Application of capillary reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to high-sensitivity protein sequence analysis.

A continuous gradient elution method for capillary column (less than 0.32 mm I.D.) liquid chromatography was developed. Gradient eluent from a microbore liquid chromatograph was split ahead of the injector so that an accurate percentage (2-3%) of the mobile phase delivered by the pump flowed through the capillary column. The outlet of the column was connected to a length of 0.075 mm I.D. fused-silica capillary tubing which, in turn, was connected to a 6-mm optical path length longitudinal capillary flow cell. Fused-silica capillary columns of 0.32 mm I.D. were slurry-packed efficiently with 7-microns spherical, 300 A pore size, C8 bonded-phase particles, and evaluated in terms of their ability to resolve mixtures of proteins, peptides or phenylthiohydantoin (PTH)-amino acid derivatives. The gradient elution profiles agreed with those obtained using microbore (less than 2.1 mm I.D.) and larger bore columns. The minimum detectable amounts for proteins and PTH-amino acids on 0.32 mm I.D. capillary columns were 50 pg and 25 fmol, respectively. At a flow-rate of 3.6 microliters/min, proteins and peptides were recovered from the capillary columns in volumes of about 2-8 microliters. The use of a multiple-wavelength, forward-optics detector for identifying tryptophan- and tyrosine-containing peptides is discussed.     

Highly sensitive determination method for total carbonate in water samples by flow injection analysis coupled with gas-diffusion separation.

A spectrophotometric method for the determination of total carbonate in water samples was developed. The method is based on the color change of an acid-base indicator in relation to the concentration of permeable gas substances through a membrane. By using a new portable FIA system equipped with a gas-diffusion unit, a highly sensitive and on-site determination of total carbonate in aqueous solutions was investigated. A new color-change system with 4-(2',4'-dinitrophenylazo)-1-naphthol-5-sulfonic acid (DNN5S) was developed. Absorbance changes of the reagent solution were measured at 450 nm with a light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source. A new type of gas-diffusion unit was used, and was constructed with double tubing: the inner tubing was a micro porous PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) tubing (1.0 mm inner diameter and 1.8 mm outer diameter, pore size 2 microns, porosity 50%); the outer tubing was made of glass with 2.0 mm inner diameter. The optimized system conditions were as follows: the sample size was 200 microliters, the temperature of the air bath for the gas-diffusion unit was 25 degrees C, and the length of the gas-diffusion unit was 15 cm; each flow rate was 0.3 ml min-1. For measuring carbonate at low concentrations, a method for preparing water with less carbonate was proposed: the carbonate content of the water was decreased down to 5 x 10(-7) M. The calibration graph was rectilinear from 1 x 10(-6) M to 10(-3) M, and the detection limit (corresponding to a signal-to-noise ratio of 3) was 1 x 10(-6) M of carbonate. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of ten measurements of 2.3 x 10(-5) M Na2CO3 solution was 1.9%. The total carbonate in various kinds of water (such as river, sea, rain, distilled and ultra purified) was determined.     

Field and flow programming in frit-inlet asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation

The separation of wide molecular mass (Mr) ranges of macromolecules using frit inlet asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (FI-AFlFFF) has been improved by implementing a combination of field and flow programming. In this first implementation, field strength (governed by the cross flow-rate through the membrane-covered accumulation wall) is decreased with time to obtain faster elution and improved detection of the more strongly retained (high Mr) materials. The channel outlet flow-rate is optionally held constant, increased, or decreased with time. With circulation of the flow exiting the accumulation wall to the inlet frit, the dual programming of cross flow and channel outlet flow could be implemented using just two pumps. With this flow configuration, the channel outlet flow-rate is always equal to the channel inlet flow-rate, and these may be programmed independently of the cross flow-rate through the membrane. FI-AFlFFF retains its operational advantage over conventional asymmetrical flow FFF (AFlFFF). Unlike conventional AFlFFF, FI-AFlFFF does not require time consuming, and experimentally inconvenient, sample focusing and relaxation steps involving valve switching and interruption of sample migration. The advantages of employing dual programming with FI-AFlFFF are demonstrated for sets of polystyrene sulfonate standards in the molecular mass range of 4 to 1000 kDa. It is shown that programmed FI-AFlFFF successfully expands the dynamic separation range of molecular mass.     

Capillary-channeled polymer fibers as stationary phases in liquid chromatography separations

A method utilizing capillary-channeled polymer (C-CP) fibers as stationary phases in high-performance liquid chromatographic separations has been investigated. Polymeric fibers of differing backbones (polypropylene and polyester) having nominal diameters of approximately 50 and approximately 35 microm and a channeled structure on their periphery were packed into stainless steel tubing (305 x 4.6 mm I.D.) for use in reversed-phase separations of various mixtures. The fibers have eight channels running continuously along the axis which exhibit very high surface activity. As such, solvent transport is affected through the channels through wicking action. Bundles of 1000-3000 fibers are loaded co-linearly into the tubing, providing flow channels extending the entire length of the columns. As a result, backing pressures are significantly lowered (approximately 50% reduction) in comparison to packed-sphere columns. In addition, the capital costs of the fiber material (< US$0.25 per column) are very attractive. Flow-rates of up to 5 ml/min can be used to achieve near baseline separation of related compounds in reasonable run times, indicating very fast mobile phase mass transfer (C-terms). The polymer stationary phases demonstrate high selectivity for a wide variety of analytes with gradient elution employed successfully in many instances. Specifically, separations of three polyaromatic hydrocarbons (benzo[a]pyrene, chrysene, pyrene), mixtures of both organic and inorganic lead compounds [chlorotriethyllead, chlorotriphenyllead, lead nitrate, lead(II) phthalocyanine], and a lipid standard of triglycerides were accomplished on the polymeric stationary phases. Other species of biological interest, including groups of aliphatic and aromatic amino acids have also been effectively separated. The reversed-phase nature of the fiber surfaces is supported through atomic force microscopy measurements using hydrophilic and hydrophobic functionalized polystyrene beads as the probe tips. Separations of the various analytes demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing C-CP fibers as stationary phases in reversed-phase LC. It is envisioned that columns of this nature would be particularly useful in prep-scale separations as well as for immobilization matrices for organic constituents in aqueous environments.     

A Generic Design of a Flow-Through Potentiometric Sensor Array

 In this paper, a flow-through potentiometric microsensor is described which is based on semi-permeable tubing. The ion selective electrodes proposed are of the liquid membrane type in which a dialysis tube captures the ion selective cocktail. Ion selective sensors and a reference electrode based on the same design were constructed by guiding a 0.3 mm diameter dialysis tube through a cavity precision machined in Perspex?. Commercia lly available ionophore or ion-exchanger cocktails were applied to provide ion selectivity whilst a saturated KCl solution was used in the reference electrode. A number of flow-through microsensors selective to different ions (Na, K, Li, pH) were constructed and tested. Each showed good performance in a broad range of concentrations. Advantages of the proposed approach are the generic technology to make sensors with incorporate d reference electrodes, capable of measuring a wide variety of analytes for which cocktails are readily available and the fact that sub-microliter amounts of sample can be measured. Secondly, in comparison to other sensors applied in microchannels, the impedance of the flow-through sensor is much smaller because of the relatively large sensing surface formed by the tube wall. Moreover, the use of dialysis tubing enables easy integration with a so-called microdialysis probe for in-vivo sampling of the blood stream or subcutaneous tissue. Received December 6, 1999. Revision March 24, 2000.     

Microscale solid-phase extraction system for explosives

A simple, semi-automated, microcolumn solid-phase extraction (SPE) system is optimized for the extraction, preconcentration and HPLC analysis of seven different explosives and explosive derivatives contaminating seawater, river water and well water samples. The microcolumns were constructed from 1/16 in. O.D. PTFE tubing (1 in.=2.54 cm) packed with 0.5-1.5 mg of SPE material. LiChrolut EN or Porapak R. The extraction system consisted of two syringe pumps and several solenoid valves. Optimal detection limits were realized when the sample water flow-rate was maximally increased within the limits of the pump, 5-10 ml/min (despite exceeding the breakthrough threshold of the SPE microcolumn), and when the eluate volume collected from the column was minimized, <5 microl (despite very low recovery percentages).     

Diffusion and calibration properties of microdialysis sampling membranes in biological media

The diffusion and calibration properties for three commercially available microdialysis membranes (polycarbonate-polyether (PC), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and cuprophan (CUP)) were evaluated. The analytes studied had molecular weights between 94 (phenol) and 1355 (vitamin B12). For each analyte-membrane pair, an effective membrane diffusion coefficient was calculated. Effective membrane diffusion coefficients varied considerably between the microdialysis membranes. For Vitamin B12, CUP and PAN membranes gave relative recovery values of greater than 20% at 0.5 microl min(-1), while the PC membrane had a 1% recovery. When backpressure was applied. PC and PAN membranes exhibited more ultrafiltration than CUP membranes. Ultrafiltration did not affect analyte relative recovery through either PC or PAN membranes. Effective membrane diffusion coefficients were not significantly altered for some membrane-analyte combinations when exposed to 4% bovine serum albumin or 0.3% fibrinogen. These data suggest that reductions in relative recovery during long-term microdialysis sampling experiments may be due to other physiologically relevant proteins or to tissue reactions near the dialysis membrane.     

Microbore polypropylene capillary channeled polymer (C-CP) fiber columns for rapid reversed-phase HPLC of proteins

The performance of microbore columns with polypropylene (PP) capillary-channeled polymer (C-CP) fibers as the support/stationary phase for separation of macromolecules has been investigated. Polypropylene C-CP fibers (40 μm diameter) were packed in fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) tubing of inner diameter 0.8 mm and lengths of 40, 60, 80, and 110 cm. The performance of PP fiber packed microbore columns (peak width, peak capacity, and resolution) was evaluated for separation of a three-protein mixture of ribonuclease A, cytochrome c, and transferrin under reversed-phase gradient conditions. The low backpressure characteristics of C-CP fiber columns enable operation at high linear velocities (up to 75 mm s(-1) at 1.5 mL min(-1)). In contrast with the performance of other phases, such velocities enable enhanced resolution of the three-protein mixture, because peak widths decrease with velocity. Increased column length resulted in increased resolution, because the peak widths remained essentially constant, although retention times increased. In addition, it was found that the peak capacity increased with column length and linear velocity. Radial compression of the microbore tubing enhanced the homogeneity of the packing and, thereby, separation efficiency and resolution. Radial compression of columns resulted in a decrease in the interstitial fraction (~5%), but increased resolution of ~14% between ribonuclease A and cytochrome c. Even so, a linear velocity of 75 mm s(-1) required a backpressure of 9.5 MPa only. It is clear that the fluid and solute-transport properties of the C-CP fiber microbore columns afford far better performance than is obtainable by use of standard format columns. The ability to achieve high separation efficiencies, rapidly and with low volume flow rates, holds promise for high-capacity protein separations in proteomics applications.     

New pressure regulating system for constant mass flow supercritical-fluid chromatography and physico-chemical analysis of mass-flow reduction in pressure programming by analogous circuit model

Summary The newly developed regulating valve is based on high-speed flow switching, and is capable of controlling the column outlet pressure independent of the mass flow-rate of the fluid. The reproducibility of retention times in pressure-programming elution on a 4.6 mm i.d. ×250mm long silica gel column was better than 1% with supercritical carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. The outlet mass flow-rate decreased while the pressure was increasing, keeping the input flow to the system constant; this was due to the compressibility of the fluid. The amount of decrease in the outlet flow was calculated by introducing an analogous circuit model and new parameters, instrumental and column capacitances. The result agreed with the measured value within 30% error.     

The use of immobilized alcohol oxidase in the continuous flow determination of ethanol with an oxygen electrode

Immobilized alcohol oxidase was used in the determination of blood alcohol. The alcohol oxidase catalyzed the aerobic oxidation of ethanol and the oxygen concentration was monitored with an oxygen membrane electrode in a flow cell. The enzyme was immobilized either by covalent attachment via glutaraldehyde to the inside walls of nylon tubing, or by adsorption onto three separate controlled-pore glass support materials: TiO₂, SiO₂, or AL₂O₃. The supports were packed into 10 cm lengths of 3 mm i.d. glass tubing or 30 cm lengths of 5 mm i.d. nylon tubing. The five methods of immobilization were compared for stability and activity toward ethanol. Immobilization on silanized glass beads results in the highest activity and greatest stability of the reactor.     

Hydration and interfacial water in Nafion membrane probed by transmission infrared spectroscopy

Infrared spectroscopy was applied to probe water inside pores and channels of Nafion membrane exchanged with either proton (H+) or sodium ions (Na+). Transmission measurements were performed on freestanding Nafion 112 (approximately 50 microm thickness) in a cell that enabled adjustment of the relative humidity. Experiments that employed Na+-exchanged Nafion focused on relative humidity environments at or below about 32% generated through the use of humectants. Under these conditions, narrow features in the O-H stretching spectral region near 3650-3720 cm(-1), previously attributed to interfacial water, were detected and matched to bands in vibrational sum frequency (VSF) spectra of water/air, water/organic, and salt-solution/air interfaces. The features correspond to the stretching mode of the "free" OH group of water oriented with one hydrogen atom toward other water molecules and interacting through hydrogen bonding and the other straddling the interface extending into fluorocarbon-rich regions (approximately 3668 cm(-1)) or air-filled segments (approximately 3700 cm(-1)) in the membrane. For membrane exchanged with H+, -SO3- groups were easily shifted to -SO3H as water was removed upon exposure to a few Torr of vacuum at 95 degrees C. In contrast, residual water was retained by membrane exchanged with Na+ after exposure to these conditions for up to 72 h. The permeation of methanol and acetone into Na+-exchanged Nafion 112 was also examined. The C-H and O-H stretching modes of methanol were perturbed in a manner that suggests the polymer disrupts hydrogen bonding interactions within the solvent, similar to the effect it exerts on pure water. For acetone, the C-H stretching modes were not shifted appreciably compared to those of the bulk liquid. However, the carbonyl band was affected, indicating the likely importance of dipolar interactions between solvent molecules and polar groups on the polymer. Control experiments performed with poly(hexafluoropropylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (FEP) membrane did not show evidence for water or methanol permeation, which demonstrates the critical role played by the ion-filled channels and pores in facilitating solvent transport within Nafion membrane.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of linoleic acid peroxide-derived radicals using electrochemical detection

High-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED) was applied to detect 13-hydroperoxide octadecadienoic acid (13-HPODE)-derived radicals such as the pentyl radical and octanoic acid radical. The 13-HPODE-derived radicals were successfully detected using HPLC-ED by the combined use of the spin-trapping technique with alpha-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (4-POBN). The 4-POBN-pentyl radical adduct was detected at the retention time of 18.2 +/- 0.3 min on the elution profile of HPLC-ED with an ODS column (15 cm x 4.6 mm I.D.) using a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min with 50 mM ammonium acetate in 29% (v/v) aqueous acetonitrile. The 4-POBN-octanoic acid radical adduct was also detected at the retention time of 13.7 +/- 0.7 min using a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min with 50 mM ammonium acetate in 14% (v/v) aqueous acetonitrile. The concentrations of the 4-POBN radical adducts were determined using HPLC-ED without an internal standard. HPLC-ED is 100 times as sensitive as HPLC-electron spin resonance (ESR) under the ESR and ED conditions employed here. Even 1.8 pmol of the 4-POBN-pentyl (or octanoic acid) radical adduct was detectable using     

Peripheral endocannabinoid microdialysis: in vitro characterization and proof-of-concept in human subjects

In vivo endocannabinoid (EC) microdialysis has only seldom been performed, mostly in rodent brain tissue. Low solubility in aqueous media, adsorption to surfaces, and instability with co-present human serum albumin (HSA) are the major obstacles in EC microdialysis. The addition of hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrine (HPCD) to the perfusion fluid has been previously described to facilitate lipid microdialysis, but the general biophysical properties of HPCD, especially with respect to peripheral EC microdialysis, have not been described before. We report on the characterization of EC microdialysis using an in vitro system using Ringer’s solution with 10% HPCD as the perfusion fluid and with fatty acid-free HSA as the matrix fluid. The endocannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2AG) were measured using LC-MS/MS. AEA was stable in the perfusion and matrix fluids, whereas 2AG was only stable in the perfusion fluid. In the matrix fluid, 2AG underwent rapid isomerization to 1-arachidonoyl glycerol. A relative recovery of 3.5% for AEA was found with 10% HPCD in the perfusion fluid and a flow rate of 1 μL/min. For 2AG, a similar relative recovery of 3.5% was estimated. Since 2AG was found unstable in the matrix fluid, a reliable calculation of the relative recovery rates was not possible. Delivery and recovery experiments revealed unequal inward and outward EC transport across the microdialysis membrane. Contrary to usual microdialysis findings, we observed increasing recovery rates for AEA with increasing flow rates. Long equilibration times of several hours were necessary to obtain constant relative recovery rates. In a proof-of-concept study in humans, we collected AEA from subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue employing the described methodology. Our study suggests that the microdialysis technique is not suitable for the exact quantification of tissue EC concentrations, but it allows for their rough estimation.

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Figure Microdialysis of peripheral endocannabinoids, especially anandamide (AEA).

     

离子色谱用于标准物质硫酸根定值的方法研究

对离子色谱用于测定标准物质硫酸根定值的方法进行了研究。采用阴离子分析柱IonPac AS19(2 mm×250 mm),抑制型电导检测,进样体积25 μL,NaOH为等度淋洗液,通过正交设计表安排试验,确定了优化的色谱条件。SO2-4的检出限是0.005 mg/L,方法的精密度（RSD）为0.44%,方法的线性范围是1.0～50.0 mg/L, 样品的平均加标回收率为95.5%～105%。利用校正曲线的稳定性检查,质控样的可靠性检查和回收率试验证明该分析方法是可靠的。该方法操作简单、速度快、灵敏度高、重复性好,已用于标准物质硫酸根的定值。     

Packing procedures for high efficiency, short ion-exchange columns for rapid separation of inorganic anions

An optimised packing procedure for the production of high efficiency, short, particle-packed ion-exchange columns is reported. Slurry-packing techniques were applied to a series of interconnected short columns, with the columns situated intermediate between the inlet and outlet ends of the series being used for separations. The fast separation and determination of inorganic anions was achieved using short (4mm ID, 30mm long) columns packed with Dionex AS20 high-capacity anion-exchange stationary phase. Seven inorganic anions (bromate, chloride, chlorate, nitrate, sulfate, chromate and perchlorate) are separated in 2.6min using a hydroxide gradient and a flow-rate of 1.8mL/min (total analysis time including re-equilibration was 3.5min). Under isocratic conditions, the home-packed columns exhibited efficiency values of 43,000N/m for chloride at a flow-rate of 0.3mL/min, compared to 54,000N/m for a commercial 250mm AS20 column at the same flow-rate. However, the short columns gave approximately a threefold higher sample throughput. The short, home-packed columns could be produced reproducibly and gave consistent performance over extended periods of usage.     

Miniaturized solid-phase extraction with resin disks

The properties and advantages of membrane disks for solid-phase extraction (SPE) are described. Miniaturization is a trend in SPE, as well as chemical analysis in general. A semimicro method is reviewed in which an extraction disk 4 mm in diameter is used for SPE. Even smaller scale separations are possible with a device in which a membrane 0.7 mm in diameter was incorporated into the needle of a 50-micro syringe. Aqueous samples containing 10 ppb of eight substituted benzenes were passed through the miniaturized-SPE syringe automatically using a single-syringe infusion pump. Elution volumes of 5 microl provided 500-fold concentrations and delivered average recoveries greater than 90% and an average relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.6% for the analytes. Direct injection of the 5 microl eluate from the miniaturized-SPE syringe into a gas chromatograph also produced average recoveries greater than 90% and an average RSD of 6.2%.     

Étude de la stabilité chimique et mécanique des tubes de pompes technicon lors de l'emploi de solvants organiques très agressifs (amines et éthers)

The resistance of Technicon pump tubing to mechanical usage and chemical attack was studied for aqueous solutions rich in heteropolar organic solvents such as n-butylamine and tetrahydrofuran. The results of flow-rate measurements, over 200 h, with “tygon” (PVC), “solvaflex”, “acidflex” (black/red) and “silicone” tubing indicate that only the last is acceptable for use with the above-mentioned solvents. With the other types of tubing there is rapid solubilization, deformation or rupture of the material. A comparison carried out under identical conditions with distilled water allows the respective importance of chemical attack and mechanical usage to be assessed.     

Peak spreading in linear gradient elution chromatography with a thin monolithic disk

The peak spreading of DNAs of various sizes [12-mer, 20-mer, 50-mer and 95-mer poly(T)] in linear gradient elution (LGE) chromatography with a thin monolithic disk was investigated by using our method developed for determining HETP in LGE. Electrostatic interaction-based chromatography mode (ion-exchange chromatography, IEC) was used. Polymer-based monolithic disks of two different sizes (12 mm diameter, 3mm thickness and 0.34 mL; 5.2 mm diameter, 4.95 mm thickness and 0.105 mL) having anion-exchange groups were employed. For comparison, a 15-μm porous bead IEC column (Resource Q, 6.4mm diameter, 30 mm height and 0.97 mL) was also used. The peak width did not change with the flow velocity for the monolithic disks where as it became wider with increasing velocity. For the monolithic disks the peak width normalized with the column bed volume was well-correlated with the distribution coefficient at the peak position K(R). HETP values were constant (ca. 0.003-0.005 cm) when K(R)>5. Much higher HETP values which are flow-rate dependent were obtained for the porous bead chromatography. It is possible to obtain 50-100 plates for the 3mm monolithic disk. This results in very sharp elution peaks (standard deviation/bed volume=0.15) even for stepwise elution chromatography, where the peak width is similar to that for LGE of a very steep gradient slope.     

Polymer-capped fiber-optic Raman probe for non-invasive Raman spectroscopy

Advances in fiber optic probe design are moving Raman spectroscopy into the clinic, although there remain important practical problems. While much effort has been devoted to minimizing Raman and fluorescence background from fibers, less attention has been given to the need to generate reference Raman signals that can correct for variations in tissue albedo, which is important in quantifying changes in tissue composition. To address this shortcoming, we have developed a fiber optic probe that incorporates a fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer (FEP) cap at the end of each excitation fiber. Transmission of laser light through the transparent cap generates a 732 cm(-1) Raman band whose intensity scales linearly with the laser power delivered to the tissue of interest. In our first design, the FEP cap functions as a waveguide with only a small insertion loss (~5%). Laser transmission through 1 mm of the polymer is sufficient to generate a usable reference Raman signal. We show the application of the probe to quantitative non-invasive Raman spectroscopy of animal tissues using rat leg phantoms as models. Ex-vivo Raman spectroscopy of excised rat tibia supports the use of the probe for spectroscopy of various tissues. These results provide proof of principle that the Raman probe can be used in multiple spectroscopic applications.     

Transport processes through track-etch membrane filters in a reagent delivery cell

A reagent delivery cell with a track-etch membrane filter for on-line dilution of concentrated salt solutions is described. The influence of several system parameters such as concentration of the stock solution, temperature. transmembrane pressure and the dependence on the diffusion coefficients of several salt components on the dilution was evaluated. As an application example, the use of the reagent delivery cell for on-line calibration of an atomic absorption spectrometer was studied. Fluxes through the membrane filter of 10 to 50 nL mm(-2) min(-1) with relative standard deviations of 0.8% within a day and 1.9% from day to day were achieved. The permeation experiments with the track-etch membrane filter for the dilution of aqueous solutions of several chlorides and sodium salts confirm a diffusion process. Flux rates can be estimated mathematically using Fick's first law with an agreement between measured and calculated dilution factors within 86 to 113%.