Fluorescence probe assisted post-column detection for lipid analysis in microbore-LC

A general approach, still few exploited so far and never associated with microbore-LC, consisting of detection of various lipid classes (i.e. phospholipids, triglycerides, ceramides and glycosphingolipids) by non-covalent association with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) fluorescence probe is developed. This mode of detection was coupled with non-aqueous reversed-phase microbore-LC (C18) by using classical post-column fluorescence detection. The classical LC system was first adapted to microbore-chromatography (internal diameter 1 mm) without apparatus miniaturization of the solvent delivery system and the detection cell. For this purpose, the detection parameters (probe concentration, post-column flow rate, post-column reactor length and post-column system temperature) were optimized by a central composite design (CCD) using a mixture of phosphatidylcholine (PC) species as a lipid model and DPH (lambda(ex) = 350 nm, lambda(em) = 430 nm) as a fluorescence probe. The optimal conditions of detection for the various molecular species of PC were determined for a DPH concentration of 3.35 micromol/L, a post-column flow rate of 0.5 mL/min, a reactor length of 1.4 m and a temperature of 35 degrees C. The fluorescence response was linear over a wide range of PC species from 5 microg/mL to 100 microg/mL and the lower limit of detection (signal/noise = 3) was about 1 microg/mL, that is equivalent to evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Others molecular species of various classes of lipids, i.e. triglycerides, ceramides and glycosphingolipids were also easily detected. Thus, this study demonstrated the versatility of the proposed system of detection which was shown to be sensitive, easy to perform, non-destructive and allowed, in contrast to ELSD, for a linear response with various polarity lipid classes.     

Application of a xenon arc lamp as a light source for evaporative light scattering detection

The standard tungsten-halogen light source used in a commercial evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) was replaced with a 180 W xenon arc lamp. The xenon arc lamp possesses a broader spectrum in the UV region than the halogen source. The influence of the UV transmittance of five selected solvents was studied with a size-exclusion chromatography column. This solvent parameter was not observed to influence the ELSD response between the two light source settings. With the solvents studied, better sensitivity was obtained with the xenon arc lamp than the halogen lamp. This high-energy source was applied to ceramide III analysis with an octadecyl-grafted silica column and methanol:tetrahydrofuran 97:3 as the mobile phase, and the sensitivity of the quantification of ceramide III increased 16-fold for injected amounts of 14∼140 ng. The molecular species in a sample of naturally occurring ceramides was analyzed using two C18 columns at 40 °C and gradient elution from 100% acetonitrile to 100% isopropanol in 30 min. The increased ELSD sensitivity achieved when using the xenon arc lamp allowed both the minor and major ceramide species to be observed, in contrast to the results achieved when the halogen lamp was used, where the increased photomultiplier voltage needed to observed the signals from the minor species caused the signals from the major ceramide species to occur above the detector response window.     

Simultaneous determination of emamectin and ivermectin residues in Atlantic salmon muscle by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method for determining residues of the antiparasitic drugs emamectin (EMA) and ivermectin (IVR) in fish tissues has been developed. EMA and IVR residues are extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up on a C18 solid-phase extraction column. Extracts are derivatized with 1-methylimidazole and trifluoroacetic anhydride and the components are determined by LC on a C18 reversed-phase column with fluorescence detection (excitation: 365 nm, emission: 470 nm). The mobile phase is 94% acetonitrile-water run isocratically. Calibration curves were linear between 1 and 32 ng injected for both EMA and IVR. The limit of detection for both analytes was 0.5 ng/g, with a limit of quantitation of 1.5 ng/g. Recoveries of EMA and IVR added to salmon muscle averaged 96 +/- 9% and 86 +/- 6%, respectively, at levels between 5 and 80 ng/g. The percent relative standard deviation for the described method was less than 7% over the range of concentrations studied. The operational errors, interferences, and recoveries for fortified samples compare favorably with an established IVR method. The recommended method is simple, rapid, and specific for monitoring residues of EMA and IVR in Atlantic salmon muscle.     

Stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic assay of atorvastatin with fluorescence detection

The purpose of this work was to develop a sensitive, selective, and validated stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic (LC) assay of atorvastatin (ATV) in bulk drug and tablet form. ATV was subjected to different stress conditions, including UV light, oxidation, acid-base hydrolysis, and temperature. ATV and its degradation products were analyzed on an Agilent Zorbax XDB C18 column using isocratic elution with acetonitrile-0.02 M sodium acetate, pH 4.2 (45 + 55, v/v) for 25 min. The samples were monitored with fluorescence (FL) detection at 282 nm (excitation)/400 nm (emission). The response ratio of FL to UV detection (at 247 nm) for ATV was 1.66. The method showed good resolution of ATV from its decomposition products. The photodegradation products were separated by silica gel thin-layer chromatography using double development with ethyl acetate-n-hexane-glacial acetic acid-methanol (40 + 55 + 0.5 + 4.5, v/v/v/v) followed by (39 + 55 + 0.5 + 5.5, v/v/v/v), and confirmed by LC-FL analysis. The FL response was linear over the investigated range for ATV. The linear range was 10-1200 ng/injection, and the limit of quantitation was 2.0 ng/injection.     

Fluorometric Determination of Iron(Iii) with O-Hydroxyhydroquinonephthalein in the Presence of Brij 58

Abstract

A highly sensitive fluorescence reaction of iron(III) with o-hydroxyhydroquinonephthalein (Qnph) in the presence of various surfactants, and its application to the fluorophotometry of trace amounts of iron(III) is described. the method is based on the fluorescence quenching reaction between Qnph and iron(III) in the presence of Brij 58 at pH 3–4. the quenching calibration graph was linear over the range 0 – 300 ng per ml iron(III) by using fluorescence reaction at Em 525 nm with Ex 470 nm, and the iron(III) detection limit was 5 ng/ml. the proposed method is simple, rapid and does not involve heating or solvent extraction.     

Determination of streptomycin residue in cucumber and Chinese cabbage by high-performance liquid chromatography with postcolumn derivatization and fluorometric detection

A sensitive and accurate method was developed for the determination of streptomycin using HPLC followed by postcolumn derivatization and fluorometric detection. The analyte was extracted, using aqueous solution from cucumber and Chinese cabbage, by a two-step SPE procedure. The extraction, cleanup, and chromatography conditions were optimized, and the performance of the analysis method was evaluated. The conditions of chromatography were as follows: the separation was performed on a C18 column; the isocratic mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and a mixed solution containing 10 mM sodium 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate and 0.4 mM sodium 1-heptanesulfonate (25+75, v/v); and the flow rate was 1 mL/min. The fluorescence detector was set at an excitation wavelength of 263 nm and an emission wavelength of 435 nm. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 50-2000 ng/mL, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995. The LOD and LOQ were 10 and 30 ng/g, respectively, in both cucumber and Chinese cabbage. The method was validated for selectivity, linearity, precision, and accuracy. The intraday and interday precision and accuracy were within 10%. The mean recoveries from spiked samples were more than 75%, with RSD lower than 10%.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic assay for amiloride in plasma and urine

A sensitive and simplified high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure has been developed for quantification of amiloride in rabbit plasma, as well as human plasma and urine. Following protein precipitation with perchloric acid, the supernatant was directly injected into a C18 Nucleosil column. The mobile phase consisted of methanol-water (45:55) containing 0.1 M perchloric acid, and the compound was quantitated using a fluorescence detector at excitation and emission wavelengths of 286 and 418 nm, respectively. The average recovery was 97.6%. The calibration curve was linear over the range 2.0-20.0 ng/ml. The limit of detection was 0.5 ng/ml.     

Determination of idebenone in plasma by HPLC with post-column fluorescence derivatization using 2-cyanoacetamide

Idebenone is a benzoquinone analog that is used in the treatment of several neurological disorders including Friedreich's ataxia. It was found that the reaction of idebenone with 2-cyanoacetamide under alkaline conditions generates fluorescent products, and the reaction was considered to proceed via Craven's reaction. The reaction mixture from idebenone gave fluorescence with excitation and emission maximum wavelengths at 358 nm and 409 nm, respectively. It was adopted for HPLC with post-column fluorescence derivatization of idebenone. Idebenone in the plasma showed a linear response in the range of 0.5-32 ng (25-1600 ng/mL), and the quantitation limit (S/N=10) was 12.5 ng/mL. The detection limit (S/N=3) of the standard solution of idebenone was 0.1 ng. The HPLC system was applied to the human blood plasma obtained by finger prick. The plasma sample obtained by finger prick gave a similar chromatogram to that of venous blood obtained by venipuncture.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantitation of bupivacaine, 2,6-pipecoloxylidide and 4'-hydroxybupivacaine in plasma and urine.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection at 210 nm for quantitation of bupivacaine and two of its metabolites from plasma and urine is described. The compounds are extracted into n-hexane-isopropanol (5:1), evaporated and the reconstituted residue injected onto a reversed phase C18 column. Standard curves for all compounds were linear (r2 greater than 0.999) in the range 20-2000 ng/ml, with a limit of detection of 10 ng/ml. The inter-day coefficients of variation ranged between 2.7 and 12.2%. The method was applied to analyse bupivacaine and metabolite concentrations in patients on long-term epidural bupivacaine-fentanyl infusions.     

Microanalytical systems for separations of stratum corneum ceramides

The small amount of lipids from human skin obtained with noninvasive sampling method led us to investigate microanalytical separation techniques. The lipid class analysis was performed with a micro polyvinyl alcohol-silica (PVA-Sil) column. The gradient elution was from heptane to acetone/butanol 90:10 v/v in 4%/min at 78 microL/min. In addition an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) was modified for micro-LC. All solvents contained 0.1% of triethylamine and formic acid in stoichiometric amount, which increased the ELSD response. In these conditions, the cholesterol eluted before free fatty acid, and squalene and triglycerides close to the dead volume. The various ceramide classes eluted following the order of the increased number of hydroxyl groups. The LOD for ceramides was 2.2 ng. The advantages of this method are the use of a normal stationary phase more reliable due to its chemical stability, its surface homogeneity and its development in microchromatography without chlorinated solvents which offers small LOD and the whole profile of lipids present in stratum corneum (SC). A method using a narrow-bore PVA-Sil column was used to collect ceramide fraction. Then the molecular species were analysed with a porous graphitic carbon column in capillary LC using a gradient from CH3OH/CHCl3 70:30 v/v to CHCl3 at 2%/min with a flow rate at 5 microL/min. The LOD obtained for ceramide was 1 ng. Both methods were assessed with SC samples obtained by rinsing a 5.7 cm2 area of the forearm with 25 mL of ethanol.     

HPLC-fluorescence assay for acyclovir in children

A simple, accurate, reliable and sensitive HPLC method was developed and validated for quantitating acyclovir in human plasma. Sample (100 microL) preparation involved addition of guanosine (internal standard) and protein precipitation with 7% perchloric acid and centrifugation. Supernatant (20 microL) was injected onto a C18 HPLC column with a mobile phase of 0.05 m sodium phosphate buffer-acetonitrile (pH 2.35, 992:8, v/v) with 25 microL of 0.4 m tetrabutylammonium hydroxide titrant and fluorescence detection (excitation, 260 nm; emission, 375 nm). Analyte recovery was 101% and the assay response was linear over the acyclovir concentration range of 0.1-20 mg/L. Intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision were less than 7%. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.033 and 0.1 mg/L, respectively. In five paediatric oncology patients administered intravenous acyclovir, concentrations ranged from 0.24 to 43.65 mg/L. This method can be used to measure acyclovir concentrations in paediatric patients.     

Comparison between charged aerosol detection and light scattering detection for the analysis of Leishmania membrane phospholipids

The performance of charged aerosol detection (CAD) was compared to evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) for the analysis of Leishmania membrane phospholipid (PL) classes by NP-HPLC. In both methods, a PVA-Sil column was used for the determination of the major Leishmania membrane PLs, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylglycerol, cardiolipin, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethathanolamine, phosphatidylserine, lysophosphatidylethathanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and lysophosphatidylcholine in the same analysis. Although the response of both detection methods can be fitted to a power function, CAD response can also be described by a linear model with determination coefficients (R(2)) ranging from 0.993 to 0.998 for an injected mass of 30 ng to 20.00 microg. CAD appeared to be directly proportional when a restricted range was used and it was found to be more sensitive at lowest mass range than ELSD. With HPLC-ELSD the limits of detection (LODs) were between 71 and 1195 ng and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were between 215 and 3622 ng. With HPLC-CAD, the LODs were between 15 and 249 ng whereas the limits of quantification (LOQs) were between 45 and 707 ng. The accuracy of the methods ranged from 62.8 to 115.8% and from 58.4 to 110.5% for ELSD and CAD, respectively. The HPLC-CAD method is suitable to assess the influence of miltefosine on the composition of Leishmania membrane phospholipids.     

Alternative visualization of SDS‐PAGE separated phosphoproteins by alizarin red S‐aluminum (III)‐appended complex

A novel fluorescence detection system using a chemosensor for phosphoprotein in gel electrophoretic analysis has been developed. The system employed the alizarin red S‐aluminum (III)‐appended complex as a fluorescent staining dye to perform the convenient and selective detection of phosphorylated proteins and total proteins in SDS‐PAGE, respectively. Therefore, a full and selective map of proteins can be achieved in the same process without resorting to other compatible detection methods. As low as 62.5 ng of α‐ (seven or eight phosphates) and β‐casein (five phosphates), 125 ng of ovalbumin (two phosphates), and κ‐casein (one phosphate) can be detected in approximately 135 min, with the linear responses of rigorous quantitation of changes over a 125–4000 ng range. As a result, alizarin red S‐aluminum (III) stain may provide a new choice for selective, economic, and convenient visualization of phosphoproteins.     

Determination of nucleic acids using calcein-neodymium complex as a fluorescence probe.

A novel fluorometric method has been developed for rapid determination of DNA and RNA with calcein-neodymium complex as a fluorescence probe. The method is based on the fluorescence enhancement of calcein-Nd(III) complex in the presence of DNA or RNA, with maximum excitation and emission wavelength at 489 nm and 514 nm, respectively. Under optimal conditions, the calibration graphs are linear over the range 0.5 - 3.0 microg/ml for both DNA and yeast RNA, 0.4 - 2.0 microg/ml for fish sperm DNA (FS DNA) and 0 - 3.0 microg/ml for calf thymus DNA (CT DNA). The corresponding detection limits are 15.1 ng/ml for DNA, 21.2 ng/ml for yeast RNA, 10.5 ng/ml for FS DNA and 8.9 ng/ml for CT DNA. The interaction mechanism for the binding of calcein-Nd(III) complex to DNA is also studied. The results of absorption spectra, fluorescence polarization measurements and thermal denaturation experiments, suggested that the interaction between calcein-Nd(III) complex and DNA is an electrostatic interaction.     

Highly sensitive determination and validation of gabapentin in pharmaceutical preparations by HPLC with 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzofurazan derivatization and fluorescence detection

A sensitive HPLC method with pre-column fluorescence derivatization using 4-Fluoro-7-Nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-F) has been developed for the determination of gabapentin in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based on the derivatization of gabapentin with (NBD-F) in borate buffer of pH 9.5 to yield a yellow, fluorescent product. The HPLC separation was achieved on a Inertsil C(18) column (250 mm × 4.6 mm) using a mobile phase of methanol water (80:20, v/v) solvent system at 1.2 mL/min flow rate. Mexiletine was used as the internal standard. The fluorometric detector was operated at 458 nm (excitation) and 521 nm (emission). The assay was linear over the concentration range of 5 50 ng/mL. The method was validated for specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, robustness. Moreover, the method was found to be sensitive with a low limit of detection (0.85 ng/mL) and limit of quantitation (2.55 ng/mL). The results of the developed procedure for gabapentin content in capsules were compared with those by the official method (USP 32). Statistical analysis by t- and F-tests, showed no significant difference at 95 confidence level between the two proposed methods.     

Fluorometric determination of khellin in human urine and serum by high-performance liquid chromatography using postcolumn photoirradiation.

For the determination of khellin in urine and serum, fluorometry using HPLC-postcolumn photoirradiation has been developed. Khellin and visnagin of similar structure were separated on a column of Capcell Pak C8. The mobile phase consisted of 40%(v/v) ethanol containing 75 mmol l(-1) H2O2. The postcolumn reagent, 70 mmol l(-1) KH2PO4-NaOH buffer (pH 12.7) containing 50%(v/v) ethanol, were mixed with the mobile phase, which was irradiated with ultraviolet light to induce fluorescence. The fluorescence was monitored with excitation at 378 nm and emission at 480 nm. The calibration graph for khellin was linear over the range of 65 - 2620 ng ml(-1) using an injection volume of 20 microl. The pretreatment of the urine or serum samples consisted of diluting steps or deproteinizing steps using perchloric acid, respectively.     

Isolation of ceramide fractions from skin sample by subcritical chromatography with packed silica and evaporative light scattering detection

Separative method of lipid classes from the stratum corneum was developed with packed silica and supercritical CO2 containing 10% of methanol at 15 degrees C, 15 MPa and 3 ml min(-1). The elution order of lipid classes was first esterified cholesterol, triglycerides, squalene co-eluted in a single peak, then free fatty acids, free cholesterol, ceramides and finally glycosylceramides. The ceramides were eluted in several fractions which depended on the number of hydroxyl groups in the molecule, i.e. more hydroxyl groups were contained in ceramides, more important was the retention. Moreover, the retention was not altered by the presence of carbon double bond and variation of the alkyl chain length. The ceramide response with the evaporative light scattering detector was improved by turning the influence of the solvent nature on the response to advantage. Therefore, addition of various solvents with or without triethylamine and formic acid were tested in post-column due to the incompatibility of such modifiers with silica stationary phase. Thereby the solvent conditions for the separation and the detection can be adjusted almost independently. The response was greatly increased by post-column addition of 1% (v/v) triethylamine and its equivalent amount of formic acid in dichloromethane introduced at 0.1 ml min(-1) into the mobile phase. This device had allowed the detection of 400 ng of ceramide with a S/N = 21, whereas no peak was observed in absence of the post-column addition. Finally, the method was applied to the treatment of skin sample which led to highly enriched ceramide fraction.     

Fluorometric determination of indomethacin in serum by high performance liquid chromatography with in-line alkaline hydrolysis

Summary A fluorometric method for determining indomethacin in serum by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography has been developed. Deproteinized serum containing indomethacin was injected directly onto a C18-bonded vinyl alcohol copolymer column with an alkaline mobile phase (pH 10.0, 35% acetonitrile in phosphate buffer), and was detected fluorometrically (Ex. 298 nm and Em. 375 nm) via postcolumn in-line alkaline hydrolysis at high temperature (140°C). The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.1–10.0 g/ml when injecting a volume of 10 l of deproteinized serum. The detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio=3) for indomethacin in serum was 10 ng/ml using a 20-l aliquot of deproteinized serum.     

Automated liquid chromatographic determination of ranitidine in microliter samples of rat plasma

An improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection at 313 nm has been developed for quantitation of ranitidine in 100 microliter of rat plasma over the range 25 to 1000 ng/ml. To each sample were added the internal standard (metiamide) and 2 M NaOH. After dichloromethane extraction, the nitrogen-dried extracts were reconstituted in the mobile phase of 0.01 M phosphate buffer-triethylamine-methanol-water (530:5:390:75 v/v). Chromatography on mu Bondapak C18 with quantitation by peak height ratios showed an analyte recovery of 97%; a limit of detection of 10 ng/ml; a precision of 1-10% and an accuracy of 1-5%. About 90 samples can be processed in 24 h.     

Spectrofluorimetric method for determination of aluminium with chromotropic acid and its application to water samples

A rapid and sensitive method for the trace level determination of aluminium based on the formation of a 1:1 complex with chromotropic acid (1,8-dihydroxynaphthlene-3,6-disulfonic acid) in an methanol medium is reported. The fluorescence intensity of the system was 50 times greater than that of the system without aluminium. This method is very sensitive and selective for the direct determination of aluminium ion. The fluorescence is excited at 346 nm and measured at 370 nm. The optimum conditions are a chromotropic acid concentration of 5.0 ml (1.0x10(-4) M) and pH 4.0+/-0.5 (acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer). The fluorescence intensity is a linear function of the concentration of Al(III) in the range 2-100 ng ml(-1) and the detection limit is 1.0 ng ml(-1). The method has been applied successfully to the determination of trace amount of Al(III) in tap, river and sea-water samples.