Optimization of dynamic pH junction for the sensitive determination of amino acids in urine by capillary electrophoresis

A capillary electrophoresis method with UV-absorbance detection was studied and optimized for the determination of underivatized amino acids in urine. To improve concentration sensitivity the utility of in-capillary analyte stacking via dynamic pH junction was investigated with phenylalanine (Phe) and tyrosine (Tyr) as model amino acids. Before sample injection, a plug of ammonium hydroxide solution was injected to enable analyte concentration. Samples were 1:1 (v/v) mixed with background electrolyte (1 M formic acid) prior to injection. The effect of the injected sample volume, and the injected ammonium hydroxide volume and concentration on analyte stacking and separation performance was investigated. The optimal volume of ammonium hydroxide depended on the injected sample volume. Using a dynamic pH junction good resolution (1.4) was obtained for a sample injection volume of 10% of the capillary (196 nl) with Phe and Tyr dissolved in water. Limits of detection (LODs) were 0.036 and 0.049 μM for Phe and Tyr, respectively. For urine samples, the optimized procedure comprised a 1.7-nl injection of 12.5% ammonium hydroxide, followed by a 196-nl injection of urine spiked with Phe and Tyr. Satisfactory resolution was obtained and amino acid peak widths at half height were only 1.6 s indicating efficient stacking. Calibration plots for Phe and Tyr in urine showed good linearity (R(2) > 0.96) in the concentration range 10-175 μM, and LODs for Phe and Tyr were 0.054 and 0.019 μM, respectively. RSDs for peak area and migration time for Phe and Tyr were below 7.5% and 0.75%, respectively.     

Bioanalysis of the neuropeptide des-enkephalin-gamma-endorphin by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line sample pretreatment using gel permeation and solid-phase isolation.

A bioanalytical method is described that allows the determination of a number of beta-endorphin-related peptides. The method is based on the application of fluorescence detection after high-performance liquid chromatography followed by post-column derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde. Concentrations exceeding 10-25 ng/ml could be determined by using conventional fluorescence detection, whereas lower concentrations demand the use of laser-induced fluorescence detection. The sample pretreatment includes the use of on-line gel permeation, on-line solid-phase isolation and heart cutting of a peak from reversed-phase gradient elution. The sample pretreatment procedure does not discriminate between the dodecapeptide des-enkaphalin-gamma-endorphin (DE gamma E) and its metabolites in order to obtain similar recoveries for all components. The final chromatographic phase system is based on ion-pair formation, which permits the separation of DE gamma E from its metabolites and degradation products. The optimized procedure allows the determination of these peptides in plasma at concentration levels down to about 1 ng/ml, demanding a sample volume of 1 ml.     

Laser-induced fluorescence as a powerful detection tool for capillary electrophoretic analysis of heparin/heparan sulfate disaccharides

In quest for high sensitivities necessary for determining the disaccharide composition of heparin/heparan sulfate present in trace amounts in biologic samples, an ultrahighly sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was developed. Heparin/heparan sulfate-derived Delta-disaccharides were derivatized with the fluorophore 2-aminoacridone and resolved by a reversed-polarity CE method. Estimation of the limit of detection in concentration term and limit of quantitation showed that LIF detection of AMAC-derivatives of Delta-disaccharides resulted in 27-744 times higher sensitivity as compared to those detected by UV at 255 nm. These data suggest that CE-LIF is a powerful tool to quantify minute amounts of heparin/heparan sulfate disaccharides.     

Post-column fluorescence derivatization of proteins and peptides in capillary electrophoresis with a sheath flow reactor and 488 nm argon ion laser excitation

We report the use of a sheath flow reactor for post-column fluorescence derivatization of proteins. The derivatization reaction employed naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA) and beta-mercaptoethanol, which were added in the sheath buffer. The labeled proteins were detected by laser-induced fluorescence with an argon-ion laser beam at 488 nm. The performance of this detection scheme was evaluated by separation of some protein standards. A column efficiency of 450,000 plates/m was obtained without stacking. The limits of detection for those standard proteins were determined to be from 8 to 32 nM. Excellent linear relationship was obtained with correlation coefficient of 0.9998 for alpha-lactalbumin concentration ranging from 3.91 x 10(-7) to 1.25 x 10(-5) M. Separation of protein standards at low pH was also demonstrated by reversing the electroosmotic flow (EOF) with addition of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to the running buffer. Different separation selectivity was achieved, but the sensitivity is poorer than that at high pH. This post-column derivatization detection system was applied successfully to analyze the protein extract from HT29 human colon cancer cells as well as tryptic peptides.     

Investigation of the mechanism of pH-mediated stacking of anions for the analysis of physiological samples by capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis has been widely used for the analysis of physiological samples such as plasma and microdialysate. However, sample destacking can occur during the analysis of these high-ionic strength samples, resulting in poor separation efficiency and reduced sensitivity. A technique termed pH-mediated stacking of anions (base stacking) has previously been developed to analyze microdialysate samples and achieve on-line preconcentration of analytes by following sample injection with an injection of sodium hydroxide. In this work, the mechanism of base stacking was investigated. Peak efficiency was shown to be a function of background electrolyte and sample ionic strength. Analytes representing several classes of compounds with a wide range of mobilities were used to study the effects of multiple parameters on sample stacking. The length of hydroxide injection required for stacking was shown to be dependent on analyte mobility and the type of amine background electrolyte used. Combinations of electrokinetic and hydrodynamic injections of sample and hydroxide were examined and it was concluded that although stacking could be achieved with several injection modes, electrokinetic injection of both sample and hydroxide was most effective for sample stacking. The mechanism of pH-mediated stacking for each of these modes is presented.     

Determination of Riboflavin in Cereal Grains by Capillary Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection with On-Line Concentration

A very simple, sensitive, and reliable method for the routine determination of riboflavin in cereal grains by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF) was established. Two on-line concentration techniques, namely, stacking in reverse migrating micelles (SRMM) and sweeping, were examined to enhance the detection signal. The optimum separation buffer consisted of 20 mM phosphoric acid and 140 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and a hydrodynamic injection of 30 s at 0.5 psi was confirmed for the introduction of a sample. In addition, it was found that salt in sample matrix influenced the performance of SRMM, showing the standard addition method was required for the quantitative analysis. The linearity of the method was good with a range of 0.5–500 ng/mL (r = 0.9990). The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.29 ng/mL at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. This procedure presented was successfully applied to determine riboflavin in 18 samples of 9 types of cereal grains. The recovery rates varied from 94% to 98%, and the relative standard deviation (RSDs) was less than 4.1%.     

Large-volume sample stacking with polarity switching for the analysis of bacteria by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

Capillary electrophoresis has been utilized for the rapid analysis of bacteria under specific experimental conditions. In this work, a method of large-volume sample stacking with polarity switching was evaluated for the analysis of bacteria by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection in order to enhance the detection sensitivity. The results indicated that the proposed method is not only effective for the focusing of bacterial cells, but also for the separation of mixtures of bacteria. With the optimized conditions, an enhancement factor of around 60-fold was obtained when long sample plug (up to 39.6% of capillary volume) was injected. Moreover, with the help of such stacking method, single, sharp, intense peak with high efficiency was observed without multiple peaks attributable to irregular clusters and aggregates of bacterial cells. This simple stacking approach appears to be promising as a rapid sterility test in various fields of applications.     

Analysis of flumequine and oxolinic acid in edible animal tissues by LC with fluorimetric detection

Summary A simple rapid method has been developed for the determination of flumequine and oxolinic acid in edible animal tissues. Analytes are extracted from the sample matrix using dichloromethane in neutral conditions, then back-extracted in 0.01 M sodium hydroxide and determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection. The method has been applied to pork, salmon and chicken muscle with recoveries higher than 77% in all matrices. The detection limits achieved (<1 μg kg⁻¹) allow the determination of these drugs at a residue level far below their MRL Moreover, some variables that may affect the spiking process have been studied.     

On-line high-performance liquid-chromatographic separation and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometric determination of methylmercury and inorganic mercury

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) detection is developed for mercury speciation. In this paper, the efficiency of tetrabutylammonium bromide reagent and sodium chloride in a methanol-water mixture as mobile phase is evaluated for HPLC separation of methylmercury and inorganic mercury coupled with on-line CV-AAS determination. Both mercury species are separated on a reversed-phase C(18) column. Several parameters (e.g. composition and flow-rate of mobile phase) are investigated for the optimization of HPLC separations. CV-AAS technique parameters are also studied for their effect on sensitivity (sodium borohydride and sodium hydroxide concentrations in the reducing agent, reducing agent flow-rate, length of the reduction coil and nitrogen flow-rate). Quantitative recoveries for both inorganic mercury and methylmercury are obtained from a spiked natural water sample.     

样品稀释对毛细管电泳分离检测DNA片段的影响

通过理论推导和实验验证表明;适当稀释DNA样品溶液,采用流体力学进样或电动进样都不会较大地减低峰高,而DNA片段毛细管电泳的分离效率和分离度还能有所提高。采用稀释样品的方法可提高DNA样品的使用效率。采用羟乙基纤维素无胶筛分介质分离了DNA片段。用激光诱导荧光（氩离子激光器,488nm）电荷耦合器件检测。用低浓度的筛分介质（0．4％）分离了分子质量较大的ADNA－HindⅢ全部8个片段（12bp～23130bP）。用高浓度的筛分介质（1．6％）分离分子质量较小的pBR322－HaeⅢ22个片段（18bp～587bp）。     

毛细管电泳中移动反应界面法富集和检测尿样中的氧化苦参碱

采用建立在移动反应界面理论上的体系进行尿样中氧化苦参碱的富集与定量检测。与传统的毛细管电泳相比,体系中引入了富集缓冲溶液(富集相)和分离缓冲溶液(分离相)。优化的条件如下:样品缓冲溶液为20 mmol/L 甲酸钠(用氨水调节pH至10.70),富集缓冲溶液为40 mmol/L 甲酸-甲酸钠(pH 2.60),分离缓冲溶液为100 mmol/L 甲酸-甲酸钠(pH 4.80);样品相压力进样1.4 kPa×3 min,富集相压力进样1.4 kPa×7 min,紫外检测波长210 nm,电压21 kV。氧化苦参碱在2.2~65 mg/L的质量浓度范围内呈良好的线性关系(r=0.9991),检出限为0.74 mg/L,灵敏度比常规毛细管电泳方法提高约70倍,重现性良好。该方法已经成功地应用于尿样中氧化苦参碱的检测。     

Determination of femtomole/milliliter concentrations of enprostil acid in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography-laser-induced fluorescence detection

This paper describes the use of multiple-column high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with laser-induced fluorescence for the determination of femtomole/milliliter concentrations of enprostil acid, a prostaglandin analogue, in human plasma. The drug is isolated from plasma by phenyl solid-phase extraction and fluorescently labeled at its carboxyl functional group with a large excess of 2-bromoacetyl-6-methoxynaphthalene. A multi-column method using both normal- and reversed-phase chromatography is necessary to separate the labeled drug from the unreacted reagent. Post-column dilution of the mobile phase with water after the reversed-phase chromatography allows on-line concentration of the labeled analyte onto a guard column prior to the microbore HPLC. A loop guard column device provides a simple way to inject up to 1.0 ml of sample solution onto a microbore column without significantly reducing the column efficiency. A 325-nm He-Cd laser is used to excite the labeled drug, and fluorescence emission is monitored at 450 nm. Using this system, we are able to derivatize, detect, and quantify 5 pg of the prostaglandin analogue in 1.0 ml of plasma.     

Recent advances in the determination of enantiomeric drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids by capillary electrophoresis-mediated microanalysis

This review summarizes the recent developments in the application of electromigration techniques for the enantioselective analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids. During the period covered by this review, it has been observed an increase in the use of negatively charged chiral selectors, particularly sulfobutyl ether-beta-cyclodextrin and sulfated-beta-cyclodextrin, and the combination of two different chiral selectors in the running buffer to obtain the resolution of drugs and their metabolites. Low detection limits as required for pharmacokinetic studies were obtained by using concentration techniques, including sample stacking procedures, and more sensitive detection systems, such as laser-induced fluorescence and mass spectrometry. Finally, the major points are discussed that can be considered to obtain reliable methods for enantioselective bioanalysis.     

Dynamic pH junction-sweeping for on-line focusing of dipeptides in capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

In this paper, we developed a simple and effective on-line focusing technique combining dynamic pH junction and sweeping by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection. Dynamic pH junction-sweeping is defined when the sample has a different buffer pH (dynamic pH junction condition) and is devoid of micelles (sweeping condition) relative to the background electrolyte (BGE). This hyphenated focusing mode was applied to the sensitive and selective focusing of four dipeptides: Tyr-Phe, Tyr-Leu, Trp-Gly, and Ala-Gln. Picomolar detectability of these dipeptides by CE-LIF detection was demonstrated through effective focusing of large sample volumes (up to 39% capillary length) using the dual pH junction-sweeping focusing mode. 25 mmol L(-1) sodium dihydrogen phosphate, pH 2.5 was used as the sample matrix, and 100 mmol L(-1) borate, 21 mmol L(-1) sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), 16 mmol L(-1) Brij35, pH 9.0 as the background solution (BGS). The concentration detection limits (S/N = 3) of the four dipeptides were in the range of 1.0-5.0 pmol L(-1). The developed method has been successfully used for the determination of dipeptides in human serum samples.     

Quantitative study on selective stacking of zwitterions in large-volume sample matrix by moving reaction boundary in capillary electrophoresis

The paper advanced the theoretical procedures for quantitative design on selective stacking of zwitterions in full capillary sample matrix by a cathodic-direction moving reaction boundary (MRB) in capillary electrophoresis (CE) under control of electroosmotic flow (EOF). With the procedures, we conducted the theoretical computations on the selective stacking of two test analytes of L-histidine (His) and L-tryptophan (Trp) by the MRB created with 30 mM pH 3.0 formic acid-NaOH buffer and 2-80 mM sodium formate. The results revealed the following three predictions. At first, the MRB cannot stack His and Trp plugs if less than 12.5 mM sodium formate is used to form the MRB and prepare the sample matrix. Second, the MRB can stack His and/or Trp sample plugs completely if higher than 50 mM sodium formate is chosen to form the MRB. Third, the MRB can only focus His plug completely, but stack Trp plug partially if 20-50 mM sodium formate is used; this implied the complete MRB-induced selective stacking to His rather than Trp. All the three predictions were quantitatively proved by the experiments. With great dilution of sample matrix and control of EOF, controllable, simultaneous and MRB-induced selective stacking and separation of zwitterions were achieved. The theoretical results hold evident significances to the quantitative design of selective stacking conditions and the increase of detection sensitivity of zwitterions in CE. In addition, the control of EOF by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) can evidently improve the stacking efficiency to both His and Trp.     

Extraction Properties of Modified Silica Gel for Metal Analysis by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence

Abstract

The separation of water‐soluble vitamins by capillary zone electrophoresis was developed, in which on‐line concentration methods, namely field‐enhanced sample stacking and dynamic pH junction, were utilized to improve the detection sensitivity. The effects of some critical parameters, including pH and concentration of background electrolyte, sample matrix pH and concentration, and injection volume were examined. The effects of field‐enhanced sample stacking and dynamic pH junction on the separation resolution and concentration efficiency were compared. The limits of detection of the vitamins were from 6 to 119 ng ml^?1 (2.7×10^?8 to 53.4×10^?8 M) based on the signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 and the relative standard deviations of migration time and peak area for each vitamin (1 µg ml^?1) were less than 3.5% using the field‐enhanced sample stacking as an on‐line concentration method. The developed method was applied to the analysis of water‐soluble vitamins in corns.     

On.column pre‐concentration of alcohol dehydrogenase in capillary electrophoresis

The analysis of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) at low concentration using capillary electrophoresis is described. Several simple and effective ways to improve detection limits and sensitivity are investigated. These include large volume sample stacking, head column field amplified sample stacking, and sweeping. Results indicate that by using a combination of head‐column field amplified sample stacking and sweeping, fluorescently labelled alcohol dehydrogenase can be pre‐concentrated online by dissolving samples in water or other low conductivity matrices, and injecting into a high conductivity micellar buffer. The abrupt changes in conductivity cause narrowing of the analyte length and thus enhance the detection sensitivity. Combination of this approach with laser induced fluorescence detection yields a limit of detection of 5×10^–13 M. Both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this method are investigated.     

Simultaneous analysis of sulfur-containing excitatory amino acids using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with diode array and laser-induced fluorescence detection

The suitability of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) coupled with diode array or laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection to analyze the four sulfur-containing excitatory amino acids (SEAA), homocysteine sulfinic acid (HCSA), homocysteic acid (HCA), cysteine sulfinic acid (CSA), and cysteic acid (CA) was investigated. 5-Carboxy-fluorescein succinimidyl ester was chosen as fluorescent reagent to derivatize HCSA, HCA, CSA, and CA. During method development, the yield of reaction dependent on pH and incubation time as well as the stability of the products were analyzed. The maximum yield was obtained after 30 min using a 0.1 M borate buffer (pH 8.9) as derivatization buffer. Each labeled amino acid exhibited high stability at room temperature over a period of 5 days. Baseline separation of labeled HCSA, HCA, CSA, and CA was obtained using a buffer consisting of 0.1 M borate, 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and 5% v/v methanol (pH 9.0). By applying LIF detection, limits of detection ranged from 0.9 x 10(-10) M for HCSA to 6.0 x 10(-10) M for CA, respectively. Slightly modified separation conditions enabled the analysis of SEAA in cerebrospinal fluid in the presence of the neurotransmitters glutamate and aspartate. In conclusion, MEKC coupled with LIF detection is a suitable technique for the simultaneous and sensitive analysis of SEAA. Further work will focus on the validation of the method with cerebrospinal fluid as sample matrix.     

CE of Small DNA Fragments Using Linear Polyacrylamide Matrices

Mutations at codons 248 and 249 of p53 gene showed a relatively high incidence in gastric cancer patients. Development of novel methods for the detection of codon mutations is of great importance for gastric cancer research. Studies have showed that the separation matrix can significantly influence the separation efficiency and resolution of small DNA fragments in CE. In order to achieve baseline separation of PCR-amplified products of small DNA fragments from gastric cancer tissue, linear polyacrylamides (LPA I and LPAII) were designed and synthesized in the current study. LPAI and LPAII were used as separation matrixes to separate small size fragments (less than 70 bp) of pBR322/BsuRI DNA Marker and the separation conditions were optimized. Optimum separations were performed at 25 kV in reversed-polarity mode with capillary temperature set at 15 °C. The signal of DNA fragments was detected using laser-induced fluorescence detector, with an argon ion laser as the excitation source that emits at 488 nm. A 520 nm bandpass filter was used as an emission cut-off filter. The resolution of small DNA fragments was higher when LPAI was used as separation matrix compared to LPAII, accompanied with longer migration time. The results indicated that LPAI as separation matrix was more efficient for the separation of small DNA fragments (less than 70 bp) than other LPAs. A rapid and sensitive analysis method for the separation and detection of small DNA fragments (less than 70 bp) was established in this study. The method was successfully applied to detect the mutations at codons 248 and 249 in p53 gene from gastric cancer tissues.     

Assay of bradykinin-related peptides in human body fluids using capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A CE with LIF detection was developed for separation and determination of bradykinin (BK)-related peptides, such as BK, kallidin (Kal), and neurokinin A (NKA). BK-related peptides were derivatized with FITC prior to CE-LIF analysis. Sodium borate 10 mmol/L at pH 9.5 was selected as derivatization media in order to get the high efficiency. Three peptides were baseline-separated within 10 min by using 110 mmol/L sodium borate-sodium hydroxide solution at pH 10.0 as the running buffer. Concentration detection limits (S/N = 3) for BK, Kal, and NKA were 0.08, 0.5, and 0.2 nmol/L, respectively. Meanwhile we have also developed a simple, quick, and sensitive large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) technique for CE-LIF detection of BK, Kal, and NKA. By using this stacking technique, the detection limits (S/N = 3) for BK, Kal, and NKA were 0.02, 0.05, and 0.04 nmol/L, respectively. This method has been applied to the assay of human saliva and cerebrospinal fluid with satisfactory results.