Comparison of microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography and micellar electrokinetic chromatography methods for the analysis of phenolic compounds

In this study, microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) were compared for their abilities to separate and detect thirteen phenolic compounds (syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, gallic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, (+)-catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, (-)-epicatechin gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, (-)-epicatechin, and (-)-gallocatechin), and two other ingredients (caffeine and theophylline) in teas and grapes. Separation of phenolic compounds was improved by changing the SDS concentration for MEEKC, but the SDS concentration rarely affected the resolution for MEKC. Organic modifier (acetonitrile or methanol) was found to markedly influence the resolution and selectivity for both MEEKC and MEKC systems. In addition, a higher voltage and a higher column temperature improved the separation efficiency without any noticeable reduction in resolution for MEEKC whereas they caused a poor resolution for the MEKC system. Although separations with baseline resolution were achieved by the optimized MEEKC and MEKC methods, the separation selectivity resulting from the proposed MEEKC method was completely different from that of MEKC.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography for the analysis of green tea catechins: effect of the cosurfactant on the separation selectivity

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was applied to the separation of six catechins and caffeine, the major constituents of the green tea. The developed methods involved the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, n-heptane as organic solvent and an alcohol as cosurfactant. The separations were performed under acidic conditions (pH 2.5 phosphate buffer, 50 mM) to ensure good stability of the catechins, with reversed polarity (anodic outlet). The effect of the alcohol nature on the MEEKC selectivity was evaluated; nine alcohols were used as cosurfactant: 1-butanol, tert-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, cyclopentanol, 1-hexanol, 2-hexanol, and cyclohexanol. The migration order of (+)-catechin (C), (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-gallocatechin (GC), (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), caffeine and theophylline was significantly affected by the alcohol used as cosurfactant. Using nine microemulsions, four different selectivities were achieved: A (cyclohexanol); B (2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 2-hexanol); C (1-butanol, 1-pentanol, cyclopentanol); D (tert-butanol). MEEKC methods, based on 2-hexanol and cyclohexanol as cosurfactant were validated and successfully applied to the analysis of catechins and caffeine in commercial green tea products.     

Sample stacking for the analysis of catechins by microemulsion EKC

In this study, an on-line concentration method, ASEI (anion-selective exhaustive injection)-sweeping technology which was coupled with microemulsion EKC (MEEKC), was used to analyze and detect six catechins ((-)-epicatechin, (+)-catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, (-)-epicatechin gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin, and (-)-gallocatechin). In addition to the effects of the buffer pH and electrolyte concentration on stacking, the compositions of microemulsion (types of oil phase, and types and levels of cosurfactant) also dominated the stacking effect of catechins. In MEEKC, the effect of the type of oil in microemulsion on separation mechanism is often unclear. This study had demonstrated that the oil type in microemulsion indeed altered the affinity of oil droplets with analytes. Finally, this proposed ASEI-sweeping MEEKC method was able to detect trace level of catechins in food products that was not previously possible by a normal MEEKC method.     

Comparison of oil-in-water and water-in-oil microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography as methods for the analysis of eight phenolic acids and five diterpenoids

Oil-in-water (O/W) and water-in-oil (W/O) MEEKC were compared for their abilities to separate and detect eight phenolic acids and five diterpenoids in Radix et Rhizoma Salviae Miltiorrhizae (RRSM). The effects of oil type and concentration, organic modifier, SDS, and buffer concentration on separation were examined in order to optimize the two methods. Oil contents and organic modifier were found to markedly influence the separation selectivity for both O/W and W/O systems. SDS concentration rarely affected separation resolution for O/W MEEKC, and separation of eight phenolic acids and five diterpenoids could be improved by changing the buffer concentration for W/O MEEKC. A highly efficient O/W MEEKC separation method, where the 13 compounds were separated with baseline resolution, was achieved by using a microemulsion solution of pH 8.0 containing 0.6% cyclohexane, 3.0% SDS, 6.0% 1-butanol, and 3.0% ACN. The W/O MEEKC was unable to resolve all the components. In addition, the analytic time in O/W MEEKC was shorter than that in W/O MEEKC. Finally, the developed O/W MEEKC method was successfully applied to determine analytic compounds in RRSM samples.     

Determination of food colorants by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) method was developed to analyze and detect eight food colorants (tartrazine, fast green FCF, brilliant blue FCF, allura red AC, indigo carmine, sunset yellow FCF, new coccine, and carminic acid), which are commonly used as food additives in various food products. The effects of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant, organic modifier, cosurfactant, and oil were examined in order to optimize the separation. The amount of organic modifier (acetonitrile) and SDS surfactant were determined as apparent influences on the separation resolution while the type of oil and cosurfactant rarely affected the separation selectivity of the eight colorants. A highly efficient MEEKC separation method, where the eight colorants were separated with baseline resolution within 14 min, was achieved by using a microemulsion solution of pH 2.0 containing 3.31% SDS, 0.81% octane, 6.61% 1-butanol, and 10% acetonitrile. This optimal MEEKC method has a higher separation efficiency and similar detection limit when compared to conventional capillary electrophoresis (CE) method. Furthermore, a sample pretreatment is rarely needed when this MEEKC technique is used to analyze colorants in food products, whereas a suitable sample pretreatment (for example solid-phase extraction) has to be employed prior to CE separation in order to eliminate matrix interferences resulting from the constituents of the food sample.     

Investigation of solvent effects in capillary electrophoresis for the separation of biological porphyrin methyl esters

The effects of organic solvents on the capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation of a number of important biological porphyrin methyl esters - six weakly basic, hydrophobic cyclic tetrapyrroles possessing two and four to eight methyl ester groups around the periphery of the porphyrin ring - were investigated in the mode of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC), and nonaqueous CE. In aqueous MEKC, partial separation of the six neutral porphyrin methyl esters was obtained with an organic modifier (acetonitrile) in the concentration range between 20 and 40%, in which sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) molecules might be present in the form of SDS micelles and/or SDS micelle-like aggregates. Relatively stable SDS micelles can be formed in nonaqueous MEKC using formamide as the separation medium, but the separation of the target analytes remained unsatisfactory. Improved resolution of all six porphyrin methyl esters was obtained using MEEKC with the running buffer consisting of 0.8% w/w n-heptane (oil phase), 2.25% w/w SDS and 1.0% w/w Brij 35 (mixed surfactant), 6.6% w/w 1-butanol (cosurfactant), and 30% v/v 2-propanol (second cosurfactant), but reproducibility in terms of peak areas for certain porphyrins (especially uroporphyrin I octamethyl ester) was found to be very poor. Best separation performances were achieved with nonaqueous CE separations in which the weakly basic porphyrin methyl esters were protonated under strongly acidic conditions (e.g., using 10 mM perchloric acid) in mixed organic solvents. For example, using a 50:50 mixture of methanol and acetonitrile as the separation medium, baseline separation of all six (positively charged) porphyrin methyl esters can be obtained within 3 min and the average precision (RSD, N = 13) in terms of migration time and peak area were 0.55 and 2.16%, respectively.     

Recent advances in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) is an electrodriven separation technique. Separations are typically achieved using oil-in-water microemulsions, which are composed of nanometre-sized droplets of oil suspended in aqueous buffer. The oil droplets are coated in surfactant molecules and the system is stabilised by the addition of a short-chain alcohol cosurfactant. The novel use of water-in-oil microemulsions for MEEKC separations has also been investigated recently. This report summarises the different microemulsion types and compositions used to-date and their applications with a focus on recent papers (2002-2004). The effects of key operating variables (pH, surfactant, cosurfactant, oil phase, buffer, additives, temperature, organic modifier) and methodology techniques are described.     

Separation of eight selected flavan-3-ols on cellulose thin-layer chromatographic plates

The potential of microcristaline cellulose as sorbent in the separation of eight compounds: (+)-catechin (C), (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-gallocatechin (GC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), procyanidin B1 and procyanidin B2 was studied. Cellulose HPTLC plates prewashed in water (not necessary, when water was used as developing solvent) and dried with a hair dryer, bandwise application and development in horizontal developing chamber (sandwich configuration) gave the best results. Detection was performed using vanillin-H3PO4 reagent. Four new developing solvent systems were proposed: water, 1-propanol-water (20:80, v/v), 1-propanol-water-acetic acid (4:2:1, v/v) and 1-propanol-water-acetic acid (20:80:1, v/v), and at least two of them were needed for the differentiation between all eight compounds. Surprisingly, water enabled the separation of epimers C from EC and GC from EGC, as well as the dimers procianidin B1 and B2. Additionally, C, EGC, B1 and B2 were separated from all the other compounds. The best choice for developing solvent is given for each of the studied compounds. The best separation of the five main catechins (EC, GC, EGC, ECg, EGCg) present in green tea extract was achieved using 1-propanol-water-acetic acid (20:80:1, v/v). The chromatograms of oak bark extract developed in solvents with higher water content (1-propanol-water (1:4, v/v) and 1-propanol-water-acetic acid (20:80:1, v/v)) showed less bands than chromatograms developed in solvents with higher organic modifier content (e.g. 1-propanol-water-acetic acid (4:2:1, v/v)). It was proved that such behavior was due to the presence of procyanidins beside the main component catechin.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography for separation and analysis of curcuminoids in turmeric samples

Microemulsion EKC (MEEKC) was developed for quantitative analysis of curcuminoids, such as curcumin (C), demethoxycurcumin (D), and bis-demethoxycurcumin (B). MEEKC separation of curcuminoids was optimized, and a change in resolution was explained using a modified equation for resolution in MEEKC without electroosmosis. The suitable MEEKC conditions for separation of curcuminoids were obtained to be the microemulsion buffer containing 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5, 1.1% v/v n-octane as oil droplets, 180 mM SDS as surfactant, 890 mM 1-butanol as cosurfactant, and 25% v/v 2-propanol as organic cosolvent; applied voltage of -15 kV; and separation temperature 25 degrees C. Achieved baseline resolution of C:D and D:B was obtained with R(s) -2.4 and analysis time within 18 min. In addition, high accuracy and precision of the method were obtained. This MEEKC method was used for quantitative determination of individual curcuminoids in medicinal turmeric capsules and powdered turmeric used as coloring additive in food, with simple sample preparation such as solvent extraction, dilution, and filtration, and without cleaning up by SPE.     

Rapid determination of water- and fat-soluble vitamins with microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

A rapid, reliable and reproducible method based on microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) for simultaneous determination of 13 kinds of water- and fat-soluble vitamins has been developed in this work. A novel microemulsion system consisting of 1.2% (w/w) sodium lauryl sulphate (SDS), 21% (v/v) 1-butanol, 18% (v/v) acetonitrile, 0.8% (w/w) n-hexane, 20mM borax buffer (pH 8.7) was applied to improve selectivity and efficiency, as well as shorten analysis time. The composition of microemulsion used as the MEEKC running buffer was investigated thoroughly to obtain stable separation medium, as well as the optimum determination conditions. Acetonitrile as the organic solvent modifier, pH of the running buffer and 1-butanol as the co-surfactant played the most important roles for the separation of the fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins and stabilization of system, respectively. The 13 water- and fat-soluble vitamins were baseline separated within 30 min. The system was applied to determine water- and fat-soluble vitamins in commercial multivitamin pharmaceutical formulation, good accuracy and precision were obtained with recoveries between 97% and 105%, relative standard derivations (RSDs) less than 1.8% except vitamin C, and acceptable quantitative results corresponding to label claim.     

Microemulsion and micellar electrokinetic chromatography of Hematoporphyrin D: a starting material of hematoporphyrin derivative

An investigation of the basic factors which govern the microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) separation of Hematoporphyrin D and its base hydrolysis product, hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD), was performed. These model compounds contain a complex mixture of porphyrin monomers, dimers and/or oligomers, and were utilized to gain insights into the MEEKC/micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) separation of samples containing highly lipophilic substances. For example, the organic modifier/cosurfactant (1-butanol) and/or oil phase (e.g., 1-octanol in comparison to ethyl acetate) were found to have an apparent influence on the separation selectivity of Hematoporphyrin D, the extent of which was dependent on the chemical nature of the surfactant employed (e.g., sodium dodecyl sulfate vs. sodium cholate). An interesting and important finding was that the presence of an organic modifier (methanol or acetonitrile at a concentration of 20% or higher) in the sample matrix as well as in the run buffer was essential for the optimal MEEKC or MEKC separation of a number of porphyrin monomers (including hematoporphyrin IX and its acetates, most likely hydroxyacetate, diacetate, and vinyl acetate, as well as its dehydration products, hydroxyethylvinyldeuteroporphyrin and protoporphyrin) contained in Hematoporphyrin D. On the other hand, the use of these optimized conditions for the MEEKC or MEKC separation of various oligomeric porphyrin species in HpD were unsatisfactory. As HpD is a well-known and effective photosensitizing agent in photodynamic therapy (a new approach for cancer treatment), the improved separation and characterization of various monomeric and oligomeric porphyrin species in HpD and its starting material, such as Hematoporphyrin D, is a challenging and important task.     

Enhanced separation of Compound Xueshuantong capsule using functionalized carbon nanotubes with cationic surfactant solutions in MEEKC

A novel additive of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) dispersed with cationic surfactants or mixed cationic/anionic surfactants was used for MEEKC separation of eight phenolic compounds, four glycosides, and one phenanthraquinone. In this context, several parameters affecting MEEKC separation were studied, including the dispersion agents of MWNTs, MWNTs content, oil type, SDS concentration, and the type and concentration of cosurfactant. Compared with conventional MEEKC, the addition of all types of MWNTs dispersions using single or mixed cationic surfactant solutions in running buffers was especially useful for improving the separation of solutes tested, as they influenced the partitioning between the oil droplets and aqueous phase due to the exceptional electrical properties and large surface areas of MWNTs. Use of cationic surfactant‐coated MWNTs (6.4 μg/mL) as the additive in a microemulsion buffer (0.5% octanol, 2.8% SDS, 5.8% isopropanol, and 5 mM borate buffer) yielded complete resolution of 13 analytes. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the detection and quantification of the studied compounds in a complex matrix sample (Compound Xueshuantong capsule).     

Microstructure of microemulsion in MEEKC

The influences of the composition of microemulsion on the microstructure including dimensions and ζ potentials of microdroplets were measured in details. The average dynamic dimension of microdroplets was measured by dynamic laser light scattering, and ζ potential was determined to characterize average surface charge density of microdroplets. The experiment results showed that increase of the amount of surfactant resulted in decrease of microdroplet size but almost invariant ζ potential, which would enlarge migration time of the microdroplet in MEEKC. With increment of cosurfactant concentration, the microdroplet size had an increasing trend, whereas the ζ potential decreased. Thus, observed migration velocity of microdroplets increased, which made the separation window in MEEKC shortened. Neither dimension nor ζ potential of microdroplets changed by varying both the type and the amount of the oil phase. Adding organic solvent as modifier to microemulsion did not change the microdroplet size, but lowered ζ potential. The migration time of microdroplet still became larger, since EOF slowed down owing to organic solvent in capillary. So, besides increment of surfactant concentration, organic additive could also enlarge the separation window. Increase of cosurfactant concentration was beneficial for separation efficiency thanks to the looser structure of swollen microdroplet, and the peak sharpening might compensate for the resolution and peak capacity owing to a narrow separation window. Except the oil phase, tuning the composition of microemulsion would change the microstructure, eventually could be exploited to optimize the resolution and save analysis time in MEEKC.     

Background and operating parameters in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) is an electrodriven separation technique. Separations are generally achieved using microemulsions consisting of surfactant-coated nanometer-sized oil droplets suspended in aqueous buffer. A cosurfactant such as a short-chain alcohol is generally used to stabilize the microemulsion. This review summarizes the various microemulsion types and compositions that have been used in MEEKC. The effects of key-operating variables such as surfactant type and concentration, cosurfactant type and concentration, buffer pH and type, oil type and concentration, use of organic solvent and cyclodextrin additions, and temperature are described. Specific examples of water-in-oil microemulsions and chirally selective separations are also covered.     

Analysis of plant hormones by microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography coupled with on-line large volume sample stacking

A novel method of microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEEKC) coupled with on-line large volume sample stacking was developed for the analysis of six plant hormones including indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, indole-3-propionic acid, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid, abscisic acid and salicylic acid. Baseline separation of six plant hormones was achieved within 10 min by using the microemulsion background electrolyte containing a 97.2% (w/w) 10 mM borate buffer at pH 9.2, 1.0% (w/w) ethyl acetate as oil droplets, 0.6% (w/w) sodium dodecyl sulphate as surfactant and 1.2% (w/w) 1-butanol as cosurfactant. In addition, an on-line concentration method based on a large volume sample stacking technique and multiple wavelength detection was adopted for improving the detection sensitivity in order to determine trace level hormones in a real sample. The optimal method provided about 50-100 fold increase in detection sensitivity compared with a single MEEKC method, and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were between 0.005 and 0.02 μg mL(-1). The proposed method was simple, rapid and sensitive and could be applied to the determination of six plant hormones in spiked water samples, tobacco leaves and 1-naphthylacetic acid in leaf fertilizer. The recoveries ranged from 76.0% to 119.1%, and good reproducibilities were obtained with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 6.6%.     

Anion-selective exhaustive injection-sweeping microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

In this study, anion-selective exhaustive injection-sweeping (ASEI-sweeping) technique, which is a selective on-line sample concentration technique, was first proposed in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) for analyses of eight acidic phenolic compounds. In contrast to a capillary that is typically filled with nonmicellar background solution in conventional ASEI-sweeping MEKC method, in the proposed ASEI-sweeping MEEKC method, a capillary is filled with a low pH microemulsion solution (pH 2.0), and then with a short acid plug (pH 2.0, 1.9 cm) before field-amplified sample injection. This proposed design has two functions. First, the microemulsion solution that is present at the front of capillary column is able to avoid phase separation of microemulsion solution during MEEKC separation. Second, the presence of the short acid plug would effectively limit the partition behavior of acid analytes with the oil droplets in the microemulsion during field-amplified sample injection; otherwise, the stacking effect of acid analytes would be markedly reduced. This optimal ASEI-sweeping MEEKC method afforded about 96,000-fold to 238,000-fold increases in detection sensitivity in terms of peak areas without any separation efficiency loss when compared to normal MEEKC separation. Furthermore, trace levels (about 3 ng/g) of gallic acid and catechin in foods were also detected successfully by the proposed ASEI-sweeping MEEKC technique.     

Separation of neutral compounds by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography: fundamental studies on selectivity

The selectivity of microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was studied utilizing some uncharged model compounds like aromatic amides, steroids, and esters of nicotinic acid. The cosurfactant of the microemulsion was found to be the most important factor affecting the selectivity, and alteration between 6.6% of 1-propanol, 1-butanol, tetrahydrofuran, and 2-ethoxyethanol caused several substantial changes in the migration order. In addition, the nature of the surfactant was found to significantly affect the selectivity. In this case, changes in order of migration was observed by replacement of half the content of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with either sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (SDOSS), 3-(N,N-dimethylmyristylammonio) propanesulfonate (MAPS), polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 21), and polyoxyethylene 23 lauryl ether (Brij 35). MEEKC was also accomplished with 3.3% of the anionic surfactant sodium cholate and with the cationic surfactant N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide (CTMA). Both provided substantial differences in selectivity as compared to the SDS-based systems. With SDS as surfacant, the concentration was varied within 1.0-4.5%. Minor selectivity changes were observed as the concentration of the surfacant was reduced, but the major effect was a reduction in the total migration time. The organic solvent of the microemulsion droplets was found only to have minor impact on the selectivity.     

微乳液毛细管电动色谱研究

本文研究了两组混合样的微乳液毛细管电动色谱(MEEKC)分离, 较系统地研究了微乳液的内相, 助表面活性剂及其浓度对电动分离的迁移时间、柱效及时间窗的影响, 并与胶束毛细管电动色谱(MEKC)分离进行了比较, 选用由80mmol/L正辛烷-120mmol/L十二烷基硫酸钠-900mmol/L正丁醇-10mmol/L硼砂组成的微乳液, 样品组分电动色谱迁移时间的RSD<0.8%, 峰面积RSD<3.0%.     

Recent advances in the development and application of microemulsion EKC

Microemulsion EKC (MEEKC) is an electrodriven separation technique. Separations are typically achieved using oil-in-water microemulsions, which are composed of nanometre-sized oil droplets suspended in an aqueous buffer. The droplets are stabilised by a surfactant and a cosurfactant. The novel use of water-in-oil microemulsions has also been investigated. This review summarises the advances in the development of MEEKC separations and also the different areas of application including determination of log P values, pharmaceutical applications, chiral analysis, natural products and bioanalytical separations and the use of new methods such as multiplexed MEEKC and high speed MEEKC. Recent applications (2004-2006) are tabulated for each area with microemulsion composition details.     

Separation and determination of biphenyl nitrile compounds by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography with mixed surfactants

A mixture of six biphenyl nitrile compounds and three related substances with high hydrophobicity and similar structures was successfully separated by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) within 30 min. The microemulsion system contained 100 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 80 mM sodium cholate (SC), 0.81% v/v heptane, 7.5% v/v n-butanol, 10% v/v acetonitrile, and 10 mM borate. The addition of SC, organic modifiers, sample preparation, and temperature all showed remarkable effects on the separation. The capacity factor (k) was calculated by using dodecyl benzene as the marker for microemulsion, and the calculated partition coefficient log P(o/w) of the solutes was in the range of 3.35-7.38. The log k values matched well with the log P(o/w) with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. In addition, the linear correlation coefficients of each compound between peak area and concentration were from 0.996 to 0.998 with the repeatability RSD value < 1.2% for migration time and < 4.8% for peak area, and the highest theoretic plate number was > 586000. MEEKC was compared with micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) indicating that the former method is more suitable for this separation and can be used for the quality control of biphenyl nitrile compounds in the synthesis of liquid crystals.