Novel Microporous Membrane/Solvent Microextraction for Preconcentration of Cinnamic Acid Derivatives in Rhizoma Typhonii

A novel microporous membrane/solvent microextraction (MPMSME) approach was developed in which a piece of microporous filter membrane was used as not only extraction solvent holder but also solid phase extraction unit. Subsequently, high-performance liquid chromatography with an UV detector was conducted. The wide exchange surface and very little organic solvent consumption made this sample pretreatment technology very interesting. The cinnamic acid derivatives were used as model analytes to evaluate the procedure. Parameters that affect the MPMSME such as type of extraction solvent, membrane area (or volumes of extraction solvent), aqueous phase pH, ionic strength, extraction stirring rate, extraction time, and sample volume were investigated and optimized. The enrichment factor (EF) of analyte was defined in MPMSME. Under the optimized conditions, the EFs of cinnamic acid derivatives were 43–144. Good linearities were obtained from 4 to 4,000 ng mL−1 for all the analytes with regression coefficients of between 0.9956 and 0.9977; the limits of quantification were below 0.4 ng mL−1, and satisfactory recoveries (93–106 %) and precisions (0.37–13 %) were also achieved. The experimental results showed that the method was simple, rapid, practical, and effective for preconcentration and determination of the cinnamic acid derivatives in rhizoma typhonii.