Spectrophtometric determination of malachite green in fish farming water samples after cloud point extraction using nonionic surfactant Triton X-100

A novel and sensitive cloud point extraction procedure for the determination of trace amounts of malachite green by spectrophotometry was developed. Malachite green was extracted at pH 2.5 mediated by micelles of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100. The extracted surfactant-rich phase was diluted with ethanol and its absorbance was measured at 630 nm. The effect of different variables such as pH, Triton X-100 concentration, cloud point temperature and time and diverse ions was investigated and optimum conditions were established. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 4–500 ng mL−1 of malachite green in the initial solution with r = 0.9996 (n = 10). Detection limit based on three times the standard deviation of the blank (3Sb) was 1.2 ng mL−1 and the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for 20 and 300 ng mL−1 of malachite green was 1.48 and 1.13% (n = 8), respectively. The method was applied to the determination of malachite green in different fish farming and river water samples.