Issue 9, 2012

Proton sponge-functionalized silica as high performance adsorbents for solid-phase extraction of trace perfluoroalkyl sulfonates in the environmental water samples and their direct analysis by MALDI-TOF-MS

Abstract

1,8-Bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (DMAN), a classical ‘proton sponge’, was functionalized on silica particles as a novel solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent (DMAN@silica) for extracting perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSs). High reproducibility and excellent extraction capability for PFSs were obtained in a wide pH range (3.0∼8.5). The adsorbed PFSs on DMAN@silica sorbents could be efficiently eluted by 1,8-bis(tetramethylguanidino)naphthalene (TMGN) solution which is a proton sponge with higher proton affinity than DMAN. The elution could be directly analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS using TMGN as matrix. Clear mass spectra for the PFSs were obtained due to no matrix ions interference observed. Furthermore, a novel strategy based on the DMAN@silica-SPE enrichment, followed by MALDI-TOF-MS analysis, was proposed and applied for PFSs quantification in environmental water samples. The calibration curves of each of the target analytes showed a wide linear dynamic range of response (0.1–10 ng L−1 for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexyl sulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorobutylsulfonate (PFBS)), which were over 2 orders of magnitude. The detection limits for PFOS, PFHxS, and PFBS were 0.021, 0.016, and 0.013 ng L−1, respectively (S/N = 3). Recoveries of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFBS are in the ranges of 92–104%, 95–102%, and 98–109% for spiked river water samples. These results indicated that the prepared DMAN@silica adsorbents could efficiently enrich PFSs and that the proposed method is reliable.

Graphical abstract: Proton sponge-functionalized silica as high performance adsorbents for solid-phase extraction of trace perfluoroalkyl sulfonates in the environmental water samples and their direct analysis by MALDI-TOF-MS

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Dec 2011
Accepted
27 Feb 2012
First published
21 Mar 2012

Analyst, 2012,137, 2218-2225

Proton sponge-functionalized silica as high performance adsorbents for solid-phase extraction of trace perfluoroalkyl sulfonates in the environmental water samples and their direct analysis by MALDI-TOF-MS

D. Cao, M. Hu, C. Han, J. Yu, L. Cui, Y. Liu, H. Wang, Y. Cai, Y. Kang and Y. Zhou, Analyst, 2012, 137, 2218 DOI: 10.1039/C2AN16190G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements