Application of the restricted-access precolumn packing material alkyl-diol silica in a column-switching system for the determination of ketoprofen enantiomers in horse plasma

The group of LiChrospher ADS (alkyl-diol silica) sorbents that make part of a unique family of restricted-access materials, have been developed as special packings for precolumns used in the LC-integrated sample processing of biofluids. The advantage of these sorbents lies in the direct injection of untreated biological fluids, that is without sample clean-up, the elimination of the protein matrix with a quantitative recovery together with an on-column enrichment. The present method is based on previous work applying UV detection at 260 nm for ketoprofen determinations. Plasma samples introduced to the ADS precolumn using a 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. After washing with the buffer the ADS column was backflushed with the mobile phase 0.01 M phosphate buffer-6% (v/v) 2-propanol-5 mM octanoic acid at a pH of 5.5, thus transporting the analytes to the chiral-HSA (human serum albumin) (100x4.0 mm) column where the separation of the ketoprofen enantiomers was achieved with a resolution factor of 1.4. The developed column-switching method was fully applicable to plasma injections.     

Simultaneous determination of cloramphenicol, salicylic acid and resorcinol by capillary zone electrophoresis and its application to pharmaceutical dosage forms

This study demonstrates the separation of active ingredients in acne formulations (salicylic acid, cloramphenicol and resorcinol in presence of azulene) by capillary zone electrophoresis. Factors affecting their separations were the buffer pH and concentration, applied voltage, sample preparation, and presence of additives. Optimun results were obtained with a 50 mM sodium tetraborate-50 mM sodium phosphate, pH 9.0. The carrier electrolyte gave baseline separation with good resolution, short migration times (<6 min), great reproducibility and accuracy. Calibration plots were linear over at least three orders of magnitude of analyte concentrations, the lower limits of detection being within the range 0.39-1.25 μg ml⁻¹. The procedure was fast and reliable and commercial pharmaceuticals could be analysed without prior sample clean-up procedure.     

Determination of trace metals by capillary electrophoresis

A new analytical procedure is developed using a strong complexing agent, 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen), for direct UV detection of Zn, Mn, Cu, Co, Cd, and Fe at microg/L concentrations in environmental water samples. The metal chelates formed showed different electrophoretic mobilities and solved the comigration problem for capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation of free metal ions. To obtain stable metal-Phen chelates during the capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) run, both pre-column and on-column complexation are required and threefold excess of Phen over metal ions should be added to the sample. The optimized background electrolyte (BGE) consists of 30 mM hydroxylamine hydrochloride and 0.1% methanol at pH 3.6. Under hydrodynamic sampling, CE run at + 20 kV in 65 cm x 0.05 mm ID fused-silica column with detection at 265 nm, baseline separation, satisfactory working ranges (10 microg/L to 5.5 mg/L), sensitive detection limits (1-3 microg/L), good repeatability for migration times (relative standard deviation, RSD 0.36-0.81%, n = 5), peak area (RSD 3.2-4.2%, n = 5) and peak height (RSD 3.2-4.5%, n = 5) were obtained for the metal cations investigated. The reliability of the method was established by parallel determination using the inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) method giving results within statistical variation. The procedure developed is shown to provide a quick, sensitive, precise, and economic method for simultaneous determination of metal cations that can form stable chelates with Phen.     

Direct HPLC analysis of ketoprofen in horse plasma applying an ADS-restricted access-phase.

Making up part of the unique family of restricted access materials (RAM) the Lichrospher ADS (alkyl-diol silica) sorbents have been developed as special packing materials for precolumns used for LC-integrated sample processing of biofluids. The advantage of such phases consists of direct injection of untreated biological fluids without sample clean-up and elimination of the protein matrix together with an on-column enrichment. The plasma samples, with internal standard phenacetin added (not essential), were brought onto the precolumn (C-18 ADS, 25 micron, 25 x 4 mm i.d.) using a phosphate buffer, 0.1 M, pH 7.0. After washing with the buffer, the ADS column was backflushed with the mobile phase phosphate buffer 0. 05 M pH 7.0: acetonitrile (80:20), thus transporting the analytes onto a reversed-phase column Ecocart 125-3 HPLC cartridge with a LiChrocart 4-4 guard column, both packed with LiChrospher 5 micron 100 RP-18; after separation detection was performed in UV at 260 nm. Essential features of the method include the novel precolumn packing, the absence of sample pretreatment, a quantitave recovery, good precision and accuracy, as well as a considerable reduction of analysis time compared to conventional manual methods applied in bioavailability studies.     

Determination of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in human plasma by large volume injection capillary column switching liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Rapid, selective, and sensitive methodology for the quantification of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in human plasma using packed capillary liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry has been developed. Plasma proteins were precipitated using acetonitrile and the resulting supernatant was diluted 1+1 with water containing 10 mM ammonium acetate (NH4Ac) prior to injection. Sample volumes of 250 microL were loaded onto a 30 mm x 0.32 mm ID 10 microm Kromasil C18 precolumn by a carrier solution consisting of 10 mM NH4Ac in ACN/H2O (5/95, v/v) at a flow rate of 100 microL/min, providing on-line analyte enrichment and sample clean-up. Backflushed elution onto a 100 mm x 0.32 mm ID 3.5 microm Kromasil C18 analytical column was conducted using an ACN/H2O solvent gradient containing 10 mM NH4Ac. In order to improve the robustness and performance of the method, perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHA) was used as internal standard. Separation and detection of PFOA, PFHA, and PFOS were achieved within 10 minutes. Ionization was performed in the negative mode in the m/z range 250-550. The method was validated over the concentration range 1-200 ng/mL for PFOA and over the range 5-200 ng/mL untreated plasma for PFOS, yielding correlation coefficients of 0.997 (PFOA) and 0.996 (PFOS), respectively. The within-assay (n = 6) and between-assay (n = 6) precisions were in the range 2.1-9.2 and 5.6-12%, respectively. The concentration limits of detection (cLOD) of PFOA was 0.5 ng/mL while the cLOD of PFOS was estimated to be 0.2 ng/mL in untreated plasma.     

Analysis of inorganic cations in biological samples by the combination of micro-electrodialysis and capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

Micro-electrodialysis (μED) and CE were combined for rapid pretreatment and subsequent determination of inorganic cations in biological samples. Combination of μED with CE greatly improved the analytical performance of the latter as the adsorption of high molecular weight compounds present in real samples on the inner capillary wall was eliminated. Fifty microliter of 80-fold diluted human body fluids such as plasma, serum and whole blood was used in the donor compartment of the μED system requiring less than 1?μL of the original body fluid per analysis. Inorganic cations that migrated through a cellulose acetate dialysis membrane with molecular weight cut-off value of 500?Da were collected in the acceptor solution and were then analyzed using CE-C?D. Baseline separation of inorganic cations was achieved in a BGE solution consisting of 12.5?mM maleic acid, 15?mM L-arginine and 3?mM 18-crown-6 at pH 5.5. Repeatability of the CE-C?D method was better than 0.5% and 2.5% for migration times and peak areas, respectively; limits of detection of all inorganic cations in the presence of 2?mM excess of Na(+) were around 1?μM and calibration curves were linear with correlation coefficients better than 0.998. Repeatability of the sample pretreatment procedure was calculated for six independent electrodialysis runs of artificial and real samples and was better than 11.8%. Recovery values between 96.3 and 110% were achieved for optimized electrodialysis conditions of standard solutions and real samples; lifetime of the dialysis membranes for pretreatment of real samples was estimated to 100 runs.     

Simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of a new phytochemical drug, fellavine, and its metabolites in human and rat plasma and urine.

The use of a small precolumn instead of an injection loop for the determination of a new phytochemical drug, fellavine, and its metabolites is described. The method combines the direct injection of plasma and urine into the reversed-phase precolumn with separation on a Spheri-5 RP-18 analytical column. Different sorbents in the precolumn were compared. A recovery of fellavine and its metabolites from biological fluids except rat plasma of almost 100% was achieved on Chrompack RP (30-40 microns) and LiChrosorb RP-18 (7 microns). For rat plasma only the last sorbent gave 80% fellavine recovery. The influence of the protein binding on the fellavine recovery was examined. The limit of detection was equal to 0.05 micrograms/ml fellavine for plasma and 0.02 micrograms/ml for urine. To enhance the limit of detection longer precolumns were perferred.     

The use of precolumns for solvent focusing in capillary column gas chromatography

In trace analysis by capillary GC it is often desirable to use larger than normal injection volumes to obtain sufficient sensitivity. This, however, results in a wider solvent peak and tailing, and may reduce column efficiency. This paper describes the use of a short length of a capillary precolumn coated with a stationary phase of polarity similar to that of the sample solvent and a film thickness greater than that of the analytical column; provided the right combination of polarities of injection solvent and liquid phases are used, the precolumn focuses the solvent band, thereby enabling the maximum injection volume to be increased without measurably reducing efficiency. Typical precolumn dimensions are 1 m length, 0.32 mm i.d., and 0.5 μm stationary phase film thickness. Using a precolumn increases the maximum injection volume up to 8 or 10 μl, or three times that appropriate for a conventional analytical column, with little or no loss in efficiency.     

Performance of throughout in-capillary derivatization capillary electrophoresis employing an on-line sample and run buffer loading device

We report on the effect on performance of varying the length of the capillary during throughout in-capillary derivatization (TICD) capillary electrophoresis (CE). Performance was evaluated by on-line coupling with a sample and CE runbuffer loading device that was newly introduced for this study. The device was assembled with a low cost using two 5 mm inner diameter (ID) disposable polyethylene syringes. First, a sequence was manually formed consisting of a 200 microL run buffer solution plug, a 100 microL sample plug and another 200 microL run buffer solution plug. Each plug was separated from its neighbor by a 100 microL air plug. When each plug reached the injection point where both a platinum-wire anode and the end of the separation capillary tube were located, 340 V/cm separation voltage (electrophoresis voltage) and 34 V/cm injection voltage were applied to the capillary for 3 s. Then the analytes were derivatized during migration in 50 microm ID capillaries filled with 2 mM o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a 20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10), followed by separating and detecting of OPA derivatives by absorbance of 340 nm. Derivatization, separation, and detection were performed systematically using capillaries which varied in length from 5 to 80 cm. In the case of TICD-CE of a mixture containing 1 mM aspartic acid (Asp) and 20 mM m-nitorophenol (MNP) as a test solution, it was determined that peak area and peak width ratios of Asp to MNP did not depend on capillary length. Enantiomeric separations of DL-alanine (Ala) and Asp were examined using a run buffer consisting of a 45 microM beta-cyclodextrin (CD)-2 mM OPA/NAC-20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10). Even though the resolution of these enantiomeric pairs decreased with decreasing capillary length, as expected, the peaks corresponding to both enantiomeric amino acids were identified even when a 5 cm capillary was used. An 8-component amino acid mixture was also tested with 5 cm and 10 cm capillaries.     

Electrokinetic injection across supported liquid membranes: New sample pretreatment technique for online coupling to capillary electrophoresis. Direct analysis of perchlorate in biological samples

A simple and sensitive method for quantifying perchlorate in biological samples using CE and capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was developed. An online combination of a supported liquid membrane, an inert polypropylene membrane impregnated with 1-hexanol, and electrokinetic injection of perchlorate across the supported liquid membrane directly into the separation capillary reduced the need for laborious sample pretreatment procedures, resulting in a cheap and rapid method with low LODs capability. Baseline separation of perchlorate and other anions in biological samples was achieved in background electrolyte solution consisting of 15 mM nicotinic acid and 1 mM 3-(N,N-dimethylmyristylammonio)propanesulfonate at pH 3.3. The analytical method showed excellent parameters in terms of reproducibility; RSD values for peak areas and corrected migration times at a spiked concentration of 100 μg/L of perchlorate were below 10 and 0.4%, respectively. Linear calibration curves were obtained for perchlorate in the concentration range 10-1000 μg/L (r(2) >0.999) with LODs between 2 and 5 μg/L for human urine, breast milk, serum, cow's milk, and red wine. Recoveries at 25 μg/L of perchlorate were between 97 and 106% for all biological samples. The low LODs rivaling those of presently used analytical methods support the use of this method for quantification of perchlorate in biological samples in the future.     

Determination of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in biological fluids by automatic on-line integration of solid-phase extraction and capillary electrophoresis

A new, automatic method for the clean-up, preconcentration, separation, and quantitation of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in biological samples (human urine and serum) using solid-phase extraction coupled on-line to capillary electrophoresis is proposed. Automatic pretreatment is carried out by using a continuous flow system operating simultaneously with the capillary electrophoresis equipment, to which it is linked via a laboratory-made mechanical arm. This integrated system is controlled by an electronic interface governed via a program developed in GWBasic. Capillary electrophoresis is conducted by using a separation buffer consisting of 20 mM NaHPO4, 20 mM beta-cyclodextrin and 50 mM SDS at pH 9.0, an applied potential of 20 kV and a temperature of 20 degrees C. The analysis time is 10 min and the detection limits were between 0.88 and 1.71 microg mL(-1). Automatic clean-up and preconcentration is accomplished by using a C-18 minicolumn and 75% methanol as eluent. The limit of detection of NSAIDs can be up to 400-fold improved when using sample clean-up. The extraction efficiency for these compounds is between 71.1 and 109.7 microg mL(-1) (RSD 2.0-7.7%) for urine samples and from 77.2 to 107.1 microg mL(-1) (RSD 3.5-7.1%) for serum samples.     

Large-bore particle-entrapped monolithic precolumns prepared by a sol-gel method for on-line peptides trapping and preconcentration in multidimensional liquid chromatography system for proteome analysis

The present report describes the preparation and characterization of large-bore particle-entrapped monolithic precolumns, which are suitable for incorporation into a two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) system for proteome analysis. The fritless precolumns with different inner diameter (i.d.) (320 and 530 microm) were rapidly and successfully prepared by entrapping octadecylsilica (ODS) particles (5 microm, 300 A) prepacked into fused silica capillaries with a sol-gel network, which was formed by hydrolysis and polycondensation of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES). By optimizing the composition of the sol solution, the resulting large-bore monolithic precolumns of 5 mm length allow a flow rate of 20 microL/min loading buffer at a reasonable low back pressure of 25 bar or less and are capable of withstanding up to 300 bar inlet pressure. Scanning electron micrograms of the precolumns profile showed that the evolving sol-gel network joined particles to each other and onto the column wall, and no cracking or shrinkage of the column bed was observed even in 530 microm-i.d. capillary. The performance of the particle-entrapped monolithic precolumns used for preconcentration and desalting of proteolytic digest was evaluated by on-line coupling the large-bore precolumns with a capillary reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (RPLC) column followed by UV detection. The laboratory-made monolithic precolumns with 320 and 530 microm i.d. were characterized by using BSA tryptic digest or peptide standards as the analytes with respect to sample loading capacity, linearity, recovery and reproducibility, etc. The results indicate that the large-bore and short precolumns (5 mm x 320 microm i.d. or 5 mm x 530 microm i.d.) allow sample fast loading at a flow rate of 30 or 60 microL/min. The precolumns also have a mass loading capacity for BSA peptides of about 70 microg and for standard peptides of about 80 microg. Good linear calibration curves (R2 > 0.99) were obtained and the limits of detection (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N = 3) were improved by more than 60-fold and were between 0.53 and 1.32 ng/microL even with a UV absorbance detector. The total recovery was found to be approximately 90-100% for BSA digest and standard peptides. The day-to-day relative standard deviation (RSD) values for recoveries of BSA peptides on a single precolumn ranged from 4.66 to 7.56% and 2.68 to 3.05% for precolumn back pressure, while the column-to-column RSD values were 3.51-6.13% and 1.22-1.26% for recoveries of BSA peptides and precolumn back pressure, respectively. With good precolumn reproducibility, no significant degradation or decrease in precolumn performance was showed even after approximately 150 preconcentration/desorption cycles. The precolumns also proved to be resistant to salt buffer with high concentration and low-pH mobile phase. The large-bore particle-entrapped monolithic precolumns will be further used in a high-throughput 2D-LC array system coupled with tandem matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS) detection for proteome analysis.     

Determination of ammonium and metal ions by capillary electrophoresis-potential gradient detection using ionic liquid as background electrolyte and covalent coating reagent

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE)-potential gradient detection (PGD) method coupled with field-amplified sample injection was developed to determine alkali metal, alkaline-earth metal, nickel, lead and ammonium ions. The capillary surface was coated with dialkylimidazolium-based ionic liquid and thus the electroosmotic flow (EOF) of the capillary was reversed. The buffer composed of 7.5 mM lactic acid, 0.6 mM 18-crown-6, 12 mM alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD); it was adjusted to pH 4.0 by 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hydroxide. The 11 cations were baseline separated within 14 min with 5.1-18.9 x 10(4) plates (for 40-cm-long capillary) in separation efficiency, and the detection limits were in the range of 0.27-7.3 ng/ml. The method showed good reproducibility in terms of migration time with RSD < or = 0.90% for run-to-run and < or = 1.65 for day-to-day assessment.     

A capillary zone electrophoresis for determination of thiolic peptides in biological samples

A new method to improve the analyses of thiolic peptides (cysteine, γGlu-Cys, glutathione, phytochelatins and desglycyl-phytochelatins) derivatized with monobromobimane (mBrB) in complex biological samples by CZE is described. The method involves a SPE using Sep-Pak Light C18 Cartridges after derivatization and a later CZE analysis. Elution of mBrB-thiols was achieved with 10 mM HCl + 70% methanol v/v in deionised water. Electrophoretic parameters, such as BGE pH and concentration, different organic additives (methanol and trifluoroethanol), applied voltage and capillary length were studied in order to establish suitable analytical conditions. Optimum separation of the mBrB-thiolic peptides was obtained with 100 mM sodium borate buffer at pH 7.60. The electrophoretic conditions were +15 kV, capillary length of 90 cm from inlet to detector (98 cm total length, 50 μm ID), samples were loaded into the capillary by hydrodynamic injection (50 mbar, 20 s) and detection was performed at 390 nm. The improved method showed good reproducibility, linearity and sensitivity. The LODs and LOQs estimated using a standard of GSH were 1.41 and 4.69 μM respectively.     

Use of phosphobetaine-type zwitterionic surfactant for the determination of alkali and alkaline earth metal ions and ammonium ion in human saliva by capillary electrophoresis

With conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE), it was difficult to directly analyze samples containing proteins as a result of the irreversible adsorption of proteins onto the inner surface of the capillary column. This difficulty, however, was completely overcome by adding N-dodecylphosphocholine (DPC, a phosphobetaine-type zwitterionic surfactant) to the background electrolyte (BGE). DPC made two essential contributions to the determination of common inorganic cations in the protein-containing samples: protein adsorption onto the capillary walls was completely avoided, and the resolution of the analyte cations was essentially improved. The optimal BGE for analysis of biological samples was found to be 5 mM DPC, 5 mM copper(II) acetate/10 mM ethylenediamine (pH 8). The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio =3 and UV at 215 nm) of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and ammonium ions were 25, 31, 24, 45, and 60 micro M, respectively. These five species of the common inorganic cations in human saliva samples were detected successfully within 2 min by the proposed system with direct sample injection.     

Pre-concentration of non-uniform field electrophoresis for sample introduction of capillary electrophoresis.

A new sample introduction method of capillary electrophoresis, in which field-amplified sample injection was combined with a pre-concentration of non-uniform field electrophoresis, is presented in this paper. With an additional pre-concentration voltage applied to sample solution, a non-uniform electric field was generated, with which analytical cations or anions were pre-concentrated around an electrode adjacent to the injection end of capillary. After the pre-concentration, analytical ions were injected into the capillary and stacked at the boundary between sample and buffer solution inside capillary by field-amplified injection technique. In contrast to the conventional field-amplified injection, larger concentration factor and higher analytical sensitivity were obtained with the improved pre-concentration method. Its concentration factor was about 10 approximately 15 fold as that of field-amplified sample injection.     

An air‐assisted flow‐gating interface for capillary electrophoresis

A new kind of flow gating interface (FGI) has been designed for online connection of CE with flow‐through analytical techniques. The sample is injected into the separation capillary from a space from which the BGE was forced out by compressed air. A drop of sample solution with a volume of 75 nL is formed between the outlet of the delivery capillary supplying the solution from the flow‐through apparatus and the entrance to the CE capillary; the sample is hydrodynamically injected into the CE capillary from this drop. The sample is not mixed with the surrounding BGE solution during injection. The functioning of the proposed FGI is fully automated and the individual steps of the injection process are controlled by a computer. The injection sequence lasts several seconds and thus permits performance of rapid sequential analyses of the collected sample. FGI was tested for the separation of equimolar 50 μM mixture of the inorganic cations K⁺, Ba²⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, and Li⁺ in 50 mM acetic acid/20 mM Tris (pH 4.5) as BGE. The obtained RSD values for the migration times varied in the range 0.7–1.0% and the values for the peak area were 0.7–1.4%; RSD were determined for ten repeated measurements.     

Development and validation of a capillary electrophoresis method for the characterization of sulfoethyl cellulose

To characterize sulfoethyl cellulose el samples, a capillary electrophoresis method was developed and validated sulfoethyl cellulose el was hydrolyzed, and the resulting d ‐glucose derivatives were analyzed after reductive amination with 4‐aminobenzoic acid using 150 mM boric acid, pH 9.5, as background electrolyte at 20°C and a voltage of 28 kV. Peak identification was derived from capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry using 25 mM ammonia adjusted to pH 6.2 by acetic acid as electrolyte. Besides mono‐, di‐, and trisulfoethyl d ‐glucose small amounts of disaccharides could be identified resulting from incomplete hydrolysis. The linearity of the borate buffer‐based capillary electrophoresis method was evaluated using d ‐glucose in the concentration range of 3.9–97.5 μg/mL, while limits of detection and quantification derived from the signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 and 10 were 0.4 ± 0.1 and 1.2 ± 0.3 μg/mL, respectively. Reproducibility and intermediate precision were determined using a hydrolyzed sulfoethyl cellulose el sample and ranged between 0.2 and 8.8% for migration times and between 0.3 and 10.4% for peak area. The method was applied to the analysis of the degree of substitution of synthetic sulfoethyl cellulose el samples obtained by variation of the synthetic process and compared to data obtained by elemental analysis.     

Simultaneous determination of inorganic and organic anions,alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal cations by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductometric detection

Simultaneous separation of up to 22 inorganic and organic anions, alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal cations was achieved in less than 3 min in the capillary electrophoresis system with contactless conductometric detector. The sample was injected from both capillary ends (dual opposite end injection) and anionic and cationic species were detected in the center of the separation capillary. The parameters of the separation electrolyte, such as pH, concentration of the electrolyte, concentration of complexing agents and concentration of 18-crown-6 were studied. Best results were achieved with electrolytes consisting of 8 mM L-histidine, 2.8 mM 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid, 0.32 mM 18-crown-6 at pH 4.25 or 9 mM L-histidine, 4.6 mM lactic acid, 0.38 mM 18-crown-6 at pH 4.25. Other electrolytes containing complexing agents such as malic or tartaric acid at various concentrations could also be used. The detection limits achieved for most cations and anions were 7.5 - 62 micro gL(-1) except for Ba2+ (90 micro gL(-1)), Cd 2+, Cr 3+ and F- (125 micro gL(-1)), and fumarate (250 micro gL(-1)). The repeatability of migration times and peak areas was better than 0.4% and 5.9%, respectively. The developed method was applied for analysis of real samples, such as tap, rain, drainage and surface water samples, plant exudates, plant extracts and ore leachates.     

Efficient sample clean‐up and online preconcentration for sensitive determination of melamine in milk samples by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

Based on an efficient sample clean‐up and field‐amplified sample injection online preconcentration technique in capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection, a new analytical method for the sensitive determination of melamine in milk samples was established. In order to remove the complex matrix interference, which resulted in a serious problem during field‐amplified sample injection, liquid–liquid extraction was utilized. As a result, liquid–liquid extraction provides excellent sample clean‐up efficiency when ethyl acetate was used as organic extraction by adjusting the pH of the sample solution to 9.5. Both inorganic salts and biological macromolecules are effectively removed by liquid–liquid extraction. The sample clean‐up procedure, capillary electrophoresis separation parameters and field‐amplified sample injection conditions are discussed in detail. The capillary electrophoresis separation was achieved within 5 min under the following conditions: an uncoated fused‐silica capillary, 12 mM HAc + 10 mM NaAc (pH = 4.6) as running buffer, separation voltage of +13 kV, electrokinetic injection of +12 kV × 10 s. Preliminary validation of the method performance with spiked melamine provided recoveries >90%, with limits of detection and quantification of 0.015 and 0.050 mg/kg, respectively. The relative standard deviations of intra‐ and inter‐day were below 6%. This newly developed method is sensitive and cost effective, therefore, suitable for screening of melamine contamination in milk products.