An environmental friendly and fully automated method using in-syringe magnetic stirring assisted
dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography has
been developed for the determination of UV filters in environmental water samples. The main “green”
features on this method are the use of an ionic liquid as extracting solvent, avoiding the use of chlori-
nated solvents, and the on-line microextraction, preconcentration, separation and detection minimizing
the use of reagents and so the waste generation. After sample treatment, 20 mL of the organic droplet was
injected onto the HPLC-UV system. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were studied
using multivariate optimization approach, including the quantity of extraction and dispersive solvents,
extraction and sedimentation time, ionic strength and pH. Under optimized conditions, limits of de-
tection were within the range of 0.08–12 mg/L, for 3.5 mL sample volume. Linearity ranges were up to
500 mg/L for the UV-filters studied. Furthermore, enrichment factors ranging from 11 to 23 folds were
obtained. Intra- and inter-assay precisions were 6% and 8%, respectively. Finally, the proposed method
was successfully applied to determine UV filters in surface seawater and swimming pool samples at-
taining satisfactory recoveries over the range of 89–114% and 86–107%, respectively.