Applicability of mass spectrometry to detect coeluting impurities in high-performance liquid chromatography

This paper describes the results of selectivity optimization and internal standard prediction for the quantitation of estradiol and levonorgestrel in transdermal patches by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) based on the linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs). The patch samples are prepared by swelling with acetonitrile (ACN) and the separation is performed by Zorbax Eclipse XDB ODS columns. A proper retention range is first determined with a binary mobile phase of ACN and water based on the general resolution equation. The interference to estradiol from a levonorgestrel impurity is then eliminated by a ternary mobile phase of acetonitrile-methanol-water with a composition predicted by LSERs. When the resolution is optimized and the "open window" in the chromatogram for an internal standard is selected, LSERs are used to predict the candidate compounds to be evaluated as the internal standard. The approach described in this study can be used, in general, to considerably improve the efficiency of RPLC method development, particularly for neutral samples. Finally, the LSER approach for the selectivity optimization is compared with a statistical response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) in terms of the effectiveness and number of experiments. It is concluded that, although the predicted mobile phase composition to achieve the desired selectivity is about the same, the LSER approach is more efficient and fewer experiments are required.     

Determination of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates by ion-pair solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

In this paper, the potential use of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as solid phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent was evaluated for preconcentration of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) using ion-pair (IP)-SPE with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH). The LAS homologues present in the aqueous sample were ion-paired with TBAH and the solution was passed through the MWCNT cartridges. The analytes retained in the cartridge were eluted with methanol and the concentrated methanol extract was analysed by HPLC-UV. In order to obtain the satisfactory recovery of LAS homologues, various parameters including the type and amount of the ion-pair reagents, the desorption and enrichment conditions such as the effect of eluent and its volume, pH, the flow rate, the ultrasonic time of sample, and the volume of sample solution were systematically optimized. Under the optimal conditions, LAS homologues could be easily extracted by the proposed SPE cartridge. The favorable limits of detection (LOD) for LAS homologues were in the range from 0.02 to 0.03 μg L⁻¹, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 1.55-2.54% for 10 μg L⁻¹ LAS (n = 6). The proposed method has been successfully applied for the analysis of LAS homologues in aqueous environmental samples. A comparison study with ion-pair solid extraction on MWCNTs, C8 and C18 as adsorbents for LAS demonstrated that ion pair-based solid extraction on MWCNTs adsorbent was advantageous over C8 and C18, the widely used traditional adsorbents.     

化学计量学二阶校正方法结合高效液相色谱用于蜂蜜中10种酚酸类物质的快速定量分析

利用化学计量学二阶校正方法结合高效液相色谱对枣花蜜中10种酚酸类物质的快速定量分析进行了研究。首先通过验证样本研究了所建立模型的准确性。结果显示:10种酚酸类物质的线性相关系数(R)为0.998 2～0.999 9,平均回收率为97.6%～101.1%,说明所建立的模型稳定可靠。其次,通过模拟蜂蜜试验,确定了固相萃取柱的种类及操作条件(HLB柱,酸化水淋洗,甲醇洗脱)。最后,利用模拟蜂蜜得到的最优条件结合化学计量学二阶校正方法,测定了枣花蜜中10种酚酸类物质的含量,并测得其加标回收率为62.1%～93.8%,考虑到目标分析物的种类较多,且蜂蜜基质极为复杂,该结果基本满足要求。另外,还利用统计与品质因子验证了试验方法的可靠性,结果令人满意。该方法具有简单、快速等优点,可用于复杂基质中多种目标分析物的同时定量分析。     

Determination of aromatic sulfonates in coastal water by on-line Ion-pair solid-phase extraction/ion-pair liquid chromatography with UV detection

Summary A method for determining aromatic sulfonates in sea water is presented. Ion-pair solid phase extraction is coupled on-line to ion-pair liquid chromatography with UV detection. In the enrichment step, the recoveries from 100 mL of sea water were higher than 65% for most analytes. Linearity was good and detection limits were between 0.02 and 1 μgL⁻¹. The repeatability of the method, expressed as % of relative standard deviation (n=3) was between 1 and 15%. The method was checked in coastal water near the commercial port of Tarragona, where effluents from the petrochemical industry are discharged. All the samples taken were found to contain 2-naphthalenesulfonate.     

Analysis of aromatic amines in water samples by liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction with hollow fibers and high-performance liquid chromatography

N-Carboxyanhydrides of amino acids (NCAs) are very reactive monomers able to polymerize into oligopeptides. They are assumed to be prebiotic precursors of the first polypeptides. Few reports have been published on the study of NCA polymerization in aqueous solution. In this work, a kinetic study focused on the hydrolysis of NCA and its coupling with amino acids and homopeptides (up to tripeptide) was carried out, taking L-valine derivatives as model compounds. For that purpose, capillary electrophoresis appeared to be an effective and reliable technique for the measurement of the kinetic constants. The electrophoretic separation conditions, the procedure for stopping NCA reactivity, as well as the conditions of reaction are discussed in detail. We report the variation of the kinetic constant of the coupling reaction of the NCA of valine with an oligovaline as a function of its degree of polymerization. Finally, a temperature study also allowed us to estimate the activation energies associated with the NCA of valine hydrolysis and its coupling reaction with valine.     

Spectrofluorimetry in organized media coupled to second-order multivariate calibration for the determination of galantamine in the presence of uncalibrated interferences

The present article describes the spectrofluorimetric determination of galantamine, a widely used acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, through excitation-emission fluorescence matrices and second-order calibration. With the purpose of enhancing the fluorescence intensity of this substance, the effect of different organized assemblies was evaluated. Although the interaction of galantamine with different cyclodextrins is weak, it was corroborated that the fluorescence intensity of this pharmaceutical in the presence of α-cyclodextrin is increased by a twofold factor. Among the studied micellar media, the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate produced the largest signals for the compound of interest (sixfold enhancement), and was selected as auxiliary reagent for the subsequent determinations. The developed approach enabled the determination of galantamine at the ng mL⁻¹ level without the necessity of applying separation steps, and in the presence of uncalibrated interferences. The applied second-order chemometric tools were parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), unfolded partial least-squares coupled to residual bilinearization (U-PLS/RBL), and multidimensional partial least-squares coupled to residual bilinearization (N-PLS/RBL). The ability of U-PLS/RBL to successfully overcome spectral interference problems is demonstrated. The quality of the proposed method was established with the determination of galantamine in both artificial and natural water samples.     

Simultaneous correlation chromatography,a new technique applied to calibration in high-performance liquid chromatography

Simultaneous correlation chromatography (SCC) is introduced as a technique capable of analyzing several different samples simultaneously on the same chromatographic column. The theoretical basis of the technique is outlined and a computer simulation demonstrates the feasibility of the method. The advantages and potential of the technique are discussed. The technique is applied experimentally in a calibration procedure for high-performance liquid chromatography. During the calibration, unknown sample and calibration standards are processed under the same conditions, resulting in very accurate calibration. Other applications are outlined.     

Liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction of aromatic amines from water samples combined with high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple preconcentration and clean-up liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction of aromatic amines is described in this paper. The compounds were extracted from 2.0 ml aqueous samples (donor phase) into an organic phase, layered on the donor phase, and then back extracted to a microdrop of aqueous receiving phase, suspended in the organic phase. After extraction, the microdrop was injected into the HPLC system directly for analysis. Optimal conditions of the extraction were donor phase (a1): 2 ml of water sample adjusted to pH 13 with NaOH-NaCl; organic phase (o), 150 microl ethyl acetate; and receiving phase (a2) of 2 microl aqueous solution at pH 2.1. The a1-->o extraction time was 15 min and for o-->a2, 30 s. 18-Crown-6 ether, which can complex with amine, was added to the aqueous receiving phase to improve the extraction performance. Enrichment factors ranged from 218 (for 4-nitroaniline) to 378 (for 4-chloro-2-aniline). The calibration curve for these anilines was linear within the range 2.5 ng/ml-2.5 microg/ml (r2=0.998). Detection limits ranged from 0.85 to 1.80 ng/mi (at S/N=3). This procedure can be a selective preconcentration method for aromatic amines present in water samples.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Diesel soot by high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary The described identification and determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Diesel soot is based on a class-fractionation using an open Al₂O₃-column and a following separation on a reversed-phase HPLC-column with post-chromatographic derivatization. The optimized analysis has been applied to the determination of PAH in soots from different engines such as locomotives and motor vehicles by variation of the fuel additives and different Diesel/water emulsions. The results obtained by locomotives show that a special Diesel/water emulsion emits a minor amount of mutagenic and cancerogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, whereas the emission of the comparatively harmless compounds like phenanthrene and benzo(h)quinoline increases.     

Determination of aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum jet fuels by capillary gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography

About a hundred hydrocarbon compounds have been identified as components of petroleum jet fuel by capillary gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. In gas chromatography stuides, glass capillary columns over 100 m long with polysiloxane OV-101 have been used as the stationary phase. In liquid chromatography, 150-mm-long columns with a separation ability of about 60 000 theoretical plates meter of length have been used to separate partitioned fractions of aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum jet fuels of various origins.     

Enantioseparation of chiral sulfonates by liquid chromatography and subcritical fluid chromatography

Tert‐butylcarbamoyl‐quinine and ‐quinidine weak anion‐exchange chiral stationary phases (Chiralpak® QN‐AX and QD‐AX) have been applied for the separation of sodium β‐ketosulfonates, such as sodium chalconesulfonates and derivatives thereof. The influence of type and amount of co‐ and counterions on retention and enantioresolution was investigated using polar organic mobile phases. Both columns exhibited remarkable enantiodiscrimination properties for the investigated test solutes, in which the quinidine‐based column showed better enantioselectivity and slightly stronger retention for all analytes compared to the quinine‐derived chiral stationary phase. With an optimized mobile phase (MeOH, 50 mM HOAc, 25 mM NH₃), 12 of 13 chiral sulfonates could be baseline separated within 8 min using the quinidine‐derivatized column. Furthermore, subcritical fluid chromatography (SubFC) mode with a CO₂‐based mobile phase using a buffered methanolic modifier was compared to HPLC. Generally, SubFC exhibited slightly inferior enantioselectivities and lower elution power but also provided unique baseline resolution for one compound.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples using high-performance liquid chromatography with amperometric detection

The determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV and fluorescence detection has been well established. Although most of the PAHs can be detected by these methods, some environmentally important polyaromatic compounds, such as acenaphthylene, do not show fluorescence and can only be determined by UV detection at higher concentrations. A sensitive and selective determination of acenaphthylene, acenaphthene and the six PAHs listed in the TVO, the German drinking water standard, is also possible by amperometric detection following HPLC separation. The method was applied to the determination of PAHs in different water samples after solid-phase extraction (SPE). The efficiency of the amperometric determination was found to be superior to UV detection (λ = 300 nm).     

Determination of pesticides and metabolites in wine by high performance liquid chromatography and second-order calibration methods

The models parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and the recently introduced bilinear least squares (BLLS) were applied to develop second-order calibration methods to high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) data, where overlap of interferences with the compounds of interest was observed, making the determination and resolution of the analytes possible. In this work, the simultaneous determination of five pesticides and two metabolites in wine samples by HPLC-DAD was performed, using the second-order advantage. The results of two chromatographic methods were compared, involving either isocratic or gradient elution. An appropriate preprocessing method was necessary to correct the effects of time shifts, baseline variations and background. BLLS presented results that were of the same quality as PARAFAC in five cases, but in two other situations only PARAFAC enabled analyte quantitation. Relative errors of prediction lower than 10% for all compounds were obtained, indicating that the methodology employing HLPC-DAD and second-order calibration can handle complex analytical systems.     

Liquid-liquid-liquid phase microextraction of aromatic amines in water using crown ethers by high-performance liquid chromatography with monolithic column

Liquid-liquid-liquid phase microextraction (LLLME) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the analysis of some aromatic amines is described. These compounds were extracted from 4.0 mL aqueous sample that adjusted to pH 13 with, NaOH-NaCl buffer solution (donor phase, P₁) into an organic phase (P₂) 150 μl benzyl alcohol and ethyl acetate (2:1) and then back extracted into a microdrop of aqueous acceptor phase (P₃), adjusted at pH 2, with Na₂HPO₄-H₃PO₄ buffer solution. The extraction time, T₁ (from P₁ to P₂) was 20 min and T₂ (from P₂ to P₃) was 1 min. Different crown ethers as complexing agents for amines were added to the acceptor phase to improve the extraction time. Factors such as organic solvents, extraction times, and addition of crown ethers to acceptor phase and stirring rate were optimised. The method was applied for determination of aromatic amines in wastewater samples. Enrichment factors ranged from 184.5 to 389.7. The linearity range was from 3 to 1000 ng/ml and the detection limits varied from 0.8 to 1.80 ng/ml. Relative standard deviations (%, n = 5) were found (at S/N 3) in the range of 1.9 to 10.1. All experiments were carried out at room temperature, 22 ± 0.5 °C.     

Determination of sulphonate dyes in water by ion-interaction high-performance liquid chromatography

An ion-interaction high-performance liquid chromatography method for quick separation and determination of the sulphonated dyeAcid Yellow 1, and the sulphonated azo dyes Acid Orange 7, Acid Orange 12, Acid Orange 52, Acid Red 2, Acid Red 26, Acid Red 27 and Acid Red 88 has been developed. An RP-ODS stationary phase is used, and the mobile phase contains an acetonitrile-phosphate buffer (27:73, v/v) mixture at pH 6.7, containing 2.4 mM butylamine as ion-interaction reagent. Good separations were obtained using isocratic elution and spectrophotometric detection at 460 nm. The detection limits for the eight dyes ranged from 7 to 28 microg/l for an injection volume of 100 microl. Spiked tap water samples (100 ml), containing different concentration levels (0.3-1.2 microg/l) of the dyes were analyzed after acidification (pH 3) and preconcentration in disposable solid-phase extraction C18 cartridges.     

Determination of deuterium oxide in water by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Refractive index detection allows > 0.1% D₂O to be determined in a few microliters of enriched water with a C₁₈ column when pure water is used as the mobile phase.