Extraction and reliable determination of acrylamide from thermally processed foods using ionic liquid-based ultrasound-assisted selective microextraction combined with spectrophotometry

Acrylamide (AAm) is a carcinogenic chemical that can form in thermally processed foods by the Maillard reaction of glucose with asparagine. AAm can easily be formed especially in frequently consumed chips and cereal-based foods depending on processing conditions. Considering these properties of AAm, a new, simple and green method is proposed for the extraction of AAm from thermally processed food samples. In this study, an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, Bmim]BF₄]) as extractant was used in the presence of a cationic phenazine group dye, 3,7-diamino-5-phenylphenazinium chloride (PSH⁺, phenosafranine) at pH 7.5 for the extraction of AAm as an ion-pair complex from selected samples. Under optimum conditions, the analytical features obtained for the proposed method were as follows; linear working range, the limits of detection (LOD, 3S_b/m) and quantification (LOQ, 10S_b/m), preconcentration factor, sensitivity enhancement factor, sample volume and recovery% were 2.2–350 µg kg^?1, 0.7 µg kg^?1, 2.3 µg kg^?1, 120, 95, 60 mL and 94.1–102.7%, respectively. The validity of the method was tested by analysis of two certified reference materials (CRMs) and intra-day and inter-day precision studies. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the determination of AAm levels in thermally processed foods using the standard addition method.