Nectarine Core-Derived Magnetite Biochar for Ultrasound-Assisted Preconcentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) in Tomato Paste: A Cost-Effective and Sustainable Approach Publisher



Azari A^{1, 2} ; Kamani H³ ; Sarkhosh M⁴ ; Vatankhah N⁵ ; Yousefi M⁶ ; Mahmoudimoghaddam H⁷ ; Razavinasab SA¹ ; Masoudi MR¹ ; Sadeghi R¹ ; Sharifi N¹ ; Yaghmaeain K⁸
Source: Food Chemistry: X Published:2024

Abstract

A novel ultrasound-assisted magnetic solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (US-MSPE-GC/MS) was developed to detect trace amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tomato paste, using a magnetic biochar adsorbent derived from nectarine cores. The highest extraction recovery was attained under 10 mg adsorbent mass, 30 min extraction time, 9 % (w/v) sodium chloride, and elution with 200 μL of dichloromethane. Under optimum conditions, the method demonstrated excellent linearity (R2 > 0.992) across a wide concentration range (0.01-100 ng g−1) with high sensitivity (LODs: 0.028-0.053 ng g−1, LOQs: 0.094-0.176 ng g−1) and good repeatability (RSDs <5.96 %). The application of the US-MSPE-GC/MS method was tested on four brands of real tomato paste and no PAHs were detected in unspiked samples, indicating no background contamination. This method showed high relative recoveries 88.03-98.52 %) and good reproducibility (<9.19 %.) at two concentration levels, confirming its effectiveness for PAH analysis in real samples. © 2024