INCORPORATION OF NEW MATERIALS IN MICROEXTRACTION

ANALYTICAL APPLICATIONS

ALISIO CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES SL

Design and synthesis of materials

The  

goal  

of  

MAT4LL  

Research  

Group  

is  

the  

design  

of  

new  

extraction  

phases  

based  

on  

different  

materials,  

including

metal-organic  

frameworks,  

ionic  

liquids,  

deep  

eutectic  

solvents,  

and  

(bio)polymers.  

The  

group  

specifically  

aims  

to

exploit  

the  

synthetic  

versatility  

of  

these  

materials  

to  

prepare  

extraction  

phases  

with  

improved  

physicochemical

properties,  

extraction  

performance,  

and  

selectivity  

for  

the  

specific  

applications.  

Thus,  

the  

functionalization  

of  

metal-

organic  

frameworks  

and  

biopolymers,  

and  

the  

synthesis  

of  

magnetic  

ionic  

liquids  

and  

polymeric  

ionic  

liquids  

are  

the

main  

research  

lines  

explored  

in  

the  

group.  

MAT4LL  

also  

seeks  

the  

rational  

preparation  

of  

hybrid  

materials  

that

present  

advanced  

characteristics  

with  

respect  

to  

the  

individual  

components  

with  

the  

aim  

of  

improving  

stability  

and

selectivity  

of  

the  

extraction  

phase.  

Moreover,  

the  

sustainability  

and  

toxicity  

of  

the  

new  

materials  

is  

an  

important

aspect  

considered  

in  

the  

MAT4LL  

scope.  

In  

this  

sense,  

the  

design  

always  

contemplates  

the  

use  

of  

renewable  

sources

and non-harmful reagents, while the toxicity of the new materials is also evaluated.

Development of analytical methods based on microextraction

All  

the  

materials  

prepared  

in  

MAT4LL  

are  

used  

as  

extraction  

phases  

in  

microextraction  

techniques.  

These  

sample

preparation  

strategies  

not  

only  

meet  

the  

requirements  

of  

Green  

Analytical  

Chemistry,  

but  

also  

present  

a  

high

preconcentration  

potential,  

which  

is  

important  

for  

trace  

analysis.  

Moreover,  

the  

flexibility  

and  

simplicity  

of  

these

techniques  

facilitate  

their  

implementation  

in  

analytical  

laboratories  

as  

alternative  

to  

conventional  

methods,  

leading

to  

automated  

set-up  

in  

some  

cases.  

MAT4LL  

evaluates  

all  

the  

developed  

materials  

in  

liquid-phase  

microextraction

techniques  

(DLLME,  

ABS,  

etc.)  

and  

in  

the  

different  

modes  

of  

sorbent-based  

microextraction  

(dispersive  

solid-phase

extraction,   

magnetic-assisted   

procedures,   

and   

SPME   

variations).   

More   

recently,   

the   

group   

mainly   

focuses   

on

designing   

and   

fabricating   

portable,   

reusable   

and   

easy-to-use   

microextraction   

devices,   

such   

as   

fibers   

(SPME),

membranes (TFME), and other geometries (InVial project).

Non-invasive bioanalysis

MAT4LL  

pursues  

the  

development  

of  

efficient  

non-invasive  

platforms  

for  

bioanalysis  

using  

biological  

fluids,  

such  

as

urine  

or  

saliva.  

Biomonitoring  

is  

a  

fundamental  

tool  

to  

assess  

the  

correlations  

between  

exposure  

and  

diseases.

Microextraction  

devices  

perfectly  

fits  

in  

this  

application  

considering  

the  

limited  

access  

to  

high  

volumes  

of  

this  

type  

of

samples.   

Similarly,   

the   

use   

of   

more   

efficient   

and   

selective   

extraction   

phases   

is   

beneficial   

considering   

the   

high

complexity  

of  

biological  

matrices.  

Among  

the  

wide  

variety  

of  

analysis  

in  

this  

field,  

the  

group  

aims  

to  

optimize  

and

validate   

analytical   

methods   

for   

the   

determination   

of   

biomarkers   

associated   

with   

the   

human   

exposure   

to

contaminants of emerging concern, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products. 

Monitoring contaminants of emerging concern in the Canary Islands waters

Tourism  

is  

the  

main  

economical  

activity  

developed  

in  

The  

Canary  

Islands.  

However,  

tourism  

also  

has  

a  

significant

impact  

on  

the  

environment  

by  

increasing  

the  

waste  

generation  

and  

contamination  

of  

aquatic  

ecosystems.  

Indeed,

the  

negative  

effect  

of  

overexplotaition  

of  

water  

resources  

in  

the  

Islands  

has  

been  

already  

pointed  

out.  

One  

of  

the

target  

applications  

of  

the  

MAT4LL  

group  

is  

the  

incorporation  

of  

the  

developed  

microextraction  

techniques  

with  

novel

materials  

in  

water  

analysis  

to  

monitor  

contaminants  

of  

emerging  

concern  

and  

persistent  

contaminats.  

Thus,  

both

organic  

compounds  

and  

metal  

species  

are  

monitored  

at  

trace  

concentration  

levels.  

This  

research  

line  

pursues  

the

analysis  

of  

different  

water  

bodies,  

from  

groundwaters  

and  

seawaters  

to  

wastewaters,  

bath  

and  

drinking  

waters.  

The

results  

of  

this  

project  

will  

be  

useful  

for  

future  

recommended  

actions  

to  

minimize  

the  

impact  

of  

these  

contaminants

in  

the  

environment.  

Moreover,  

MAT4LL  

also  

explores  

the  

possibility  

of  

using  

the  

developed  

materials  

to  

carry  

out  

the

decomposition of the contaminants by heterogeneous photocatalysis.

AEROPOLSOL project

This  

project  

developed  

in  

the  

MAT4LL  

group  

is  

leaded  

by  

Dr.  

Jessica  

López-Darias.  

The  

main  

goal  

of  

AEROPOLSOL

project  

is  

to  

evaluate  

the  

effect  

of  

the  

Saharan  

dust  

on  

the  

PMx  

aerosols  

and  

the  

presence  

of  

air  

pollutants  

traces  

in

the Canary Islands.