Development of a New and Fast Extraction Method Based on Solvent-Assisted Dispersive Solid-Phase Extraction for Preconcentration and Trace Detection of Atrazine in Real Matrices

Abstract

Abstract Background: Because of trace amounts of atrazine in water samples and the complexity of the matrix, direct trace monitoring of atrazine is not feasible by the abovementioned techniques. Hence, an efficient sample pretreatment procedure is necessary for cleanup and preconcentration of atrazine from sample matrices. Objective: In the current paper, a new and efficient sample preparation method named solvent-assisted dispersive solid-phase extraction (SA-DSPE), followed by HPLC–UV, was introduced for the monitoring of atrazine at trace levels in environmental water samples. Methods: In the present method, benzophenone was used as a sorbent for extraction of target molecules. For dispersing solid sorbents in sample solution, very low milligram amounts of benzophenone and dispersive solvent were mixed and fast-injected into the extraction media. A cloudy solution formed, and after interaction of atrazine and the dispersed solid sorbent, the cloudy solution was centrifuged. The extracted atrazine in the solid phase was dissolved in ethanol and analyzed by HPLC–UV. Results: The introduced method showed a low method detection limit (0.1 μg/L), good precision (relative SD: 3.9–6.9%), and appropriate relative recoveries (95–105%). Conclusions: Within this study, a sensitive and reliable method for the quantification of atrazine in wastewater samples was successfully developed. Highlights: The obtained figures of merit for the presented sample preparation method were appropriate. The applicability of the method for analysis of atrazine in real matrices was excellent.