Membrane sampling with microdialysis coupled to HPLC/UV for on-line simultaneous determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in non-dairy coffee creamer

An on-line microdialysis/high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in non-dairy coffee creamer. To collect these analytes from aqueous samples, the microdialysis system featured a microdialysis probe incorporating a polyarylethersulfone membrane and employed 0.05 M HCl in 0.1% (v/v) MeOH as the perfusate, with optimal efficiency obtained at a flow rate of 1 μL min(-1). The chromatographic conditions were optimized when using a reverse-phase phenyl column and a mobile phase of phosphate buffer solution in 10% (v/v) MeOH, buffered at pH 3.0. Good linearity relationship (r(2) > 0.9987), intra- and inter-day precisions (RSDs < 6.6%), recoveries (96.9 - 105.0%), and limits of detection (melamine, 3 ppb; cyanuric acid, 150 ppb) were observed for the two analytes. This method has been successfully applied to simultaneous determination of melamine and cyanuric acid in commercial creamers with the recoveries in the range of 97.5 to 102.6%.     

Ionic liquids improved reversed-phase HPLC on-line coupled with ICP-MS for selenium speciation

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) improved reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) on-line combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed for selenium speciation. The different parameters affecting the retention behaviors of six target selenium species especially the effect of RTILs as mobile phase additives have been studied, it was found that the mobile phase consisting of 0.4% (v/v) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl), 0.4% (v/v) 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium tetrafluroborate ([BMMIM]BF₄) and 99.2% (v/v) water has effectively improved the peak profile and six target selenium species including Na₂SeO₃ (Se(IV)), Na₂SeO₄ (Se(VI)), l-selenocystine (SeCys₂), d,l-selenomethionine (SeMet), Se-methylseleno-l-cysteine (MeSeCys), seleno-d,l-ethionine (SeEt) were separated in 8 min. In order to validate the accuracy of the method, a Certified Reference Material of SELM-1 yeast sample was analyzed and the results obtained were in good agreement with the certified values. The developed method was also successfully applied to the speciation of selenium in Se-enriched yeasts and clover. For fresh Se-enriched yeast cells, it was found that the spiked SeCys₂ in living yeast cells could be transformed into SeMet. Compared with other ion-pair RP-HPLC-ICP-MS approaches for selenium speciation, the proposed method possessed the advantages including ability to regulate the retention time of the target selenium species by selecting the suitable RTILs and their concentration, simplicity, rapidness and low injection volume, thus providing wide potential applications for elemental speciation in biological systems.     

Developing an on-line derivatization of FAs by microwave irradiation coupled to HPLC separation with UV detection

The development of analytical methods for routine simultaneous identification and quantification of carboxylic fatty acids (CFAs) are required in different fields, such as, pharmaceutical cosmetics, food products and formulations of water–microemulsion–oil systems. Determination of CFAs has been developed mainly by gas chromatography (GC). As an alternative to GC, liquid chromatography (LC) has better sensitivity and selectivity. However, most CFAs show no useful absorption in ultraviolet–violet (UV–Vis) region, one of the more used detection technique in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In order to allow the use of UV–Vis detection, the use of pre-column derivatization has been reported to increase sensitivity and selectivity. Therefore, establishment of a simpler and faster on-line method with complete separation is needed for the screening of large numbers of samples. 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH.), benzoil chloride (BC), and phenylhydrazine (PH) were used for derivatization of different FAs by microwaves radiation (MW). After the on-line derivatization, products were separated and quantified by HPLC. Reactor coil was placed inside of microwaves oven at 450 W. Parameters as flow, amount of reagents, irradiation time, and chromatographic conditions were optimized. The continuous analysis using the MW–HPLC–UV system provided high sensitivity and reduced both the amount of reagent used and the analysis times. This proposed method can be used for the routine analysis of FAs contained in water–microemulsion–oil systems, to quantify the total acid fraction in each phase.     

Capability of diatomaceous earth to preconcentrate and store Pb and Cr: on-line determination by FI-FAAS

The diatomaceous earth (DE) has an important ability to retain metals such as Cd, Cr, Mn and Pb, which can be used for their stabilization in the environment and for analytical purposes. In this paper a fast on-line preconcentration method for the determination of Cr and Pb in waters by flow injection flame atomic absorption spectrometry is described. Preconcentration was based on the retention of Cr and Pb on a DE immobilized in silica gel at pH 3.0 and subsequent elution with 200 microL of 3 mol L(-1) HCl. The preconcentration factors were 100 and 150 for Pb and Cr respectively, for 16 mL water sample volume. The detection limits under these conditions were 3 ng mL(-1) and 1 ng mL(-1) for Pb and Cr, respectively. The stability of Cr and Pb retained on silica gel-DE columns was established. Silica gel-DE microcolumns with the retained analytes were stored for 2 months at two different temperatures: 4 degrees C and room temperature. At regular time intervals, both metals were eluted and quantified. The results showed the potential of the procedure for sampling and storing water samples for subsequent metal determination, avoiding the problems associated with maintaining species integrity in aqueous solution, and the possibility to of decontaminating polluted spaces.     

HPLC method with on-line SPE preconcentration for quantification of permethric acid sorption to goethite

Pesticide metabolites are often found to be more mobile in soil than their parent compounds. Pyrethroids are bound strongly to soil and therefore sorption of the pyrethroid metabolite permethric acid (PA) to a typical soil sorbent, goethite, was investigated. An on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE)-HPLC-UV procedure was developed for quantification of trans- and cis-permethric acid in aqueous samples. Limits of detection (LOD) were 500 times lower than those obtained with conventional HPLC-UV, resulting in LODs of 1.4 and 0.3?nM for the trans- and cis-isomers, respectively. Sorption of nanomolar concentrations of PA to goethite was found to be specific up to less than 1% surface coverage. In this range the data was described by a Langmuir equation with K _ads = 7.1 × 10^?9?L/mol and Γ_max = 7.1 × 10^?9?mol/m² for total PA (trans + cis) at pH = 3. K _ads,?cis (1.4 × 10⁶?L/mol) was approximately twice K _ads,?trans (7.9 × 10⁵?L/mol). At higher PA concentrations the slope of the sorption isotherm increased, which is ascribed to hydrophobic interactions between adsorbed and dissolved PA molecules. Based on comparison with reported K _om values, metal oxides are expected to have a relatively greater significance to the retention of PA than soil organic matter.     

Real-time separation of natural products by ultrafast 2D NMR coupled to on-line HPLC

Hyphenated HPLC-NMR is an extremely efficient analytical tool, which makes it possible to perform on-flow experiments where 1D NMR spectra are obtained in real time as the analytes are separated and eluted from the chromatographic column. However, it is incompatible with multidimensional NMR methods that form an indispensible tool for the study of complex mixtures. Recently, Frydman and co-workers have proposed an ultrafast 2D NMR approach, where a complete 2D NMR correlation can be recorded in a single scan, thus providing a solution to the irreversibility of hyphenated techniques. This paper presents the first implementation of on-line ultrafast HPLC-NMR. Ultrafast COSY spectra are acquired every 12 s in the course of a chromatographic run performed on a mixture of natural aromatic compounds. The results, obtained on a commercial HPLC-NMR setup, highlight the generality of the ultrafast HPLC-NMR methodology, thus opening the way to a number of applications in the numerous fields in which HPLC-NMR forms a routine analytical tool.     

Evaluation of cadmium species lability using ion-pair reversed phase HPLC coupled on-line with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) coupled on-line with an ion-pair reversed phase HPLC (IP-RP HPLC) was developed for determining the lability of Cd species. The IP-RP HPLC-ICP-MS system measures chromatographic behaviors of Cd species in the presence of different model complexing agents (L) with stability constants (log K_CdL) from 3.8 to 19.0. Cd species with log K_CdL higher than 16, between 8 and 16, and smaller than 8 was then classified into inert, moderately labile, and labile species, respectively. The conditional stability constants and dissociation rate constants were also estimated from their corresponding chromatographic behavior. This method was applied to evaluating the lability-dependent biouptake of different Cd species in Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a typical unicellular marine diatom. IP-RP HPLC-ICP-MS is a useful and promising technique for determining the lability of noncovalent-bonded metal species (such as Cd species) in the environment and for forecasting their corresponding bioavailability especially when their speciation cannot be rigorously controlled and measured.     

在线自动化柱前衍生-高效液相色谱法测定食品中组胺的研究

建立了在线自动化柱前衍生.高效液相色谱法测定食品中组胺的新方法.通过对测定过程中各个影响因素进行优化,如自动化衍生程序的设定,衍生试剂的用量,衍生体系pH影响等,确立了适宜的测定条件.在该条件下,对于组胺的检出限为0.01 μg/mL,在0.05～100 λg/mL范围内,线性关系良好(r2＞0.999).通过对样品基质进行加标,检出限为0.20 mg/kg.将所建立的方法应用于金枪鱼罐头,烟熏鲣鱼,冻鲭鱼等样品中组胺的测定,测得的组胺含量为0.59～167 mg/kg,加标回收率均大于97%,测定值的相对标准偏差均小于5%.所建立的方法适用于大量样品的常规分析测定.     

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

An on-line coupled capillary isotachophoresis--capillary zone electrophoresis (cITP-CZE) method for the determination of domoic acid in shellfish and algae is described. The optimised cITP-CZE electrolyte system was 10 mM HCl + 20 mM beta-alanine (BALA) + 0.05% hydroxyethylcellulose (leading electrolyte), 5 mM caproic acid (terminating electrolyte) and 20 mM caproic acid + 20 mM BALA + 0.1% HPMC (background electrolyte). A clear separation of the domoic acid from the other components of methanolic sample extract was achieved within 25 min. Method characteristics, i.e., linearity (0-200 microg/l), accuracy (recovery 101+/-3%), intra-assay repeatability (2.4%) and detection limit (1.5 microg/l) were determined. Speed of analysis, low laboriousness, high sensitivity and low running cost are the typical attributes of the cITP-CZE method. Developed method was successfully applied to analysis of shellfish samples and food supplements containing algae extract.     

Determination of organic and inorganic mercury species in water and sediment samples by HPLC on-line coupled with ICP-MS

This paper describes a preconcentration method for Hg²⁺ and MeHg⁺ in water samples using sodium diethyldithiocarbamate immobilized in polyurethane foam (PU-NaDDC) and an extraction method for several mercury species in sediment samples, including MeHg⁺, EtHg⁺ and PhHg⁺, which is simple, rapid, and uses a single organic solvent. Separation and measurement were done by high-performance liquid chromatography on-line with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC/ICP-MS). Initially, the test of recovery was applied using procedures compatible with HPLC. Under the optimum extraction conditions, recoveries of 96.7, 96.3 and 97.3% were obtained for MeHg⁺, EtHg⁺, and PhHg⁺, respectively, from n = 4 spiked sediment samples. This study also demonstrates that the combination of solid-phase extraction on PU-NaDDC with HPLC separation and ICP-MS detection is an effective preconcentration procedure for simultaneous measurement of Hg²⁺ and MeHg⁺ at ultra-trace levels in water samples. The application of the proposed procedure to the determination of mercury species in drinking water sample was investigated. The proposed method clearly gave satisfactory average recoveries between 93.7 and 101.5%.     

Binary and ternary phenylboronic acid complexes with saccharides and Lewis bases

Cumulative formation constants for the association of three boronic acids (phenylboronic acid and its ortho-anilinomethyl and ortho-benzylaminomethyl derivatives) with four saccharides (fructose, glucose, mannitol, and sorbitol) were determined by potentiometric titration. Similarly, the constants for the formation binary complexes of the three boronic acids with (hydrogen) phosphate, (hydrogen) citrate, or imidazole were determined. Finally, the formation of ternary complexes of the boronic acids, phosphate, citrate or imidazole, and the saccharides were determined based on the determined values of the binary complexes. The previously unrecognized ternary complexes are significant in all systems investigated, and under some solution compositions, they can be the dominant species in solution over a wide pH range. A value of 15-25 kJ mol⁻¹ was determined for the energy of the B-N interaction in the benzylmethyl derivative based on the relative stabilities of the ternary phosphate complexes of the three boronic acids. The data are used to rationalize the medium dependence of stepwise formation constants and the apparent acidity constants of previous literature reports.     

Micropore to macropore structure-designed silicas with regulated condensation of silicic acid nanoparticles

A new preparation method for porous silica particles was developed using activated silica sols which are called nano-silica solutions in this paper. Several kinds of organic and inorganic acids are employed to neutralize diluted sodium silicate solutions to form the nano-silica solutions: formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, dl-malic acid, citric acid, and tricarballylic acid as carboxylic acids, and sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid as inorganic acids. The effect of salts in the nano-silica solution is also studied. The products were investigated using a field emission scanning electron microscope, an X-ray diffractometer, the nitrogen adsorption technique, and a mercury porosimeter. Microporous silicas were produced when carboxylic acids were applied; the formation of micropores was influenced by the pH of the nano-silica solutions and molecular sizes of the carboxylic acids. Addition of a salt in a citric acid solution increased the mesopore volume. Macropores were formed when inorganic acids including salts were applied; the salt nanoparticles which were crystallized in silica spheres acted as templates. The anion types and salt concentrations in the nano-silica solutions affected the aggregation condition of silica nanoparticles, following the Schulze-Hardy rule.     

Surface plasmon resonance study on the interaction between the fructose and phenylboronic acid monolayer

Phenylboronic acid derivatives were synthesized and their self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were formed on a gold surface. The interaction between fructose and phenylboronic acid monolayers was evaluated using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). These phenylboronic acid monolayers showed good sensitivity to fructose at a low concentration range and the resonance angle shifts increased in accordance with the alkyl chain length.     

Separation and determination of gold from iron rich matrices by an off/on-line preconcentration system coupled to ICP-AES

A preconcentration/separation method has been developed for the off/on-line determination by ICP-AES of gold in complex matrices, containing iron and manganese which cause severe spectral interferences on the two most sensitive Au-lines. The available automated preconcentration apparatus was modified using as absorbent the highly selective, for precious metals, chelating anion exchanger SRAFION NMRR. From the elution of this resin with 5% thiourea a nearly quantitative recovery of gold and its separation from iron, existing in percent range in the matrix, and from manganese was obtained. The validity of the developed method was tested by the determination of gold in standard reference materials from BCR, such as sewage sludge of domestic and mainly industrial origin and in a calcareous loam soil. The preconcentration procedure was synchronized with the ICP operating parameters in order to get an optimised on-line coupling of these two systems. The described process has been successfully applied to the determination of low gold contents in dissolved iron rich sediments using for the gold prospection.     

Thermodynamic and structural study of complexation of phenylboronic acid with salicylhydroxamic acid and related ligands

Stability constants of boronate complexes with a highly efficient bioconjugation ligand salicylhydroxamic acid, its derivatives and some structurally related compounds were determined by potentiometric and spectroscopic titrations at variable pH allowing one to obtain detailed stability – pH profiles and to identify the optimum pH for complexation with each ligand. The N,O‐binding of salicylhydroxamic acid via condensation of boronic acid with phenolic OH and hydroxamic NH groups was established by crystal structure determination of isolated complexes with phenylboronic and 4‐nitrophenylboronic acids. Although this type of binding is impossible for N‐methylated salicylhydroxamic acid it still forms stable boronate complexes supposedly involving unusual 7‐membered –O‐B‐O‐ cycle supported by ¹H NMR studies. Hydroxamic acids lacking ortho‐OH group and salicyloyl hydrazide form less stable boronate complexes, which nevertheless possess stabilities similar to those of catechole complexes and may be useful for conjugation applications. In contrast to other ligands, which form tetrahedral anionic complexes, salicylamidoxime forms tetrahedral, but neutral boronate complex with high stability in weakly acid solutions. The highest affinity in neutral and acid solutions surpassing that of salicylhydroxamic acid is observed with 2,6‐dihydroxybenzhydroxamic acid (K_obs = 5.2 × 10⁴ at pH 7.4). Fairly stable mono‐ and bisboronate complexes are formed with 2,5‐dihydroxy‐1,4‐benzdihydroxamic acid, which also possesses intense fluorescence and may serve as a boronic acid sensor with detection limit 4 μM. Results presented in this study provide quantitative basis for rational applications of hydroxamic acid derivatives in bioconjugation and sensing.     

Flow injection on-line ultrasound-assisted extraction of iron in meat samples coupled to a flame atomic absorption spectrometric system

Iron was extracted on-line from solid meat samples by a simple and rapid continuous ultrasound-assisted extraction system (CUES). The CUES is connected to a flow injection manifold, which allows the on-line flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of iron. A Plakett–Burman design was used for the optimisation of the CUES. The method achieved a total sampling frequency of 11 samples per hour with a relative standard deviation for the complete procedure of 0.4%. The detection limit was 0.6 g g^–1 (dry mass) for a sample amount of 30 mg. Accurate results were obtained by measuring the certified reference materials BCR-186 (pig kidney) and BCR-184 (bovine muscle). The analytical procedure was applied to different real meat samples with satisfactory results.     

Screening of four beta-blockers and codeine in urine by on-line coupled RPLC-GC with on-line derivatization

On-line coupled reversed phase liquid chromatography-capillary gas chromatography (RPLC-GC) was used in the separation of four derivatized beta-blockers and codeine in urine. Sample clean-up was accomplished in the LC part and compounds were separated in the GC part. After the LC column the aqueous phase was switched to organic solvent by on-line liquid-liquid extraction and the two phases were separated in a sandwich-type phase separator. The organic extract was then transferred to a loop-type LC-GC interface. Beta-blockers were derivatized on-line in the interface before GC analysis. Concurrent eluent evaporation was used during the introduction of the sample fraction, and excess of solvent vapors was removed via an early vapor exit. The sample pretreatment was minimal; the only manual pretreatment step was the filtration of the urine sample.     

HPLC micro-fractionation coupled to a cell-based assay for automated on-line primary screening of calcium antagonistic components in plant extracts

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) micro-fractionation was successfully coupled to an automated ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake assay using GH₄C₁ cells for the separation of natural product extracts and for the primary detection of their calcium antagonistic components. The reliability of the procedure was first established with a reference solution consisting of pure compounds with a known effect on the Ca²⁺ uptake. No loss of activity was observed to occur after HPLC micro-fractionation. Extracts of Peucedanum palustre and Pinus sylvestris, showing high and no inhibition of Ca²⁺ uptake as total extracts, respectively, were analysed and the inhibitory activity of the P. palustre extract could be traced to two components, identified as columbianadin and isoimperatorin. As expected, no significant inhibition was observed with the micro-fractionated P. sylvestris samples. In summary, the procedure was found to be applicable for primary detection of calcium antagonistic components in complex matrices and to significantly reduce the time previously needed for bioactivity-guided isolation.