Insights into the Effect of the PDMS-Layer on the Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Analyte Sorption onto the Matrix-Compatible Solid Phase Microextraction Coating

Abstract

The currently presented research investigated the performance of matrix compatible PDMS-overcoated fibers (PDMS-DVB/PDMS) as compared to unmodified PDMS/ DVB coatings using aqueous samples and employing a wide range of analyte polarities, molecular weights, and functionalities. In the first part of the work, a kinetic approach was taken to investigate the effect of the PDMS outer layer on the uptake rate of analytes during the mass transfer process. In short, the results can be simplified into two models: (1) the rate-limiting step is the diffusion through the coating and (2) the rate-limiting step is the diffusion through the aqueous diffusional boundary layer. For polar compounds, according to the theoretical discussion, the rate-limiting step is the diffusion through the coating; therefore, the outer PDMS layer influences the uptake rate into the matrix compatible coatings. On the other hand, for nonpolar compounds, the rate-limiting step of the uptake process is diffusion through the aqueous diffusional boundary layer; as such, the overcoated PDMS does not affect uptake rate into the matrix-compatible coatings as compared to DVB/PDMS fibers. From a thermodynamic point of view, the calculated fiber constants further corroborate the hypothesis that the additional PDMS layer does not impair the extraction phase capacity.