Selective solid phase extraction of trace cadmium(II) and lead(II) from biological and natural water samples by ofloxacin-modified-silica gel

Abstract

Ofloxacin was successfully used as a chemical modifier to improve the reactivity of silica gel in terms of selective binding and extraction of heavy metal ions. This new functionalised silica gel (SG-ofloxacin) was as an effective sorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in biological and natural water samples and their determination by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Experimental conditions for effective adsorption of trace levels of Cd(II) and Pb(II) were optimised with respect to different experimental parameters using the batch and column procedures. The time for 70% sorption for Cd(II) and Pb(II) was less than 2 min. Complete elution of the adsorbed metal ions from the SG-ofloxacin was carried out using 2.0 mL of 0.5 mol L⁻¹ of HCl. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation and determination at pH 4.0. The maximum static adsorption capacity of the sorbent at optimum conditions was found to be 39.17 and 48.69 mg g⁻¹ for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The detection limits of the method were found to be 0.29 and 0.13 ng mL⁻¹ for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the method under optimum conditions was lower than 3.0% (n = 5). The method was applied to the recovery of Cd(II) and Pb(II) from the certified reference material (GBW 08301, river sediment) and to the simultaneous determination of these cations in different water and biological samples with satisfactory results and yielding 100-folds enrichment factor.

Keywords:

• silica gel
• ofloxacin
• Cd(II), Pb(II)
• solid-phase extraction (SPE)
• ICP-OES