SPE coupled with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction followed by GC with flame ionization detection for the determination of ultra-trace amounts of benzodiazepines.

SPE combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextration was used for the extraction of ultra-trace amounts of benzodiazepines (BZPs) including, diazepam, midazolam, and alprazolam, from ultra-pure water, tap water, fruit juices, and urine samples. The analytes were adsorbed from large volume samples (60 mL) onto octadecyl silica SPE columns. After the elution of the desired compounds from sorbents with 2.0 mL acetone, 0.5 mL of eluent containing 40.0 μL chloroform was injected rapidly into 4.5 mL pure water. After extraction and centrifugation, 2 μL of the sedimented phase was injected into a GC equipped with a flame ionization detector. Several parameters affecting this process were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, LODs ranged from 0.02 to 0.05 μg/L, a linear dynamic range of 0.1-100 μg/L and relative SDs in the range of 4.4-10.7% were attained. Very high preconcentration factors ranging from 3895-7222 were achieved. The applicability of the method for the extraction of BZPs from different types of complicated matrices, such as tap water, fruit juices, and urine samples, was studied. The obtained results reveal that the proposed method is a good technique for the extraction and determination of BZPs in complex matrices.