Waste toner-derived micro-materials as low-cost magnetic solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the analysis of trace Pb in environmental and biological samples

Abstract

Lead (Pb) is a toxic heavy metal and is commonly used in industrial applications. Thus, Pb poisoning is a concerning public health issue worldwide. The amounts of lead in natural water, urine, and blood can serve as significant indicators for monitoring the exposure of Pb poisoning. Waste toner has the characteristics of both "waste" and "resource," as it is a "resource in the wrong place." Here, a low-cost carboxylate-functionalized magnetic adsorbent was first synthesized from waste toner by a simple thermal treatment and served as a novel adsorbent with a flexible multidentate O-donor for pre-concentration of trace Pb. The characterization, adsorption behavior, and various factors of adsorption and desorption were adequately optimized, and prior to graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) detection, a new magnetic solid-phase extraction method was proposed for the analysis of Pb in real environmental water and biological samples. The developed method exhibited a low detection limit (0.003 μg L^-1), high enrichment factor (88.6-fold), good linearity (0.01-0.3 μg L^-1), satisfactory precision with relative standard deviations of 7.9% (n = 7, C_Pb = 0.02 μg L^-1), fast adsorption kinetics (5 min), and strong ability to overcome matrix interference. Validation was also performed by analyzing a certified standard reference material, and the method was successfully applied to real tap water, lake water, human urine, and human blood serum with satisfactory recoveries of 92.6-109%.

Keywords: Biological samples; Environmental water sample; GFAAS; Lead; Magnetic solid-phase extraction; Waste toner.