Selenium speciation by coupling vesicle mediated HPLC with off-line ETAAS and on-line focused microwave digestion HG-AAS detection

A novel High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method for the separation of selenium species with specific detection by off-line Electrothermal Atomization Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (ETAAS) or on-line focused microwave digestion (MW) Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (HG-AAS) is described. Vesicular mobile phases of the cationic surfactant didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) have been evaluated for the liquid chromatographic separation of inorganic selenium (selenite and selenate) and different selenoaminoacids (selenocystine, selenomethionine and selenoethionine) on a C₁₈ reversed-phase column modified by DDAB molecules. The effects of different parameters (pH, buffer and vesicle concentrations) of the mobile phase on the retention times have been determined. The detection limit for selenium with the proposed off-line HPLC-ETAAS method has been found to be 5 g/L of Se. The detection limit using HPLC-on line focused microwave digestion-HG-AAS has been found to be 1 g/L of Se, with a precision (repeatability) better than ± 5%. The latter proved to be an exceptional on-line real-time chromatographic detector for selenium speciation purposes.     

Selenium speciation by HPLC with tandem mass spectrometric detection

An HPLC/MS-MS method was developed for the analysis of selenium species. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) was chosen as a detector to provide structural and molecular information allowing the identification of species, which are not commercially available as standards. A new separation method for selenium species was developed, based on porous graphitic carbon (PGC) as the stationary phase. The applicability of the optimized HPLC/MS-MS system was demonstrated by the analysis of a mixture containing Se-methyl-selenocysteine, selenomethionine, selenocystine, selenoethionine and selenocystamine. All peaks were baseline-resolved and eluted within 16 min. Positive ionization led to higher intensities than negative ionization. Signal suppression tests showed that electrospray ionization (ESI) is a more effective ionization method than atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) for selenium species in a matrix containing pentafluoropropionic acid, heptafluorobutyric acid or ammonium formate. Comparative experiments with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (Quattro LC) and a time-of-flight instrument (Q-Tof-2) showed a 20 fold higher mass resolution of the latter mass spectrometer (m/Am= 5000) and significantly lower intensities for analyte signals as well as background noise compared to the triple quadrupole instrument. MS-MS spectra of the investigated selenium species including characteristic fragmentation patterns are presented.     

Selenium speciation by high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line detection by atomic absorption spectrometry

Several approaches to the determination of selenomethionine, selenocystine, selenite and selenate by high-performance liquid chromatography with online detection by atomic absorption spectrometry are described. The N?2,4-dinitrophenyl derivatives of selenomethionine, selenoethionine, selenocystine and phenylmercury(II) cystineselenoate were recovered from aqueous solution, separated on a Nucleosil 5-NO₂ reversed-phase HPLC column with a methanolic mobile phase containing acetic acid and triethylamine, and detected with a quartz thermochemical hydride-generating interface–atomic absorption spectrometry (AA) system. The restriction of having to perform chromatography with an organic mobile phase (to support the combusion process) was overcome with a new interface design capable of operation with either organic or aqueous HPLC mobile phases. Using aqueous acetic acid (0.015% v/v) containing 0.1% (w/v) ammonium acetate delivered at 0.5cm³ min^?1, selenate, selenite, selenomethionine, selenocystine and selenoethionine were separated virtually to baseline on a cyanopropyl-bonded phase HPLC column. Other selenium compounds which were investigated included methane seleninic and methane selenonic acids as well as the crude oxidation product mixtures resulting from the treatment of selenomethionine and selenocystine with hydrogen peroxide. A procedure for extracting selenate, selenite, selenomethionine, selenocystine and selenoethionine from spiked water or ground feed supplement into liquefied phenol resulted in acceptable recoveries for the latter four analytes but was unacceptably low for selenate.     

Preconcentration and speciation of chromium in drinking water samples by coupling of on-line sorption on activated carbon to ETAAS determination

An on-line flow injection (FI) preconcentration-electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) method is developed for trace determination of chromium in drinking water samples by sorption on a conical minicolumn packed with activated carbon (AC) at pH 5.0. The chromium was removed from the minicolumn with 1.0% (v/v) nitric acid. An enrichment factor (EF) of 35-fold for a sample volume of 10 ml was obtained. The detection limit (DL) value for the preconcentration method proposed was 3.0 ng l⁻¹. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 0.5 μg l⁻¹ Cr level was 4.0% relative standard deviation (R.S.D.), calculate with the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for chromium was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9992 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 50 μg l⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the determination of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in drinking water samples.     

Single vessel procedure for acid-vapour partial digestion in a focused microwave: Fe and Co determination in biological samples by ETAAS

A single vessel procedure using a focused microwave oven is proposed for biological sample preparation with nitric acid vapour under atmospheric pressure. A laboratory-made PTFE support vessel equipped with four cups that received the samples was adapted to fit on the microwave glass vessel. Biological samples (30 mg) were directly weighed into these PTFE cups followed by the addition of 150 microliters of water or H2O2. The mixture was exposed to acid vapour stemming from 15 ml of concentrated HNO3 placed in the bottom of the glass vessel. The acid vapour was formed at 115 degrees C and brought about the Co and Fe extraction in 10 and 60 min, respectively. The resulting suspension was diluted with 0.14 mol l-1 HNO3 to a final volume of 1.0 ml, shaken and centrifuged. The supernatant was analysed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) by placing the cups directly in the autosampler of the spectrometer. This system minimised contamination, and reagent and time consumption and was suitable for Co and Fe determination in biological materials. The accuracy of the proposed method was assessed by using certified reference materials and by comparison with the closed vessel microwave as a comparative technique. Cobalt and Fe recovery was around 82-99%. As an additional advantage, up to 6 samples can be simultaneously prepared in each vessel, thereby improving the sample throughput from 6 to 24, when a 6-cavity focused microwave is used.     

Determination of arsenic in seafood by focused microwave digestion and hydride generation-atomic fluorescence detection

A new method was developed for total arsenic determination in seafood products such as oysters, mussels, tuna fish, and algae. Matrix decomposition and oxidation to arsenate of all the arsenic compounds in the product were completed in 25 min by using a 3-step program of focused microwaves (40-120 W) with nitric and sulfuric acids. Quantitation was performed by hydride generation-atomic fluorescence detection (HG-AFS). Results of method optimization are presented and discussed. A detection limit <125 microg/kg arsenic was obtained; the quantitation limit was close to 400 microg/kg, with repeatability and reproducibility <5% relative standard deviation. Validation was performed by analyzing 4Reference Materials (arsenic concentration expressed as mg/kg): The National Institute of Standards and Technology SRM 1566a Oyster tissue (14.0 +/- 1.2); the Bureau Community of Reference (now Standard Measurements & Testing Program) CRM 278 Mussel tissue (5.9 +/- 0.2) and CRM 627 Tuna fish (4.8 +/- 0.3); and the International Atomic Energy Agency RM 140 Fucus sample (44.3 +/- 2.1).     

Mercury speciation by HPLC-cold-vapour radiofrequency glow-discharge optical-emission spectrometry with on-line microwave oxidation

Hollow-cathode (HC) radiofrequency glow-discharge (rf-GD) optical-emission spectrometry (OES) has been used as detector for the determination of inorganic mercury by cold-vapour (CV) generation in a flow-injection (FI) system. Both NaBH4 and SnCl2 were evaluated as reducing reagents for production of mercury CV. The conditions governing the discharge (pressure, He flow rate, and delivered power) and Hg CV generation (NaBH4 or SnCl2 concentration and reagent flow rate) were optimized using both reducing agents. The analytical performance characteristics of FI-CV-rf-GD-OES for mercury detection were evaluated at the 253.6 nm emission mercury line. Detection limits (DL) of 0.2 ng mL(-1) using SnCl2 and 1.8 ng mL(-1) using NaBH4 were obtained (100 microliter sample injections were used). When the optimized experimental conditions using SnCl2 had been determined, the analytical potential of this CV-rf-GD-OES method was investigated as on-line detector for high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) speciation of mercury (Hg(II) and methylmercury). The HPLC-CV-rf-GD-OES detection limits for 100 microliter sample injections were found to be 1.2 and 1.8 ng mL(-1) (as mercury) of inorganic mercury and methylmercury, respectively. The reproducibility observed was below +/- 8% for both species. Finally, the HPLC-CV-rf-GD-OES system developed was successfully applied to the determination of methylmercury (speciation) in two certified reference materials, Dorm-2 and Dolt-2.     

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.     

Posttranslational modifications of collagen studied by off-line coupling of HPLC and CE

A typical example of non-enzymatic change of collagen is glycation (the Maillard reaction, formation of advanced glycation end products) resulting from the reaction of sugars with the epsilon-amino group of lysine. Posttranslational non-enzymatic modifications of collagen by sugars were studied. Collagenous tissues were incubated as a test protein separately with both glucose and ribose. The collagen mixture was digested by bacterial collagenase and separated by reversed-phase HPLC (in a Jupiter Proteo 90 A column). The eluate from this HPLC separation was collected as seven fractions and consecutively analysed by CE in a bare fused silica capillary (57/50 cm x 75 mm id) using 100 mM sodium 1-heptanesulfonate in 100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 2.5 (NaH2PO4 adjusted to pH by phosphoric acid). The chromatographic and electromigration behaviour of individual peptides varied considerably. This off-line HPLC-CE coupling made it possible to discover minor changes in the structure of collagen caused by posttranslational modifications. A new HPLC-CE technique for peptide analysis was developed, and applied to the identification of posttranslational modifications in slowly metabolised test proteins.     

Mechanised flow system for on-line microwave digestion of food samples with off-line catalytic spectrophotometric determination of cobalt at ng l-1 levels

A mechanised system for on-line slurry food sample digestion was developed and an off-line cobalt determination was performed. The stabilised slurry sample was introduced into an air carrier stream until reaching the digestion coils located inside a household microwave oven. Software written in Visual Basic 3.0 was developed to permit the transport of the slurry samples and the programming of the microwave oven and also the control of the mineralization valve. The proposed system was optimized for determination of cobalt in certified samples such as mussels, bovine liver and fish and also uncertified fish samples. The digestion parameters were established as 3 mol l-1 HNO3 for mussels, 3 mol l-1 HNO3 plus 0.16% v/v H2O2 for bovine liver and 12 mol l-1 HNO3 for fish employing maximum power for 5 min of microwave actuation. In the subsequent spectrophotometric method for the catalytic determination of cobalt, the Tiron and hydrogen peroxide concentrations were 1.8 x 10(-3) and 3.0 x 10(-4) mol l-1, respectively, and the sample residence time was 300 s as determined by an optimisation process. The proposed method features a linear range from 10 to 200 ng l-1 Co (r > 0.996) with detection and quantification limits of 1.7 and 5.5 ng l-1 Co, respectively. The precision, expressed as RSD, was 2.4% (n = 12) for repeatability and 5.2% (n = 10) for reproducibility and the accuracy of the proposed method was assessed by using certified samples and an alternative technique (ETAAS).     

Determination of total phosphorus in waters with amperometric detection by coupling of flow-injection analysis with continuous microwave oven digestion

For the determination of total phosphorus in waters by flow-injection analysis, a continuous microwave oven decomposition with subsequent amperometric detection of orthophosphate is proposed. The percentage digestion was examined for two different decomposition reagents and by varying the pH of the carrier and the length and diameter of the digestion coil. With potassium peroxodisulphate decomposition the recoveries of phosphorus vary from 91 to 100% for organic phosphorus compounds, and with perchloric acid decomposition the recoveries vary from 60 to 70% for inorganic polyphosphates. Calibration graphs are linear for up to 30 mg P l^?1, the determination limit is 0.1 mg P l^?1 and the precision of the method is 3% (relative standard deviation) (n = 5) at 5 mg P l^?1. The sampling rate is 20 h^?1. Good recoveries of phosphorus after addition to domestic waste water sample are obtained.     

Selenium speciation in dill (Anethum graveolens L.) by ion pairing reversed phase and cation exchange HPLC with ICP-MS detection

In the present work, speciation of selenium in dill (Anethum graveolens L.), supplemented with sodium selenite during its growth, was performed using ion pairing reversed phase and cation exchange chromatography. Heptafluorobutyric acid (HFBA) was used as the ion-pairing agent in reversed phase chromatography. In cation exchange chromatography, two different gradient programs were employed for the identification of selenospecies using pyridinium formate as the mobile phase. Low molecular weight selenocompounds were extracted from root, stem and dill leaf with 0.1 M HCl. Enzymatic digestion was used for the extraction of selenospecies related to high molecular weight compounds. The chromatograms obtained from different parts of the plant revealed major differences in the type of selenospecies as well as their concentrations. The major selenospecies found in different parts of the plant is Se-methyl-selenocysteine (MeSeCys). Another major Se species identified is Se-methyl-selenomethionine (MeSeMet), which has the highest relative concentration in the root indicating possible Se volatilization from that part of the plant. Selenomethionine (SeMet) is present in minor quantities in all parts of the plant.     

Mercury speciation by coupling cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry with flow injection on-line preconcentration and liquid chromatographic separation

A fully automated system for the direct determination of methylmercury (MeHg), ethylmercury (EtHg), phenylmercury (PhHg), and inorganic mercury (Hg(II)) at the ng/L level is described. It is based on solid phase extraction preconcentration incorporated in a flow injection (FI) system, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation, reduction combined with thermolysis and determination by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS). For preconcentration a microcolumn of bonded silica with octadecyl functional groups (C18 reversed phase material) was used as a sorbent for the mercury complexes formed on-line with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate. Retained mercury species are eluted with a methanol-acetonitrile-water mixture and subjected to separation on an octadecylsilane (ODS) column before determination by CVAAS. The sensitivity of organo-mercury determination could be improved by using NaBH₄ as a reductant combined with a thermolysis step. In order to perform on-line measurements the preconcentration microcolumn was mounted in a pressure-tight casing. Limits of detection for MeHg, EtHg, PhHg and Hg(II) employing a sample volume of 58.5 mL were 9, 6, 10 and 5 ng/L, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) calculated from 9 repeated measurements was found to be 3.6%, 5.5%, 10.4% and 7.6% for MeHg, EtHg, PhHg and Hg(II), respectively. Finally, the application of this method for speciation of mercury in fish and human urine is described.     

Mercury speciation by coupling cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry with flow injection on-line preconcentration and liquid chromatographic separation

A fully automated system for the direct determination of methylmercury (MeHg), ethylmercury (EtHg), phenylmercury (PhHg), and inorganic mercury (Hg(II)) at the ng/L level is described. It is based on solid phase extraction preconcentration incorporated in a flow injection (FI) system, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation, reduction combined with thermolysis and determination by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS). For preconcentration a microcolumn of bonded silica with octadecyl functional groups (C18 reversed phase material) was used as a sorbent for the mercury complexes formed on-line with ammonium pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate. Retained mercury species are eluted with a methanol-acetonitrile-water mixture and subjected to separation on an octadecylsilane (ODS) column before determination by CVAAS. The sensitivity of organo-mercury determination could be improved by using NaBH₄ as a reductant combined with a thermolysis step. In order to perform on-line measurements the preconcentration microcolumn was mounted in a pressure-tight casing. Limits of detection for MeHg, EtHg, PhHg and Hg(II) employing a sample volume of 58.5 mL were 9, 6, 10 and 5 ng/L, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) calculated from 9 repeated measurements was found to be 3.6%, 5.5%, 10.4% and 7.6% for MeHg, EtHg, PhHg and Hg(II), respectively. Finally, the application of this method for speciation of mercury in fish and human urine is described. Received: 10 March 1997 / Revised: 29 January 1998 / Accepted: 5 February 1998     

Effective on-line coupling of HPLC and flame-AAS by means of hydraulic high pressure nebulization

Summary Hydraulic high pressure nebulization is used as an effective way of on-line coupling of HPLC to flame-AAS for speciation of metal compounds in the ng range. Compared to coupling with a conventional nebulizer a signal enhancement by a factor of 7.5 (peak height) and 10.1 (peak area) for copper is obtained. Using an injected volume of 50 μL the detection limits for Cu, Fe, Ni and Cd are below 0.1 μg/mL (=5ng) and for Mg below 0.01 μg/mL (=0.5ng). The effects of HPLC flow-rate and nebulization nozzle diameter on the signal peak height have been investigated. The performance of the system is demonstrated using speciation of iron. A base-line separation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) is achieved within two minutes. Also species changes (Fe acetate to Fe citrate) can be analysed using the proposed system.     

Selenium determination using ethylation and on-line trapping/detection by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line system for the continuous ethylation of selenium (IV) in combination with trapping and detection of the produced diethylselenide in the coated AAS graphite furnace was developed. Due to the slow kinetics of the ethylation the volume of the reaction coil and the reaction time had to be increased to 5.5 mL and 80 s, respectively. The sensitivity of the method was comparable with that of the hydride generation in the same system and the relative standard deviation was 6–10%. The determination of Se(IV) in real samples after the most widely used digestion with nitric acid could not be accomplished, because of the drastic signal depression caused by this acid.     

Selenium determination using ethylation and on-line trapping/detection by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line system for the continuous ethylation of selenium (IV) in combination with trapping and detection of the produced diethylselenide in the coated AAS graphite furnace was developed. Due to the slow kinetics of the ethylation the volume of the reaction coil and the reaction time had to be increased to 5.5 mL and 80 s, respectively. The sensitivity of the method was comparable with that of the hydride generation in the same system and the relative standard deviation was 6–10%. The determination of Se(IV) in real samples after the most widely used digestion with nitric acid could not be accomplished, because of the drastic signal depression caused by this acid. Received: 10 June 1997 / Revised: 27 October 1997 / Accepted: 1 November 1997     

Size-exclusion chromatography with on-line ultraviolet, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometric detection and on-line collection for off-line Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

The coupling of HPLC with UV detection and on-line NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry combined with a dedicated interface for the collection of the chromatographic eluent for subsequent Fourier transform (FT) IR has been investigated using a number of polymer additives as model compounds. Size-exclusion chromatography was performed using deuterated chloroform as eluent with the separation monitored on-line by UV detection at 254 nm and on-flow 1H-NMR and MS. The effluent from the NMR probe was directed to a dedicated HPLC interface where it was deposited on a germanium plate for subsequent FT-IR. NMR and MS spectra were successfully obtained for 2,6-di-tert.-butyl-4-methylphenol, octadecyl-3-(3,5-di-tert.-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (Irganox 1076) and diisooctyl phthalate on-line and FT-IR spectra for all three compounds were obtained off-line. Practical problems encountered with this multiple hyphenation are described.