Preparation of a single and reusable biopolymer-based film for the extraction and preconcentration of anti-inflammatory drugs from environmental water samples

One of the main goals of green chemistry is to reduce the use of toxic materials and the generation of hazardous waste, both during method development and in the synthesis of the materials used. Thus, a biodegradable, single and reusable material composed of agarose and multi-walled carbon nanotubes was proposed. The film preparation was carefully optimized in order to obtain a one-piece sorbent, with high extraction efficiency and the possibility of reuse. The film was tested in the simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ketorolac, ketoprofen and piroxicam) from environmental water samples. The optimal extraction parameters were as follows: isopropyl alcohol as the activation solvent, a sample pH value of 3.0, extraction time of 30 min, 2.00 mL of acetonitrile as the eluent, an elution time of 5 minutes, and a sample volume of 250.00 mL. Under these conditions, the film was reusable 50 times without losing its extraction capacity significantly. HPLC with a photodiode array detector was used for the separation and determination. The method presented a linear range between 0.10 and 1.2 μg L(−1), good sensitivity with limits of detection between 0.0075 and 0.0089 μg L(−1), and quantification between 0.025 and 0.030 μg L(−1). In addition, low RSD values (0.46–3.13%) were obtained demonstrating satisfactory precision. Stream water samples were analyzed, and recoveries between 82.0 and 109.0% were obtained.