Supported liquid membrane microextraction with high-performance liquid chromatography–UV detection for monitoring trace haloacetic acids in water

Supported liquid membrane microextraction (SLMME) with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)–UV detection has been developed for the extraction, preconcentration, and determination of all the nine haloacetic acids (HAAs) in water. The HAAs are extracted into a supported liquid membrane, and then back-extracted into few microliters of an acceptor solution. The extract was directly analyzed by HPLC–UV with a 15-min run. Enrichment factors in the range of 300–3000 were obtained in a 60-min extraction, and detection limits were at low to sub-μg/L level with R.S.D. values between 1.5 and 10.8%. The parameters that affected analyte enrichment were studied. This approach offers an attractive alternative to the current US Environmental Protection Agency standard methods for HAA analysis, which require complex sample preparation and derivatization prior to analysis by gas chromatography. SLMME can also be used in conjunction with other analytical schemes, such as, ion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis.