Quantitative determination of clenbuterol, salbutamol and tulobuterol enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis

Enantiomers of clenbuterol, salbutamol and tulobuterol were directly separated and quantitated from a spiked sample by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using sulfaited beta-cyclodextrin (SCD) as chiral selector and phosphate as running buffer. The SCD and buffer concentration, pH and field strength were the parameters studied to optimize the separation. Optimal separation was obtained using 50 mM of phosphate monobasic at pH = 2.24, 0.25% (w/w) of sulfated cyclodextrin and a field strength of 10 kV, with 20 min total time analysis. Comparison between two different injection modes (hydrodynamic and electrokinetic) was made. In the hydrodynamic mode, repeatability (expressed as relative standard deviation, RSD) was less than 1.2% for migration times for all the analyte peaks and less than 2% for peak area percentages. With respect to reproducibility, RSD was less than 3.8% for migration time and less than 3% for peak area percentages. Calibration curves were set up for two different sample concentration ranges (1 to 10 microg mL(-1) and 160-800 ng mL(-1), of each of the racemates studied). Although the electrokinetic injection mode for an aqueous sample appeared to suffer from some enantiodiscrimination, calibration curves were linear in the range between 1 and 10 ng mL(-1) with regression coefficients ranging from 0.9996 to 0.9952. As in the case of hydrodynamic injection, the method was tested with a spiked sample.     

Simultaneous electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injection with on-line sample concentration via micelle to solvent stacking in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Simultaneous electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injection (SEHI) of organic cations (tricyclic antidepressant and beta blocker drugs) with on-line sample concentration using micelle to solvent stacking (MSS) was studied in micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Compared to conventional injection, >300-fold improvements in signals were obtained by hydrodynamic injection. However, with SEHI the amount of sample ions introduced into the capillary was increased which afforded a higher gain of up to 4000-fold without compromise to separation efficiency. The electrokinetic injection at negative polarity (anode at the detector end) introduced the micelle bound analytes. The hydrodynamic injection also maintained the MSS boundary inside the capillary. The stability of the MSS boundary affected SEHI where mild conditions that were low voltage as well as pressure injection were desired. The limits of detection were in the range from 0.6–4.2 ng mL⁻¹. A strategy for optimization was described and the method was applied to the ng mL⁻¹ analysis of spiked wastewater after simple dilution and centrifugation.     

Determination of Organophosphorus P sticides in Water, Vegetables and Grain by Automated SPE and MEKC

A sensitive method for the multi-residue analysis of organophosphorus pesticides in environmental samples has been developed. It involves an automated solid phase extraction procedure using a Gilson ASPEC XLi and capillary electrophoresis analysis with UV detection. Acephate, methamidophos, dichlorvos, dicrotophos and malathion could be separated by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography using an electrophoretic electrolyte containing 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) and 75 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate. A linear relationship between concentration and peak area was obtained within the range 0.2–450 g mL^?1 with correlation coefficients greater than 0.996 and detection limits between 7 and 150 ng mL^?1. Intra- and inter-day precision values of about 0.8–2.3% RSD (n=11) and 0.9–3.0% RSD (n=15), respectively were obtained. When the preconcentration step was used, an enrichment factor of 250 was easily achieved in the analysis of water samples, making it possible to determinate pesticide residues at concentration levels as low as 0.04 ng mL^?1. In analyses of vegetables and grains, the sensitivity levels were about 0.03 μg^?1.     

Enantioselective capillary electrophoresis for pharmacokinetic analysis of methadone and 2‐ethylidene‐1,5‐dimethyl‐3,3‐diphenylpyrrolidine in equines anesthetized with ketamine and isoflurane

An enantioselective assay for the determination of methadone and its main metabolite 2‐ethylidene‐1,5‐dimethyl‐3,3‐diphenylpyrrolidine in equine plasma based on capillary electrophoresis with highly sulfated γ‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector and electrokinetic analyte injection is described. The assay is based on liquid/liquid extraction of the analytes at alkaline pH from 0.1 mL plasma followed by electrokinetic sample injection of the analytes from the extract across a buffer plug without chiral selector. Separation occurs cationically at normal polarity in a pH 3 phosphate buffer containing 0.16% (w/v) of highly sulfated γ‐cyclodextrin. The developed assay is precise (intra‐ and interday RSD < 4% and < 7%, respectively), is capable to determine enantiomer levels of methadone and 2‐ethylidene‐1,5‐dimethyl‐3,3‐diphenylpyrrolidine in plasma down to 2.5 ng/mL, and was successfully applied to monitor enantiomer drug and metabolite levels in plasma of a pony that was anesthetized with racemic ketamine and isoflurane and received a bolus of racemic methadone and a bolus followed by constant rate infusion of racemic methadone. The data suggest that the assay is well suited for pharmacokinetic purposes.     

Quantitative determination of isoniazid in biological samples by cation-selective exhaustive injection-sweeping-micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, infects approximately one third of the current world population. Isoniazid is one of the most frequently used first-line anti-TB drugs. In this study, we developed a sensitive cation-selective exhaustive injection–sweeping–micellar electrokinetic chromatography method (CSEI-Sweep-MEKC) for analyzing isoniazid in human plasma. Parameters including acetonitrile (ACN) percentage in the separation buffer; the injection time, and concentration of the high-conductivity buffer; sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration; phosphate concentration in the sample matrix; and the sample injection time were all optimized to obtain the best analytical performance. The optimal background electrolyte comprised 50 mM phosphate buffer, 100 mM SDS, and 15% ACN. Non-micelle background electrolyte, containing 75 mM phosphate buffer and 15% ACN, was first injected into the capillary, followed by a short plug of 200 mM phosphate (high-conductivity buffer). Run-to-run repeatability (n = 3) and intermediate precision (n = 3) of peak area ratios were found to be lower than 8.7% and 11.4% RSD, respectively. The accuracy of the method was within 98.1–106.9%. The limit of detection of isoniazod in human plasma was 9 ng mL⁻¹. Compared with conventional MEKC, the enhancement factor of the CSEI-Sweep-MEKC method was 85 in plasma samples. The developed method was successfully used to determine isoniazid concentration in patient plasma. The results demonstrated that CSEI-Sweep-MEKC has the potential to analyze isoniazid in human plasma for therapeutic drug monitoring and clinical research.     

Determination of Betamethasone and Dexamethasone in Human Urine and Serum by MEKC After an Experimental Design

A simple and reliable micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography method has been presented for the simultaneous determination of betamethasone (BM) and its epimer dexamethasone (DM) in human urine and serum. A three level full factorial experimental design was employed to search for the optimum conditions. Rapid and baseline separation of BM and DM was obtained within 7 min with the optimum conditions of 30 mM borax buffer, 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate at pH 10.0, separation voltage at 18 kV, injection time 15 s at a height of 10 cm, using sodium sorbate as internal standard. The proposed method was validated with respect to stability, precision, linearity and accuracy. Good relationship between peak area ratio and analyte concentration was linear over 30–1,000 µg mL^?1 for BM and DM with correlation coefficients ≥0.9993. Relative standard deviations of the method were all less than 4.50% in the intra-day and inter-day analysis. The developed method was applied to assay spiked human urine and serum samples containing both compounds with recoveries in the range of 97.5–100.5%.     

Rapid Determination of Water-Soluble and Fat-Soluble Vitamins in Commercial Formulations by MEEKC

Microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography has been successfully applied to the separation and determination of water-soluble vitamins (thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, cobalamin, ascorbic acid) and a fat-soluble vitamin (α-tocopherol acetate). The optimal microemulsion buffer contained sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) as surfactant, butan-1-ol as the co-surfactant, ethyl acetate as the oil and pH 9.2 tetraborate buffer, modified with 15% (v/v) 2-propanol. UV detection at 214 nm gave adequate sensitivity without interference from sample excipients. Under the optimized conditions, the vitamins were baseline separated in less than 7 min. Analytical curves of peak area versus concentration presented coefficients of determination (R ² ) > 0.99, acceptable limits of quantification between 8.40 and 16.23 μg mL^?1 were obtained. Vitamin levels in liquid formulation were quantified with intra-day precision better than 0.99% RSD for migration time and 1.19% RSD for peak area ratio. Recoveries ranged between 98.7 and 101.7%. The method was considered appropriate for rapid and routine analysis.     

In-Syringe Electrokinetic Protein Removal from Biological Samples prior to Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Here, an electrokinetic extraction (EkE) syringe is presented allowing for on-line electrokinetic removal of serum proteins before ESI-MS. The proposed concept is demonstrated by the determination of pharmaceuticals from human serum within minutes, with sample preparation limited to a 5× dilution of the sample in the background electrolyte (BGE) and application of voltage, both of which can be performed in-syringe. Signal enhancements of 3.6–32 fold relative to direct infusion of diluted serum and up to 10.8 fold enhancement, were obtained for basic and acidic pharmaceuticals, respectively. Linear correlations for the basic drugs by EkE-ESI-MS/MS were achieved, covering the necessary clinical range with LOQs of 5.3, 7.8, 6.1, and 17.8 ng mL⁻¹ for clomipramine, chlorphenamine, pindolol, and atenolol, respectively. For the acidic drugs, the EkE-ESI-MS LOQs were 3.1 μg mL⁻¹ and 2.9 μg mL⁻¹ for naproxen and paracetamol, respectively. The EkE-ESI-MS and EkE-ESI-MS/MS methods showed good accuracy (%found of 81 % to 120 %), precision (≤20 %), and linearity (r>0.997) for all the studied drugs in spiked serum samples.     

Combining Low Pressure Liquid Affinity Chromatography and Flow Injection Analysis for the Quantitation of Immunoglobulins

Abstract

A simple, accurate method combining low pressure liquid affinity chromatography and flow injection analysis is described for the quantitation of immunoglobulins in biologicals fluids. The affinity matrix consists of Protein A covalently immobilized to a 2-fluoro-1 methylpyridinium salt activated Fractogel support. Utilizing a 1 cm³ affinity column, optimized binding and eluting buffer flow rates of 0.7 and 1.5 mL min^?1, respectively, and a sample loop size of 100 μL, IgG's can be eluted from the affinity column in about 9 min. Linear standard curves (r > 0.99) were obtained at concentrations up to at least 4.0 and 8.0 mg mL^?1 respectively for human and bovine IgG. Recovery yields are good ranging from 96–100%. The within day CV for human and bovine IgG was found to be less than 3.0% whereas the day to day CV was less than 3.4% (n=10). IgG concentrations of spiked and unspiked bovine plasma samples obtained by the low pressure affinity/flow injection method when compared to those obtained by the radial immunodiffusion agreed to within 4%.     

Determination of rutin and forsythin in fruit ofForsythia suspensa(Thunb.) Vahl by capillary electrophoresis-electrochemical detection

Summary Capillary electrophoresis-amperometric detection is evaluated for simultaneous determination of rutin and forsythin. The cyclic voltammogram, hydrodynamic voltammogram, effect of pH, buffer concentration and SDS, and percent organic modifier on separation and detection were studied. Conditions were optimized as follows: 1.2 V detection potential; separation at 12 kV; 5 s at 15 kV for sample injection time and sample injection voltage; mobile phase 20 mM boric acid buffer; pH 8.4, containing 40 mM SDS and 10% (v/v) acetontrile. The method gave low detection limit as 0.001 mg mL⁻¹ and 0.0005 mg mL⁻¹ (S/N=3), wide linear range 0.005–0.5 mg mL⁻¹ for rutin and forsythin, respectively. The relative standard deviations of peak current and migration time for 8 consecutive injections of the standard solution containing 0.1 mg mL⁻¹ each compound were 4.78%, 3.63% and 6.40%, 2.95% for rutin and forsythin, respectively. In addition, levels of the two compounds in traditional Chinese herbal drugs were easily determined.     

A poly (4‐vinylpridine‐co‐ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolithic concentrator for in‐line concentration‐capillary electrophoresis analysis of phenols in water samples

A poly(4‐vinylpridine‐co‐ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolith was synthesized in a capillary and constructed as a concentrator for the in‐line polymeric monolith microextraction coupling with capillary electrophoresis. The integrated system was then used for the simultaneous determination of five trace phenols (2‐nitrophenol, 3‐nitrophenol, 4‐nitrophenol, 2‐chlorophenol, and 2,4‐dichlorophenol) in water samples. The experimental parameters for in‐line solid‐phase extraction, such as composition and volume of the elution plug, pH of sample solution, and the time for sample loading were optimized. The sensitivity for the mixture of phenols (2‐nitrophenol, 3‐nitrophenol, 4‐nitrophenol, 2‐chlorophenol, and 2,4‐dichlorophenol) enhanced to 615–2222 folds at the optimum condition was compared to the sensitivity for a normal hydrodynamic injection in capillary electrophoresis. Linearity ranged from concentration of 10–500 ng mL^?1(R² > 0.999) for all five phenols with the detection limits of 1.3–3.3 ng mL^?1. In tap, snow and Yangtze River water spiked with 20 ng mL^?1 and 200 ng mL^?1, respectively, the recoveries of 84–105% were obtained. It has been demonstrated that this work has great potential for the analysis of phenols in genuine water samples.     

Selective and rapid determination of biogenic amines by capillary zone electrophoresis

Summary A rapid separation of 21 amines by high-performance capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect photometric detection is presented. The electrolyte is based on copper(II) as primary constituent. Factors affecting the separation by this electrolyte have been investigated and include the composition of the buffer, the voltage, the temperature and the mode of injection. External calibration was used to characterize the analytical response to each amine. The detection limits were approximately 0.05 μg mL⁻¹ for almost all the amines. After electrokinetic or hydrodynamic injection calibration plots of peak area against concentration were linear between 0.05 and 10 μg mL⁻¹. The method has been applied to the analysis of biogenic amines in synthetic samples; the recoveries of the amines from such samples, determined by the standard addition technique, were in the range 90 to 110%.     

In‐line preconcentration capillary zone electrophoresis for the analysis of haloacetic acids in water

Two in‐line enrichment procedures (large volume sample stacking (LVSS) and field amplified sample injection (FASI)) have been evaluated for the CZE analysis of haloacetic acids (HAAs) in drinking water. For LVSS, separation on normal polarity using 20 mM acetic acid–ammonium acetate (pH 5.5) containing 20% ACN as BGE was required. For FASI, the optimum conditions were 25 s hydrodynamic injection (3.5 kPa) of a water plug followed by 25 s electrokinetic injection (?10 kV) of the sample, and 200 mM formic acid–ammonium formate buffer at pH 3.0 as BGE. For both FASI and LVSS methods, linear calibration curves (r²>0.992), limit of detection on standards prepared in Milli‐Q water (49.1–200 μg/L for LVSS and 4.2–48 μg/L for FASI), and both run‐to‐run and day‐to‐day precisions (RSD values up to 15.8% for concentration) were established. Due to the higher sensitive enhancement (up to 310‐fold) achieved with FASI‐CZE, this method was selected for the analysis of HAAs in drinking water. However, for an optimal FASI application sample salinity was removed by SPE using Oasis WAX cartridges. With SPE‐FASI‐CZE, method detection limits in the range 0.05–0.8 μg/L were obtained, with recoveries, in general, higher than 90% (around 65% for monochloroacetic and monobromoacetic acids). The applicability of the SPE‐FASI‐CZE method was evaluated by analyzing drinking tap water from Barcelona where seven HAAs were found at concentration levels between 3 and 13 μg/L.     

A novel stacking method of repetitive large volume sample injection and sweeping MEKC for determination of androgenic steroids in urine

In this research, a novel stacking capillary electrophoresis method, repetitive large volume sample injection and sweeping MEKC (rLVSI-sweeping MEKC) were developed to analyze the presence of three androgenic steroids considered as sport doping drugs, testosterone (T), epitestosterone (E) and epitestosterone glucuronide (EG) in urine. This method provides better sensitivity enhancement than the traditional large volume sample stacking-sweeping strategies due to sensitivity enhancement by repetitive injections. This multiple sampling method enhances sensitivity of monitoring of urine samples by UV detection (254 nm). Firstly, the phosphate buffer was filled into an uncoated fused silica capillary and the samples were injected into the capillary at 10 psi for 20 s, and then stacked at −10 kV for 1 min using phosphate buffer containing SDS. The above injecting and stacking steps were repeated five times. Finally, separation was performed at −20 kV, using phosphate buffer containing methanol, SDS and (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin. Method validation showed that calibration plots were linear (r ≧ 0.997) over a range of 5-200 ng mL⁻¹ for T, 20-200 ng mL⁻¹ for E and 0.5-500 ng mL⁻¹ for EG. The limits of detection were 1.0 ng mL⁻¹ for T, 5.0 ng mL⁻¹ for E and 200.0 pg mL⁻¹ for EG. When evaluating precision and accuracy, values of RSD and RE in intra-day (n = 3) and inter-day (n = 5) analysis were found to be less than 10.0%. Compared with the simple LVSS-sweeping, which is also a stacking strategy, this method further improves sensitivity up to 25 folds (∼2500 folds with MEKC without preconcentration). This method was applied to monitor 10 athletes’ urine, and did not detect any analyte. The novel stacking method was feasible for monitoring of doping by sportsmen.     

Response surface methodology in the development of a stacking-sensitive capillary electrophoresis method by field-amplified injection for the analysis of tricyclic antidepressants in the presence of salts

The work presented here explores the possibilities of the electrokinetic injection (EK) to achieve sensitive methods for the determination of tricyclic antidepressants in biological samples (serum). The addition of ACN to the sample, with high content in salts, causes stacking at the tip of the capillary, in a similar way as for hydrodynamic injection. An experimental design with the response surface methodology has been used to find the optimum composition of the matrix of the sample (sodium chloride and ACN percentages) and the conditions for the EK (water-plug length, time, and voltage of injection) in few experiments. The composition of the separation buffer was the same as utilized in a previous paper. The use of a bubble capillary to reach lower detection limits implies a loss of the resolution and requires a new optimization. Finally, a comparison between electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injections is made.     

Stacking enhanced determination of steroids by CE

This study outlines a simple method for pH-mediated stacking of natural and synthetic steroids facilitated with carboxymethyl-beta-CD. Sample stacking (10 kV, 60 s) is accomplished with 23 mM carboxymethyl-beta-CD in 50 mM 3-[cyclohexylamino]-1-propanesulfonic acid buffered at pH 10. Following stacking, steroidal compounds are separated in less than 5 min with a running buffer of 13 mM hydroxypropyl-beta-CD, 30 mM SDS in 200 mM phosphate buffered at pH 2.5. Using a 60 s electrokinetic injection, the limits of detection of estradiol, ethynyl estradiol, estrone, hydroxyprogesterone, progesterone, and 11-ketotestosterone range from 2 to 14 nM. For all steroids, the within-day and day-to-day reproducibility in migration time is < or =1 and < or =2% RSD, respectively. The within-day and day-to-day reproducibility in peak area is < or =9 and < or =22% RSD, respectively. The method is applied to fish plasma and holds potential to profile multiple steroids in a single biological sample.     

Simple and rugged SPE method for the determination of tetracycline antibiotics in serum by HPLC using a volatile mobile phase

Summary A simple and rugged SPE method for the determination of tetracycline (TC), minocycline (MC) and demeclocycline (DCC) in porcine serum by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed. The spiked serum sample was pretreated with 2% phosphoric acid followed by a simple and rugged solid-phase extraction procedure using the Oasis^TM HLB extraction cartridges. High and reproducible recoveries were obtained even though the cartridges were run dry. The extracted sample analytes were injected onto a Waters SymmetryShield^TM RP₈ column. The mobile phase was a simple volatile solution containing 0.1% TFA, 2% methanol and 7% acetonitrile in Water. The antibiotics were detected at 350 nm. The calibration curves were linear from 2.0 to 25.0 μg mL⁻¹ of TC and MC with DCC as the internal standard at a concentration of 25.0 μg mL⁻¹. For six replicate analyses, the average recoveries of TC and MC from porcine serum sample fortified at the level of 2.5 μg mL⁻¹ were 96.1% with 1.3% RSD and 101% with 0.54% RSD; at level of 0.5 μg mL⁻¹ the average recoveries were 88% with 1.6% RSD and 97.8% with 1.4% RSD.     

Analysis of phenolic acids by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis after electrokinetic supercharging

Electrokinetic supercharging (EKS), a new and powerful on-line preconcentration method for capillary electrophoresis, was utilized in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) to enhance the sensitivity of phenolic acids. The buffer acidity and concentration, leader and terminator length and electrokinetic injection time were optimised, with the optimum conditions being: a background electrolyte of 40 mM Tris-acetic acid (pH 7.9), hydrodynamic injection of 50 mM ammonium chloride (22 s, 0.5 psi) as leader, electrokinetic injection of the sample (180 s, -10 kV), hydrodynamic injection of 20 mM CHES (32 s, 0.5 psi) as terminator, before application of the separation voltage (-25 kV). Under these conditions the sensitivity was enhanced between 1333 and 3440 times when compared to a normal hydrodynamic injection with the sample volume <3% of the capillary volume. Detection limits for the seven phenolic acids were in the range of 0.22-0.51 ng/mL and EKS was found to be 3.6-7.9 times more sensitive than large-volume sample stacking and anion selective exhaustive injection for the same seven phenolic acids.     

On-Column Preconcentration of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in River Water by Anion-Selective Exhaustive Injection-Sweeping-MEKC

A high-sensitivity on-column preconcentration method, anion selective exhaustive injection (ASEI)-sweeping in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) has been developed for the analysis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): diclofenac sodium, ibuprofen, fenoprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen in water samples. To achieve the best results of the ASEI-sweeping-MEKC method, conditions which affected preconcentration were examined, including the sodium dodecyl sulfate concentration, composition of the sample matrix, composition and injection length of the water plug, the concentration and the injection length of the high-conductivity buffer, and finally the sample injection time. Under the optimum stacking conditions the method was validated for the determination of the studied NSAIDs in river water samples with limits of detection ranging between 29 and 58 ng mL^?1, and without any previous sample pretreatment.     

Silica Microspheres for SPE and Determination of Fungicides in Water by LC

A new method has been developed for the determination of metalaxyl, myclobutanil, and tebuconazole in environmental water samples with preconcentration by cartridges packed with SiO₂ microspheres prior to LC. Several parameters such as the volume and composition of eluent, sample flow rate, sample pH, and sample volume were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, excellent detection limits (S/N = 3) and precision (RSD, n = 6) were 0.02 ng mL^?1, 1.3% for metalaxyl, 0.02 ng mL^?1, and 2.4% for myclobutanil and 0.08 ng mL^?1 and 4.3% for tebuconazole, respectively. The method was applied to the analysis of real-water samples, and satisfactory results were obtained. The average spiked recoveries were in the range of 86.3–97.5%. These results indicate that SiO₂ microspheres have great potential to be used as a novel solid phase extraction adsorbent that could have wide applications in the environmental field.