Graphene oxide-based dispersive micro-solid phase extraction for separation and preconcentration of nicotine from biological and environmental water samples followed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection

Graphene oxide (GO) has showed great potential to use as an adsorbent in sample preparation procedures. In this research, GO was used as an effective adsorbent in a simple GO-based dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (GO-D-µ-SPE) method for isolation and preconcentration of nicotine prior to gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). The prepared GO was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy techniques. Various experimental parameters affecting the extraction recovery, including the amount of GO, extraction time, pH of the sample solution, salt concentration, and desorption conditions were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, a linear response was obtained in the concentration range of 5–2000 ng mL−1 with a determination coefficient of 0.9987. The limit of detection (LOD) of the method at a signal to noise ratio of 3 was 1.5 ng mL−1. The linearity was in the concentration range of 5–2000 ng mL−1 with a determination coefficient of 0.9987. Intraday and inter-day precisions were obtained equal to 2.7% and 5.2%, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the nicotine analysis in biological and water samples with the recoveries in the range of 88.7–109.7%.