Quasi-hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents for simultaneous automated determination of polar and non-polar dyes in food products

In this work, quasi-hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents were used for the first time for the efficient extraction of both polar (Sunset Yellow FCF (E 110), Azorubine (E122), Ponceau 4R (E124)) and non-polar (Sudan I, Sudan II, Sudan III) dyes from food products at the same time. These solvents were made from polar and nonpolar components, which made it possible to extract analytes of various natures. To automate the technique, a flow analysis method was used, which increases the speed and reliability of determining analytes in food samples. For a detailed study of extraction mechanisms, various process modeling methods were used. The proposed DES-based method addresses the limitations of traditional extraction methods, offering a more robust and efficient solution for food analysis. Validation of the method has demonstrated high precision, accuracy and extraction efficiency, making it a promising tool for regulatory compliance and consumer safety in the food industry. The following analytical characteristics were achieved: the limits of detection were 0.03–0.13 mg L, limits of quantification were 0.09–0.44 mg L, an extraction recovery exceeding 85 %, a linear range was from 1 to 100 mg L, and a relative standard deviation ranging from 2 % to 10 %. The experiments were confirmed by both Conductor Like Screening Model-Segment Activity Coefficient (COSMO-SAC) and the Non-Covalent Interaction using the Reduced Density Gradient of the DES-dye system in aqueous media.