Separation and Enhanced Detection of Anesthetic Compounds Using Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (SPME)–Raman Spectroscopy

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) was used along with Raman spectroscopy (RS) to separate and enhance the detection of five anesthetic compounds (halothane, propofol, isoflurane, enflurane, and etomidate) from aqueous and serum phases. Raman signals in the spectral ranges 250–450 cm−1 and 950–1050 cm−1 allowed the unique characterization of all five compounds when extracted into the PDMS phase. The SPME-RS detection of clinically relevant concentrations of aqueous propofol (6.5 μM) and halothane (200 μM) is shown. We quantify the partition coefficient for aqueous halothane in PDMS as log K = 1.9 ± 0.2. Solid-phase micro-extraction of the anesthetics makes their detection possible without the strong autofluorescent interference of serum proteins. Because of low solubility and/or weak Raman scattering, we found it challenging to detect enflurane, isoflurane, and etomidate directly from the aqueous phase, but could we do so with SPME enhancement. These studies show the potential of SPME-RS as a method for the direct detection of anesthetics in blood.