Jing Wang

Graduate Research Project                                                                                                            

Developing ionic liquid-based microwave-assisted microextraction for the detection and tracking of hydrophobic pesticide compounds in environmental matrices 

Pyrethroids, synthesized derivatives of the natural insecticide pyrethrins, are neurotoxic pesticides used to control agricultural and domestic insects. Studies show that they are of highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates and also fishes. Some of the studies also show that human beings are also influenced by the pyrethroids. Therefore removal of the pyrethroids will have great significances. Pyrethroids typically contain esters, with an alcohol and an acid moiety containing a dimethylcyclopropane ring with a variable radical. Within the alcohol moiety most of the synthetic pyrethroids contain aromatic rings with an occasional cyano group.

Ionic liquid, environmental friendly novel solvent, will be used for the dispersive microextraction of the pyrethroids from water environment. Ionic liquids are salts in liquid state with melting points below 100 ℃, and typically composed of organic and inorganic ions. Except for high viscosity, high thermal stability and negligible vapor pressure and so on, one of the most attractive propertites of the ionic liquids is the customization of chemical and physical properties through selection of caion and anion.

In this research project, newly synthesized designer ionic liquids were used. And also microwave-assisted dispersive microextraction was performed and also was contrasted with the conventional microextraction. For the detection of the pyrethroids after the microextraction, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used. Also we applied this method for the detection of pyrethroids in the real food samples and tred to figure out the possibility to enhance further study.

• University of Missouri - Columbia, Department of Chemical Engineering, 01/2012 - 03/2013
• Publication: Developing microwave-assisted ionic liquid microextraction for the detection and tracking of hydrophobic pesticides in complex environmental matrices

• Advisor: Dr. Sheila Baker