Determination of chlorite in drinking water by on-line coupling of capillary isotachophoresis and capillary zone electrophoresis

An isotachophoresis (ITP)–capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) combination was used for the determination of chlorite in drinking waters. No sample preparation is needed and no interfering by other anions in tap water was observed. The reached limits of detection with conductivity detector were 0.012–0.017 mg l⁻¹. By four-fold sample loading with a 30 μl valve, 0.005 mg l⁻¹ of chlorite was determined with R.S.D.=3.3%. The concentrations of 0.05 and 0.20 mg l⁻¹ were measured with R.S.D. of 2.2 and 2.7%, respectively. The recoveries of chlorite from drinking water were 96–106% in the range of 0.02–0.20 mg l⁻¹. The R.S.D. values of migration times (inter-day) were up to 1.3%. The time for analysis is about 15 min.     

Determination of egg white lysozyme by on-line coupled capillary isotachophoresis with capillary zone electrophoresis

An on-line coupled capillary isotachophoresis - capillary zone electrophoresis method for the determination of lysozyme in selected food products is described. The optimized electrolyte system consisted of 10 mM NH(4)OH + 20 mM acetic acid (leading electrolyte), 5 mM epsilon -aminocaproic acid +5 mM acetic acid (terminating electrolyte), and 20 mM epsilon -aminocaproic acid +5 mM acetic acid +0.1% m/v hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (background electrolyte). A clear separation of lysozyme from other components of acidic sample extract was achieved within 15 min. Method characteristics, i.e., linearity (0-50 micrograms/mL), accuracy (recovery 96+/-5%), intra-assay (3.8%), quantification limit (1 microgram/ml), and detection limit (0.25 microgram/mL) were determined. Low laboriousness, sufficient sensitivity and low running costs are important attributes of this method. The developed method is suitable for the quantification of the egg content in egg pasta.     

On-line column coupled isotachophoresis-capillary zone electrophoresis hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry in drug analysis: Varenicline and its metabolite in human urine

A new highly advanced analytical approach, based on two-dimensional column coupled CE (ITP-CZE) hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS, here triple quadrupole, QqQ) was developed, evaluated and applied in biomedical field in the present work. Capillary isotachophoresis (ITP) coupled on-line with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) used in hydrodynamically closed separation system was favorable for increasing the sample load capacity, increasing the analyte concentration, and removing the deteriorative highly conductive major matrix constituents. These factors considerably reduced the concentration limits of detection (cLOD) and external sample preparation (comparing to single column CZE), and, by that, provided favorable conditions for the mass spectrometry (enhanced signal to noise ratio, reproducibility of measurements, working life of MS). Here, the CZE–ESI combination provided more effective interfacing than ITP–ESI resulting in both a higher obtainable intensity of MS detection signal of the analyte as well as reproducibility of measurements of the analyte’s peak area. The optimized ITP-CZE–ESI-QqQ method was successfully evaluated as for its performance parameters (LOD, LOQ, linearity, precision, recovery/accuracy) and applied for the direct identification and ultratrace (pg mL⁻¹) determination of varenicline and, in addition, identification of its targeted metabolite, 2-hydroxy-varenicline, in unpretreated/diluted human urine. This application example demonstrated the real analytical potential of this new analytical approach and, at the same time, served as currently the most effective routine clinical method for varenicline.     

Analysis of therapeutic peptides in human urine by combination of capillary zone electrophoresis-electrospray mass spectrometry with preparative capillary isotachophoresis sample pretreatment

The presented study deals with the off-line coupling of preparative isotachophoresis (pITP) with on-line combination of capillary zone electrophoresis with electrospray mass spectrometric detection (CZE-ESI-MS) used for the analysis of therapeutic peptides (anserine, carnosine, and buserelin) in complex matrix (urine). Preparative capillary isotachophoresis, operating in a discontinuous fractionation mode in column-coupling configuration, served as a sample pretreatment technique to separation, and fractionation of mixture of therapeutic peptides present in urine at low concentration level. The fractions isolated by pITP procedure were subsequently analyzed by capillary zone electrophoresis with electrospray mass spectrometric detection. Acetic acid at 200 mmol L(-1) concentration served as background electrolyte in CZE stage and it is compatible with MS detection in positive ionization mode. In pITP fractionation procedure, sodium cation (10 mmol L(-1) concentration) as leading ion and beta-alanine as terminating ion (20 mmol L(-1) concentration) were used. While using CZE-ESI-MS, the limits of detection were 0.18 μg mL(-1) for carnosine, 0.17 μg mL(-1) for anserine and 0.64 μg mL(-1) for buserelin in water and 0.19 μg mL(-1) for carnosine, 0.50 μg mL(-1) for anserine and 0.74 μg mL(-1) for buserelin in 10 times diluted urine, respectively. The cleaning power of pITP sample pretreatment was proved as the peptides provided the higher MS signals at lower concentration levels resulting from the minimized matrix effects. The quality of obtained MS/MS spectra was very good so that they can provide information about the structure of analytes, and they were used for verification of the analytes identities. The pITP pretreatment improved the detection limits of the analyzed therapeutic peptides at least 25 times compared to the CZE-ESI-MS itself.     

Determination of imazalil by on-line coupled capillary isotachophoresis with capillary zone electrophoresis

A simple, rapid and reproducible capillary isotachophoretic on-line coupled with capillary zone electrophoresis (CITP-CZE) method for the determination of IMz in food packaging extracts and its residues in apples is described. A good separation of the IMZ from other sample constituents was achieved within 15 minutes without any sample clean up. Method characteristics (linearity, accuracy, intra-assay and detection limit) were determined. Less amount of time involved, sufficient sensitivity and low running cost are the important attributes of CITP-CZE method.     

Determination of quinine in beverages by online coupling capillary isotachophoresis to capillary zone electrophoresis with UV spectrophotometric detection

The present study illustrates the possibilities of capillary isotachophoresis (CITP) online coupled with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and hyphenated with fiber-based spectrophotometric diode array detection (DAD) for the direct, highly reliable, and ultrasensitive determination of quinine (QUI) in real multicomponent ionic matrices (beverages). Here, the CITP provided an effective online sample pretreatment (preseparation and preconcentration) prior to the CZE separation. Due to the CITP sample preconcentration, a simple UV-visible absorbance spectrophotometric detection was sufficient for obtaining very low concentration limits of detection (~2.3 ng/mL). Enhanced separation selectivity due to the combination of different separation mechanisms (CITP vs. CZE) enabled to obtain a pure analyte zone, suitable for its detection and quantitation in the directly injected real samples. The spectrophotometric DAD, unlike single wavelength UV detection, enabled to characterize the purity (i.e. spectral homogeneity) of the analyte zone and preliminary data indicate structurally related compounds via characteristic spectra recorded in the interval of 200-600 nm. The proposed CITP-CZE-DAD method was characterized by favorable performance parameters (sensitivity, linearity, precision, recovery, accuracy, robustness, and selectivity) and successfully applied to the control of QUI and potential QUI impurities in commercial beverages. This method is proposed as a routine automatized method for the highly reliable quality food control.     

Determination of brominated phenols in water samples by on-line coupled isotachophoresis with capillary zone electrophoresis

A method for determination of nine brominated phenols as environmental risk compounds was developed by on-line coupled capillary isotachophoresis and capillary zone electrophoresis (ITP–CZE). For ITP step, 1 × 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ hydrochloric acid with 3 × 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ ammediol pH 9.1 was used as the leading electrolyte, and 3 × 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ β-alanine with 2 × 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ sodium hydroxide pH 10.05 was used as the terminating electrolyte. As the background electrolyte for CZE separation, 2.5 × 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ β-alanine with 2.5 × 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ lysine pH 9.6 was used. All electrolytes contained 0.05% or 0.1% (m/v) hydroxyethylcellulose to suppress the electroosmotic flow. UV detection at wavelength 220 nm was used. Detection limits in order of tens of nmol L⁻¹ were achieved. Good repeatability of migration times (less than 0.33% RSD) and good repeatability of peak areas (less than 7.19% RSD) at concentration level 5 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ were observed. Developed ITP–CZE method was applied to determination of brominated phenols in spiked tap and river water samples.     

Fractionation of glycoforms of recombinant human erythropoietin by preparative capillary isotachophoresis

This feasibility study deals with the use of preparative capillary isotachophoresis (CITP), operating in a discontinuous fractionation mode, to the separations and isolations of glycoforms of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO). The preparative CITP separations were monitored by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with a hydrodynamically closed separation unit. Such a CZE system, suppressing fluctuations of the migration data linked with fluctuations of EOF and hydrodynamic flow, made possible to evaluate and compare the preparative CITP separations performed within a longer time frame. Preparative CITP, carried out in the separation unit with coupled columns of enhanced sample loadability, separating 100 microg of rhEPO in a run lasting ca. 30 min, gave the production rate higher than 55 ng/s for the rhEPO glycoforms. The preparative separations included valve isolations of the glycoforms from the ITP stack into four or six fractions. Such numbers of the fractions corresponded to typical numbers of the major glycoform peaks as resolved in CZE of rhEPO. With respect to close effective mobilities of the glycoforms and a multicomponent nature of rhEPO, the fractions contained mixtures of glycoforms with the dominant glycoforms enriched 10-100-fold, relative to the original rhEPO sample.     

毛细管电泳研究抗癌药物紫杉醇与人血清蛋白结合作用

采用毛细管区带电泳(CZE)技术, 研究了天然抗癌药物紫杉醇(Paclita-xel)与人血清白蛋白(HSA)的结合机制. 在以硼砂-碳酸钠(pH 10, 50 mmoL)为运行缓冲溶液, 运行电压21 kV, 进样时间5.0 s, 紫外检测器(214 nm)的条件下检测, 结合常数和结合位点数在298和310 K分别为K298 K=1.7×104 L/mol, n298 K=4.1, K310 K=3.4×104 L/mol, n310 K=3.0.     

Simultaneous determination of metal ions, amino acids, and other small biogenic molecules in human serum by capillary zone electrophoresis with transient isotachophoretic preconcentration

CE with indirect UV detection was used for the simultaneous determination of lithium, magnesium, calcium, creatinine, carnitine, and a number of amino acids in human serum. The target analytes, positively charged under acidic electrolyte conditions, were separated with positive separation voltage polarity using 10 mM 4-methylbenzylamine, 4.5 mM citric acid, 25% (v/v) methanol at pH 4.05 as background electrolyte providing optimal separation. When analyzing real samples, however, some peaks were broadened due to essentially destacking conditions. In order to maintain the separation efficiency and also enhance the detection sensitivity, transient isotachophoresis (tITP) sample stacking was applied and yielded theoretical plate numbers in the range from 160,000 (arginine) to 350,000 (creatinine). The limit of detection values with tITP preconcentration were 0.11-0.26 mg L(-1) for metal cations, 1.0 mg L(-1) for creatinine, and 1.3-3.9 mg L(-1) for histidine, lysine, arginine, and ornithine. The method precision for peak areas was from 0.4 to 5.0% relative standard deviation using the matrix sodium as internal standard. The accuracy of the developed tITP-CZE system was verified by consistent results for Li+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and creatinine obtained on analyzing two serum certified reference materials. The only sample preparation required was ultrafiltration and acidification (to release protein-bound alkaline earths), and working ranges for individual analytes corresponded well to clinical concentration ranges.     

Direct determination of valproate in serum by zone electrophoresis–isotachophoresis on a column‐coupling chip

A feasibility study was performed using zone electrophoresis (ZE) coupled on‐line with isotachophoresis (ITP) sample pretreatment on a poly(methyl methacrylate) column‐coupling chip with integrated conductivity detection for direct determination of drugs in serum. Valproic acid (an antiepileptic drug), having a therapeutic range of 0.35–0.69 mmol/L (50–100 mg/L), was a test analyte while reference serum samples served as proteinaceous matrices. ITP provided in the ITP‐ZE combination a multitask sample pretreatment: (1) separation of the analyte from the serum matrix and its concentration into a narrow ITP band, (2) removal of the matrix constituents migrating in the ITP stack from the separation compartment of the chip, (3) ITP stacking of the drug released on a continuous electrophoretic decomposition of the drug‐protein complex. A high sample loadability, closely linked with the use of ITP in the first separation stage, made it possible to inject diluted serum samples with the aid of a 0.95 μL sample channel of the chip. Consequently, a 1–2 μmol/L concentration limit of quantitation for valproate from the response of the conductivity detector in the ZE stage of the combination was reached. The drug could be reliably determined in less than 10 minutes also in instances when its concentration in serum was below the lower value of the therapeutic range. 90–94% recoveries of valproate from serum samples were obtained in its direct ITP‐ZE determination when the filtration of the diluted serum (a 0.45 μm pore size filter) was the only pre‐column sample handling operation. No disturbances attributable to the precipitation of proteins from the loaded samples in the chip channels were detected.     

Determination of some heavy metal cations in molten snow by transient isotachophoresis/ capillary zone electrophoresis

Online combination of transient ITP and CZE is employed for the determination of Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II). Acetic acid is used for creating the transient isotachophoretic state. alpha-Hydroxyisobutyric acid and 4-aminopyridine are used as BGEs for the separation and indirect UV detection. At optimum conditions, the method allows to determine the metals at levels of 40-120 microg/L, about 50 times more sensitive than conventional CZE. In combination with a 20-fold evaporative concentration, the method is suitable for environmental monitoring of the heavy metals in snow samples.     

Analysis of enantiomers in biological matrices by charged cyclodextrin-mediated capillary zone electrophoresis in column-coupling arrangement with capillary isotachophoresis

The possibility to apply charged chiral selector as buffer additive in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) on-line coupled with capillary isotachophoresis (CITP) was studied. Enantioseparations and determinations of trace (ng/ml) antihistaminic drugs [pheniramine (PHM), dimethindene (DIM), dioxopromethazine (DIO)] present in samples of complex ionic matrices (urine) served as model examples. A negatively charged carboxyethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CE-β-CD) was used as a chiral selector in analytical CZE stage following upon a sample pretreatment by CITP (preconcentration of the analytes from 5 to 20-times diluted urine samples, partial sample clean up removing macroconstituents from the sample matrices). A high recognition capability of the oppositely charged CE-β-CD was demonstrated by enantioselective retardation of the drugs in presence of micro-and semi-macroconstituents migrating in CZE stage and detectable by UV detector. In this way, enantiomers of the drugs could be easily separated and determined. Due to lack of interferences between the drugs and sample-matrix constituents in presence of charged CE-β-CD, demands on both spacers in CITP step and multiple column-switching were minimized. CITP-CZE method with charged selector appeared to be a useful analytical approach for the trace enantiomers in complex ionic matrices as it combined enhanced separation selectivity and sample loadabitlity with high separation efficiency and provided favorable performance parameters including sensitivity, linearity, precision, accuracy/recovery and robustness with minimal demands on sample preparation. Analysis of urine sample taken from a patient treated by PHM, showing concentration profile of PHM enantiomers and their metabolites, illustrated potentialities of the method in clinical research.     

A new quantitative method for circulating DNA level in human serum by capillary zone electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

We present a method for the quantification of circulating DNA in serum by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with laser-induced fluorescence detection (LIF). The serum was digested by proteinase to release free DNA. SYBR Gold was utilized as DNA intercalating dye, fluorescein as internal standard (ISTD). CZE-LIF was applied for the separation and quantification of total circulating DNA. Good linearity (R = 0.9992) in the low range of DNA concentrations (0.5-40 ng/mL) and a detection limit of 0.5 ng/mL for DNA (S/N = 3) were obtained. Our data demonstrated that CZE-LIF system has a good linearity with excellent sensitivity and satisfactory reproducibility in the quantification of circulating DNA in serum. This method was successfully used for the quantification of circulating DNA levels in serum. We observed that the circulating DNA levels in certain cancer patients were significantly higher than that in healthy individuals. Compared to current methods, our protocol does not need the extraction of DNA from serum. Our preliminary results have illustrated that CZE-LIF system is simple, rapid, and sensitive, and it is well suitable for large-scale quantification of circulating DNA levels in clinical diagnosis.     

Non-aqueous capillary zone electrophoresis method for the analysis of paroxetine, tamoxifen, and their main metabolites in urine

The potential of non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) was investigated for the simultaneous separation of paroxetine, tamoxifen, and their main metabolites. Baseline separation of the studied solutes was obtained on a  μm capillary using a non-aqueous buffer composed of 18 mM ammonium acetate and 1.1% acetic acid in 80:20 (v/v) methanol-acetonitrile, with a temperature and voltage of 22 °C and 15 kV, respectively. Clomipramine was used as internal standard. Aspects such as stability of the solutions, linearity, accuracy, precision and ruggedness were examined in order to validate the proposed method. Detection limits obtained for all the studied compounds ranged between 3.0 and 7.1 μg l⁻¹. The developed method is sensitive and robust and was used to determine paroxetine, tamoxifen, and their metabolites at clinically relevant levels in human urine. Before NACE determination, the samples were purified and enriched by means of an extraction-pre-concentration step with a pre-conditioned C₁₈ cartridge. Determination of these analytes in the urine of four females urines was demonstrated.     

Analytical potential of enzyme-coated capillary reactors in capillary zone electrophoresis

Enzymes immobilized on the inner surface of an electrophoretic capillary were used to increase sensitivity and resolution in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Sensitivity is enhanced by inserting a piece of capillary containing the immobilized enzyme into the main capillary, located before the detector, in order to transform the analyte into a product with a higher absorptivity. This approach was used to determine ethanol. In order to improve resolution, capillary pieces containing immobilized enzymes were inserted at various strategic positions along the electrophoretic capillary. On reaching the enzyme, the analyte was converted into a product with a high electrophoretic mobility, the migration time for which was a function of the position of the enzyme reactor. This approach was applied to the separation and determination of acetaldehyde and pyruvate. Finally, the proposed method was validated with the determination of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and pyruvate in beer and wine samples.     

Search for serum protein-binding disaccharides and disaccharide-binding serum proteins by affinity capillary electrophoresis

The potential use of affinity capillary electrophoresis in a microscale search for mutually interacting substances in biological fluid is demonstrated. Some disaccharides, especially gentiobiose (Gen), derivatized with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone, caused peak retardation when electrophoresed in a neutral running buffer, containing human serum. Gen, the most significantly retarded disaccharide, was converted to its negatively charged bis-mercaptoethanesulfonate derivative (MerESGen), and a serum sample was analyzed in a neutral buffer containing the derivatized disaccharide. Two peaks, belonging to the beta-globulin fraction, were found to be remarkably retarded in the buffer containing MerES-Gen in a concentration-dependent way. These findings prove an interaction between disaccharides and serum proteins.     

Automated free-solution isotachophoresis: Instrumentation and fractionation of human serum proteins

An automated free-solution isotachophoresis system (FS-ITP) for preparative fractionation of biopolymers is described, operated in a batch mode. The dimension of the separation chamber allows an up to 1200-fold higher sample load compared to separation in capillaries of 180 μm inner diameter as used in analytical capillary isotachophoresis (C-ITP). The preparative capacity of the system is within the milligram range. The method is fully compatible with analytical C-ITP, which is essential for preparative-scale isotachophoresis with regard to optimization of electrolyte systems and the search for suitable spacers. As a model application the fractionation of human serum proteins is reported. The collected fractions were analyzed by C-ITP and agarose gel electrophoresis.     

Development and validation method for determination of Paroxetine and its metabolites by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis in human urine. Experimental design for evaluating the ruggedness of the method

A simple, rapid, and sensitive procedure using nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) to measure Paroxetine (one of the mostly used antidepressants for mental diseases treatment) and three metabolites has been developed and validated. Optimum separation of paroxetine and metabolites was obtained on a 57 cm x 75 microm capillary using a nonaqueous buffer system of 9:1 methanol-acetonitrile containing 25 mM ammonium acetate and 1% acetic acid, with temperature and voltage of 25 degrees C and 15 kV, respectively, and hydrodynamic injection. Fluoxetine was used as an internal standard. Good results were obtained for different aspects including stability of the solutions, linearity, accuracy, and precision. Detection limits between 9.3 and 23.1 microg.L(-1) were obtained for paroxetine and its metabolites. A ruggedness test of the method was carried out using the Plackett-Burman fractional factorial model with a matrix of 15 experiments. This method has been used to determine paroxetine and its main metabolite B at clinically relevant levels in human urine. Prior to NACE determination, the samples were purified and enriched by means of an extraction-preconcentration step with a preconditioned C18 cartridge and eluting the compounds with methanol.     

Analysis of orotic acid in human urine by on-line combination of capillary isotachophoresis and zone electrophoresis.

The techniques of the on-line combination of capillary isotachophoresis with zone electrophoresis in two coupled capillaries (ITP-CZE) and a single capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) were used for the sensitive determination of orotic acid (OA) in human urine. The simple CZE system was successfully applied for fast and reliable analyses of urine of healthy adult volunteers (the detection limit 1.7.10(-6) M OA, the total time of analysis 6 min). However, this method failed in analyses of OA in urine of ill children due to more complex matrix of the samples. Here, the ITP preconcentration and preseparation step coupled on-line with CZE proved to serve well with an electrolyte system developed and optimized for this purpose. The maximum selectivity and resolution of OA from other sample constituents in ITP-CZE was achieved by use of an electrolyte system of very low pH 2.15 both for ITP and CZE stage. The sensitivity of detection and simplicity of OA identification were enhanced by use of an external UV scanning detector. High sensitivity of ITP-CZE combination (limit of detection 3.10(-7) M OA), low sample consumption (1 microliter), good reproducibility of migration times (inter-day RSD < 1.86%) and acceptable reproducibility of the determination of OA in urine samples (average RSD = 7.27%) make this technique suitable for routine determination of trace concentration of OA especially in urine of ill children under various pathological conditions and medication.