Air-Agitated Cloud-Point Extraction Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography for Determination of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines in Smoked Sausages

An air-agitated cloud-point extraction procedure (AACPE), which is a new generation of cloud-point extraction procedure, has been investigated for extraction and preconcentration of four heterocyclic amines (i.e., 2-Amino-3,4-dimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ), 2-Amino-3,4,8-trimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (4,8-DiMeIQx), 2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), and 1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-B]indole (harmane)) prior to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In order to enhance the extraction efficiency, the mixture of the aqueous sample solution and extraction solvent (Triton X-114) was repeatedly aspirated and dispensed using a syringe. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of the AACPE procedure, including type and amount of salt, concentration of Triton X-114, extraction time (or number of air agitations), and centrifugation time, were investigated. No temperature controller was necessary. Under the optimum extraction condition, the linearity was achieved between 0.005 and 1.00 mg kg(-1) with the correlation coefficient (R (2)) > 0.999. The low limit of detections (LODs) ranged from 0.001 to 0.003 mg kg(-1) with high enrichment factor (EF) more than 80. Matrix-matched calibration has been used for analysis of the target analytes in real samples. The applicability of the developed procedure was successfully evaluated by the determination of the heterocyclic amines in smoked sausage samples.