5), correlation coefficient (r(2)) of the calibration curve, and the limit of detection, were determined to be in the range of 4.7-5.2%, 0.9992-0.9995, and 20-51ng/mL, respectively.

Extraction of trace polychlorinated biphenyls in environmental waters by well-dispersed velvet-like magnetic carbon nitride nanocomposites

A velvet-like magnetic carbon nitride nanocomposites synthesized by chemical co-precipitation was used to develop a highly efficient magnetic solid-phase extraction method for the pre-concentration of trace polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in water samples. The advantages of this nanocomposite such as large surface area, good dispersity, low solvent consumption, rapid analyte adsorption (30s) and reusability make it a good sorbent. Factors affecting extraction efficiency were systematically investigated and optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Under optimal experimental conditions, the limits of detection (LODs S/N=3) of the developed method for PCBs investigated were in the range of 9.0×10-6-5.8×10-5μg/mL. This method was then used for the analysis of four real water samples. Good spiked recoveries over the range of 80.1-118.4%, and RSDs (n=5) of 0.02-3.7% were obtained. This work demonstrated the potential of using this nanocomposite for adsorption, pre-concentration, or even removal of different carbon-based aromatic compounds or other hydrophobic pollutants.

Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry for characterization of large saccharides

Polysaccharide characterization posts the most difficult challenge to available analytical technologies compared to other types of biomolecules. Plant polysaccharides are reported to have numerous medicinal values, but their effect can be different based on the types of plants, and even regions of productions and conditions of cultivation. However, the molecular basis of the differences of these polysaccharides is largely unknown. In this study, direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was used to generate polysaccharide fingerprints. Large saccharides can break down into characteristic small fragments in the DART source via pyrolysis, and the products are then detected by high resolution MS. Temperature was shown to be a crucial parameter for the decomposition of large polysaccharide. The general behavior of carbohydrates in DART-MS was also studied through the investigation of a number of mono- and oligosaccharide standards. The chemical formula and putative ionic forms of the fragments were proposed based on accurate mass with less than 10 ppm mass errors. Multivariate data analysis shows the clear differentiation of different plant species. Intensities of marker ions compared among samples also showed obvious differences. The combination of DART-MS analysis and mechanochemical extraction method used in this work demonstrates a simple, fast, and high throughput analytical protocol for the efficient evaluation of molecular features in plant polysaccharides.