Vortex-assisted ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the determination of sulfonylurea herbicides in wine samples by capillary high-performance liquid chromatography

•Four SUHs are analysed in red and white wines by capillary liquid chromatography.•Vortex-assisted ionic liquid DLLME (VA-IL-DLLME) is employed as sample treatment.•An ionic liquid, considered as green solvent, is used for the selective extraction.•VA-IL-DLLME with capillary HPLC-DAD is an environmentally friendly alternative.•LODs are low enough for detection of the SUHs below the maximum EU allowance. A new sample treatment, namely vortex-assisted ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (VA-IL-DLLME), followed by capillary liquid chromatography has been developed for the determination of four sulfonylurea herbicides (SUHs): flazasulfuron (FS), prosulfuron (PS), primisulfuron-methyl (PSM) and triflusulfuron-methyl (TSM) in wine samples. The ionic liquid (IL) 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C6MIM][PF6]) was used as extraction solvent and was dispersed using methanol into the sample solution, assisted by a vortex mixer. Various parameters influencing the extraction efficiency, such as type and amount of IL, type and volume of disperser solvent, sample pH, salting-out effect, vortex and centrifugation time were studied. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection and quantification of the proposed method were in the ranges of 3.2–6.6 and 10.8–22.0μgkg−1, respectively; lower than the maximum residue limits set by the EU for these matrices. The proposed method was successfully applied to different wine samples and satisfactory recoveries were obtained.