Comparison of Two Liquid-Liquid Microextractions for the Detection of Crocin in the Saffron and Biological Samples Using UV- Vis Spectrophotometry

In this work, two approaches based on Dispersive Liquid-Liquid MicroExtraction (DLLME) and Dispersive Liquid-Liquid MicroExtraction based on Solidification of Floating Organic drop (DLLME-SFO) were compared for the extraction and preconcentration of crocin from saffron and biological samples. Different DLLME and DLLME-SFO parameters influencing the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized. The results showed that both extraction methods exhibited good linearity, precision, enrichment factor, and detection limit. Under optimal conditions, the limits of detection were 0.008 and 0.005 ng/mL for DLLME and DLLME-SFO, respectively. The preconcentration factors were 88 and 95 for DLLME and DLLME-SFO, respectively. The applicability of the proposed methods was examined by analyzing crocin in saffron, urine and milk samples and good results were obtained. The percentage recovery values for spiked samples were between 96.4 and 99.1.