High‐speed separation and detection of amino acids in laver using a short capillary electrophoresis system

A high‐speed separation method of capillary MEKC with LIF detection had been developed for separation and determination of amino acids in laver. The CE system comprised a manual slotted‐vial array (SVA) for sample introduction that could improve the separation efficiency by reducing injection volume. Using a capillary with 80 mm effective separation length, the separation conditions for amino acids were optimized. Applied with the separation electric field strength of 300 V/cm, the ten amino acids could be completely separated within 2.5 min with 10 mol/L Na₂HPO₄–NaOH buffer (pH = 11.5) including 30 mmol/L SDS. Theoretical plates for amino acids ranged from 72 000 to 40 000 (corresponding to 1.1–2.0 μm plate heights) and the detection limits were between 25 and 80 nmol/L. Finally, this method was applied to analyze the composition of amino acids in laver and eight known amino acids could be found in the sample. The contents of five amino acids, tyrosine, glutamic acid, glycine, lysine, and aspartic acid that could be completely separated in real sample were determined. The recoveries ranged from 82.3% to 123% that indicated the good reliability for this method in laver sample analysis.     

Application of a Square‐Wave Potential Program for Time‐Dependent Amperometric Detection in Capillary Electrophoresis

Use of a square‐wave potential program for time‐dependent amperometric detection of analyte zones in capillary electrophoresis (CE) is described. Electrochemical detection for CE requires that the separation field be isolated from that of the electrochemical detection. This is generally done by physically separating the CE separation field from that of the detection. By applying a time variant potential program to the detection electrode, the detector current has a time dependence that can be used to help isolate the electrochemical detection current from that of the separation. When using a 20 μm inner‐diameter capillary, we find that a square‐wave potential program decreases the RMS baseline current from 4.5×10^?10 A, found with a constant potential amperometric detection, to 1.1×10^?10 A when using a square‐wave potential program. With a 75 μm inner‐diameter capillary, the improvement is even more dramatic, from 2.3×10^?9 A with amperometric detection to 2.06×10^?10 A when using a 1 Hz square‐wave potential program. When not using the time‐dependent detection with the 75 μm capillary, the analyte zones were beneath the S/N for the system and not detected. With the square‐wave potential program and time‐dependent detection, however, the analyte zones for an electrokinetic injection of 200 μM solution of 2,3‐dihydroxybenzoic acid were observed with the 75 μm inner‐diameter capillary. The improvement in the ability to discriminate the analytical signal from the background found experimentally is consistent with modeling studies.     

Sequential injection sample introduction microfluidic-chip based capillary electrophoresis system

A sequential injection micro-sample introduction system was coupled to a microfluidic-chip based capillary electrophoresis system through a split–flow sampling interface integrated on the micro-chip. The microfluidic system measured 20×70×3 mm in dimension, and was produced using a non-lithographic approach with components readily available in the analytical laboratory. In the H-configuration channel design the horizontal separation channel was a 75 μm I.D.×60 mm quartz capillary, with two vertical side arms produced from plastic tubing. The conduits were embedded in silicon elastomer with a planar glass base. Sequential introduction of a series of samples with about 2.5% carryover was achieved at 48 h⁻¹ throughput with samples containing a mixture of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled amino acids using SI sample volumes of 3.3 μl and carrier flow-rate of 2.0 ml min⁻¹. Baseline separation was achieved for FITC-labeled arginine, phenylalanine, glycine and FITC (laser induced fluorescence detection) in sodium tetraborate buffer (pH 9.2) within 8–80 s, at separation lengths of 25–35 mm and electrical field strengths of 250–1500 V cm⁻¹, with plate heights in the 0.7–3 μm range.     

Hydrophobicity‐aided potentiometric detection of catecholamines,beta‐agonists,and beta‐blockers in a mixed‐solvent capillary electrophoresis system

A series of cationic drug‐like substances with distinct basicity, hydrogen‐bonding ability, and hydrophobicity, including three catecholamines, two beta‐agonists, and thirteen beta‐blockers, was successfully detected in a capillary electrophoresis system using an end‐capillary coupled potentiometric sensor consisting of a PVC‐based liquid membrane deposited directly on a 100 μm diameter copper rod. The electrophoretic separation was performed on a 72 cm×75 μm id uncoated fused‐silica capillary with an acidic background electrolyte containing phosphoric acid in a water–acetonitrile mixture, pH* 2.8. Samples were injected electrokinetically at 5.0 kV for 10 s and a running voltage of 19.5 kV was applied. Excluding the bufuralol/practolol pair, baseline separation of all substances was achieved in the developed CE system within 9 minutes. A linear relationship (R² 0.8752) between the sensitivity of the applied potentiometric detector and the parameter log P characterising the hydrophobicity of the analytes was demonstrated. The best observable limits of detection (LODs) were obtained for the highly hydrophobic substances, i. e. bufuralol (8.10×10^–8 M injected concentration, S/N = 3), propranolol, alprenolol, and clenbuterol (ca. 1.10×10^–7 M). In the case of hydrophilic catecholamines and carbuterol their LODs with potentiometric detection were lowered by a factor of almost one thousand, reaching a value of 6.6×10^–5 M.     

电泳芯片的制作及其进样与分离

利用微细加工技术研究在玻璃上制作电泳芯片的方法,测试了微管道的伏安特性曲线。在该电泳芯片上进行了注样和分离实验,采用激光诱导荧光法进行检测,利用CCD拍摄了进样和分离的全过程。分析了电泳芯片上施加不同的电压对样品注样的影响,给出了FITC－OH和FITC－Arg分离谱图。     

Fluorescent detection of peptides and amino acids for capillary electrophoresis via on-line derivatization with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole

An in-capillary derivatization of amino acids and peptides with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F) was developed for their subsequent capillary electrophoretic analysis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (λ _ex=488 nm). The in-capillary derivatization was achieved in zone-passing mode by introducing successive plugs of sample and NBD-F into a fused silica capillary previously equilibrated with an alkaline borate buffer. To prevent NBD-F hydrolysis and to achieve a reliable derivatization, NBD-F was prepared daily in absolute ethanol and a plug of absolute ethanol was introduced between the sample and NBD-F reagent plugs. Various parameters influencing the derivatization efficiency were investigated and the optimum conditions were as follows: background electrolyte (BGE), 20 mM borate buffer (pH 8.8); introduction time, 4 s for sample and 2 s for NBD-F; molar ratio of NBD-F/sample, above 215; temperature, 45 °C for amino acids and 35 °C for peptides; applied voltage, +15 kV. The validation of the in-capillary derivatization method under optimal conditions showed a good linearity between the heights of the derivative peaks and the concentrations of the amino acids. The intra-day relative standard deviations of the migration times and the peak heights were less than 1.3% and 4.6%, respectively. The efficient derivatization and separation of a mixture of valine, alanine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid were achieved using this technique. Peptides such as buccaline and β-protein fragment 1–42 could also be derivatized using the developed in-capillary derivatization procedure. In‑capillary derivatization and separation of amino acids with different concentrations. From the top to bottom the concentrations are 1.11×10⁻⁵ M, 5.55×10⁻⁶ M, 2.78×10⁻⁶ M, 6.95×10⁻⁷ M. for valine; 1.26×10⁻⁵ M, 6.30×10⁻⁶ M, 3.15×10⁻⁶ M, 7.88×10⁻⁷ M for alanine; 3.78×10⁻⁵ M, 1.89×10⁻⁵ M, 9.45×10⁻⁶ M, 2.36×10⁻⁶ M for glutamic acid;, 4.27×10⁻⁵ M, 2.14×10⁻⁵ M, 1.07×10⁻⁵ M, 2.68×10⁻⁶ M for aspartic acid. Experiment conditions: injection order: 4s for sample, 1s for absolute ethanol, and then 2s for 5.24×10⁻² M NBD‑F; BGE: 20 mM borate pH 8.77; Applied voltage: 15 kV.     

Determination of Reserpine in Urine by Capillary Electrophoresis with Electrochemiluminescence Detection

A fast and sensitive approach to detect reserpine in urine using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ detection is described. Using a 25 μm i.d. capillary as separation column, the ECL detector was coupled to the capillary in the absence of an electric field decoupler. Field‐amplified injection was used to minimize the effect of ionic strength in the sample and to achieve high sensitivity. In this way, the sample was analyzed directly without any pretreatment. The method was validated for reserpine in the urine over the range of 1×10^?6?1×10^?4 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.996. The RSD for reserpine at a level of 5 μmol/L was 4.3%. The LOD (S/N=3) was estimated to be 7.0×10^?8 mol/L. The average recoveries for 10 μmol/L reserpine spiked in human urine were 94%.     

Quantification of 5‐aminolevulinic acid by CE using dynamic pH junction technique

An online dynamic pH junction preconcentration method was developed for quantification of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA) by CE with the separation time less than 6 min. The optimal dynamic pH junction of ALA was carried out between pH 9.3 borate buffer (BGE, 40 mM) and pH 2.5 phosphate buffer (sample matrix, 40 mM) when 4.1 cm of sample plug was hydrodynamically injected into an uncoated fused‐silica capillary (48.5 cm in length, id of 50 μm). If a 24 kV separation voltage was applied, the calibration curve of ALA peak area (200 nm) showed good linearity (R² = 0.9991) ranging from 0.01 to 6.5 mg/mL. The reproducibility of this system was excellent with RSDs (n = 10) of 2.5% for peak area response and 0.6% for migration time at ALA concentration of 0.5 mg/mL. The LOD was evaluated as 1.0 μg/mL (S/N > 3). Compared to conventional CE procedure, the sensitivity was successfully improved over 50‐fold. The analytical results of pharmaceutical formulations show a good agreement with those by HPLC (r = 0.94).     

Efficient capillary electrophoresis separation and determination of free amino acids in beer samples

Simultaneous detection of various o‐phthalaldehyde (OPA)‐labeled amino acids (AAs) in food samples was reported based on CE separation. Ionic liquid was used for the first time for CE analysis of AAs with in‐capillary derivatization. Several other additives, including SDS, α/β‐CD, and ACN, as well as key parameters for CE separation (buffer pH value, separation voltage), were also investigated. Our results show that the multiple additive strategy exhibits good stable and repeatable character for CE analysis of OPA‐labeled AAs, for either in‐capillary derivatization or CE separation, and allows simultaneous quantification of different OPA‐labeled AAs in a large concentration range of 50 μM to 3.0 mM with LOD down to 10 μM. Seventeen OPA‐labeled AAs, except for two pairs of AAs (His/Gln and Phe/Leu), which were separated with resolutions of 1.1 and 1.2, respectively, were baseline separated and identified within 23 min using the present multiple additive strategy. The method was successfully applied for simultaneous analysis of AAs in seven beer samples and as many as eleven trace‐amount AAs were detected and quantified, indicating the valuable potential application of the present method for food analysis.     

Rapid determination of parabens in seafood sauces by high‐performance liquid chromatography: A practical comparison of core–shell particles and sub‐2 μm fully porous particles

In this work, the chromatographic performance of superficially porous particles (Halo core–shell C₁₈ column, 50 mm × 2.1 mm, 2.7 μm) was compared with that of sub‐2 μm fully porous particles (Acquity BEH C₁₈, 50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 μm). Four parabens, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben, were used as representative compounds for calculating the plate heights in a wide flow rate range and analyzed on the basis of the Van Deemter and Knox equations. Theoretical Poppe plots were constructed for each column to compare their kinetic performance. Both phases gave similar minimum plate heights when using nonreduced coordinates. Meanwhile, the flat C‐term of the core–shell column provided the possibilities for applying high flow rates without significant loss in efficiency. The low backpressure of core–shell particles allowed this kind of column, especially compatible with conventional high‐performance liquid chromatography systems. Based on these factors, a simple high‐performance liquid chromatography method was established and validated for the determination of parabens in various seafood sauces using the Halo core–shell C₁₈ column for separation.     

Automated sampling system for the analysis of amino acids using microfluidic capillary electrophoresis

An improved automated continuous sample introduction system for microfluidic capillary electrophoresis (CE) is described. A sample plate was designed into gear-shaped and was fixed onto the shaft of a step motor. Twenty slotted reservoirs for containing samples and working electrolytes were fabricated on the “gear tooth” of the plate. A single 7.5-cm long Teflon AF-coated silica capillary serves as separation channel, sampling probe, as well as liquid-core waveguide (LCW) for light transmission. Platinum layer deposited on the capillary tip serves as the electrode. Automated continuous sample introduction was achieved by scanning the capillary tip through the slots of reservoirs. The sample was introduced into capillary and separated immediately in the capillary with only about 2-nL gross sample consumption. The laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) method with LCW technique was used for detecting fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled amino acids. With electric-field strength of 320 V/cm for injection and separation, and 1.0-s sample injection time, a mixture of FITC-labeled arginine and leucine was separated with a throughput of 60/h and a carryover of 2.7%.     

Simultaneous determination of homocysteine,methionine and cysteine in maternal plasma after delivery by HPLC‐fluorescence detection with DBD‐F as a label

An HPLC‐fluorescence (FL) method for determination of sulfur‐containing amino acids such as homocysteine (Hcy), methionine (Met) and cysteine (Cys) in human plasma was developed. The sulfur‐containing amino acids were labeled with 4‐(N,N‐dimethylaminosulfonyl)‐7‐fluoro‐2,1,3‐benzoxadiazole (DBD‐F). Calibration curves in the range of 1–100 µm (Hcy and Met) and 5–500 µm (Cys) indicated good linearities (r ≥ 0.998). The limits of detection at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 were 0.13 (Hcy), 0.02 (Met) and 0.11 µm (Cys), respectively. Acceptable results for accuracy and precision of intra‐ and inter‐day measurements were obtained. The results of Hcy and Cys obtained by the proposed method indicated good correlations with the conventional method (r > 0.911, n = 20). Furthermore, the method was applied to determination of the sulfur‐containing amino acids in maternal plasma (n = 200) after delivery. The concentrations of Hcy, Met and Cys as a median (inter quartile range, Q₁ and Q₃) were 5.37 (3.32–7.79) μm , 25.20 (20.10–31.06) μm and 147.25 (102.81–189.31) μm , respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fabrication of a monolithic sampling probe system for automated and continuous sample introduction in microchip-based CE

A fabrication process for producing monolithic sampling probes on glass chips, with tip diameters of a few hundred micrometers was developed, using simple tools including a glass cutter and a bench drill. Microfluidic chips with probes fabricated by this approach were coupled to a linearly moving slotted-vial array sample presentation system for performing continuous sample introduction in the chip-based CE system. On-chip horizontal tubular reservoirs containing working electrolyte and waste were used to maintain a stable hydrostatic pressure in the chip channels during prolonged working periods. The performance of the system was demonstrated in the separation of FITC-labeled amino acids with LIF detection, by continuously introducing a train of different samples without interruption. Throughputs of 30-60/h were achieved with <1.0% carry-over and reproducibilities in peak height of 3.6, 3.3, and 3.5% RSD for arginine, FITC, and phenylalanine, respectively (n = 11). Continuous analysis of a mixture of FITC-labeled amino acids for 2 h, involving 60 analytical cycles, yielded an RSD of 7.5 and 6.8% for arginine and FITC (n = 60), respectively. An extremely low sample consumption of 30 nL for each analysis was obtained. Separation efficiencies in plate numbers were in the range of 0.8-2x10(5)/m. In addition to the application in sample introduction, the sample/reagent introduction system was also used to produce working electrolyte gradients during a CE separation to improve the separation efficiency. Comparing with isocratic electrophoresis separation, gradient CE demonstrated better separation efficiencies for a mixture of FITC-labeled amino acids.     

Use of capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection for sensitive determination of homocysteine

A sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method with chemiluminescence (CL) detection was developed for the determination of homocysteine (HCys) in human plasma. In this work, N‐(4‐aminobutyl)‐N‐ethylisoluminol was used as tagging reagent to label the analyte for achieving high assay sensitivity. N‐(4‐Aminobutyl)‐N‐ethylisoluminol‐tagged HCys after CE separation reacted with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of horseradish peroxidase, producing CL emission. Experimental conditions for labeling analyte, CE separation, and CL detection were studied. The CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of HCys in the range of 2.5×10^?8 to 5.0×10^?6 M. Detection limit (S/N=3) was 7.6×10^?9 M. Human plasma samples from healthy donors were analyzed by the presented method. HCys levels were found to be in the range of 9.50–15.3 μM.     

Simultaneous determination of caffeine,paracetamol, and ibuprofen in pharmaceutical formulations by high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection and by capillary electrophoresis with conductivity detection

Paracetamol, caffeine and ibuprofen are found in over‐the‐counter pharmaceutical formulations. In this work, we propose two new methods for simultaneous determination of paracetamol, caffeine and ibuprofen in pharmaceutical formulations. One method is based on high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode‐array detection and the other on capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection. The separation by high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode‐array detection was achieved on a C₁₈ column (250×4.6 mm², 5 μm) with a gradient mobile phase comprising 20–100% acetonitrile in 40 mmol L^?1 phosphate buffer pH 7.0. The separation by capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection was achieved on a fused‐silica capillary (40 cm length, 50 μm i.d.) using 10 mmol L^?1 3,4‐dimethoxycinnamate and 10 mmol L^?1 β‐alanine with pH adjustment to 10.4 with lithium hydroxide as background electrolyte. The determination of all three pharmaceuticals was carried out in 9.6 min by liquid chromatography and in 2.2 min by capillary electrophoresis. Detection limits for caffeine, paracetamol and ibuprofen were 4.4, 0.7, and 3.4 μmol L^?1 by liquid chromatography and 39, 32, and 49 μmol L^?1 by capillary electrophoresis, respectively. Recovery values for spiked samples were between 92–107% for both proposed methods.     

Analysis of free amino acids in Amur sturgeon by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography using pre‐column derivatization with 6‐aminoquinolyl‐carbamyl

A rapid, sensitive, and reliable ultra‐performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with photodiode array detection method was developed for the amino acid analysis of Amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii Brandt). The method uses minimal sample volume and automated online precolumn derivitization of amino acids with fluorescent 6‐aminoquinolyl‐carbamyl reagent. The chromatographic separation was achieved by UPLC, which used a column with 1.7 μm particle packing that enabled higher speed of analysis, peak capacity, greater resolution, and increased sensitivity. Amino acid derivatives obtained under optimal conditions were separated on a Waters UPLC BEH C₁₈ column with Acetonitrile–acetate buffer as mobile phase. Matrix effects were investigated and good linearities with correlation coefficients better than 0.9949 were obtained over a wide range of 5–1000 μmol/L for all amino acids. The simple sample preparation and minimal sample volume make the method useful for the quantitation of 17 amino acids in Amur sturgeon samples. It is concluded that a rapid and robust platform based on UPLC was established, and a total of 17 amino acids of Amur sturgeon were tentatively detected. This method showed good accuracy and repeatability that can be used for the quantification of amino acids in real samples.     

Application of Hadamard transformation to MEKC

The Hadamard transform (HT) technique, which permits the S/N in CE to be improved, was applied to MEKC. Multiple sample injection of fluorescent analytes according to a Hadamard code sequence was performed using an optically gated sample injection technique, in which a sample plug was produced based on photodegradation by irradiation with an intense laser beam. The capillary and reservoirs were filled with a sample solution containing buffer components and SDS as a pseudostationary phase. A preliminary study confirmed that fluorescein ion could be photobleached in the presence of SDS. The optically gated sample injection technique was then applied to multiple sample injection, based on a Hadamard matrix. The S/N in the electropherogram obtained by HT-MEKC was improved substantially compared to that obtained by a single injection method. When the technique was applied to the separation of several amino acids labeled with FITC, the S/N ratio for each amino acid was enhanced, without any evidence of degradation in separation resolution. Moreover, HT-MEKC was applied to the analysis of amino acids contained in a Japanese beverage, resulting in improved S/Ns for the amino acids.     

An automated capillary electrophoresis system for high-speed separation of DNA fragments based on a short capillary

A high-speed DNA fragment separation system was developed based on a short capillary and a slotted-vial array automated sample introduction system. The injection process of DNA sample in a short capillary was investigated systematically with three injection techniques including constant-field-strength, low-field-strength and translational spontaneous injections. Under the optimized conditions, picoliter-scale sample plugs (corresponding to ca. 20-μm plug length) were obtained, which ensure the high-speed and high-efficiency separation for DNA fragments with a short effective separation length. Other separation conditions including the sieving matrix concentration, separation field strength and effective separation length were also optimized. The present system was applied in the separation of ΦX174-Hae III digest DNA marker. With an effective separation length of 2.5 cm, the separation could be achieved in <100 s with plate heights ranging from 0.21 to 0.74 μm (corresponding to plate numbers from 4.86 × 10(6) to 1.36 × 10(6)/m). The repeatabilities for the migration time of the eleven fragments were between 0.4 and 1.1% RSD (n=8). By using the automated continuous injection method, the separation for four different DNA samples could be achieved within 250 s. The present system was further applied in the fast sizing of real DNA samples of PCR products.     

Vortex‐ and CO2‐gas‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction with salt addition for the high‐performance liquid chromatographic determination of furanic compounds in concentrated juices and dried fruits

A novel microextraction method based on vortex‐ and CO₂‐assisted liquid–liquid microextraction with salt addition for the isolation of furanic compounds (5‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐furaldehyde, 5‐methyl‐2‐furaldehyde, 2‐furaldehyde, 3‐furaldehyde, 2‐furoic and 3‐furoic acids) was developed. Purging the sample with CO₂ was applied after vortexing to enhance the phase separation and mass transfer of the analytes. The optimum extraction conditions were: extraction solvent (volume), propyl acetate (125 μL); sample pH, 2.4; vortexing time, 45 s; salt concentration, 25% w/v and purging time, 5 min. The analytes were separated using an ODS Hypersil C₁₈ column (250×4.6 mm i.d, 5 μm) under gradient flow. The proposed method showed good linearities (r² >0.999), low detection limits (0.08–1.9 μg/L) and good recoveries (80.7–122%). The validated method was successfully applied for the determination of the furanic compounds in concentrated juice (mango, date, orange, pomegranate, roselle, mangosteen and soursop) and dried fruit (prune, date and apricot paste) samples.     

Separation of natural product using columns packed with Fused‐Core particles

Three HPLC columns packed with 3 μm, sub‐2 μm, and 2.7 μm Fused‐Core (superficially porous) particles were compared in separation performance using two natural product mixtures containing 15 structurally related components. The Ascentis Express^TM C18 column packed with Fused‐Core particles showed an 18% increase in column efficiency (theoretical plates), a 76% increase in plate number per meter, a 65% enhancement in separation speed and a 19% increase in back pressure compared to the Atlantis T3^TM C18 column packed with 3 μm particles. Column lot‐to‐lot variability for critical pairs in the natural product mixture was observed with both columns, with the Atlantis T3 column exhibiting a higher degree of variability. The Ascentis Express column was also compared with the Acquity^TM BEH column packed with sub‐2 μm particles. Although the peak efficiencies obtained by the Ascentis Express column were only about 74% of those obtained by the Acquity BEH column, the 50% lower back pressure and comparable separation speed allowed high‐efficiency and high‐speed separation to be performed using conventional HPLC instrumentation.