Electromembrane extraction of peptides - fundamental studies on the supported liquid membrane

A large screening of different components in the supported liquid membrane (SLM) in electromembrane extraction (EME) was performed to test the extraction efficiency on eight model peptides. Electromembrane extraction from a 500 µL acidified aqueous sample containing the model peptides in the concentration 10 µg/mL was used. Extraction time was 5 min with an electric potential of 10 V and 900 rpm agitation of the sample vial. The samples were extracted through a hollow fiber-based SLM with different compositions of organic solvents and carriers. A small volume of acidified acceptor solution (25 µL) was after extraction analyzed directly, or with some dilution, on CE or HPLC. This article has identified mono- or di-substituted phosphate groups as the prominent group of carrier molecules needed to obtain acceptable recoveries. For the organic solvents, primary alcohols and ketones have shown promise regarding recovery and reproducibility, with some differences in selectivity. A new composition of the SLM, namely 2-octanone and tridecyl phosphate (90:10 w/w) has proved to give higher extraction recoveries and lower standard deviation than SLMs previously reported in the literature.