Hydrophilic-lipophilic balance copolymer composite nanofiber as an adsorbent for online solid phase extraction of three estrogens from water samples with column-switching prior to high-performance liquid chromatography

Background

In recent years, the increasing accumulation of estrogen pollutants in the environment has raised concerns about their impact on human health, necessitating the development of highly sensitive detection methods for trace pollutant enrichment and analysis in environmental samples. Online pretreatment detection technology offers significant advantages over conventional offline techniques, including high automation, minimal human intervention, and improved efficiency. However, the key to successful implementation lies in the advancement of novel adsorbent materials

Results

Herein, we present a novel adsorbent material called polyacrylonitrile-hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced copolymer (PAN-HLB) composite nanofiber prepared via electrospinning for efficient online packed fiber solid phase extraction (PFSPE) of three estrogens from water samples. A rapid and highly sensitive online PFSPE-HPLC-FLD method was developed for the quantification of 17 β-Estradiol (E2), Estriol (E3), and 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The curves of the target analytes were prepared with good correlation coefficient values (r² > 0.9900) in the range of 0.1-2 ng/mL. The limit of detection (S/N=3) was 0.05 ng/mL, the limit of quantitation (S/N=10) is 0.1 ng/mL. The recoveries of three estrogens were 94.0%∼110.3%, and the precisions (RSD) were less than 5%. The online PFSPE column, packed with the PAN-HLB composite nanofiber, exhibits exceptional stability and can be effectively reused for a minimum of 100 cycles.

Significance

This study presents the successful preparation of PAN-HLB composite nanofiber for the first time, demonstrating their efficacy as an innovative online pretreatment adsorbent. The proposed online pretreatment and detection approach offers remarkable benefits in terms of sensitivity, labor-saving, and cost-effectiveness that make it highly suitable for practical water sample analysis.