Corn cob-derived biochar as a biosorbent for endocrine disrupting compounds in dispersive pipette extraction

Abstract

A simple sample preparation approach combining the dispersive pipette extraction (DPX) technique and a biochar-based biosorbent derived from corn cob is proposed for the determination of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in surface water samples, followed by identification and quantification using HPLC-DAD. The extraction parameters, including the amount of sorbent mass, desorption solvent, sample volume, number of cycles, extraction time, and desorption time, were optimized using univariate and multivariate designs. The analytical performance was satisfactory, with determination coefficients equal to or greater than 0.988. The precision values for MP ranged from 2.1 % to 15.2 %, for BPA from 2.8 % to 7.9 %, for EE2 from 5.6 % to 13.1 %, and for TCS from 1.1 % to 6.1 %. Recoveries ranging from 81.2 % to 116.5 %. The green nature of the method was evaluated using the Analytical Greenness Metric (AGREE) and the Analytical Greenness Metric for Sample Preparation (AGREEprep). The metrics indicated excellent green performance, highlighting the low analyst exposure, use of reusable tips, biologically derived extracting phase, and process miniaturization. Based on the results, the proposed HPLC-DAD method proved to be a fast, efficient, and eco-friendly approach for the determination of EDCs in surface water samples, effectively detecting these compounds in real samples.