Analysis of sialic acid levels in Chinese intravenous immunoglobulins by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is increasingly used for the treatment of autoimmune and systemic inflammatory diseases with both licensed and off‐label indications. Recent studies indicated that IVIg‐mediated immunomodulation and anti‐inflammation are closely associated with the IgG sialylation, especially with IgG crystallizable fragment (Fc) sialylation. The sialic acid levels of the IgG molecules and Fc fragments in 12 IVIg preparations from six Chinese manufacturers were evaluated. The Fc fragments were derived from the papain digestion of IVIg, followed by affinity and size exclusion chromatography. The sialic acid levels in Fc fragments and IVIg preparations were determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, after the sialic acid residues were released from the proteins. The results showed that the sialic acid levels in Chinese IVIg preparations ranged from 0.875 (mol/mol IgG) to 1.085 (mol/mol IgG), and the sialic acid levels in Fc fragments were from 0.321 (mol/mol Fc) to 0.361 (mol/mol Fc). Furthermore, the sialic acid levels of IVIg preparations and Fc fragments from different Chinese manufactures were significantly different. These findings will contribute to an increased understanding of Chinese IVIg preparations and the relationship between the sialic acid levels in IVIg preparations and their clinical efficacy in future clinical studies.     

Reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection to screen nitric oxide synthases inhibitors

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors are potential drug candidates due to the critical role of an excessive production of nitric oxide in a range of diseases. At present, the radiometric detection of l ‐[³H]‐citrulline produced from l ‐[³H]‐arginine during the enzymatic reaction is one of the most accepted methods to assess the in vitro activity of NOS inhibitors. Here we report a fast, easy, and cheap reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection, based on the precolumn derivatization of l ‐citrulline with o‐phthaldialdehyde/N‐acetyl cysteine, for the in vitro screening of NOS inhibitors. To evaluate enzyme inhibition by the developed method, N‐[3‐(aminomethyl)benzyl]acetamidine, a potent and selective inhibitor of inducible NOS, was used as a test compound. The half maximal inhibitory concentration obtained was comparable to that derived by the well‐established radiometric assay.     

Development and validation of a sensitive quantification method for hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether in plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A rapid, sensitive, precise and specific method for determination of hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME), a novel photodynamic therapy (PDT) drug, was developed and validated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. HMME was isolated from the plasma by a single-step liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The analyte and internal standard fluorescein were baseline separated on a Diamonsil C(18) analytical column (4.6 x 150 mm, 5 microm) and analyzed using a fluorescence detector with the excitation and emission wavelengths set at 395 and 613 nm, respectively. The method was linear in the concentration range 0.025-5 microg/mL with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 10 ng/mL. The inter- and intra-day accuracies and precisions were all within 10% and the mean recoveries of HMME and fluorescein were 95 +/- 3.7 and 90 +/- 2.3%, respectively. The analyte was stable during all sample storage, preparation and analysis periods. This method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study after a single-dose intravenous administration of HMME (5 mg/kg) to beagle dogs. This method was reproducible and sensitive enough for the pharmacokinetic study of HMME. Based on the results of the pharmacokinetic study, we suggest that a rather long light-avoiding time is essential for patients under HMME therapy.     

Study of tamoxifen urinary metabolites in rat by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Tamoxifen (TMX) is a nonsteroidal estrogen antagonist drug used for the treatment of breast cancer. It is also included in the list of banned substances of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited in and out of competition. In this work, the excretion of urinary metabolites of TMX after a single therapeutic dose administration in rats has been studied using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography electrospray time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐TOFMS). A systematic strategy based on the search of typical biotransformations that a xenobiotic can undergo in living organisms, based on their corresponding molecular formula modification and accurate mass shifts, was applied for the identification of TMX metabolites. Prior to UHPLC‐TOFMS analyses, a solid‐phase extraction step with polymeric cartridges was applied to urine samples. Up to 38 TMX metabolites were detected. Additional collision induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS fragmentation was performed using UHPLC‐QTOFMS. Compared with recent previous studies in human urine and plasma, new metabolites have been reported for the first time in urine. Metabolites identified in rat urine include the oxygen addition, owing to different possibilities for the hydroxylation of the rings in different positions (m/z 388.2271), the incorporation of two oxygen atoms (m/z 404.2220) (including dihydroxylated derivatives or alternatives such as epoxidation plus hydroxylation or N‐oxidation and hydroxylation), epoxide formation or hydroxylation and dehydrogenation [m/z 386.2114 (+O –H₂)], hydroxylation of the ring accompanied by N‐desmethylation (m/z 374.2115), combined hydroxylation and methoxylation (m/z 418.2377), desaturated TMX derivate (m/z 370.2165) and its N‐desmethylated derivate (m/z 356.2009), the two latter modifications not previously being reported in urine. These findings confirm the usefulness of the proposed approach based on UHPLC‐TOFMS. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of acrolein in serum by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after pre‐column fluorogenic derivatization using 1,2‐diamino‐4,5‐dimethoxybenzene

Acrolein is a major unsaturated aldehyde that is generated during the lipid peroxidation process. The measurement of acrolein in biological samples should be useful to estimate the degree of lipid peroxidation and to evaluate the effect of hazardous properties of acrolein on human health. In this study, a highly sensitive and selective high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method was developed for the determination of acrolein in human serum. The proposed method involves the pre‐column fluorogenic derivatization of acrolein with 1,2‐diamino‐4,5‐dimethoxybenzene (DDB) as a reagent. The fluorescent derivative of acrolein could be detected clearly without any interfering reagent blank peaks because DDB does not have intrinsic fluorescence itself, and the detection limit was 10 nM (signal‐to‐noise ratio = 3). The proposed method could selectively detect acrolein in human serum with a simple protein precipitation treatment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of estrone and 17α‐ethinylestradiol in digested sludge by ultrasonic liquid extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

Estrone, 17β‐estradiol and 17α‐ethinylestradiol are increasingly recognised as important micropollutants to be monitored in wastewater treatment plants. These estrogens are retained onto sludge due to their high adsorption and since they are largely used in land applications, the monitoring of these chemicals in sludge samples is of great importance. This study describes a method for the determination of estrone and 17α‐ethinylestradiol in fresh sludge samples. After spiking fresh digested sludge with estrone and 17α‐ethinylestradiol and maintaining in contact during 5, 30 and 60 min, the freeze‐dried samples were subjected to ultrasonic liquid extraction, with methanol and acetone, and analysed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The average recoveries obtained for estrone and 17α‐ethinylestradiol using the different contact times were 103 ± 3 and 97 ± 4%, respectively. Fresh sludge samples from one waste water treatment plant located in Portugal were analysed and estrone was detected in primary fresh sludge, anaerobic digested sludge and dehydrated sludge at a concentration in the range of 1–4.8 μg/g. The method here developed does not require any sample clean‐up, being fast and simple, reliable and inexpensive, making possible its application for monitoring the contamination of sludge with these estrogens.     

Identification,characterization, and high‐performance liquid chromatography quantification of process‐related impurities in vonoprazan fumarate

High‐performance liquid chromatography analysis of vonoprazan fumarate, a novel proton pump inhibitor drug revealed six impurities. These were identified by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. Further, the structures of the impurities were confirmed by synthesis followed by characterization by mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. On the basis of these data and knowledge of the synthetic scheme of vonoprazan fumarate, the previously unknown impurity was identified as 1‐[5‐(2‐fluorophenyl)‐1‐(pyridin‐3‐ylsulfonyl)‐1H‐pyrrol‐3‐yl]‐N‐methyldimethylamine, which is a new compound. The possible mechanisms by which these impurities were formed were also discussed. A high‐performance liquid chromatography method was optimized in order to separate, selectively detect, and quantify all process‐related impurities of vonoprazan fumarate. The presented method has been validated in terms of linearity, limits of detection, and quantification, and response factors and, therefore, is highly suitable for routine analysis of vonoprazan fumarate related substances as well as stability studies.     

Rapid determination of nitrite in foods in acidic conditions by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

In this study, a simple, rapid, and sensitive method for the determination of nitrite (NO₂^?) in food samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in acidic conditions had been developed. The derivatization of the nitrite with 2,3‐diaminonaphthalene was performed in acidic conditions to yield the highly fluorescent 2,3‐naphthotriazole, which was directly analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection without adjusting the solution to alkaline. The analysis column was reversed‐phase C₈ column. A constant flow rate of 1.0 mL/min was employed using water/acetonitrile as the mobile phase in isocratic mode (70:30, v/v). Fluorescence was monitored with excitation at 375 nm and emission at 415 nm. The standard calibration curves were linear for nitrite in different matrixes in the concentration range of 0–100 μg/L, and the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.9978 to 0.9998. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.012–0.060 and 0.040–0.20 mg/kg, respectively. The recoveries of nitrite from samples spiked at three different concentrations were 74.0–113.2%, and the relative standard deviations of the recovery results (n = 6) were 1.67–10.8%. The proposed method has good repeatability and is very sensitive and simple. It has been successfully used to determine nitrite in foods.     

Development of a method to screen and isolate bioactive constituents from Stellera chamaejasme by ultrafiltration and liquid chromatography combined with semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography and high‐speed counter current chromatography

A simple and efficient method based on ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry was used for the rapid screening and identification of ligands in the extracts of Stellera chamaejasme. The bound ligands, i.e. daphnoretin, isopimpinellin, chamaechromone, neochamaejasmin A, and chamaejasmine (purity of 96.8, 90.75, 91.41, 93.98, and 98.91%, respectively), were separated by semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography combined with high‐speed counter‐current chromatography. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the detection of potent lipoxidase and lactate dehydrogenase inhibitors in Stellera chamaejasme extracts. The results demonstrate that our method of ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry combined with mixed chromatography can be used to screen and confirm the bioactivity of all isolated compounds. This method also eliminates the need for separation of inactive compounds, thereby improving efficiency when studying bioactive substances. For some complex mixtures, neither semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography nor high‐speed counter‐current chromatography can purify all the target active compounds with high purity in a one‐step separation. The combination of the two methods allow for efficient purification of target bioactive compounds with different polarities and physicochemical properties based on their complementary properties.     

Simultaneous quantification of five anthraquinones in rat plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection (excitation 435 and emission 515 nm) was established and validated for quantification of five anthraquinones (aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol and physcion) in rat plasma. Following a single-step liquid-liquid extraction, the analytes and internal standard (1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone) were separated on a reversed-phase C(18) column with water-phosphoric acid-methanol as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The linear ranges of the calibration curves were 6.5-1300 ng/mL for aloe-emodin, 20-4000 ng/mL for rhein, 40-8000 ng/mL for emodin, 15-3000 ng/mL for chrysophanol and 13-2600 ng/mL for physcion. The lower limit of quantification was 6.5 ng/mL for aloe-emodin, 20 ng/mL for rhein, 40 ng/mL for emodin, 15 ng/mL for chrysophanol and 13 ng/mL for physcion. The mean accuracy was 94.3-105.1% for aloe-emodin, 90.3-108.8% for rhein, 92.6-106.7% for emodin, 95.8-103.8% for chrysophanol and 98.7-101.2% for physcion. The within-batch and between-batch precisions were < or = 5.5% and < or = 13.4%, respectively. This method is suitable for determining the five anthraquinones in plasma simultaneously and thus investigating the pharmacokinetics of anthraquinones from Xiexin decoction in rats.     

UPLC‐MS/MS method for the determination of tobacco‐specific biomarker NNAL,tamoxifen and its main metabolites in rat plasma

Cigarette smoke is known to interact with tamoxifen‐metabolizing enzymes and transporters and potentially affect its treatment outcome. 4‐(N‐ nitrosomethylamino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanol (NNAL) is an important metabolite of 4‐(methylnitro‐samino)‐1‐(3‐pyridyl)‐1‐butanone (NNK) because it is frequently used as a biomarker to assess human smoke exposure. In order to study the potential pharmacokinetic interaction between cigarette smoke and tamoxifen in rats a UPLC‐MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of NNAL and tamoxifen along with its metabolites in rat plasma has been developed and validated. Analytes were extracted with methanol and separated on a HSS T3 column by a gradient elution with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water. The lower limits of quantitation ranged from 0.05 to 0.62 ng/mL. Precisions showed RSD <15.8% and accuracy in the range 80.6–116.0%. Mean analyte recoveries ranged from 76.9 to 108.4%. The method was successfully applied to study the effects of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC), NNK and benzo(a)pyrene pre‐treatment on the pharmacokinetics of tamoxifen and its metabolites in rats. Significant effects of CSC, NNK, benzo(a)pyrene were observed on pharmacokinetics of tamoxifen and its metabolites. We also found that plasma NNAL levels are statistically significant correlated with plasma 4‐hydroxy‐tamoxifen and endoxifen.     

Determination of Doxepin in human plasma using cloud‐point extraction with high‐performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection

A new straightforward method based on cloud‐point extraction has been developed, optimized, and validated for the determination of doxepin in human plasma by high‐performance liquid chromatography separation and UV detection. The nonionic surfactant Triton X‐114 was chosen as the extraction solvent. Chromatography separation was performed on a μBondapak^R C₁₈ column (4.6 mm id × 300 mm, 3 μm particle size), which was used for isocratic elution at a detection wavelength of 289 nm. Under the optimum conditions, the linear range of doxepin in human plasma was 0.1–0.9 μg/mL. Also, the detection limit, preconcentration factor, and enrichment factor were 0.08 μg/mL, 50, and 49.0, respectively.     

The bioanalysis of vinorelbine and 4‐O‐deacetylvinorelbine in human and mouse plasma using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with heated electrospray ionization tandem mass–spectrometry

A sensitive, specific and efficient high‐performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry assay for the simultaneous determination of vinorelbine and its metabolite 4‐O‐deacetylvinorelbine in human and mouse plasma is presented. Heated electrospray ionization was applied followed by tandem mass spectrometry. A 50 µL plasma aliquot was protein precipitated with acetonitrile–methanol (1:1, v/v) containing the internal standard vinorelbine‐d3 and 20 µL volumes were injected onto the HPLC system. Separation was achieved on a 50 × 2.1 mm i.d. Xbridge C₁₈ column using isocratic elution with 1 mm ammonium acetate–ammonia buffer pH 10.5–acetonitrile–methanol (28:12:60, v/v/v) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The HPLC run time was 5 min. The assay quantifies both vinorelbine and 4‐O‐deacetylvinorelbine from 0.1 to 100 ng/mL using sample volumes of only 50 µL. Mouse plasma samples can be quantified using calibration curves prepared in human plasma. Validation results demonstrate that vinorelbine and 4‐O‐deacetylvinorelbine can be accurately and precisely quantified in human and mouse plasma with the presented method. The assay is now in use to support (pre‐)clinical pharmacologic studies with vinorelbine in humans and mice. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of 4‐hydroxyphenyl lactic acid, 4‐hydroxyphenyl acetic acid,and 3,4‐hydroxyphenyl propionic acid in human urine by ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A simple and reliable method was established for simultaneous determination of 4‐hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, 4‐hydroxyphenyl lactic acid, and 3,4‐hydroxyphenyl propionic acid in human urine by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Solid‐phase extraction was used to eliminate the interferences in urine. The separation of three analytes was achieved using a C₁₈ column and a mobile phase formed by a 95:5 v/v mixture of 50 mmol/L ammonium acetate buffer at pH 6.8 that contained 5 mmol/L tetrabutyl ammonium bromide and acetonitrile. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of 4‐hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, 4‐hydroxyphenyl lactic acid, and 3,4‐hydroxyphenyl propionic acid were 4.8 × 10⁻³, 8.80 × 10⁻³, and 9.00 × 10⁻³ mg/L, respectively, and the recoveries were in the range of 85.0–120.0% with relative standard deviations of 1.5–3.1%. This method was used to analyze urine samples from breast cancer patients, healthy people and post‐surgery breast cancer patients. Significant differences in urinary levels of 4‐hydroxyphenyl acetic acid and 4‐hydroxyphenyl lactic acid could be found between the breast cancer patients group and other two groups. No effect of age and sex was observed on the urinary levels of 4‐hydroxyphenyl acetic acid and 4‐hydroxyphenyl lactic acid. This method might be helpful for cancer biomarkers discovery in urine.     

Determination of 3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinol,phoxim and chlorpyrifos‐methyl in water samples using a new pretreatment method coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel low‐density solvent‐based vortex‐assisted surfactant‐enhanced‐emulsification liquid–liquid microextraction with the solidification of floating organic droplet method coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of 3,5,6‐trichloro‐2‐pyridinol, phoxim and chlorpyrifos‐methyl in water samples. In this method, the addition of a surfactant could enhance the speed of the mass transfer from the sample solution into the extraction solvent. The extraction solvent could be dispersed into the aqueous by the vortex process. The main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated and the optimum conditions were established as follows: 80 μL 1‐undecanol as extraction solvent, 0.2 mmol/L of Triton X‐114 selected as the surfactant, the vortex time was fixed at 60 s with the vortex agitator set at 3000 rpm, the concentration of acetic acid in sample solution was 0.4% v/v and 1.0 g addition of NaCl. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors were from 172 to 186 for the three analytes. The linear ranges were from 0.5 to 500 μg/L with a coefficient of determination (r²) of between 0.9991 and 0.9995. Limits of detections were varied between 0.05 and 0.12 μg/L. The relative standard deviations (n = 6) ranged from 0.26 to 2.62%.     

Development and reproducibility of a novel high‐performance liquid‐chromatography monolithic column method for the detection and quantification of trans‐indolyl‐3‐acryloylglycine in human urine

Elevated levels of trans‐indolyl‐3‐acryloylglycine (IAcrGly) have been reported in the urine of people with various conditions including pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) such as autism and Asperger syndrome. Reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultra‐violet detection using traditional particle silica‐based columns subsequent to solid‐phase extraction (SPE) has been the preferred assay method; requiring long analytical run times, high flow rates and high solvent usage. Recent developments in monolithic HPLC column technology facilitated the development of a novel analytical method, for the detection and quantification of urinary IAcrGly. The revised method eliminates the requirement for SPE pre‐treatment, reduces sample run‐time and decreases solvent volumes. Five urine samples from people diagnosed with PDD were run in quadruplicate to test the intra‐ and inter‐day reliability of the new method based on retention time, peak area and peak height for IAcrGly. Detection was by UV with IAcrGly confirmation by MS/MS‐MS. Relative standard deviations showed significant improvement with the new method for all parameters. The new method represents a major advancement in the detection and quantification of IAcrGly by reducing time and cost of analysis whilst improving detection limits and reproducibility. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

柱前衍生高效液相色谱-荧光检测法测定血浆中同型半胱氨酸

建立了一种柱前衍生高效液相色谱-荧光检测法用于测定血浆中同型半胱氨酸(Hcy)。使用三(2-羧乙基)膦盐酸盐(TCEP)为还原剂,N-(1-芘)马来酰亚胺(NPM)为衍生剂进行样品预处理,Agilent Hypersil C-18柱(250 mm×4.0 mm, 5 μm)进行分离,流动相为15 mmol/L醋酸钠-乙腈-混合酸(300 mL水中含1 mL醋酸和1 mL磷酸)混合溶液,采用梯度洗脱,荧光检测激发波长为330 nm,发射波长为380 nm。Hcy的回收率为(102.08±4.94)%。线性范围为0.500～100 μmol/L,检出限（以信噪比为3计）为0.016 μmol/L。日内与日间相对标准偏差均小于5%。利用该方法对7例高血压患者和7例健康志愿者的血浆进行了测定,结果表明两组间的Hcy含量存在显著的差异(p＜0.05)。本方法简单、快速、灵敏、特异,适用于血浆Hcy的临床定量测定。     

Ionic liquid foam floatation coupled with ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the separation and determination of estrogens in water samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

An ionic liquid foam floatation coupled with ionic liquid dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method was proposed for the extraction and concentration of 17‐α‐estradiol, 17‐β‐estradiol‐benzoate, and quinestrol in environmental water samples by high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. 1‐Hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate was applied as foaming agent in the foam flotation process and dispersive solvent in microextraction. The introduction of the ion‐pairing and salting‐out agent NH₄PF₆ was beneficial to the improvement of recoveries for the hydrophobic ionic liquid phase and analytes. Parameters of the proposed method including concentration of 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, flow rate of carrier gas, floatation time, types and concentration of ionic liquids, salt concentration in samples, extraction time, and centrifugation time were evaluated. The recoveries were between 98 and 105% with relative standard deviations lower than 7% for lake water and well water samples. The isolation of the target compounds from the water was found to be efficient, and the enrichment factors ranged from 4445 to 4632. This developing method is free of volatile organic solvents compared with regular extraction. Based on the unique properties of ionic liquids, the application of foam floatation, and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was widened.     

Simultaneous determination of four trace estrogens in feces,leachate, tap and groundwater using solid–liquid extraction/auto solid‐phase extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A simple and selective high‐performance liquid chromatography method coupled with fluorescence detection was developed for the simultaneous measurement of trace levels of four estrogens (estrone, estradiol, estriol and 17α‐ethynyl estradiol) in environmental matrices. For feces samples, solid–liquid extraction was applied with a 1:1 v/v mixture of acetonitrile and ethyl acetate as the extraction solvent. For liquid samples (e.g., leachate and groundwater), hydrophobic/lipophilic balanced automated solid‐phase extraction disks were selected due to their high recoveries compared to conventional C₁₈ disks. Chromatographic separations were performed on a reversed‐phase C₁₈ column gradient‐eluted with a 45:55 v/v mixture of acetonitrile and water. The detection limits were down to 1.1 × 10^?2 (estrone), 4.11 × 10^?4 (estradiol), 5.2 × 10^?3 (estriol) and 7.18 × 10^?3 μg/L (17α‐ethynyl estradiol) at excitation/emission wavelengths of 288/310 nm, with recoveries in the range of 96.9 ± 3.2–105.4 ± 3.2% (n = 3). The method was successfully applied to determine estrogens in feces and water samples collected at livestock farms and a major river in Northeast China. We observed relatively high abundance and widespread distribution of all four estrogens in our sample collections, implying the urgency for a comprehensive and intricate investigation of estrogenic fate and contamination in our researched area.     

Simultaneous determination of 11 fluorescent whitening agents in food‐contact paper and board by ion‐pairing high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

4,4′‐Diaminostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid based fluorescent whitening agents (DSD‐FWAs) are prohibited in food‐contact paper and board in many countries. In this work, a reliable high‐performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 common DSD‐FWAs in paper material. Sample preparation and extraction as well as chromatographic separation of multicomponent DSD‐FWAs were successfully optimized. DSD‐FWAs in prepared samples were ultrasonically extracted with acetonitrile/water/triethylamine (40:60:1, v/v/v), separated on the C₁₈ column with the mobile phase containing tetrabutylammonium bromide, and then detected by a fluorescence detector. The limits of detection were 0.12–0.24 mg/kg, and the calibration curves showed the linear correlation (R² ≥ 0.9994) within the range of 8.0–100 ng/mL, which was equivalent to the range of 0.80–10 mg/kg in the sample. The average recoveries and the RSDs were 81–106% and 2–9% at two fortification levels (1.0 and 5.0 mg/kg) in paper bowls, respectively. The successful determination of 11 DSD‐FWAs in food‐contact paper and board obtained from local markets indicated that the newly developed method was rapid, accurate, and highly selective.