Electro membrane isolation of nerve agent degradation products across a supported liquid membrane followed by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

In the present study, electro membrane isolation (EMI) of four nerve agent degradation products has been successfully explored. In the procedure, a polypropylene sheet membrane folded into an envelope with an open end with its wall pores impregnated with 1-octanol was employed as the artificial supported liquid membrane (SLM). The envelope containing the extractant or aqueous acceptor phase (at pH 6.8) was immersed in the sample or donor phase (also aqueous at a pH of 6.8) for extraction. This ensured that the target analytes were fully ionized. A voltage was then applied, with the negative electrode placed in the donor phase with agitation, and the positive electrode in the acceptor phase. The ionized analytes were thus driven to migrate from the donor phase across the SLM to the acceptor phase. The factors influential to extraction: type of organic solvent, voltage, agitation speed, extraction time, pH of the donor and acceptor phase and concentration of humic acids were investigated in detail. After extraction, the acceptor phase was collected and directly injected for capillary electrophoretic (CE) analysis. Combined with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4)D), the direct detection of these compounds could be achieved. Moreover, large-volume sample injection was employed to further enhance the sensitivity of this method. Limits of detection (LODs) as low as ng/mL were reached for the studied analytes, with overall LOD enhancements of four orders of magnitude.     

Determination of nerve agent degradation products by capillary electrophoresis using field-amplified sample stacking injection with the electroosmotic flow pump and contactless conductivity detection

In the present study, field-amplified sample stacking injection using the electroosmotic flow pump (FAEP) was developed for the capillary electrophoretic separation of the four nerve agent degradation products methylphosphonic acid (MPA), ethyl methylphosphonic acid (EMPA), isopropyl methylphosphonic acid (IMPA) and cyclohexyl methylphosphonic acid (CMPA). Coupled to contactless conductivity detection, direct quantification of these non-UV active compounds could be achieved. Sensitivity enhancement of up to 500 to 750-fold could be obtained. The newly established approach was applied to the determination of the analytes in river water and aqueous extracts of soil. Detection limits of 0.5, 0.7, 1.4 and 2.7 ng/mL were obtained for MPA, EMPA, IMPA and CMPA, respectively, in river water and 0.09, 0.14, 0.44 and 0.22 μg/g, respectively, in soil.     

Electromembrane extraction of heavy metal cations followed by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

Electromembrane extraction (EME) was used as an off-line sample pre-treatment method for the determination of heavy metal cations in aqueous samples using CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CE-C(4) D). A short segment of porous polypropylene hollow fibre was penetrated with 1-octanol and 0.5%?v/v bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphonic acid and constituted a low cost, single use, disposable supported liquid membrane, which selectively transported and pre-concentrated heavy metal cations into the fibre lumen filled with 100?mM acetic acid acceptor solution. Donor solutions were standard solutions and real samples dissolved in deionized water at neutral pH. At optimized EME conditions (penetration time, 5?s; applied voltage, 75?V; and stirring rate, 750?rpm), 15-42% recoveries of heavy metal cations were achieved for a 5?min extraction time. Repeatability of the EME pre-treatment was examined for six independent EME runs and ranged from 6.6 to 11.1%. Limits of detection for the EME-CE-C(4) D method ranged from 25 to 200?nM, resulting into one to two orders of magnitude improvement compared with CE-C(4) D without sample treatment. The developed EME sample pre-treatment procedure was applied to the analysis of heavy metal cations in tap water and powdered milk samples. Zinc in the real samples was identified and quantified in a background electrolyte solution consisting of 20?mM L-histidine and 30?mM acetic acid at pH 4.95 in about 3?min.     

Monosaccharide profiling of glycoproteins by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

Saccharides form one of the major constituents of biological macromolecules in living organisms. Many biological processes including protein folding, stability, immune response and receptor activation are regulated by glycosylation. In this work, we optimized a capillary electrophoresis method with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection for the separation of eight monosaccharides commonly found in glycoproteins, namely D-glucose, D-galactose, D-mannose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, D-fucose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and D-xylose. A highly alkaline solution of 50 mM sodium hydroxide, 22.5 mM disodium phosphate, and 0.2 mM CTAB (pH 12.4) was used as a background electrolyte in a 10 µm id capillary. To achieve baseline separation of all analytes, a counter-directional pressure of –270 kPa was applied during the separation. The limits of detection of our method were below 7 µg/ml (i.e., 1.5 pg or 1 mg/g protein) and the limits of quantification were below 22 µg/ml (i.e., 5 pg or 3 mg/g protein). As a proof of concept of our methodology, we performed an analysis of monosaccharides released from fetuin glycoprotein by acid hydrolysis. The results show that, when combined with an appropriate pre-concentration technique, the developed method can be used as a monosaccharide profiling tool in glycoproteomics and complement the routinely used LC-MS/MS analysis.     

Considerations on contactless conductivity detection in capillary electrophoresis

Nearly all analyses by capillary electrophoresis (CE) are performed using optical detection, utilizing either absorbance or (laser-induced) fluorescence. Though adequate for many analytical problems, in a large number of cases, e.g., involving non-UV-absorbing compounds, these optical detection methods fall short. Indirect optical detection can then still provide an acceptable means of detection, however, with a strongly reduced sensitivity. During the past few years, contactless conductivity detection (CCD) has been presented as a valuable extension to optical detection techniques. It has been demonstrated that with CCD detection limits comparable, or even superior, to (indirect) optical detection can be obtained. Additionally, construction of the CCD around the CE capillary is straightforward and robust operation is easily obtained. Unfortunately, in the literature a large variety of designs and operating conditions for CCD were described. In this contribution, several important parameters of CCD are identified and their influence on, e.g., detectability and peak shape is described. An optimized setup based on a well-defined detection cell with three detection electrodes is presented. Additionally, simple and commercially available read-out electronics are described. The performance of the CCD-CE system was demonstrated for the analysis of peptides. Detection limits at the microM level were obtained in combination with good peak shapes and an overall good performance and stability.     

Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection in capillary electrophoresis

Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4)D) has become an accepted detection method in capillary electrophoresis (CE) for a variety of analytes. Advantages of this technique over optical detection modes and galvanic contact conductivity detection include great flexibility in capillary handling and rather simple mechanical parts and electronics, as it can be performed in an on-capillary mode. Furthermore, the detection principle can be used with capillaries made of other materials than fused silica (PEEK, Teflon), with chip-based separation technologies, or with capillaries having very small inner diameters. This review presents a discussion of the published literature on C(4)D for CE and capillary electrochromatography.     

Determination of ciclopirox olamine in pharmaceutical products by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

This paper describes the determination of ciclopirox olamine in pharmaceutical formulations using capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. In an alkaline medium, ciclopirox olamine is converted into an anionic species and its detection is possible in capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection without an electroosmotic flow modifier, because it is a low-mobility species. A linear working range from 2.64 to 264 μg/mL in sodium hydroxide electrolyte as well as low detection limit (0.39 μg/mL) and a good repeatability (RSD = 3.4% for 264 μg/mL ciclopirox solution (n = 10)) were achieved. It was also possible to determine olamine in its cationic form when acetic acid was used as the electrolyte solution. The results obtained include a linear range from 26.4 to 184.8 μg/mL and a detection limit of 2.6 μg/mL olamine. The proposed methods were applied to the analysis of commercial pharmaceutical products and the results were compared with the values indicated by the manufacturer as well as those obtained using a titrimetric method recommended by American Pharmacopoeia.     

Separation of enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

Contactless conductivity detection is successfully demonstrated for the enantiomeric separation of basic drugs and amino acids in capillary electrophoresis (CE). Derivatization of the compounds or the addition of a visualization agent as for indirect optical detection schemes were not needed. Non-charged chiral selectors were employed, hydroxypropylated cyclodextrin (CD) for the more lipophilic basic drugs and 18-crown-6-tetracarboxylic acid (18C6H4) for the amino acids. Acidic buffer solutions based on lactic or citric acid were used. The detection limits were determined as 0.3 microM for pseudoephedrine as an example of a basic drug and were in the range from 2.5 to 20 microM for the amino acids.     

Determination of mono- and disaccharides by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

The separation and detection of common mono- and disaccharides by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with contactless conductivity detection (CCD) is presented. At high values of pH, the sugars are converted to anionic species that can be separated by CE and indirectly detected by CCD. The main anionic species present in the running electrolytes are hydroxide and phosphate, which have greater mobility than the ionized sugars, and, thus, the indirect detection is possible. The method was applied to analysis of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in soft drinks, isotonic beverages, fruit juice, and sugarcane spirits. Galactose was used as internal standard in all cases. Plate numbers range from ca. 70,700 to 168,200 and the limits of detection from 13 to 31 microM.     

Electromembrane extraction of amino acids from body fluids followed by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection

Electromembrane extraction (EME) proved to be a simple and rapid pretreatment method for analysis of amino acids and related compounds in body fluid samples. Body fluids were acidified to the final concentration of 2.5 M acetic acid and served as donor solutions. Amino acids, present as cations in the donor solutions, migrated through a supported liquid membrane (SLM) composed of 1-ethyl-2-nitrobenzene/bis-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphonic acid (85:15 (v/v)) into the lumen of a porous polypropylene hollow fiber (HF) on application of electric field. The HF was filled with 2.5 M acetic acid serving as the acceptor solution. Matrix components in body fluids were efficiently retained on the SLM and did not interfere with subsequent analysis. Capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was used for determination of 17 underivatized amino acids in background electrolyte solution consisting of 2.5 M acetic acid. Parameters of EME, such as composition of SLM, pH and composition of donor and acceptor solution, agitation speed, extraction voltage, and extraction time were studied in detail. At optimized conditions, repeatability of migration times and peak areas of 17 amino acids was better than 0.3% and 13%, respectively, calibration curves were linear in a range of two orders of magnitude (r(2)=0.9968-0.9993) and limits of detection ranged from 0.15 to 10 μM. Endogenous concentrations of 12 amino acids were determined in EME treated human serum, plasma, and whole blood. The method was also suitable for simple and rapid pretreatment and determination of elevated concentrations of selected amino acids, which are markers of severe inborn metabolic disorders.     

Fingerprinting postblast explosive residues by portable capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A portable capillary electrophoretic system with contactless conductivity detection was used for fingerprint analysis of postblast explosive residues from commercial organic and improvised inorganic explosives on various surfaces (sand, concrete, metal witness plates). Simple extraction methods were developed for each of the surfaces for subsequent simultaneous capillary electrophoretic analysis of anions and cations. Dual‐opposite end injection principle was used for fast (<4 min) separation of 10 common anions and cations from postblast residues using an optimized separation electrolyte composed of 20 mM MES, 20 mM l ‐histidine, 30 μM CTAB and 2 mM 18‐crown‐6. The concentrations of all ions obtained from the electropherograms were subjected to principal component analysis to classify the tested explosives on all tested surfaces, resulting in distinct cluster formations that could be used to verify (each) type of the explosive.     

Miniaturized movable contactless conductivity detection cell for capillary electrophoresis

A miniaturized capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (mini-C(4)D) cell has been designed which is small enough to allow it to slide along the effective capillary length inside the capillary cassette of an Agilent capiillary electrophoresis system (CE) (or other CE brand of similar construction), including the possibility of positioning it close to the point of optical detection (4 cm), or even putting two such detector cells in one cassette. The cell was tested and the performance characteristics (noise, sensitivity, and peak width) were compared with those obtained with the previously used large C(4)D cell. No significant differences were observed. The mini-C(4)D was used in simultaneous separations of common cations and anions where its advantage over a larger C(4)D cell is the ability to vary the point of detection with the mini-C(4)D cell continuously at any point along the capillary length, so that the optimum apparent selectivity can be chosen. Other applications include providing a convenient second point of detection in addition to photometric detection, such as to measure accurately the linear velocity of a zone, or to allow placement of two mini-C(4)D cells in one capillary cassette simultaneously.     

Separation of fluoroquinolones in acidic buffer by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A method to determine five fluoroquinolones (FQs), namely, rufloxacin (RUF), ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENO), gatifloxacin (GAT) and moxifloxacin (MOX), in acidic buffer by capillary electrophoresis (CE)-capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D) technique is presented. Separation was carried out in a fused-silica capillary (42 cm × 50 μm) using a buffer composed of 10 mM tartaric acid, 14 mM sodium acetate and 15% (v/v) methanol at pH 3.8. The RSDs of the migration times and peak areas were 0.65% and 12.3% (intraday), 1.28% and 8.8% (interday), respectively. CE-C⁴D in combination with liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) as clean-up and preconcentration procedure, allows detection of the FQs in fortified chicken muscle samples with detection limits of 6.8–11.7 ng/g. This method shows potential in rapid determination of FQs in samples with complex matrix.     

Optimization of separation of heavy metals by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

The separation of four toxic metal ions (Cr(3+) , Pb(2+) , Hg(2+) , Ni(2+) ) was achieved by optimizing the composition of the histidine/tartaric acid background electrolyte. An on-column preconcentration technique, viz. field amplified sample injection, was performed to improve the sensitivity. This method afforded an enhancement factor of up to 91,800 fold with the LODs ranging from 0.005 to 2.32 μg/L, which were well below the maximum contaminant levels set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The robustness of this method was demonstrated with its application to the analysis of real samples including tap water, drain water, and reservoir water with recoveries between 90 and 120%.     

硫酸沙丁胺醇的毛细管电泳非接触电导法检测

建立了毛细管电泳-非接触电导检测分离测定硫酸沙丁胺醇的分析方法。分别考察了分离介质、背景电解质及其浓度和pH、分离电压、进样时间、激发电压、激发频率等因素对实验结果的影响。在优化的实验条件(以15 mmol/L乳酸水溶液(pH 2.7)为电泳介质,10 kV下电动进样3 s,分离电压为10 kV,激发电压为60 V,激发频率为120 kHz)下,硫酸沙丁胺醇的检出限(信噪比为3)为1.92 mg/L,在9.60～48.0 mg/L质量浓度范围内有良好的线性关系(r=0.995),迁移时间的相对标准偏差(RSD)为2.7%。将该方法用于硫酸沙丁胺醇片和硫酸沙丁胺醇气雾剂中的硫酸沙丁胺醇含量的测定,加标回收率为90%～113%,检测结果与药厂的标示值相符合,为硫酸沙丁胺醇的检测提供了一种简便、快速、高灵敏的方法。关键词: 毛细管电泳;非接触电导检测法;硫酸沙丁胺醇;硫酸沙丁胺醇片;硫酸沙丁胺醇气雾剂     

Determination of tobramycin in human serum by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A study on the determination of the antibiotic tobramycin by CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection is presented. This method enabled the direct quantification of the non-UV-absorbing species without incurring the disadvantages of the indirect approaches which would be needed for optical detection. The separation of tobramycin from inorganic cations present in serum samples was achieved by optimizing the composition of the acetic acid buffer. Field-amplified sample stacking was employed to enhance the sensitivity of the method and a detection limit of 50 microg/L (S/N = 3) was reached. The RSDs obtained for migration time and peak area using kanamycin B as internal standard were typically 0.12 and 4%, respectively. The newly developed method was validated by measuring the concentration of tobramycin in serum standards containing typical therapeutic concentrations of 2 and 10 mg/L. The recoveries were 96 and 97% for the two concentrations, respectively.     

微芯片毛细管电泳非接触电导法快速测定盐酸倍他洛尔

建立了微芯片毛细管电泳非接触电导检测法快速测定盐酸倍他洛尔滴眼液中盐酸倍他洛尔的含量。探讨了缓冲液类型、浓度、分离电压及进样时间等因素对分离检测的影响。实验采用1.5 mmol·L-1HAc-1.5mmol·L-1Na Ac(p H=4.69)为缓冲溶液,分离电压为2.1 k V,进样时间10.0 s。此条件下于0.7 min内实现了盐酸倍他洛尔的快速分离测定。盐酸倍他洛尔的浓度在5.0~200.0μg·m L-1线性良好(r=0.9997,n=6),检出限为1.0μg·m L-1(S/N=3),RSD为0.8%,样品的加标回收率为100.4%~102.0%。滴眼液中的辅料在该条件下不干扰测定,可成功测定盐酸倍他洛尔滴眼液中盐酸倍他洛尔的含量。     

Dynamic supported liquid membrane tip extraction of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid followed by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A dynamic supported liquid membrane tip extraction (SLMTE) procedure for the effective extraction and preconcentration of glyphosate (GLYP) and its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in water has been investigated. The SLMTE procedure was performed in a semi-automated dynamic mode and demonstrated a greater performance against a static extraction. Several important extraction parameters such as donor phase pH, cationic carrier concentration, type of membrane solvent, type of acceptor stripping phase, agitation and extraction time were comprehensively optimized. A solution of Aliquat-336, a cationic carrier, in dihexyl ether was selected as the supported liquid incorporated into the membrane phase. Quantification of GLYP and AMPA was carried out using capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection. An electrolyte solution consisting of 12 mM histidine (His), 8 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES), 75 μM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), 3% methanol, pH 6.3, was used as running buffer. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the method showed good linearity in the range of 0.01–200 μg/L (GLYP) and 0.1–400 μg/L (AMPA), acceptable reproducibility (RSD 5–7%, n = 5), low limits of detection of 0.005 μg/L for GLYP and 0.06 μg/L for AMPA, and satisfactory relative recoveries (90–94%). Due to the low cost, the SLMTE device was disposed after each run which additionally eliminated the possibility of carry-over between runs. The validated method was tested for the analysis of both analytes in spiked tap water and river water with good success.     

High-voltage contactless conductivity detection of metal ions in capillary electrophoresis

The detection of alkali, alkaline earth and heavy metal ions with a high-voltage capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (HV-C(4)D) was investigated. Eight alkali, alkaline earth metal ions and ammonium could be separated in less than 4 min with detection limits in the order of 5 x 10(-8) M. The heavy metals Mn2+, Pb2+, Cd2+ Fe2+, Zn2+, Co2+, Cu2+ and Ni2+ could also be successfully resolved with a 10 mM 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid/DL-histidine (MES/His)-buffer. Zn2+, Co2+, Cu2+ and Ni2+ showed an indirect response. The detection limits for the heavy metals were determined to range from about 1 to 5 microM.     

Quantification of plasma lactate concentrations using capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

The quantification of plasma lactate and evaluation of the lactate threshold by CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity is demonstrated. The only sample preparation needed was deproteinization with a ACN/methanol mixture. A solution of 10 mmol/L 2-morpholinoethanesulfonic acid monohydrate, 10 mmol/L DL-histidine, 70 μmol/L hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, pH 6.0 was found suitable as running buffer. Linearity was achieved for the concentration range of 10-1000 μmol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9994. The limit of detection (3 S/N) was determined as 3.2 μmol/L. Intra- and inter-day variabilities were less than 7% RSD. The suitability of the method could be demonstrated by analyzing various clinical samples, where the results correlated satisfactorily with those of an established enzymatic method.