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Novel bionanomaterial based on Spirulina maxima algae and graphene oxide for lead microextraction and determination in water and infant beverages

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Abstract

A new hybrid bionanomaterial composed of graphene oxide (GO) and Spirulina maxima (SM) algae was synthesized and applied to develop a preconcentration method based on the dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (D-μ-SPE) technique for the determination of Pb in water and infant beverages. In this work, Pb(II) was extracted with 3 mg of the hybrid bionanomaterial (GO@SM) followed by a back-extraction step using 500 µL of 0.6 mol L−1 HCl. Then, a 1.5 × 10−3 mol L−1 dithizone solution was added to the sample containing the analyte to form a purplish red-colored complex for its detection by UV–Vis spectrophotometry at 553 nm. An extraction efficiency of 98% was obtained after optimization of experimental variables such as GO@SM mass, pH, sample volume, type, and time of agitation. A detection limit of 1 μg L−1 and a relative standard deviation of 3.5% (at 5 μg L−1 Pb(II), n = 10) were achieved. The calibration linear range was obtained between 3.3 and 95 µg L−1 Pb(II). The proposed method was successfully applied for the preconcentration and determination of Pb(II) in infant beverages. Finally, the greenness degree of the D-µ-SPE method was evaluated using the Analytical GREEnness calculator (AGREE), obtaining a score of 0.62.

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Abbreviations

AGREE:

Analytical GREEnness calculator

ATR-FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance

CRM:

Certified reference material

D-µ-SPE:

Dispersive micro-solid phase extraction

DTZ:

Dithizone

EF:

Enhancement factor

ETAAS:

Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

FAO:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

GO:

Graphene oxide

ICP-MS:

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

LOD:

Limit of detection

RSD:

Relative standard deviation

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

SM:

Spirulina maxima

UV-Vis:

Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Funding

This work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET, PIBAA 1208), Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (M015–T1: “Graphene oxide nanomaterials functionalized with amino acids for the adsorptive removal of toxic dyes from water and industrial effluents”), and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW Project: “Hybrid bio–nanomaterials: tools for the development of highly sensitive analytical methods applied to the determination of toxic elements in baby food”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory (BioTA), Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Interdisciplinary Institute of Basic Sciences (ICB), UNCUYO-CONICET, Padre J. Contreras 1300, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Estefanía B. Ingrassia, Emiliano F. Fiorentini & Leticia B. Escudero

  2. Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Research and Development (QUIANID), Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Interdisciplinary Institute of Basic Sciences (ICB), UNCUYO-CONICET, Padre J. Contreras 1300, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    Rodolfo G. Wuilloud

  3. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Almirante Brown Almirante Brown 500, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

    Stela M. da Silva

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  1. Estefanía B. Ingrassia
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  2. Emiliano F. Fiorentini
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Correspondence to Leticia B. Escudero.

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Ingrassia, E.B., Fiorentini, E.F., Wuilloud, R.G. et al. Novel bionanomaterial based on Spirulina maxima algae and graphene oxide for lead microextraction and determination in water and infant beverages. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 5475–5486 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04821-5

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