Casein/Albumin Silver/Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Efficient Dispersive Solid-Phase Microextraction of Phenolic Compounds from Aqueous Solutions Followed by UV–Visible Spectrometry

The increasing presence of phenolic compounds in water sources from industrial and agricultural operations demands the development of effective, environmentally sustainable extraction and detection techniques. Casein/albumin-silver/zinc oxide nanoparticles (CAS/ALB-Ag/Zn NPs) have been produced and effectively characterized utilizing various approaches. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurement, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were utilized as a sorbent in a novel dispersive solid phase microextraction (DSPME) method for the extraction of phenolic compounds, specifically phenol (PHN), pyrogallol (PYRO), and catechol (CATE) from aqueous solutions, subsequently analyzed using UV-visible spectrometry with Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent (FCR) as a chromogenic reagent. Several parameters that potentially influence extraction efficiency have been optimized. Under the optimal circumstances, the linear range for the analyzed phenolic compounds was 0.1-50.0 μg/mL, the detection limit ranged from 0.1096 to 0.1976 μg/mL, the quantification limit varied from 0.3322 to 0.5688 μg/mL, and the coefficient of determination (<i>R</i> ²) was between 0.9982 and 0.9989. Relative recoveries varied between 97.4% and 100.4% for actual samples. The synthesized nanocomposite sorbent exhibits elevated extraction efficiency, repeatability, sensitivity, and environmental compatibility, positioning it as a potential option for monitoring water quality and protecting environmental and human health through rapid, reliable spectrophotometric analysis and removal of phenolic contaminants in food and environmental samples.