The Cloud Point Extraction - Spectroscopy Application Research

Sensitive, rapid, reproducible, simple and accurate analytical methods are required for the determination of trace elements in geological, biological and environmental samples. The direct determination of extremely low concentrations of trace elements by modern atomic spectroscopic methods, such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and ultraviolet spectrophotometer is often difficult. The limitations are associated not only with the insufficient sensitivity of these techniques but also with matrix interference. For this reason, the separation and preconcentration of trace elements is often required.Cloud point extraction (CPE) is a kind of new environmentally benign liquid-liquid extraction method. The technique is based on the property of most non-ionic surfactants in aqueous solutions to form micelles and become turbid when heated to a temperature known as the cloud point temperature. Above the cloud point, the micellar solution separates into a surfactant-rich phase of a small volume and a diluted aqueous phase, in which the surfactant concentration is close to the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Any analyte solubilized in the hydrophobic core of the micelles will separate and become concentrated in the small volume of the surfactant-rich phase. The small volume of the surfactant-rich phase obtained with this methodology permits the design of extraction schemes that are simple, economical, highly efficient, speedy, and of lower toxicity to the environment than those extractions that use organic solvents. Separation and preconcentration based on cloud point extraction is becoming an important and practical application in the use of surfactants in analytical chemistry. It's widely used in the separation and purification of bio-molecules and extraction of organic compounds and metal ions.This sort of extraction can be implemented in conjunction with different analytical detection systems. Cloud point extraction in connection with spectrophotometry and atomic absorption spectrometry can emerge as a powerful analytical technique for metal preconcentration and determination. CPE has also been the subject of study in metal...