Can I use SPE to extract alcohols (tetradecanol and octacosanol) from seawater samples and if so which SPE tube (e.g. ENVI Florisil) would be most appropriate?
SPE shoudl work nicely for those compounds since they are hydrophobic enough to allow for revserse phase retention I find that either a C18 or polystyrene divinylbenzene phase works well. I'll not that for hydrophobic compounds such as these, you often need to have an appriciable amount of organic solvent, such as ethanol or isopropanol, in the matrix as you are loading it in order to achieve adequatte recovery. I know this seems counterintuitive, but it is often necessary so when you are developing your method this should be considered.
Why would alcohols be in seawater? What concentration are you expecting?
SPE can work good, but maybe think about other methods - check the one below.
You can use a DLLME with ion-pairing reagent. The extract is injected and a derivatization to butyl esters takes place in the injector.
Article Method for the determination of carboxylic acids in industri...
regards,
G
Have you considered headspace-SPME or even direct extraction SPME? A PDMS/DVB fibre works well with similar compounds. Usually detection limits and precision of the headspace method can be improved by adding NaCl up to 15-20% - An equilibrium temperature of say 60C for 10 mins would be a good place to start.
While SPE may work for this, it will be a little time consuming and also involves the usage of the right adsorbent. An easier method will be Head Space GCMS. You can start with a low temperature like 60 degree to extract the alcohols. The sensitivity of HS analysis will also be good.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Phytochemistry
- Extracts