Alternative approach to post column online isotope dilution ICP-MS

An alternative post column online double isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ID-ICP-MS) method was developed. The resulting equation allows a straightforward calculation of the mass concentration of the analyte in the sample from the measured isotope ratio chromatogram. The use of a balance to determine and monitor the mass flow of the spike and a solution of the species under investigation as the reference are the two core components of this new method. Changes in the viscosity of the system eluent-analyte-spike will not affect the results due to the direct determination of the mass flow rate. The use of the species under investigation as the reference makes the method independent of the injected volume. To simplify matters, the integration of the isotope ratio chromatogram was done with Excel using Simpson's rule instead of sophisticated programs for transformation and integration. The advantages of the new approach were demonstrated with the help of the determination of selenomethionine in the selenized yeast reference material SELM-1 with liquid chromatography coupled to ICP-MS (HPLC ID-ICP-MS) applying the new online double IDMS method.     

Negatively charged sol-gel column with stable electroosmotic flow for online preconcentration of zwitterionic biomolecules in capillary electromigration separations

A negatively charged sol-gel coating was developed for on-line preconcentration of zwitterionic biomolecules in capillary electrophoresis (CE), using asparagine and myoglobin as representative zwitterionic bioanalytes. The sol-gel coating was created by using a solution containing three precursors: mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS), tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), and n-octadecyltriethoxysilane (C18-TEOS). The resulting sol-gel coating contained chemically bonded mercaptopropyl functional groups that were further oxidized by hydrogen peroxide to the corresponding sulfonic acid moieties. Such a surface-bonded sol-gel coating can carry a negative charge over a wide range of pH due to the presence of deprotonated sulfonic acid groups. Under favorable pH conditions, the negatively charged sol-gel coating can facilitate the extraction of positively charged analytes from a zwitterionic sample through electrostatic interaction. This principle was employed to extract myoglobin and asparagine by passing aqueous samples of these zwitterionic analytes through a negatively charged sol-gel column. The extracted analytes were then desorbed and focused via local pH change and stacking. The local pH change was accomplished by passing a buffer solution with a pH above the solute p/ value, while a dynamic pH junction between the sample solution and the background electrolyte was utilized to facilitate solute focusing. The sorption/desorption phenomena could, perhaps, also be explained on the basis of ion-exchange and local pH junction effects. On-line preconcentration and analysis results obtained on sulfonated sol-gel columns were compared with those obtained on an uncoated fused silica capillary of identical dimensions using conventional sample injections. Using UV detection, the presented sample preconcentration technique provided a sensitivity enhancement factor (SEF) on the order of 3 x 10(3) for myoglobin, and 7 x 10(3) for asparagine.     

HPLC post column derivatization of aromatic amines usingN-methyl-9-chloroacridinium triflate

An HPLC post column chemical derivatization procedure based on the interaction between an acridinium triflate and amines to form highly colored derivatives on-line is described for the determination of aromatic amines. Benzocaine and butesin, local anesthetic agents that contain the aromatic amine group, were used as model compounds. Reversed-phase HPLC conditions were developed for both the separation of analytes and the reaction between analytes and the acridinium triflate in the system. Three-dimensional knitted teflon shape coils and the internal diameter and length of the coils were important parameters in reducing band broadening and background noise.N-Methyl-9-chloroacridinium triflate was shown to be applicable to the determination of primary aromatic amines, selected secondary aromatic amines, hydrazides, and hydrazines. Application of the on-line chemical derivatization procedure to the analysis of pharmaceutical dosage forms containing procainamide (primary aromatic amine), isoniazid (hydrazide), and hydralazine (hydrazine) is also described.     

Impact of a pressure drop on a monolithic capillary column on the efficiency and separation ability of the column

The impact of inlet and outlet column pressures on column separation properties was investigated for monolithic capillary column in gas chromatography. It was demonstrated that the classical Van Deemter equation does not allow us to make a clear choice of the optimal separation conditions. More relevant data can be obtained from the dependence of the height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) on the inlet and outlet column pressures. The dependence ensures that the minimum HETP value can be achieved at high values of inlet and outlet column pressures, but the ratio of the pressures must approach 1. The efficiency of the column under these optimal conditions can exceed by 25–35% the column efficiency under the optimal conditions found using the classical Van Deemter plot. It was shown that a decrease in inlet and outlet column pressures even at a relative pressure close to 1 leads to an increase in HETP and the loss of column separation ability.     

Low-level flow counting of liquid chromatography column eluates

Summary The principal parameters which determine the operation of a high-resolution, high-sensitivity radioactive flow monitor are described: a) Sample preparation to ensure adequate recovery of radiolabelled sample, metabolites and internal standard. b) The instrument background count rate, when no sample or radiolabel is present in the flow cell, is a function of shielding and a reduction in noise obtained with a coincidence time below one microsecond. c) The minimum detectable amount of label depends upon the machine background, HPLC eluent and scintillator flow, whether or not packed flow cells are used, flow cell geometry, and the scintillator used. d) Three types of flow cell have been designed to cover the majority of HPLC and isotope applications. e) The performance of solid and liquid scintillators. It is shown that an instrument has been designed taking account of these parameters. The resulting design satisfies present high sensitivity counting requirements and maintains the resolution of current HPLC procedures when detection is by simultaneous flow radioassay and by optical methods.     

Application of a wool column for flow injection online preconcentration of inorganic mercury(II) and methyl mercury species prior to atomic fluorescence measurement

The use of an unmodified native sheep wool packed minicolumn for the online preconcentration of Hg(II) and methyl mercury species prior to the determination of mercury by atomic fluorescence spectrometry was investigated. Experimental conditions, such as pH, desorbing agents, volume of solution were optimized. 0.5M thioglycolic acid was found to be a successful eluting agent for both mercury species. Breakthrough and total capacities were determined. The method is simple and rapidly applicable for the determination of Hg(II) and methyl mercury in tap water. The accuracy of the method was examined by the analysis of a peach leaves standard reference material. Recoveries of spiked mercury species in tap water were 105.8% for Hg(II) and 98.8% for methyl mercury.     

在线二维集束毛细管柱-高气压光电离-飞行时间质谱用于单萜类化合物的快速测量

单萜类化合物是大气中生物源挥发性有机物（BVOCs）的一个主要组分，具有同分异构体种类多、寿命短、浓度低、时空变化快等特点。将集束毛细管柱（MCC）和高气压光电离-飞行时间质谱仪（HPPI-TOF MS）相结合，搭建MCC-HPPI-TOF MS联用装置，并开发一种二维GC-MS快速在线检测方法，用于单萜同分异构体的快速定性和定量分析。实验结果表明，在无任何样品预富集的前提下，该方法可在180 s内实现α-蒎烯、β-蒎烯、α-萜烯、γ-萜烯、3-蒈烯及柠檬烯等6种单萜同分异构体的在线检测，检出限（LODs）低至μg/m³量级。该方法已经用于松树和柏树枝叶释放出的单萜化合物的快速在线分析，展示了其在环境监测、过程分析等领域复杂混合物样品在线检测的能力和应用前景。     

Studies on column size scale-up and flow profile in conical shape liquid chromatographic column of 10° by visualization method

An improved visualization device made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was used to study the 3D flow profile inside conical columns of a 10° opening angle packed with C₁₈ phase. The outside wall of the conical columns was rectangular in shape in order to improve the transparency property of the column wall and reduce the deformation of the image for better observation of the flow profiles of colored solutes inside the column. The influence of flow rate, particle size and shape on the flow profile of a colored band were studied on a 5-cm-long column and a scaled-up column of four fold in volume. It was found that the flow rates of the mobile phase had little influence on the flat flow profile of the iodine band while the properties of the stationary phase had a certain influence on them. We observed that the flow profiles of the scaled-up column were flat during the whole chromatographic process, and the efficiency and resolution of the column were also increased in accordance with theoretical prediction. The experimental results proved that the 10° conical columns can be proportionally scaled up while still keeping the flat flow profile, sample load per unit volume of packing material, and column efficiency, which are superior to the conventional column. __________ Translated from Chemical Journal of Chinese Universities, 2006, 27 (1) (in Chinese)     

Preparation and evaluation of a large-volume radial flow monolithic column

In this study, a 38 mL monolith with homogeneous porous structure was produced by a single polymerization from glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) in the presence of porogens and an initiator. The uniform temperature distribution within the reaction system was achieved by adding reactant mixture continuously and enhancing the heat transfer ability of the polymerization system. Homogeneous porous structure in the monolith was proved by SEM and the pore size distribution profiles measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry. Experimental results from proteins separation indicated that the dynamic capacity and resolution of radial flow monolithic column were independent of flow rates. Furthermore, the pressure drop on the column was linearly dependent on the flow rate and did not exceed 1.7 MPa even at a flow rate of 50 mL/min, which proved that the prepared monolith could be used in the quick separation and preparation of biopolymers.     

Impact of column and stationary phase properties on the productivity in chiral preparative LC

By generating 1500 random chiral separation systems, assuming two‐site Langmuir interactions, we investigated numerically how the maximal productivity (P_R,max) was affected by changes in stationary phase adsorption properties. The relative change in P_R,max, when one adsorption property changed 10%, was determined for each system and for each studied parameter the corresponding productivity change distribution of the systems was analyzed. We could conclude that there is no reason to have columns with more than 500 theoretical plates and larger selectivity than 3. More specifically, we found that changes in selectivity have a major impact on P_R,max if it is below ∼2 and, interestingly, increasing selectivity when it is above ∼3 decreases P_R,max. Increase in relative saturation capacity will have a major impact on P_R,max if it is below ∼40%, but only modest above this percent. Increasing total monolayer saturation capacity, or decreasing the first eluting enantiomer's retention factor, will have a modest effect on P_R,max and increased efficiency will have almost no effect at all on P_R,max unless it is below ∼500 theoretical plates. Finally, we showed that chiral columns with superior analytic performance might have inferior preparative performance, or vice versa. It is, therefore, not possible to assess columns based on their analytical performance alone.     

The effect of make-up flow on detector time variance in micro column liquid chromatography

Summary Time variance is better suited than volume variance to compare performances of columns of different diameters but of same length and working at the same linear velocity of the mobile phase. When a make-up flow is used at the detector inlet, only column and detector time variances remain additive. Make-up flow enables reduction of the detector contribution to the total variance. However, in some practical cases, the dispersion effects of the detector inlet tubing or electronic time constant can prevail over that of the flow cell. Owing to their different flow dependence, the decrease in detector variance due to make-up is often much lower than expected. Theoretical equations and curves are given for a rapid evaluation of make-up flow.     

Impact of methanol and acetonitrile on separations based on pi-pi interactions with a reversed-phase phenyl column

Studies were performed to investigate the roles of methanol and acetonitrile on the retention mechanism of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and related compounds with a reversed phase phenyl column. Different retention orders were observed depending upon whether acetonitrile or methanol was used as the organic modifier. We propose that acetonitrile impedes the selective pi-pi interactions between the analyte molecules and the phenyl groups in the stationary phase. Further study with 1-naphthoic acid and 1-naphthol as test compounds in the HPLC separation provides additional support for the influence of acetonitrile on pi-pi interactions between analyte molecules and a phenyl stationary phase. This study suggests that methanol be used as the preferred organic modifier with phenyl columns to achieve selectivity based upon pi-pi interactions.     

Determination of methyl carbamate residues using on-line coupling of HPLC with a post column fluorimetric labeling technique

Summary An HPLC method for post-column derivatisation and on-line coupled fluorescence detection of N-methyl-carbamates is presented. Some improvements of the original procedure described in the literature [1–7] are reported. 26 different sample materials and the same number of compounds were analysed by this method. High selectivity, high sensitivity, the determination of unchanged compounds and metabolites in one run, and a considerable saving of analysis time are the main features of the method.     

The influence of wettability on the equilibrium wall flow of liquid in a packed column

It is well known that when a packed column is irrigated by a liquid and is operated in the trickle flow regime, part of the liquid flows preferentially along the column wall. The liquid distribution reaches equilibrium if the column is tall enough. In the present study the equilibrium wall flow in a column packed with rasching rings was studied experimentally. The effects of the wettability of the wall and the packing, and the total liquid flow rate on the equilibrium wall flow were investigated. It was found that the equilibrium wall flow depends strongly on the wettability of the wall, but is almost independent of the wettability of the packing. These results were used to gain some insight into the mechanism of the development of wall flow in packed columns.     

在线柱浓缩-超高效液相色谱法测定水体中的痕量甲萘威和呋喃丹

采用在线柱浓缩-超高效液相色谱联用技术测定水体中痕量甲萘威和呋喃丹。水样过滤后直接进样,采用固相萃取小柱富集待测物,梯度洗脱后,利用阀切换技术将待测物反冲至分析柱Acclaim RSLC C18(100 mm×2.1 mm, 2.2 μm)上进行色谱分离,以10 mmol/L醋酸铵缓冲溶液(pH 5.0,用醋酸调节)和乙腈分别为流动相A和B,梯度洗脱,泵流速为0.8 mL/min,检测波长为280 nm,二极管阵列检测器检测。甲萘威和呋喃丹在1.0～100 μg/L范围内线性良好(相关系数r2 ＞ 0.9999),检出限(S/N=3)分别为0.5和0.25 μg/L,加标回收率为76.0%～120.0%。用所建立的方法测定了水中痕量的甲萘威与呋喃丹的含量,结果令人满意。     

在线中和富集及标准加入离子色谱法测定大气吸收液中的痕量阴离子

建立了大体积进样后的在线中和富集及在线标准加入离子色谱法,实现了对大气碱性吸收液中痕量氯离子、亚硝酸根、硝酸根、硫酸根的直接测定。比较了不同阀切换时间窗及在线中和柱的选择,确定了最佳的实验条件。利用戴安公司“谱睿”在线中和技术,通过Inguard H在线中和柱和CRD 200在线二氧化碳去除装置的共同作用,有效地去除了碱性吸收液中的OH~和CO2~3,使测定干扰降低到最小;通过大体积进样和在线富集,改进了样品的检出限,Cl~, NO~2, NO~3和SO2~4的检出限分别为17.5、171、34.7和42.4 ng/L;在线标准加入解决了痕量阴离子标准溶液的配制难题及NO~2低回收率对检测结果的影响。本方法实现了自动化分析,结果准确,重复性好,检测效率高,可用于常规离子色谱条件下无法测定的强碱性基体样品中痕量阴离子的准确测定。