Miniaturised centrifugal solid phase extraction platforms for in-field sampling, pre-concentration and spectrometric detection of organic pollutants in aqueous samples

Great variations in pollutant concentrations are observed in the environment and pre-concentration is often required to detect trace contaminants in water samples. This paper presents a novel solid phase-extraction device integrated onto a centrifugal microfluidic platform for rapid on-site pre-concentration and screening of organic contaminants in aqueous samples.

In-column fluorescence and absorbance measurements are obtained directly from an analyte trapped on the top of a solid phase extraction microcolumn. Results are presented for the representative fluorophore fluorescein and the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon anthracene. An absolute detection limit of 20 ng was obtained for anthracene using a simple light emitting diode for fluorescence excitation.

One of the main advantages of this device is that only a simple motor is needed to induce liquid flow, making simultaneous on-site extraction and measurement of multiple samples easy while minimizing sample losses and contamination.