Raquel Gomes da Costa Silva

PubMed2006

Sol-gel molecular imprinted ormosil for solid-phase extraction of methylxanthines.

A organically modified molecularly imprinted silica (MIS), selective for methylxanthines, was prepared using a simple sol-gel procedure. Caffeine was used as template; 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as functional monomer and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as reticulating agent. The material was packed on solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges and evaluated with aqueous test samples, natural water and human urine; a quantitative method for methylxanthines in water, using SPE cartridges packed with the MIS coupled with HPLC-UV was developed. The MIS was highly specific for methylxanthines, with an imprinting factor of (20.5+/-1.9). The analytical method resulted in detection limits of 85 microgL(-1) for theobromine, 44 microgL(-1) for theophylline and 53 microgL(-1) for caffeine.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

PubMed2005

Highly porous solid-phase microextraction fiber coating based on poly(ethylene glycol)-modified ormosils synthesized by sol-gel technology.

The preparation and characteristics of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers coated with Carbowax 20M ormosil (organically modified silica) are described here. Raw fused silica fibers were coated with Carbowax 20M-modified silica using sol-gel process. Scanning electron micrographs of fibers revealed a highly porous, sponge-like coating with an average thickness of (8 +/- 1) microm. The sol-gel Carbowax fibers were compared to commercial fibers coated with 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and 65 microm Carbowax-divinylbenzene (DVB). Shorter equilibrium times were possible with the sol-gel Carbowax fiber: for headspace extraction of the test analytes, they ranged from less than 3 min for benzene to 15 min for o-xylene. Extraction efficiencies of the sol-gel Carbowax fiber were superior to those of conventional fibers: for o-xylene, the extracted masses were 230 and 540% of that obtained with 100 microm PDMS and 65 microm Carbowax-DVB fibers, respectively.

Benzene↗