Fiber Nanoarchitectonics for Pre-Treatments in Facile Detection of Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Waste Water and Faecal Samples

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are among the active metabolites in biological process both in the intestinal tract and the bioconversion of organic wastes, which has resulted in various human diseases and environmental problems. In order to accurately detect SCFAs, we introduced a novel extraction sorbent. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber membrane was synthesized, then poly (3, 4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was deposited onto the surface of electrospun PAN nanofibers by in situ polymerization. The morphology of the composite PAN/PEDOT nanofiber was characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and FTIR spectrum. PAN/PEDOT was used to isolate and concentrate the SCFAs in waste water and fecal samples before gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The analytical method was evaluated systematically, and low limits of detection (LODs) of 0.34–0.87 μg/L and good linearity (R(2) ≥ 0.9953) were obtained. The method was applied successfully for the determination of SCFAs in waste water and fecal samples, with good recovery (87.5–104.6%) and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviation: 6.5–14.1%). The results indicated that the proposed method can be used as a potential approach for the determination of SCFAs with high sensitivity in waste water and biological samples.