Retention and selectivity of basic drugs on solid-phase extraction sorbents: Application to direct determination of β-blockers in urine

Seven solid phase sorbent materials with reversed-phase, mixed-mode interactions (ion-exchange and reversed-phase), and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP), namely Oasis HLB, Oasis MAX, Oasis MCX, Bond Elute Plexa, Bond Elute Plexa PAX, Bond Elute Plexa PCX, and SupelMIP sorbents, were investigated. The present study was focused on the retention and elution of pharmaceutically active substances based on several analyte-sorbent interaction properties. Basic drugs, such as β-blockers (i.e., atenolol, pindolol, acebutolol, metoprolol, labetalol, and propranolol) were selected as the model compounds for this study. These compounds are frequently encountered in anti-doping tests. The extraction efficiencies of the individual sorbents were compared based on the recovery of known amounts of the targeted analytes in a metered elution volume (500 μL) in three separate elution fractions. The elution efficiency of the total amount of the target analytes on various sorbents was not appreciably influenced by the volume of eluent required for complete elution. Based on the small matrix effects and clear baseline, SupelMIP was the most suitable sorbent for urine analysis. The relative analyte recoveries of the SPE-HPLC procedure proved satisfactory for the range from 94 % to 105 %, with an RSD ranging from 2 % to 4 %. The regression equations for all of the targeted compounds exhibited excellent linearity (r ² ?>?0.9991) over the range of 10 to 1000 ng mL^–1. The limits of detection and quantification for the selected β-blocker compounds in urine were in the ranges of 0.6 to 2.0 ng mL^–1 and 2.0 to 6.7 ng mL^–1, respectively.     

Use of new generation poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) resins for gas-phase trapping-thermal desorption. Application to the retention of seven volatile organic compounds

Two new generation polymeric resins, Bond Elut ENV (styrene-divinylbenzene) from Varian and LiChrolut EN (ethylvinylbenzene-divinylbenzene) from Merck, commonly used in liquid--solid-phase extraction (SPE) were evaluated as sorbents for gas-phase sampling followed by thermal desorption and compared to Tenax TA, a reference sorbent in this kind of applications. The three resins were tested against seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs): 1-octene, ethylbenzene, (p-, m-, o-)xylenes, styrene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. Elution curves for all compounds were determined at temperatures from 120 to 180 degrees C, and from such curves, different parameters, such as retention factor (k), distribution coefficient (K), height equivalent to a theoretical plate (H), asymmetry factor (Fa) and breakthrough volume (VB) were calculated and extrapolated at room (25 degrees C) and desorption (220 degrees C) temperatures in order to estimate breakthrough and elution volumes. In average, retention in LiChrolut EN is 10 and 200 times stronger than in Bond Elut ENV and Tenax TA, respectively, but its chromatographic behavior is rather poor giving quite asymmetric elution profiles (Fa >1.8 at 120 degrees C). Bond Elut ENV exhibited the best chromatographic behavior, with H values two or five times lower than those of LiChrolut EN or Tenax TA. An additional advantage of the new sorbents is that retention decreases with T much faster than it does in Tenax (8 or 20 times for Bond Elut ENV or LiChrolut EN). Modeling has finally shown that beds with 60-80 (for Bond Elut ENV) or 300-400 (for LiChrolut EN) times less of sorbent have the same retention properties than standard Tenax TA tubes and similar (LiChrolut EN) or five to six times smaller (Bond Elut ENV) elution volumes. These predictions have been experimentally confirmed.     

Sample preparation on polymeric solid phase extraction sorbents for liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric analysis of human whole blood--a study on a number of beta-agonists and beta-antagonists

Alternative strategies for sample preparation of human blood samples were evaluated including protein precipitation (PP) and solid phase extraction (SPE) on Waters Oasis polymeric columns. Gradient chromatography within 15 min was performed on a Hypersil Polar-RP column combined with a Sciex API 2000 triple quadrupol instrument equipped with an electro-spray interface. Beta-agonists and beta-antagonists available on the Swedish market were included in the study. A combination of zinc sulphate and ethanol was found effective for PP. A clear supernatant was achieved that either could be injected directly on the LC-MS-MS system for analysis or transferred to a SPE column for further extraction and analyte concentration. Retention on the hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced sorbent HLB as well as the mixed mode cationic MCX and anionic MAX sorbents were investigated. On HBL the relative lipophilicity of the target analytes was investigated. At a high pH when the amino alcohols are deprotonised the more non-polar analytes (e.g., carvediol, betaxolol, bisoprolol and propranolol) were well retained on the sorbent and for the majority methanol content higher than 50% in water (v/v) was needed for elution. Some analytes though, with additional weak acidic functionalities (fenoterol, salbutamol, sotalol, and terbutaline) were poorly retained. On MAX the retention of these weak acids was improved when loaded under basic conditions but under neutral conditions analyte recoveries was comparable with HLB. On MCX all the analytes were well retained allowing a wash step of 100% methanol at neutral and low pH. By applying the supernatant from PP in combination with an additional portion of aqueous formic acid (2%) the analytes could be loaded and retained. High extraction recoveries were found for most analytes but for a few, significant losses were seen during PP (e.g., formoterol) and/or evaporation (e.g., fenoterol, formoterol, labetalol and terbutaline). The effectiveness of the sample preparation was evaluated by ESI ion-suppression studies by post column infusion of the target analyte. An ethanol zinc sulphate aq mixture was found to be more effective than acetonitrile, methanol or ethanol for PP of human whole blood samples. Beside suppression by salts in the front peak, only limited suppression from other artefacts such as more lipophilic compounds was found late in the chromatograms. Some tendency though to concentrate more lipophilic artefacts on the Oasis sorbents was seen. These findings show that the Oasis MCX sorbent is well suited for sample preparation of beta-agonists and beta-antagonists from human whole blood if the objective is to cover a great number of the analytes in the same assay.     

Retention behaviour of some high-intensity sweeteners on different SPE sorbents

The objective of this paper is to provide information about application of solid-phase extraction (SPE) for isolation of nine high-intensity sweeteners (acesulfame-K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamate, dulcin, neotame, saccharin, sucralose and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone) from aqueous solutions. The influence of several types of LC-MS compatible buffers (different pH values and compositions) on their recovery has been studied and discussed. A number of commercially available SPE cartridges, such as Chromabond C18ec, Strata-X RP, Bakerbond Octadecyl, Bakerbond SDB-1, Bakerbond SPE Phenyl, Oasis HLB, LiChrolut RP-18, Supelclean LC-18, Discovery DSC-18 and Zorbax C18 were tested in order to evaluate their applicability for the isolation of analytes. Very high recoveries (better than 92%) of all studied compounds were obtained using formic acid-N,N-diisopropylethylamine buffer adjusted to pH 4.5 and C₁₈-bonded silica sorbents. Behaviour of polymeric sorbents strongly depends on their structure. Strata-X RP behaves much like a C₁₈-bonded silica sorbent. Recoveries obtained using Oasis HLB were comparable with those observed for silica-based sorbents. The only compound less efficiently (83%) retained by this sorbent was cyclamate. Bakerbond SDB-1 shows unusual selectivity towards aspartame and alitame. Recoveries of these two sweeteners were very low (26 and 42%, respectively). It was also found that aspartame and alitame can be selectively separated from the mixture of sweeteners using formic acid-triethylamine buffer at pH 3.5.     

Comparison of mixed-mode anion-exchange performance of N-vinylimidazole-divinylbenzene sorbent

A newly synthesized copolymer based on N-vinylimidazole-divinylbenzene (NVIm-DVB) was evaluated as a mixed-mode anion-exchange sorbent for SPE, since the NVIm monomer apart from its hydrophilic properties can be protonated at a certain pH, and then performs as an anion-exchanger. To investigate the behavior of the NVIm-based sorbent, the SPE performance was evaluated under reversed-phase (RP), weak anion-exchange, and strong anion-exchange conditions. The results for the NVIm-DVB sorbent were also compared to commercial reference sorbents from each group: Oasis HLB, Oasis WAX, and Oasis MAX, respectively. SPE results from this evaluation showed that NVIm-DVB can be used as an RP material, compared to Oasis HLB. It also has the potential to act as a strong anion-exchange sorbent, compared to Oasis MAX, since under the proper conditions it was able to fraction and quantitatively recover a group of selected solutes.     

Comparison of several solid-phase extraction sorbents for continuous determination of amines in water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A semiautomatic method has been proposed for the determination of different types of amines in water samples including anilines, chloroanilines, N-nitrosamines and aliphatic amines. The analytes were retained on a solid-phase extraction sorbent column and after elution, 1 μL of the extract was analysed by gas chromatography coupled with electron impact ionization mass spectrometry. A systematic overview is given of the advantages and disadvantages of several sorbents (LiChrolut EN, Oasis HLB, RP-C₁₈, graphitized carbon black, fullerenes and nanotubes) in the retention of amine compounds and based on sensitivity, selectivity and reliability. The retention efficiency for the studied amines was higher (ca. 100%) with LiChrolut EN and Oasis HLB than it was with RP-C₁₈ and fullerenes (53 and 62%, respectively, on average). Detection limits of 0.5-16 ng L⁻¹ for the 27 amines studied were obtained when using a sorbent column containing 75 mg of LiChrolut EN for 100 mL of sample, the RSD being lower than 6.5%. The method was applied with good accuracy and precision in the determination of amines in various types of water including river, pond, tap, well, drinking, swimming pool and waste.     

Evaluation of a new hypercrosslinked polymer as a sorbent for solid-phase extraction of polar compounds

A new hypercrosslinked polymer (HXLGp) with hydrophilic character due to the presence of hydroxyl moieties has been tested as a sorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of several polar compounds from water samples. This new sorbent enables the on-line extraction of 300 ml of sample with recoveries higher than 80% for polar compounds such as oxamyl, methomyl or desisopropylatrazine (DIA). The HXLGp has also been compared to other commercially available sorbents such as Oasis HLB (hydrophilic macroporous), to hydrophobic hypercrosslinked resins and to a previously synthesized sorbent based on N-vinylimidazole-divinylbenzene. The results are consistently better with the new synthesized sorbent. The method was successfully applied to the on-line SPE-HPLC of tap and river water samples. The validation with river water samples provided good linearity range and detection limits between 0.03 for methomyl and 4-nitrophenol (4NP) to 0.2 microg l(-1) for phenol (Ph).     

Flame AAS determination of lead in water with flow-injection preconcentration and speciation using functionalized cellulose sorbent

The on-line solid phase extraction of trace amount of lead in flow-injection system with flame AAS detection was investigated using cellulose sorbents with phosphonic acid and carboxymethyl groups, C(18) sorbent non-modified and modified with Pyrocatechol Violet or 8-quinolinol, commercial chelating sorbents Chelex 100 and Spheron Oxin 1000, non-polar sorbent Amberlite XAD-2 modified with Pyrocatechol Violet and several cation-exchange resins. The best dynamic characteristics of retention were observed for functionalized cellulose sorbents. For Cellex P assumed as optimum sorbent, elution with a separate fractions of nitric acid and ethanol allows the differentiation between tetraalkyllead and sum of inorganic lead and organolead species of smaller number of alkyl groups. The detection limit for the determination of inorganic Pb(II) was estimated as 0.17 microg/l. at preconcentration from 50 ml sample at a flow rate of 7 ml/min.     

Simultaneous solid-phase extraction of acidic, neutral and basic pharmaceuticals from aqueous samples at ambient (neutral) pH and their determination by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Seven polymeric solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents were evaluated with regard to their ability to extract acidic, neutral and basic pharmaceuticals and estrogens simultaneously from water at neutral pH. Highest recoveries (70-100%) for the majority of the analytes were obtained with styrene-methacrylate and styrene-N-vinylpyrrolidone co-polymers. The latter one (Oasis HLB) was chosen for further refinement of an extraction method for the quantitative determination of acidic and neutral drugs in surface water samples at detection limits below 1 ng/l. A sequential elution protocol was applied for clean-up and separation of the extracted analytes into fractions suitable for further compound specific processing. The neutral analytes as well as the acidic compounds after derivatisation were quantified by GC-MS. Caffeine, ibuprofen, its metabolites and diclofenac were detected in river water samples in the 1-100 ng/l range.     

Solid-phase extraction procedure for determination of phenolic acids and some flavonols in honey

The solid-phase extraction procedure (SPE) for isolation and preconcentration of phenolic acids (gallic, p-HBA, p-coumaric, vanillic, caffeic and syringic acid) and some flavonols (rutin, quercetin and kaempferol) from honey samples prior to their determination by HPLC is reported. Different solid sorbents such as Bond Elut octadecyl C(18), Oasis HLB, Strata-X and Amberlite XAD-2 were tested for this purpose. The best results were obtain when aqueous solution of honey (100 mL) was adjusted to pH 2 and passed through the microcolumn containing 2.5 g of Oasis HB followed by washing the sorbent with 50 mL of acidified water (pH 2). The analytes were then eluted with methanol. The proposed method permits the quantification of the studied compounds with the limit of detections ranged from 25 ng kg(-1) to 0.75 microg kg(-1) for p-HBA and quercetin, respectively. The precision of the overall analytical procedure was estimated by measuring the within-day repeatability and the relative standard deviations of the parallel (n=3) results were in the range of 1.9-10.1%. The method was tested for real honey samples from different botanical origins.     

Solid-phase extraction of polar compounds with a hydrophilic copolymeric sorbent

A new synthesized copolymer based on N-vinylimidazole-divinylbenzene (VIm-DVB) was tested as a sorbent for the solid-phase extraction (SPE) of polar analytes. In the on-line SPE, this synthesized sorbent enabled 100 ml of sample to be preconcentrated with recoveries as high as 80% for oxamyl, phenol (Ph) and derivates, bentazone and (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)acetic acid (MCPA). For the off-line SPE, 1000 ml of sample was extracted and recoveries were higher than 92% for all compounds with the exception of oxamyl (83%) and methomyl (78%). The VIm-DVB sorbent gives better recoveries than the previously synthesized 4-vinylpyridine-divinylbenzene (VP-DVB) resin and similar to such highly crosslinked commercial sorbents as LiChrolut EN or Oasis HLB. Real water samples were used to validate the on-line SPE method. Linearity was good and detection limits were between 0.1 and 0.2 microg l(-1).     

Tackling matrix effects during development of a liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometric analysis of nine basic pharmaceuticals in aqueous environmental samples

When developing an LC-MS/MS-method matrix effects are a major issue. The effect of co-eluting compounds arising from the matrix can result in signal enhancement or suppression. During method development much attention should be paid to diminish matrix effects as much as possible. The present work evaluates matrix effects from aqueous environmental samples in the simultaneous analysis of a group of nine specific pharmaceuticals with LC-ESI/MS/MS: flubendazole, propiconazole, pipamperone, cinnarizine, ketoconazole, miconazole, rabeprazole, itraconazole and domperidone. Solutions to diminish signal suppression were examined: optimisation of the sample preparation, decrease of the flow rate, and the use of appropriate internal standards. Several SPE-stationary phases were tested in view of retention of the analytes: Oasis HLB, C8, Phenyl, Strata X-polymer RP sorbent and Strata X-polymeric SCX/RP sorbent. Oasis HLB showed the best retention for all analytes. The Oasis HLB SPE-method was optimised, but analyses showed high matrix suppression. Therefore, a second SPE-method, on a phenyl stationary phase (the second best option), was also optimised. A comparison of the matrix effect was made between the two procedures: the phenyl-method was less subject to matrix effects, however, the average matrix effect (ME%) of 46% indicated that matrix effects where still present. Several optimisation options for the phenyl-method were evaluated: addition of a ferric nitrate solution before extraction, application of an alkaline wash step, and use of a second SPE-cartridge, either a NH2-column or a florisil column. A more efficient sample clean-up was achieved by applying the extract after extraction on the phenyl column and after dilution with chloroform, onto a NH2-column (average ME%: 53%). In addition, applying a post-column split (1:5), further reduced matrix effects (average ME%: 65%). Labelled internal standards are the best way to tackle matrix effects, but no such internal standards were commercially available for the analytes of interest. The thorough search and application of four internal standards (structural analogues) was beneficial and compensates the matrix effect partially (average ME%: 83%). In an attempt to reduce the analysis time Speedisk phenyl columns were applied. Under these conditions matrix effects decreased even more while recoveries were between 91 and 109%. Different kinds of surface water samples were analyzed, and different matrix effects were observed. For this reason, standard addition will be used to perform quantitative analysis.     

Comparison of some newly synthesized chemically modified Amberlite XAD-4 resins for the preconcentration and determination of trace elements by flow injection inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

XAD copolymer resins may be functionalized with heavy metal ion-selective ligands either by covalent linkage to the polymer backbone or by impregnation. These resins may be tailored to be specific for certain heavy metals by adjusting the retention and elution parameters. For the synthesis of immobilized Amberlite XAD-4 copolymer resins that are expected to preconcentrate a number of transition and heavy metals, the Schiff base method was chosen. For this purpose the copolymer was nitrated, reduced to the corresponding amine and converted to the imine compounds via a Schiff base reaction using different organic aldehyde compounds. The interactions of 8 elements (Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, U and Zn) with the resins were qualitatively investigated. Optimal pH for retention was typically 6-8 for most resins although one could be used at pH 5 and elution was achieved using 0.1 M HNO3. The resins were characterized by FTIR, SEM and elemental analysis. It was demonstrated that the resins could be used to preconcentrate ultra-trace analytes from natural waters, and analysis of environmental certified reference materials using FI-ICP-MS showed good agreement with the certified values. Metal retention capacities were also calculated using a batch system and were found to compare favorably with other resins reported in the literature.     

Synthesis and application of hypercrosslinked polymers with weak cation-exchange character for the selective extraction of basic pharmaceuticals from complex environmental water samples

The synthesis of high specific surface area sorbents (HXLPP-WCX) in the form of hypercrosslinked polymer microspheres with narrow particle size distributions, average particle diameters around 6 μm, and weak cation-exchange (WCX) character, is described. The WCX character arises from carboxylic acid moieties in the polymers, derived from the comonomer methacrylic acid. A novel HXLPP-WCX sorbent with an attractive set of chemical and physical properties was then used in an off-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) protocol for the selective extraction of a group of basic compounds from complex environmental samples, a priority being the clean separation of the basic compounds of interest from acidic compounds and interferences. The separation power of the new sorbent for basic pharmaceuticals was compared to two commercially available, mixed-mode sorbents, namely Oasis WCX and Strata-X-CW. Under identical experimental conditions, HXLPP-WCX was found to deliver both higher capacity and better selectivity in SPE than either of the two commercially available materials. In an optimised SPE protocol, the HXLPP-WCX sorbent gave rise to quantitative and selective extractions of low μg l⁻¹ levels of basic pharmaceuticals present in 500 ml of river water and 250 ml of effluent waste water.     

The evaluation of different sorbents for the preconcentration of phenoxyacetic acid herbicides and their metabolites from soils

A procedure using alkaline extraction, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and HPLC is developed to analyze the polar herbicides 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) together with their main metabolites in soils. An ion-pairing HPLC method is used for the determination as it permits the baseline separation of these highly polar herbicides and their main metabolites. The use of a highly cross-linked polystyrene-divinylbenzene sorbent (PS-DVB) gives the best results for the analysis of these compounds. This sorbent allows the direct preconcentration of the analytes at the high pH values obtained after quantitative alkaline extraction of the herbicides from soil samples. Different parameters are evaluated for the SPE preconcentration step. The high polarity of the main analytes of interest (2,4-D and MCPA) makes it necessary to work at low flow rates (< or =0.5 mL min(-1)) in order for these compounds to be retained by the PS-DVB sorbent. A two stage desorption from the SPE sorbent is required to obtain the analytes in solvents that are appropriate for HPLC determination. A first desorption with a 50:50 methanol:water mixture elutes the most polar analytes (2,4-D, MCPA and 2CP). The second elution step with methanol permits the analysis of the other phenol derivatives. The humic and fulvic substances present in the soil are not efficiently retained by PS-DVB sorbents at alkaline pH's and so do not interfere in the analysis. This method has been successfully applied in the analysis of soil samples from a golf course treated with a commercial product containing esters of 2,4-D and MCPA as the active components.     

New chromatographic method for separation and determination of denatured alphaS1-, alphaS2-, beta- and kappa-caseins by hydrophobic interaction chromatography

A procedure based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) has been developed for the simultaneous preconcentration of three widely used herbicides and seven of their most common degradation products. The compounds studied were atrazine and its metabolites, desethylatrazine, desethyldesisopropylatrazine (DEDIA), 2-hydroxyatrazine, desethyl-2-hydroxyatrazine and desisopropyl-2-hydroxyatrazine (DIHA), terbutryne and its metabolite 2-hydroxyterbutylazine, and chlorotoluron and its metabolite 3-chloro-4-methylphenylurea. A HPLC system with diode array detection was used for the separation, identification and quantification of all these analytes. In the SPE preconcentration step, different types of sorbent were studied: C₁₈ on silica and polymeric sorbents (Oasis and LiChrolut EN), the best results being obtained with the styrene–divinylbenzene cartridge and when the elution was performed with methanol and ethyl acetate. The detection limits obtained were between 0.1 μg l⁻¹ for DIHA and DEDIA and 0.02 μg l⁻¹ for the other analytes. The method used permitted the determination of these herbicides in drinking water at the concentration levels demanded by current legislation. The proposed method was used to evaluate the presence and evolution with time of these herbicides and their degradation products in samples of surface and ground waters from agricultural zones of the provinces of Salamanca and Zamora (basins of the Rivers Guareña and Almar), Spain.     

Flow-injection determination of total organic fluorine with off-line defluorination reaction on a solid sorbent bed

Considering recent reports on widespread occurrence and concerns about perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in environmental and biological systems, analysis of these compounds have gained much attention in recent years. Majority of analyte-specific methods are based on a LC/MS/MS or a GC/MS detection, however many environmental or biological studies would benefit from a total organic fluorine (TOF) determination. Presented work was aimed at developing a method for TOF determination. TOF is determined as an amount of inorganic fluoride obtained after defluorination reaction conducted off-line using sodium biphenyl reagent directly on the sorbent without elution of retained analytes. Recovered fluoride was analyzed using flow-injection system with either fluorimetric or potentiometric detection. The TOF method was tested using perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCA), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), as model compounds. Considering low concentrations of PFAS in natural samples, solid-phase extraction as a preconcentration procedure was evaluated. Several carbon-based sorbents were tested, namely multi-wall carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibres and activated carbon. Good sorption of all analytes was achieved and defluorination reaction was possible to carry out directly on a sorbent bed. Recoveries obtained for PFCAs, adsorbed on an activated carbon sorbent, and measured as TOF, were 99.5 ± 1.7, 110 ± 9.4, 95 ± 26, 120 ± 32, 110 ± 12 for C4, C6, C8, C10 and C12-PFCA, respectively. Two flow systems that would enable the defluorination reaction and fluoride determination in a single system were designed and tested.     

Tuning retention and selectivity in reversed-phase liquid chromatography by using functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Aim of this work was to explore the possibility of retention and selectivity tuning in reversed-phase liquid chromatography by means of chemically modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). These were synthesized by derivatizing pristine MWCNTs with amino-terminated alkyl chains containing polar embedded groups. A novel hybrid material based on functionalized MWCNTs (MWCNTs-R-NH₂) was prepared, characterized and tested. The idea was to design a mixed-mode separation medium basing its sorption properties on the peculiar characteristics of MWCNTs combined with the chemical interactions provided by the functional chains introduced on the nanotube skeleton. MWCNTs-R-NH₂ were easily grafted to silica microspheres by gamma radiation (using a ⁶⁰Co source) in the presence of polybutadiene as the linking agent. The composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) analysis in terms of structural morphology, surface area and porosity. The MWCNTs-R-NH₂ sorbent was tested as stationary phase. The reversed-phase behaviour was first proved by analysis of alkylbenzenes, while the key role of CNT derivatization in addressing the selectivity/affinity towards the solutes was evidenced by testing three classes of analytes, viz. barbiturates, steroid hormones and alkaloids. These compounds, with different molecular structure and polarity, were here analysed for the first time on CNT-based LC stationary phases. The behaviour of the novel sorbent was compared in terms of retention capability and resolution with that observed using unmodified MWCNTs, pointing out the mixed-mode characteristics of the MWCNTs-R-NH₂ material. The same test mixtures were analysed also on a conventional mono-modal separation sorbent (C18) to highlight the particular behaviour of the (derivatized)MWCNTs-based stationary phases. The novel material showed better performance in separation of polar compounds, i.e. barbiturates and alkaloids, than the unmodified MWCNTs and than the C18 column. Results showed that MWCNT functionalization is powerful to modulate retention/selectivity in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.     

Affinity extraction of emerging contaminants from water based on bovine serum albumin as a binding agent

Affinity sorbents using bovine serum albumin as a binding agent were developed and tested for the extraction of environmental contaminants from water. Computer simulations based on a countercurrent distribution model were also used to study the behavior of these sorbents. Several model drugs, pesticides, and hormones of interest as emerging contaminants were considered in this work, with carbamazepine being used as a representative analyte when coupling the albumin column on‐line with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The albumin column was found to be capable of extracting carbamazepine from aqueous solutions that contained trace levels of this analyte. Further studies of the bovine serum albumin sorbent indicated that it had higher retention under aqueous conditions than a traditional C₁₈ support for most of the tested emerging contaminants. Potential advantages of using these protein‐based sorbents included the low cost of bovine serum albumin and its ability to bind to a relatively wide range of drugs and related compounds. It was also shown how simulations could be used to describe the elution behavior of the model compounds on the bovine serum albumin sorbents as an aid in optimizing the retention and selectivity of these supports for use with liquid chromatography or methods such as liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.     

Effect of the eluent pH and acidic modifiers in high-performance liquid chromatography retention of basic analytes

The retention of ionogenic bases in liquid chromatography is strongly dependent upon the pH of the mobile phase. Chromatographic behavior of a series of substituted aniline and pyridine basic compounds has been studied on C18 bonded silica using acetonitrile-water (10:90) as the eluent with different pHs and at various concentrations of the acidic modifier counter anions. The effect of different acidic modifiers on solute retention over a pH range from 1.3 to 8.6 was studied. Ionized basic compounds showed increased retention with a decrease of the mobile phase pH. This increase in retention was attributed to the interaction with counter anions of the acidic modifiers. The increase in retention is dependent on the nature of the counter anion and its concentration in the mobile phase. It was shown that altering the concentration of counter anion of the acidic modifier allows the optimization of the selectivity between basic compounds as well as for neutral and acidic compounds.