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Extending the scope of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for trace analysis of 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid in atmospheric aerosols leading to the discovery of iron(III) complexes

Azeem, Hafiz Abdul LU ; Tolcha, Teshome ; Hyberg, Petter Ekman ; Essén, Sofia LU ; Stenström, Kristina LU ; Swietlicki, Erik LU orcid and Sandahl, Margareta LU (2019) In Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 411(13). p.2937-2944
Abstract


3-Methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA) is a secondary organic aerosol and can be used as a unique emission marker of biogenic emissions of monoterpenes. Seasonal variations and differences in vegetation cover around the world may lead to low atmospheric MBTCA concentrations, in many cases too low to be measured. Hence, an important tool to quantify the contribution of terrestrial vegetation to the loading of secondary organic aerosol may be compromised. To meet this challenge, a dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method, known for the extraction of hydrophobic compounds, was extended to the extraction of polar organic compounds like MBTCA without... (More)


3-Methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA) is a secondary organic aerosol and can be used as a unique emission marker of biogenic emissions of monoterpenes. Seasonal variations and differences in vegetation cover around the world may lead to low atmospheric MBTCA concentrations, in many cases too low to be measured. Hence, an important tool to quantify the contribution of terrestrial vegetation to the loading of secondary organic aerosol may be compromised. To meet this challenge, a dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method, known for the extraction of hydrophobic compounds, was extended to the extraction of polar organic compounds like MBTCA without compromising the efficiency of the method. The extraction solvent was fine-tuned using tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide as additive. A multivariate experimental design was applied for deeper understanding of significant variables and interactions between them. The optimum extraction conditions included 1-octanol with 15% tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (w/w) as extraction solvent, methanol as dispersive solvent, 25% NaCl dissolved in 5 mL sample (w/w) acidified to pH 2 using HNO
3
, and extraction time of 15 min. A limit of detection of 0.12 pg/m
3
in air was achieved. Furthermore, unique complexation behavior of MBTCA with iron(III) was found when analyzed with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–ESI–QToF). A comprehensive overview of this complexation behavior of MBTCA was examined with systematically designed experiments. This newly discovered behavior of MBTCA will be of interest for further research on organometallic photooxidation chemistry of atmospheric aerosols. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Biogenic secondary organic aerosol, Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction, MBTCA, Metal complexes, Trace analysis
in
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
volume
411
issue
13
pages
2937 - 2944
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85064514416
  • pmid:30931501
ISSN
1618-2642
DOI
10.1007/s00216-019-01741-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
66501df1-fb69-465b-a86c-9ea33517a99d
date added to LUP
2019-05-07 08:23:01
date last changed
2024-10-01 22:05:57
@article{66501df1-fb69-465b-a86c-9ea33517a99d,
  abstract     = {{<p><br>
                                                         3-Methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA) is a secondary organic aerosol and can be used as a unique emission marker of biogenic emissions of monoterpenes. Seasonal variations and differences in vegetation cover around the world may lead to low atmospheric MBTCA concentrations, in many cases too low to be measured. Hence, an important tool to quantify the contribution of terrestrial vegetation to the loading of secondary organic aerosol may be compromised. To meet this challenge, a dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) method, known for the extraction of hydrophobic compounds, was extended to the extraction of polar organic compounds like MBTCA without compromising the efficiency of the method. The extraction solvent was fine-tuned using tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide as additive. A multivariate experimental design was applied for deeper understanding of significant variables and interactions between them. The optimum extraction conditions included 1-octanol with 15% tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide (w/w) as extraction solvent, methanol as dispersive solvent, 25% NaCl dissolved in 5 mL sample (w/w) acidified to pH 2 using HNO                             <br>
                            <sub>3</sub><br>
                                                         , and extraction time of 15 min. A limit of detection of 0.12 pg/m                             <br>
                            <sup>3</sup><br>
                                                          in air was achieved. Furthermore, unique complexation behavior of MBTCA with iron(III) was found when analyzed with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–ESI–QToF). A comprehensive overview of this complexation behavior of MBTCA was examined with systematically designed experiments. This newly discovered behavior of MBTCA will be of interest for further research on organometallic photooxidation chemistry of atmospheric aerosols. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].                         <br>
                        </p>}},
  author       = {{Azeem, Hafiz Abdul and Tolcha, Teshome and Hyberg, Petter Ekman and Essén, Sofia and Stenström, Kristina and Swietlicki, Erik and Sandahl, Margareta}},
  issn         = {{1618-2642}},
  keywords     = {{Biogenic secondary organic aerosol; Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction; MBTCA; Metal complexes; Trace analysis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{13}},
  pages        = {{2937--2944}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry}},
  title        = {{Extending the scope of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for trace analysis of 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid in atmospheric aerosols leading to the discovery of iron(III) complexes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-01741-1}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00216-019-01741-1}},
  volume       = {{411}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}