Comparison of continuous-flow microextraction and static liquid-phase microextraction for the determination of p-toluidine in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

In this study, two microextraction methods, viz. continuous-flow microextraction (CFME) and static liquid-phase microextraction (s-LPME), were optimized and compared for the determination of p-toluidine in water and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii samples. The calibration curve for p-toluidine was linear in the concentration range of 0.01-5 microg/mL, and the squared regression coefficients (r(2)) for the lines were up to 0.999 for both CFME and s-LPME treatments. Detection limits in CFME and s-LPME were 8.2 ng/mL and 4.9 ng/mL, based on a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of 3, respectively. The precision was tested, in five replicates, by analysis of a 100-ng/mL standard solution of p-toluidine and the relative standard deviations were 5.43 and 3.08% for CFME and s-LPME, respectively. The concentration factors were 5.5 and 14.4 for CFME and s-LPME, respectively. s-LPME has a higher extraction efficiency, lower detection limit, and higher concentration factor than that of CFME. Additionally, the s-LPME method is precise and reproducible, and requires only a 3.0-microL microdrop of extraction solvent. Therefore, this procedure is more convenient in use, and viable for qualitative and quantitative analysis of p-toluidine in water and biota samples.