An environmentally friendly cucurbit[7]uril-mediated magnetic-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction combined with HPLC-MS/MS for multiple analysis of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aquatic organisms

Abstract

Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environment poses a non-negligible risk to human health. Here, an environmentally friendly cucurbit[7]uril-mediated magnetic-assisted matrix solid phase dispersion (Q[7]-m-MSPD) extraction method was developed for extracting PPCPs from complex aquatic organisms. The extraction of PPCPs were achieved via the host-guest interaction between Q[7] and targets, significantly reducing the matrix interference. Gold magnetic nanoparticles (AuMNPs) were chelated to Q[7]-target complexes and used for purification and enrichment via magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE), effectively replacing the complex operation of sample loading and elution on SPE columns in MSPD. Coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, multiple analysis of 14 PPCPs in 3 aquatic plants and an aquatic animal were achieved, with detection limits ranging from 0.0015 to 0.0179 μg/kg, recoveries ranging from 71.06 to 113.6 %, and enrichment factors within 46 to 152. The green chemistry assessment confirmed the environmental friendliness, economic feasibility, and application potential of the Q[7]-m-MSPD, with an AGREE score of 0.63 and a BAGI score of 72.5. By integrating the merits of MSPD and MSPE, the proposed approach exhibited high sensitivity and anti-interference capability, simple operation, and great environmental friendliness. Therefore, the approach provided a green method for simultaneously detecting multiple hazardous residues in complex matrices owing to the broad-spectrum molecular recognition capability of Q[7] , which has a good application prospect in food safety and environmental monitoring.