Biocompatible Solid-Phase Microextraction Nanoelectrospray Ionization: An Unexploited Tool in Bioanalysis

Abstract

In recent years, different geometrical configurations of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) have been directly coupled to mass spectrometry, resulting in benefits such as diminishing matrix effects, improvement of detection limits, and considerable enhancement of analysis throughput. Although SPME fibers have been used for years, their potential for quantitative analysis when directly combined with mass spectrometry has not been explored to its full extent. In this study, we present the direct coupling of biocompatible SPME (Bio-SPME) fibers to mass spectrometry via nanoelectrospray ionization (nano-ESI) emitters as a powerful tool for fast quantitative analysis of target analytes in biofluids. Total sample preparation time does not exceed 2 min, and by selecting an appropriate fiber length and sample vessel, sample volumes ranging between 10 and 1500 μL can be used. Despite the short extraction time of the technique, limits of detection in the subnanogram per milliliter with good accuracy (≥90%) and linearity (R2 > 0.999) were attained for all the studied probes in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), urine, and whole blood. Given that Bio-SPME–nano-ESI efficiently integrates sampling with analyte extraction/enrichment, sample cleanup (including elimination of matrix effects in the form of particles), and ionization, our results demonstrated that it is an advantageous configuration for bioanalytical applications such as therapeutic drug monitoring, doping in sports, and pharmacological studies in various matrixes.