A novel method of modified multi-wall carbon nanotube extraction and GC-MS analysis used for the detection of PAHs in oilseed and oil

Abstract

In the present research, a novel method that combines a modified dispersion solid phase extraction (d-SPE) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was developed and utilized to detect 16 different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in oilseed and oil samples. The modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NH2-MWCNTs) were prepared as d-SPE adsorbents for target analytes in the high-fat samples matrices. Compared with the traditional approach, this method can significantly shorten the pre-treatment time and reduce the use of organic solvents, making the whole process more green, environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. Several critical parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated. These parameters encompassing the amount of sorbent, the type and volume of extraction solvent, desorption solution, and the time of extraction and desorption stage. Under optimal conditions, the method was validated extracting within the range of 1-200 µg/kg, and showed satisfactory linearity (R2 ≥ 0.99), acceptable recovery (70.08–104.6%) and precision (0.59–9.22%). The limits of detection were in the range of 0.04–0.42 µg/kg for all analytes. These results consistently indicate the suitability of this approach for detecting diverse PAHs in actual complex sample with the high-fat matrices.