Molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for determination of N-Nitrosodiphenylamine in water samples

In this study, the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with high specific surface area and extraction efficiency of N-Nitrosodiphenylamine (NDPhA) were successfully prepared and a highly sensitive and selective method was developed for determination of NDPhA in water samples using MIPs solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) detection. The MIPs were successfully prepared using the method of precipitation polymerization and using methacrylic acid as the functional monomer , ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker, and N, N-Diphenylformamide as the template molecule. The newly synthesized MIPs were characterized and used as SPE sorbents . Under the optimized conditions, the average recoveries of NDPhA spiked in ultrapure water were higher than 94% ± 2.9% at three different concentrations and the limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.8 ng L −1 and 2.4 ng L −1 , respectively. Moreover, the high selectivity of MIPs was attained and the satisfactory recoveries of NDPhA which were spiked in to real samples were achieved in the range of 92–107% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) within 0.3–7.9%. The low levels of NDPhA were detected in the two of twelve wastewater samples with concentrations of 5.6 ng L −1 and 3.6 ng L −1 with RSDs of 5.6% and 2.8%, respectively. The developed MIP-SPE method was proved to be practically feasible for selective extraction and enrichment of NDPhA in real water samples.