Comparison of different imidazolium supported ionic liquid polymeric phases with strong anion-exchange character for the extraction of acidic pharmaceuticals from complex environmental samples.

Two imidazolium supported ionic liquid phases (SILPs) containing different anions, trifluoromethanesulphonate [CF(3)SO(3)(-)], and tetrafluoroborate [BF(4)(-)], were synthesized and evaluated as solid-phase extraction sorbents for extracting acidic pharmaceuticals from aqueous samples under strong anion-exchange conditions, which include an effective cleanup of the sample. The best SILP material [MI(+)][CF(3)SO(3)(-) ] was selected and successfully applied to the determination of acidic pharmaceuticals in different types of water samples (river water and effluent wastewater). The results were then compared to the previously synthesized SILP material based on [MI(+)][CF(3)COO(-)] and the commercially available Oasis MAX sorbent.