Application of electromembrane extraction followed by corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry analysis as a fast and sensitive technique for determination of tricyclic antidepressants in urine samples

In the paper, electromembrane extraction (EME) method coupled with corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry (CD-IMS) was introduced for determination of antidepressant drugs (desipramine, sertraline, clomipramine, citalopram) in urine samples. IMS is a well-known, comparatively inexpensive, robust and easy to operate analytical instrumentation. This combination would provide a selective and sensitive determination. In order to achieve the best extraction efficiency, optimization of the variables affecting these methods was carried out. Optimal extractions were accomplished with 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as the supported liquid membrane, with 190 V as the driving force, and with pH 4 in donor and pH 1 in acceptor solutions. Extractions were obtained after 30 min of operation with the whole assembly agitated at 1000 rpm. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed technique provided good linearity (>0.9974), repeatability (RSD < 4.5%), low limits of detection (0.9-1.5 ng mL(-1)), excellent preconcentration factor (PF = 158-190) and high recoveries (79-95%). Finally, developed method was applied to quantification of antidepressant drugs in urine samples. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.