Simultaneous determination of 17 bisphenols in polycarbonate by ultra‐high performance supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A novel method was developed for the first time for the determination of 17 bisphenols by ultra‐high performance supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Under the optimal conditions, 17 bisphenols were separated successfully on a high density diol column in 9 min using methanol and carbon dioxide as mobile phase. 0.02% ammonium hydroxide/methanol v/v was used as the post‐column compensation solvent to improve response of mass spectrometry. Linear relations of matrix‐matched calibration curve were favorable over the selected concentration range of 1–100 μg/kg with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9981. The method limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.1–0.5 μg/kg and 0.5–2.5 μg/kg, respectively. The average recoveries at three spiked levels in polycarbonate were in the range of 81.8–114.5%. Intra‐day and inter‐day precisions for six replicates were below 15.0%. This method was successfully applied to determine bisphenols in polycarbonate.     

Construction of on-line supercritical fluid extraction with reverse phase liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of capsaicin

A column-switching system, composed of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and reverse phase liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (RPLC/MS) was constructed for on-line extraction and reverse-phase separation of capsaicinoids in capsicum fruits.     

Exploration and optimization of conditions for quantitative analysis of lignans in Schisandra chinensis by an online supercritical fluid extraction with supercritical fluid chromatography system

An online supercritical fluid extraction with supercritical fluid chromatography system could provide sequential extraction and quantitative analysis of lignans in Schisandra chinensis. Supercritical fluid extraction conditions were optimized at 15 MPa, 50°C, and 4 min with supercritical CO₂ adding 1% methanol; the elution volume and flow rate were set at 6 mL and 2 mL/min to blow extract out of the tank completely. The split‐flow rate was confirmed at 2.5%, which determines injection volume and accuracy of quantitative detection. The factors having negative influences on supercritical fluid chromatography retention in the online system, including sample loading forms and backpressure settings, are discussed in the paper. At last, an extraction‐quantitative method for lignans in Schisandra chinensis was developed, which could be finished within 19.5 min. The total content percentage of four lignans (Schisandrin, Schisandrin A, Schisandrin B and Schisandrol B) in four batches was respectively measured to be 1.42, 1.54, 1.62, and 1.90%.     

Highly sensitive and accurate profiling of carotenoids by supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

We attempted to establish a high‐speed and high‐resolution profiling method for a carotenoid mixture as a highly selective and highly sensitive detection method; the analysis was carried out by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). When an octadecyl‐bonded silica (ODS) particle‐packed column was used for separation, seven carotenoids including structural isomers were successfully separated within 15 min. This result indicated not only improved separation but also improved throughput compared to the separation and throughput in RP‐HPLC. The use of a monolithic ODS column resulted in additional improvement in both the resolution and the throughput; the analysis time was reduced to 4 min by increasing the flow rate. Furthermore, carotenoids in biological samples containing the complex matrices were separated effectively by using several monolithic columns whose back pressure was very low. The mass spectrometer allowed us to perform a more sensitive analysis than UV detection; the detection limit of each carotenoid was 50 pg or below. This is the first report of carotenoid analysis carried out by SFC‐MS. The profiling method developed in this study will be a powerful tool for carrying out accurate profiling of biological samples.     

Direct coupling of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with double-focusing high resolution mass spectrometry

An integral restrictor interface with jet separator for coupling capillary column supercritical fluid extraction – supercritical fluid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry (SFE-SFC-MS) has been built and used for the analysis of a fatty acid ester, and of polymer additives with a wide range of masses. The mobile phase used was supercritical carbon dioxide; a flame ionization detector (FID) was used in parallel with the mass spectrometer. Different SFC-MS interface operating conditions, e.g. temperature, restrictor position, flow rate, and sample transfer conditions were optimized to obtain good sensitivity and separation for these applications. In addition, the sensitivity of measurements performed with the direct insertion probe and by SFC-MS interface have been compared.     

Direct coupling of CO2 fluid extraction with capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary An interface described in the literature was modified to accommodate small sample quantities. The simple and inexpensive method can be used to obtain rapid qualitative sample information of complex matrices by extraction in sub- or supercritical conditions (SFE) with a concurrent separation by capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (CSFC). Compared to traditional solvent extraction methods the potential for analyte degradation and contamination is minimized resulting in reduced sample amount necessary for extraction and separation, and also in faster extractions. Complex matrices of a plastic material, a natural product and a soil spiked with a substituted hydrocarbon test mixture were analyzed to show the usefulness of the interface.     

Method development and validation for the determination of biogenic amines in soy sauce using supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with single quadrupole mass spectrometry

Biogenic amines have been reported in many foods such as fish, meat, and soy sauce. The consumption of foods containing high concentrations of biogenic amines has been associated with health hazards. In this study, a green and efficient method using supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with single quadrupole mass spectrometry was developed for determination of biogenic amines in soy sauce. The chromatographic and mass spectrometry conditions were systematically optimized in terms of selectivity and peak shape. Nine biogenic amines were well separated within 25 min on a Cosmosil 5HP column using 5% (v/v) water and 0.2% (v/v) ammonia solution in methanol as mobile phase additives at a backpressure of 120 bar and temperature of 40°C. The established method was fully validated regarding the linearity, sensitivity, precision, and accuracy. The limits of detection and limits of quantification ranged from 0.03 to 10.50 μg/mL and 0.10 to 23.1 μg/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviations for intra‐ and interday precisions were all lower than 9.36% and the recoveries ranged from 75.82 to 99.63% and 80.10 to 99.89% for two levels of standards spiked in soy sauce, respectively. Finally, the established method was successfully applied to the quantitative analysis of biogenic amines in soy sauce.     

Development and optimization of a supercritical fluid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the high‐throughput determination of nimodipine in beagle plasma

A simple, sensitive, and efficient supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was established for the determination of nimodipine in beagle plasma. One‐step protein precipitation with acetone was used to extract the analytes from the plasma. Nitrendipine was used as the internal standard. The chromatographic separation was achieved on an ACQUITY UPC²? BEH 2‐EP column, and a gradient elution program was applied at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. The detection was carried out on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer with an electrospray ionization source operating in positive ion mode. Quantification was performed using multiple reaction monitoring of the transitions of m/z 419.3→301.3 for nimodipine and m/z 361.4→315.2 for nitrendipine. A satisfactory linearity was obtained over the concentration range of 0.5–800 ng/mL (r > 0.996). The intra‐ and interday precision and accuracy results were <9.1% across the quality control levels. The peak concentration and area under concentration‐time curve (0–720 min) values of the test and reference formulations were 279.28 ± 211.46 and 265.13 ± 149.26 ng/mL, 25608.00 ± 17553.65 and 28553.67 ± 20207.92 ng·min/mL, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied to reveal the pharmacokinetic profiles of nimodipine in beagle dogs after oral administration. Moreover, the analytical method could be used for further bioequivalence studies.     

Determination of lipid mediators in breast cancer cells using lyophilization‒supercritical fluid extraction online coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography‒quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry

A lyophilization?supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography?quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry online method was developed for the determination of lipid mediators in breast cancer cells. Supercritical fluid extraction was applied to the cell samples for the first time due to the use of lyophilization. The conditions of supercritical fluid extraction and supercritical fluid chromatography?quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry were investigated systematically. Under the optimized conditions, all the calibration curves for the lipid mediators showed good linearity (correlation coefficient > 0.99). The limits of detection and the limits of quantification were in the range of 0.190?5.36 pg and 0.560?16.2 pg, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 70.3?125%. The relative standard deviations of the precision ranged from 1.49?18.7% and the accuracies were higher than 84%. Compared with liquid?liquid extraction coupled with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry method, the present approach reduced the manual labor and obtained higher sensitivity as well as higher extraction recoveries for all 15 lipid mediators. Finally, the online method was applied to the quantification of lipid mediators in breast cancer cells and normal mammary epithelial cells. On the basis of the results, this lyophilization?supercritical fluid extraction online coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography?quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method showed great promise in the analysis of lipid mediators in complex biological samples.     

Extraction and isolation of diphenylheptanes and flavonoids from Alpinia officinarum Hance using supercritical fluid extraction followed by supercritical fluid chromatography

In this paper, an off-line combination method of supercritical fluid extraction and supercritical fluid chromatography was developed for the selective extraction and isolation of diphenylheptanes and flavonoids from Alpinia officinarum Hance. The enrichment of target components was successfully achieved using supercritical fluid extraction with the following conditions (8% ethanol as co-solvent at 45°C and 30 MPa for 30 min). Taking full advantage of the complementarity of supercritical fluid chromatography stationary phases, a two-step preparative supercritical fluid chromatography strategy was constructed. The extract was firstly divided into seven fractions on a Diol column (250 × 20 mm internal diameter, 10 μm) within 8 min by gradient elution increasing from 5% to 20% modifier (methanol) at 55 ml/min and 15 MPa. Then the seven fractions were separated by using a 1-AA or a DEA column (250 × 19 mm internal diameter, 5 μm) at 50 ml/min and 13.5 MPa. This two-step strategy showed superior separation ability for structural analogs. As a result, seven compounds, including four diphenylheptanes and three flavonoids with high purity, were successfully obtained. The developed method is also helpful for the extraction and isolation of other structural analogs of traditional Chinese medicines.     

A highly sensitive method (supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with ion mobility mass spectrometry) for determination of multiple compounds in radix curcumae

A highly sensitive method was developed for simultaneously separating and identifying multiple compounds in radix curcumae. The determination of these compounds was achieved by combining supercritical fluid chromatography with drift tube ion mobility quadrupole time-of-flight MS. Related parameters were optimized: the RX-SIL column was used as the stationary phase, methanol was selected as the organic modifier, back pressure was 120 bar, back temperature was 60°C, the mobile phase flow rate was 1.75 mL/min, the makeup solvent was 0.2% formic acid/methanol with a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min. Under optimal conditions, multipolar compounds were separated. Furthermore, these compounds were identified by the values of collision sectional areas. The established method was verified by related parameters and exhibited good linearity, sensitivity, precision and accuracy. It could be extended to analyze other curcuminoids and sesquiterpenoids in natural products.     

Direct on-line coupling of small subcritical and supercritical fluid extractors with packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary A mini extractor of 85 L void volume and a micro extractor of 3–4 L void volume have been coupled directly with a packed column SFC and used under sub- and supercritical conditions. The mini extractor is suitable for holding adsorbates which can be on-line extracted and the extract chromatographed (direct SFE-SFC). The micro extractor can be used for direct sample introduction of liquid and solid materials under SF conditions. Thus any solvent interference with the sample and the chromatographic conditions is excluded. Standard samples of wood tar residue, engine oil, and metal organic compounds have been tested.     

固相萃取-超临界流体色谱-质谱联用同时快速测定中成药和保健食品中的12种抗过敏化学药物

建立了固相萃取-超临界流体色谱-质谱联用（SPE-SFC-MS/MS）快速检测中成药和保健食品中12种抗过敏化学药物的分析方法。样品经甲醇超声提取,Oasis MCX固相萃取柱净化。采用Waters Trefoil CEL1色谱柱（150 mm×3.0 mm,2.5 μ m）,以CO₂为流动相A,甲醇-氨水（100：0.1,v/v）为流动相B,进行梯度洗脱。流速为1.2 mL/min,柱温和背压分别为45℃和12.4×10⁶ Pa。12种抗过敏化学药物以电喷雾离子源在正离子或负离子模式下用多反应监测（MRM）方式进行监测,整个分析过程在10 min内完成。结果表明,12种化学药物在5~250 μ g/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数（r）均≥ 0.998,检出限（LOD）为0.141~0.262 μ g/L,定量限（LOQ）为0.703~1.308 μ g/L。3种加标水平（10、20和100 μ g/L）下,12种化学药物的平均回收率为76.1%~112.5%,相对标准偏差（RSD）为1.1%~8.3%。该法简便,灵敏性高,实用性强,可用于抗过敏类中成药和保健食品中非法添加抗过敏化学药物的检测。     

Determination of rabeprazole enantiomers in dog plasma by supercritical fluid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

Rabeprazole is a novel benzimidazole proton pump inhibitor used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. It is a chiral molecule that gives rise to the possibility of stereoselective pharmacokinetics. To investigate this phenomenon, a rapid and sensitive chiral assay based on supercritical fluid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was developed and applied to the determination of (R )‐rabeprazole and (S )‐rabeprazole in dog plasma. Sample preparation involved protein precipitation with acetonitrile after the addition of (R )‐lansoprazole as internal standard. Baseline separation of enantiomers in 4.5 min was achieved on an Acquity UPC² system using an ACQUITY UPC² Trefoil CEL2 column maintained at 60°C and a mobile phase consisting of methanol/CO₂ (30:70, v/v) delivered at 2.5 mL/min. Detection was achieved by multiple reaction monitoring of the transitions at m/z 360.0→242.2 (rabeprazole) and 370.3→252.0 (internal standard) in the positive ion mode. The assay was linear in the range of 1–1000 ng/mL and free of matrix effects. Intra‐ and interday precisions were less than 10.0% with accuracy in the range of –2.6 to 3.1%. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of rabeprazole enantiomers after administration of a single oral dose of 10 mg racemate to beagle dogs.     

A sensitive,high‐throughput,and ecofriendly method for the determination of lumefantrine,artemether, and its active metabolite dihydroartemisinin by supercritical fluid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

A quick and sensitive supercritical fluid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous determination of lumefantrine, artemether, and its active metabolite dihydroartemisinin in rat plasma was developed and validated. The chromatographic separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPC²™ BEH 2‐EP column within 2.5 min by gradient elution using compressed CO₂ and methanol containing 2 mM ammonium acetate as the mobile phases. Detection was achieved by multiple reaction monitoring using electrospray ionization in the positive ionization mode. For sample preparation, 50 μL of the sample was processed by modified high‐throughput, one‐step protein precipitation using hydrogen peroxide as a stabilizer to protect the endoperoxide‐containing artemisinin derivatives from degradation. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 2.0–1000 ng/mL for both artemether and dihydroartemisinin, and 1.0–5000 ng/mL for lumefantrine. The values of selectivity, lower limit of quantification, linearity, accuracy, precision, matrix effects, stability, and recovery met the acceptable range according to the Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The developed method enables high resolution and speed as well as low cost, low solvent consumption, and short time and was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies through the intravenous administration of an artemether–lumefantrine lipid emulsion in rats.     

Development and optimization of ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography mass spectrometry method for high-throughput determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in human serum

The goal of this study was to develop an effective supercritical fluid chromatography method using single quadrupole MS for analysis of all isomeric forms of vitamin E. Finally, two fast and effective methods, the high resolution one and the high speed one, for the determination of 8 vitamin E isomers in human serum were developed.     

Direct coupling of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography to high resolution mass spectrometry with minimum modification

Summary The coupling of a capillary supercritical fluid chromatograph with a high resolution double focusing mass spectrometer has been accomplished without any modifications to the pumping or ion source systems. The interface utilizes a direct insertion probe (DIP), which was originally designed for the direct analysis of solid samples, together with a trit restrictor as a decompression device. The DIP is placed opposite to the SFC restrictor, and it provides sufficient heat to prevent cluster formation and cooling resulting from the expansion of the supercritical fluid into the vacuum environment. Excellent mass spectra of standard polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under chemical-ionization (CI) conditions using methane as the reagent gas, and under charge-exchange (CE) conditions using CO₂ as the charge exchange medium were obtained.     

Development of a polar lipid profiling method by supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry

We established a high-throughput and high-resolution analytical method based on supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) for the simultaneous profiling of diverse polar lipids in a mixture. Trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatization was used for the analysis of ten polar lipids: phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylinositol (PI), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE), lysophosphatidylglycerol (LPG), lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), sphingomyeline (SM), and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). Using the developed method, the peak tailings of PA, PI, LPA, LPI, and S1P improved, and the limit of detection of PG, PI, LPA, LPI, and S1P was enhanced by 12-, 40-, 510-, 39-, and 1490-fold, respectively. Next, in the analysis of sheep plasma, 20 minor species of PI, LPC, LPE, and SM, and 7 molecular species of LPA, LPI, and S1P were additionally analyzed. The relative ratio of the molecular species in each polar lipid was also found by quantification. Finally, the simultaneous and detail profiling of ten polar lipids was successfully performed by SFC/MS applying TMS derivatization. This developed method is particularly applicable to metabolomics, especially for targeting polar lipids.     

Determination of major aromatic constituents in vanilla using an on‐line supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography

An on‐line supercritical fluid extraction coupled with supercritical fluid chromatography method was developed for the determination of four major aromatic constituents in vanilla. The parameters of supercritical fluid extraction were systematically investigated using single factor optimization experiments and response surface methodology by a Box–Behnken design. The modifier ratio, split ratio, and the extraction temperature and pressure were the major parameters which have significant effects on the extraction. While the static extraction time, dynamic extraction time, and recycle time had little influence on the compounds with low polarity. Under the optimized conditions, the relative extraction efficiencies of all the constituents reached 89.0–95.1%. The limits of quantification were in the range of 1.123–4.747 μg. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.3368–1.424 μg. The recoveries of the four analytes were in the range of 76.1–88.9%. The relative standard deviations of intra‐ and interday precision ranged from 4.2 to 7.6%. Compared with other off‐line methods, the present method obtained higher extraction yields for all four aromatic constituents. Finally, this method has been applied to the analysis of vanilla from different sources. On the basis of the results, the on‐line supercritical fluid extraction‐supercritical fluid chromatography method shows great promise in the analysis of aromatic constituents in natural products.     

Determination of multi‐class antibiotic residues in compost by microwave‐enhanced accelerated solvent extraction and ultra performance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

This work reports the development and application of a multi‐class compound analysis method for the determination of 20 antibiotic residues in compost. Samples were processed by microwave‐enhanced accelerated solvent extraction at 120°C for 7.5 min. Salting‐out homogeneous liquid‐liquid extraction was used to remove water and water‐soluble impurities from the extract before ultra performance convergence chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis. By using the supercritical fluid (carbon dioxide) and organic solvent (methanol) as the mobile phase, the 20 antibiotics and the internal standard were well separated in 8.2 min without obvious matrix effect. Method validation was performed and good trueness (relative error in the range of ±5.0%) and precision (inter‐ and intraday relative standard deviations < 10.8%) were obtained. Method detection and quantitation limits were 0.8–1.9 and 2.7–7.1 ng/g, respectively. Recoveries were assessed at three concentration levels (10, 60, and 400 ng/g) and acceptable mean values (70.4–111.9%) were found. This method has also been used to analyze real samples, and the average concentrations of antibiotics (excepting the concentrations < method quantitation limits) were determined up to 123.6 ng/g. The results showed the method could be helpful for the analysis of multi‐class antibiotics in environmental samples.