Ternary composites of nanocellulose, carbonanotubes and ionic liquids as new extractants for direct immersion single drop microextraction

We proposed for the first time the use of Nanocellulose (NC) into a single drop for extracting and preconcentrating a heterocyclic amine (HCA) in fried food. In conventional single-drop microextraction (SDME) techniques, ionic liquids (IL) or other organic solvents cannot extract HCAs due to its polarity. The advantageous combination of nanomaterials and nanohybrids based on NC and multiwalled carbonanotubes (MWCNT) with IL allows the preparation of a stable droplet with an excellent and selective ability for the preconcentration of the mutagenic 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) by the simple direct immersion SDME technique. The main variables involved in the extraction and preconcentration steps have been evaluated and optimized. The developed method was found to achieve a linear calibration curve in the concentration range of 0.1–10 mg L−1 (r2=0.998), with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.29 mg L−1. Recovery of the method, which was studied in quintuplicate in sausage samples, varied from 90.1% to 95.3% for MeIQx.