Continuous flow hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction and monitoring of pharmaceuticals in a sewage treatment plant effluent.

A method for simultaneous extraction and quantification of four non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) based on continuous flow hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (CFHF-LPME) was developed. The effect of sample flow rate, acceptor flow rate, type of acceptor flow (continuous, semi-continuous or forward-backward), type of supported liquid membrane and sample volume was studied. The extraction of the final method was linear over an environmentally relevant concentration range and yielded high enrichment factors (720-940 times) in reagent water and (270-800 times) in sewage water for all analytes within 45 min.