Hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent-based ultrasonic-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction combined with GC for eugenol, isoeugenol, and methyl isoeugenol determination in aquatic products

The use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) has great prospects because of the green and efficient characteristics, which can be used for developing analytical methods for foods. In this research, assisted by ultrasonic waves, a liquid-liquid microextraction detection method combined with gas chromatography was established for three anaesthetics (eugenol, isoeugenol, and methyl isoeugenol) in aquatic food. The processing conditions including the components, ratio of hydrogen bond acceptor and hydrogen bond donor, DES volume, ultrasonic time, and pH were evaluated and optimised to improve the extraction efficiency, which was based on the DES structures and properties. In-house method validation was carried out by applying to real samples. A Thymol: levulinic acid DES (with a molar ratio of 1:2) was used as the extractant and the recoveries were as high as 93–101% for eugenol, 90–100% for methyl isoeugenol, and 86–94% for isoeugenol with RSDs <5% under optimum conditions. The limit of detection and quantification of the eugenol compounds were 0.08–0.10 μg/mL and 0.26–0.33 μg/mL, respectively. The method has green credentials and comparable LOD to homologous apparatus, which can be used for the determination of eugenol components in aquatic food.