An Ion-Pair Reagent Incorporated Polystyrene Nanofiber Applied to Solid Phase Extraction of 5-Hydroxytryptamine in Human Plasma

Polystyrene (PS) nanofibers incorporated with ion-pair (IP) reagent, e.g., sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDSn), were developed as functional adsorbents for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of ionic neurotransmitter such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), prior to the determination by high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD).A comprehensive study was initiated to optimize the preconcentration step by exploring the main factors that affect the extraction/preconcentration efficiency of 5-HT, such as the composition of nanofibers, eluent and its volume, amount of adsorbent, pH and ionic strength.The validity of this method was investigated and optimal analytical performance was achieved including a wide dynamic range of 0.50-200 ng mL -1 , detection limits of 0.50 ng mL -1 and precision (as RSD%) lower than 4% for both intra-day and inter-day assays.This method was then applied to the determination of 5-HT in human plasma with satisfactory results.