Miniaturized solid-phase extraction using a mesoporous molecular sieve SBA-15 as sorbent for the determination of triterpenoid saponins from Pulsatilla chinensis by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detection

TOC The flowchart of the proposal method. [Display omitted] •The solid phase extraction method was developed and optimized using molecular sieve SBA-15 as an effective sorbent.•The possible adsorption mechanism of triterpenoid saponins loading to SBA-15 was illuminated.•The proposed method was applied to the pre-concentration and determination of triterpenoid saponins for the first time.•The study provided theoretical basis and data support for the development of mesoporous material in the field of SPE.•This study provided a feasible method for studying complex Chinese medicines system with no UV activity. A simple, sensitive and efficient solid-phase extraction method, combined with ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detection, was applied to the pre-concentration and determination of four triterpenoid saponins from Pulsatilla chinensis (P. chinensis) ultrasound extract samples. Mesoporous molecular sieve Santa Barbara Amorphous 15 (SBA-15) displayed higher selectivity compared to Mobil Composition of Matter 41 (MCM-41), NH2-SBA-15 and mesoporous carbon when it comes to being used in pretreatment methods. It was applied as an effective sorbent in the SPE for the enrichment of the target analytes. Additionally, several key experimental parameters including the kinds of sorbents, the amount of SBA-15, the elute pH and types of elution solvent were investigated in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the satisfactory linearity (r2 ≥ 0.9940) was acquired and the limits of detection reached 0.461−0.976 μg/mL for the target analytes. The recoveries ranged from 95.1%–103.2%. The experimental results showed that SBA-15 was a candidate material for the purification and concentration of target triterpenoid saponins from complex P. chinensis samples. The study provided theoretical support for the application of mesoporous materials in the field of drug separation and provided references for the extraction and determination of trace compounds in the complex systems of traditional Chinese medicine.