Preparation of chemically modified cellulose filter paper for extracting amphetamine-type stimulants from water followed by HPLC-MS/MS determination

A novel chemically modified cellulose filter paper (CMCFP) was prepared by a two-step reaction of esterification and thiol-ene click reaction with cellulose filter paper (CFP). The paper based CMCFP extraction material was used to extract amphetamine-type stimulants (ATSs) from water, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) determination. The FT-IR, XPS, and SEM characterizations showed that the modifiers of 3-mercaptopropionic acid and sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate were successfully covalently grafted onto the CFP. The recovery rates of the 7 target ATSs by CMCFP extraction had a maximum value in the pH range of 4.0–7.0. The kinetic experiments indicated that the main adsorption mechanism of CMCFP for ATSs was chemisorption. The adsorption capacity was greater than 37 ng·cm-2. Surface water and wastewater spike experiments revealed that the determination of 7 ATSs by CMCFP extraction coupled with HPLC-MS/MS method had recoveries of 80.5–116%. Meanwhile, the detection limits were 0.40–3.03 ng·L-1, and the linear range was 20–1000 ng·L-1 with relative standard deviations of 2.2–11%. The CMCFP extraction material obtained in this study is environmentally friendly and economical, and has the same good extraction efficiency as the commercial solid phase extraction cartridges.