Automated liquid–solid extraction of pyrene from soil on centrifugal microfluidic devices

Organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are present in the environment in increasing concentrations and so are of growing concern. Monitoring these species, particularly on-site, can be both difficult and expensive. This paper presents a novel miniaturised magnetically actuated liquid–solid extraction unit integrated in tandem with a filtration unit and a detection unit on a single centrifugal microfluidic device. A demonstration analyte, pyrene, was rapidly extracted and quantified by UV-absorbance from multiple soil samples. The system showed excellent performance for a system designed for field use. Characterization of two types of passive valves was performed along with an extraction time efficiency study. The system provides a factor of 150 reduction in sample weights and extraction solvent volumes and provides statistically similar recoveries to the conventional method with a pyrene detection limit of 1 ppm (0.03 μg absolute detection limit). The reduction in time and solvent and the potential for field use suggest that this device type may be valuable for environmental monitoring.