Magnetic cellulose nanoparticles as sorbents for stir bar-sorptive dispersive microextraction of polychlorinated biphenyls in juice samples

Abstract Magnetic cellulose nanoparticles (MCNPs) were used for the first time as sorbents for stir bar-sorptive dispersive microextraction (SBSDME). The main experimental parameters involved in the SBSDME process that affect extraction (i.e. amount of MCNPs, ionic strength, pH, extraction and back-extraction time) were investigated. The method was applied to the determination of nine polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fruit juice samples by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Under the optimized conditions, a good linearity was obtained in a concentration range of 10–1000 ng mL −1 with determination coefficients over 0.9945. Limits of detection and quantification for all target PCBs were in the range 2.1–54 ng L −1 and 7.0–180 ng L −1 , respectively. Intra-day precision ranged from 1.7% to 8.8% and inter-day precision from 3.4% to 9.3% RSD. The enrichment factors of the analytes were from 74.6 to 98.2. The MCNPs can be reused up to 5 times. The method was applied to commercial orange and pineapple juices ( n  = 5), where concentrations were below the limits of detection. Recoveries from 70.4 to 108.0% were obtained by applying the method for the analysis of spiked fruit juice samples at 1 and 2 ng mL −1 concentration levels. The use of cellulose makes this approach environmentally friendly and the magnetism of the resulting sorbent in conjunction with SBSDME provides ease of handling and saving of time.