Optimization of capillary electrophoretic-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometric analysis of catecholamines

The capillary electrophoretic-mass spectrometric analysis (CE-MS) of catecholamines was optimized with coaxial sheath flow interface and electrospray ionization (ESI). The parameters studied included the sheath liquid composition and its flow rate, separation conditions in ammonium acetate buffer together with the ESI and cone voltages as mass spectrometric parameters. In addition, the effect of ESI voltage on injection as well as the siphoning effect were considered. The optimized conditions were a sheath liquid composition of methanol-water (80:20 v/v) with 0.5% acetic acid, with a flow rate of 6 microL/min. The capillary electrophoretic separation parameters were optimized with 50 mM ammonium acetate buffer, pH 4.0, to +25 kV separation voltage together with a pressure of 0.1 psi. The most intensive signals were obtained with an ESI voltage of +4.0 kV and a cone voltage of +20 V. The nonactive ESI voltage during injection as well as avoidance of the siphoning effect increased the sensitivity of the MS detection considerably. The use of ammonium hydroxide as the CE capillary conditioning solution instead of sodium hydroxide did not affect the CE-MS performance, but allowed the conditioning of the capillary between analyses to be performed in the MS without contaminating the ion source.     

A simple and rapid pre-confirmation method to distinguish endogenous human haemoglobin from synthetic haemoglobin-based oxygen carriers in doping control

A specific, sensitive and rapid analytical procedure based on capillary electrophoresis with UV/Vis detection at 405 and 415?nm was developed and validated to detect human haemoglobin and haemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (Hemopure?, Oxyglobin? and Polyheme?) in blood samples collected for doping control. The electrophoretic separation, based on capillary dynamic coating, was achieved in less than 10 min. The effects of capillary temperature, injection conditions and initial ramping were investigated. The optimum separation voltage was 25 kV with a capillary temperature of 20 °C, initial ramping of 1?kV/s and an injection pressure of 0.5?psi for 10?s. The removal of haptoglobin using anti-human haptoglobin antibody prior to the analysis was mandatory to increase the specificity of the analysis. Sufficient resolution between endogenous haemoglobin variants and the three haemoglobin-based oxygen carriers here investigated was obtained, thus allowing discrimination between a normal haemolysed sample and a sample in which Oxyglobin?, Hemopure? or Polyheme? is present. Good repeatability of migration times (CV% less than 1), peak resolution and adequate sensitivity (limit of detection: 2.5?mg/mL) was obtained.     

Rapid analysis of antimicrobial metabolites monoacetylphloroglucinol and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol using capillary zone electrophoresis

A rapid capillary electrophoretic (CE) method was developed for the determination of phloroglucinol compounds, monoacetylphloroglucinol (MAPG) and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG), in microbial supernatants of Pseudomonas fluorescens F113 over a 24-h growth cycle. Prior to electrophoretic separation, solid-phase extraction of supernatant samples on octadecylsilica for the purpose of sample cleanup is recommended. The optimum electrophoretic conditions were found to be 25 mM sodium tetraborate running buffer at pH 9.3, temperature at 25 degrees C with an applied voltage of 25 kV. The capillary was an Agilent fused-silica capillary of total length 33 cm x 50 microm inner diameter, 375 microm outer diameter, with effective length 24.5 cm. While MAPG and DAPG were monitored at selected wavelengths in the range of 214-320 nm, analysis at 214 nm was used and a CE separation time of less than 2 min was achieved. A partial method validation study was performed in accordance with European Agency for Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) guidelines. The method displayed linearity over the investigated range of 10-200 microg/mL, with limits of detection of 1.2 microg/mL for MAPG and 1.3 microg/mL for DAPG.     

Determination of brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma by cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography method

A method consisting of cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping (CSEI‐sweeping) as online preconcentration followed by a cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography (CDEKC) enantioseparation has been developed for the simultaneous determination of two brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma. In this method, analytes were electrokinetically injected at a voltage of 8 kV for 80 s in a fused‐silica capillary. Prior to the injection, the capillary was rinsed with 50 mM phosphate buffer of pH 3.5, followed by a plug of a higher conductivity buffer (150 mM phosphate pH 3.5, 20 psi, 6 min) and a plug of water (0.5 psi, 5 s). Separation was carried out applying –20 kV in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 3.5, containing 10% v/v ACN and 30 mg/mL sulfated‐β‐cyclodextrin (S‐β‐CD). Analytical signals were monitored at 210 nm. The detection sensitivity of brompheniramine enantiomers was enhanced by about 2400‐fold compared to the normal injection mode (hydrodynamic injection for 3 s at 0.5 psi, with a BGE of 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 20 mg/mL S‐β‐CD at pH 3.5), and LLOQ of two enantiomers were both 0.0100 μg/mL. In addition, this method had fairly good repeatability and showed promising capabilities in the application of stereoselective pharmacokinetic investigations for brompheniramine enantiomers in rat.     

Determination of homologues of quaternary ammonium surfactants by capillary electrophoresis using indirect UV detection

This investigation describes the simultaneous separation of two major non-chromophoric quaternary ammonium surfactants, alkyltrimethyl- and dialkyldimethylammonium compounds (ATMACs and DADMACs, respectively), by capillary electrophoresis (CE) using indirect UV detection. The most effective separation conditions was 10 mM phosphate buffer with 57.5% tetrahydrofuran and 3 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at pH 4.3, and the sample hydrodynamic injection of up to 20 s at 1 psi (approximately 60 nl), and an applied voltage of 25 kV (1 psi = 6.9 kPa). Specially, the selection of an appropriate chromophore and an internal standard (I.S.) to improve the peak identification and quantitation was systematically investigated. Decylbenzyldimethyl ammonium chloride (C10-BDMA+C-) as a chromophore with 3 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate provided the best detectability for all homologues. The reproducibility of the migration time and quantitative analysis can be improved by using tetraoctyl ammonium ion as an internal standard, giving the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) less than 0.8% for the relative migration times, and 2.5-5.5% for the relative peak areas. A good linearity of CE analysis was obtained in the range of 1.0-20 microg/ml with r2 values of above 0.999. The analysis of cationic surfactants in commercial products of hair conditioners and fabric softeners was also performed. Electrospray mass spectrometric method was applied to evaluate the CE method, and the compatible results were obtained.     

Determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in clinical samples using capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A method for the determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in urine and serum samples with capillary electrophoresis using capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CE-C(4)D) was developed. The optimized separation buffer consisting of 20 mM of arginine, 10 mM of maleic acid and 30 microM of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) contained 5 mM vancomycin to facilitate the separation of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid from beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB), which is also present in clinical samples. The detection limits in the clinical samples were found to be about 2 microg/ml, which is well below the required sensitivity for the recognition of overdosage and adequate for the determination of endogenous concentrations in urine. The determination of GHB in both types of samples was carried out directly after a fourfold dilution without requiring any derivatization or extraction procedures.     

Determination of clozapine by capillary zone electrophoresis following end-column amperometric detection with simplified capillary/electrode alignment

Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the determination of clozapine using an end-column amperometric detection at a carbon fiber array microdisk electrode with simplified capillary/electrode alignment. The optimum conditions of separation and detection are: Britton-Robinson buffer, pH 2.0 (1.3 x 10(-2) mol/L total concentration of acids, 3.2 x 10(-3) mol/L NaOH), 15 kV for separation voltage, 5 kV and 10 s for injection voltage and injection time, respectively. The limit of detection is 4.2 x 10(-7) mol/L or 1.2 fmole (signal to noise, S/N = 2). The relative standard deviation is 1.4% for the migration time and 2.5% for the electrophoretic peak current. The method was applied to the determination of clozapine in human blood. The recovery of the method is between 94-104%.     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of triamterene, methotrexate, and creatinine in human urine

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method using a fused-silica capillary (60.2 cm x 75 microm ID) was investigated for the determination of triamterene (TRI), methotrexate (MTX), and creatinine (CREA) in human urine. The separation was performed using a hydrodynamic injection time of 7 s (0.5 psi), a voltage of 25 kV, a capillary temperature of 30 degrees C, and 40 mM phosphoric acid adjusted to pH 2.25 by addition of triethanolamine as separation electrolyte. Under these conditions, analysis takes about 15 min. A linear response over the 0.5-15.0 mg L(-1) concentration range was found for TRI and MTX, and 0.5-80.0 mg L(-1) for CREA. Dilution of the sample (water:urine, 1:1 for TRI and MTX, and 1:25 for CREA determination) was the only step necessary prior to analysis by electrophoresis. The developed method is easy, rapid, and sensitive and has been applied to determine triamterene,methotrexate, and creatinine in urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Quantitative assay of metronidazole by capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection at a gold microelectrode

Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the determination of metronidazole using end-column amperometric detection with a gold microelectrode at a constant potential of -0.52V vs. saturated calomel electrode. To overcome interference of oxygen in the solution, a deaeration injector and a deaeration protector at the detection cell were used. The optimum conditions of separation and detection are 1.0 x 10(-3) mol/L potassium dihydrogen citrate (KH2C6H5O7) for the buffer solution, 20 kV for the separation voltage, and 5 kV and 10 S for injection voltage and injection time, respectively. The limit of detection is 6.0 x 10(7) mol/L or 0.78 fmole (S/N = 3). The relative standard deviation is 3.9% for the electrophoretic peak current. The method was applied to the determination of metronidazole in human urine.     

Determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid in human urine by capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV detection and confirmation with electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometry

γ-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), a minor metabolite or precursor of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), acts as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator via binding to GABA receptors and to specific presynaptic GHB receptors. Based upon the stimulatory effects, GHB is widely abused. Thus, there is great interest in monitoring GHB in body fluids and tissues. We have developed an assay for urinary GHB that is based upon liquid–liquid extraction and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with indirect UV absorption detection. The background electrolyte is composed of 4 mM nicotinic acid (compound for indirect detection), 3 mM spermine (reversal of electroosmosis) and histidine (added to reach a pH of 6.2). Having a 50 μm I.D. capillary of 40 cm effective length, 1-octanesulfonic acid as internal standard, solute detection at 214 nm and a diluted urine with a conductivity of 2.4 mS/cm, GHB concentrations ≥2 μg/ml can be detected. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were determined to be dependent on urine concentration and varied between 2–24 and 5–60 μg/ml, respectively. Data obtained suggest that LOD and LOQ (both in μg/ml) can be estimated with the relationships 0.83 κ and 2.1 κ, respectively, where κ is the conductivity of the urine in mS/cm. The assay was successfully applied to urines collected after administration of 25 mg sodium GHB/kg body mass. Negative electrospray ionization ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry was used to confirm the presence of GHB in the urinary extract via selected reaction monitoring of the m/z 103.1→m/z 85.1 precursor–product ion transition. Independent of urine concentration, this approach meets the urinary cut-off level of 10 μg/ml that is required for recognition of the presence of exogenous GHB. Furthermore, data obtained with injection of plain or diluted urine indicate that CZE could be used to rapidly recognize GHB amounts (in μg/ml) that are ≥ 4 κ.     

Monitoring myoglobin by capillary zone electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the determination of myoglobin in human urine using end-column amperometric detection with a carbon fiber microelectrode at a constant potential of 1.80 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCF). The optimum conditions of separation and detection are: 3.73 x 10-4 mol/L sodium diethyl malonyl urea (barbitone sodium), 1.34 x 10-4 mol/L HCl for the buffer solution, 20 kV for separation voltage, 5 kV and 5 s for injection voltage and injection time, respectively. The limit of detection is 4.4 x 10-8 mol/L or 84 amole signal to noise (S/N = 2). The relative standard deviation is 2.9% for the migration time and 2.5% for the electrophoretic peak current. The method can be used for the determination of myoglobin in human urine. The samples can be directly injected and need no pretreatment. The method is also rapid, less than 2 min, and has a recovery rate of 94-106%.     

Rapid and sensitive determination of phosphoamino acids in phosvitin by N-hydroxysuccinimidyl fluorescein-O-acetate derivatization and capillary zone electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A method was developed for the determination of phosphoamino acids by capillary zone electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence detection (argon ion laser, excitation at 488 nm and emission at 520 nm) using derivatization with N-hydroxysuccinimidyl fluorescein-O-acetate (SIFA). Different variables affecting the derivatization (SIFA concentration, derivatization pH, reaction temperature and reaction time) and the separation (type, pH and concentration of buffer, applied voltage and injection mode) were investigated in detail. The optimized separation conditions were 40 mM boric acid buffer (pH 9.2) for background electrolyte, 25 kV for the separation voltage, 25 degrees C for the capillary temperature and 5 s at 0.5 psi for the sample injection. Under the optimal conditions, the SIFA-labeled phosphoamino acids were fully separated within 7 min. The detection limits ranged from 0.1 to 0.3 nM, which are the lowest values reported for capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods. The proposed methodology allowed the rapid, sensitive and selective determination of phosphoamino acids in hen egg yolk phosvitin by the standard addition method. The recovery of these compounds in real sample was 94.0-103.5%. The developed method surpasses previously published CE methods in terms of detection limit, separation time, stability and simplicity of the electrophoretic procedure.     

Very high-pressure capillary liquid chromatography assisted by voltage

Capillary liquid chromatography at moderately high pressures and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) have been combined to drive the mobile phase through capillary columns packed with small diameter particles. In a column packed with 1.5 microm nonporous particles, linear velocities near 3mm/s were observed when combining inlet pressures of 690 bar (10,000 psi) and an applied voltage of 25 kV. Optimum linear velocity for the column was achieved using a pressure-voltage combination of 350 bar (5000 psi) and 5 kV. Separation efficiencies at near optimum linear velocity agreed with those predicted by the van Deemter equation for liquid chromatography. Retention factors were observed to decrease under pressure-voltage combination as the voltage was increased; such a behavior has been attributed to Joule heating effects.     

Determination of homogentisic acid in urine for diagnosis of alcaptonuria: Capillary electrophoretic method optimization using experimental design

Homogentisic acid (HGA) is a diagnostic metabolite that accumulates in the urine and tissues of patients with alkaptonuria which is a rare autosomal recessive disease. HGA is a specific metabolite in urine and serum, which is used for diagnosis of alkaptonuria. This study presents an inexpensive and easy capillary electrophoretic method for the quantitative determination of HGA in urine samples. The method was optimized using full factorial experimental design. The optimal separation electrolyte and separation voltage were revealed as 45 mmol/L phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 and 22 kV, respectively. Under these conditions the presence of HGA was detected in 6 min. Repeatability of migration times and corrected peak areas of HGA (as RSD) were 0.37 and 1.99, respectively. The detection limit was 0.56 μg/mL, 3 times of the average noise, and the quantification limit was 1.85 μg/mL, 10 times the average noise for HGA. Urine samples were directly injected to the capillary without any pretreatment step.     

场增强样品堆积-毛细管电泳法测定山楂粉中的氨基酸

采用场增强样品堆积-毛细管电泳法建立了在线富集氨基酸的分析方法,用于中药山楂中水解氨基酸的检测,并进行了回收率实验. 采用富集电压为-20 kV,进样压力为3 psi,进样时间为50 s,紫外检测波长为214 nm,运行缓冲溶液为270 mmol/L乙酸-270 mmol/L乙酸钠（pH=4.15）-6%（V/V）乙腈溶液,分离电压为17 kV,组氨酸、精氨酸、色氨酸、酪氨酸、缬氨酸、苯丙氨酸、亮氨酸、苏氨酸、丙氨酸、甘氨酸、谷氨酸和门冬氨酸等12种氨基酸在50 min内达到分离,检出限在0.000 3~0.08 μg/mL之间.     

Analysis of phenolic acids by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis after electrokinetic supercharging

Electrokinetic supercharging (EKS), a new and powerful on-line preconcentration method for capillary electrophoresis, was utilized in non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) to enhance the sensitivity of phenolic acids. The buffer acidity and concentration, leader and terminator length and electrokinetic injection time were optimised, with the optimum conditions being: a background electrolyte of 40 mM Tris-acetic acid (pH 7.9), hydrodynamic injection of 50 mM ammonium chloride (22 s, 0.5 psi) as leader, electrokinetic injection of the sample (180 s, -10 kV), hydrodynamic injection of 20 mM CHES (32 s, 0.5 psi) as terminator, before application of the separation voltage (-25 kV). Under these conditions the sensitivity was enhanced between 1333 and 3440 times when compared to a normal hydrodynamic injection with the sample volume <3% of the capillary volume. Detection limits for the seven phenolic acids were in the range of 0.22-0.51 ng/mL and EKS was found to be 3.6-7.9 times more sensitive than large-volume sample stacking and anion selective exhaustive injection for the same seven phenolic acids.     

Separation and determination of abused drugs clenbuterol and salbutamol from complex extractants in swine feed by capillary zone electrophoresis with simple pretreatment

A simple but efficient capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method was developed for the fast separation and determination of two misused beta2-agonists clenbuterol (CLB) and salbutamol (SAL) from complex background extractants existing in swine feed samples. The proper experimental conditions were achieved as 20.0 mmol/l pH 10.5 Na(2)HPO(4)-NaOH buffer, 20 kV applied voltage, fused-silica capillary of 60.5 cm x 75 microm i.d. (50 cm to detector). Under the proper conditions, the two abused drugs can be online isolated from the complex extractants and the separation between CLB and SAL is good, all of the target analytes can be detected within 4.5 min. The linear response of CLB and SAL concentration ranges from 2.0 to 100.0 microg/ml with high correlation coefficient (R(2)=0.9990) and (R(2)=0.9986), respectively. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) was calculated to be 0.95 and 3.17 microg/ml for CLB, 1.07 and 3.57 microg/ml for SAL. The precision values (expressed as R.S.D.) of intra- and inter-day were 1.24-2.36% and 0.90-3.85% for CLB, 0.47-1.64% and 0.91-3.46% for SAL. Recoveries spiked at levels 5.0, 25.0, 80.0 microg/ml ranged between 93.30% and 104.33% with R.S.D. less than 5%. Finally, the developed method has been applied to the analysis of real swine feed samples and has achieved satisfactory results.     

Simultaneous determination of benserazide and levodopa by capillary electrophoresis-chemiluminescence using an improved interface

A capillary electrophoresis coupling with indirect chemiluminescence detection method for the simultaneous determination of benserazide and levodopa has been developed. The detection interface was improved to simplify the capillary electrophoresis-chemiluminescence (CE-CL) system and the features of this improved interface were illustrated in this paper. The CE-CL conditions for the simultaneous determination of benserazide and levodopa were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the CL intensity was linear with concentrations of levodopa in the range of 1.0 to 100.0 microg ml(-1), and benserazide in the range of 10.0 to 1,000 microg ml(-1), respectively. The detection limits (S/N=3) in turn were 1.85 microg ml(-1) for BS and 0.12 microg ml(-1) for L-dopa with relative standard deviations of less than 3%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of benserazide and levodopa in medopar tablets and spiked urine samples, demonstrating the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method.     

Method development and validation for the simultaneous determination of four coumarins in Saussurea superba by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed for the determination of four coumarins--skimmin, scopolin, scopoletin, and umbelliferone-in Saussurea superba with UV detection at 254 nm. The capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 degrees C. Effects of buffer pH, electrolyte concentration, organic modifier, and applied voltage on migration behavior were studied systematically. The optimum conditions for separation were achieved by using 30 mM borate buffer at pH 9.02 containing 15% (v/v) methanol as the electrolyte and 25 kV as the applied voltage. For all analytes a good linear regression relationship (r > 0.999) was obtained between peak area and concentration over a relatively wide range. The method was validated for repeatability, precision, and accuracy. The validated method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of the four analytes in S. superba.     

Optimization of the chiral resolution of baclofen by capillary electrophoresis using beta-cyclodextrin as the chiral selector

The chiral resolution of baclofen was achieved by capillary electrophoresis using a fused-silica capillary (60 cm x 75 microm ID). The background electrolyte (BGE) was phosphate buffer (pH 7.0, 50 mM)-acetonitrile (95:5 v/v) containing 10 mM beta-cyclodextrin. The applied voltage was 15 kV. The values of alpha and R(s) were 1.06 and 1.00, respectively. The electrophoretic conditions were optimized varying the pH and the ionic strength of the BGE, concentrations of beta-cyclodextrin and acetonitrile and the applied voltage.