On-line sample enrichment for the determination of proteins by capillary zone electrophoresis with poly(vinyl alcohol)-coated bubble cell capillaries

Field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) is used to separate basic proteins in a poly-(vinyl alcohol)-coated bubble cell capillary. To our knowledge, this is the first paper describing the on-column stacking of proteins (as cations) using FASS in bubble cell capillary. The bubble cell capillary is fabricated using a one-step method. Cetyltrimethylammonium chloride is added into the running buffer to reverse the EOF and, thus, to pump the water plug out during the sample stacking step. The effect of the water plug lengths and sample injection durations were investigated and optimized. The results obtained were compared with those for the normal capillary without bubble cell in terms of resolution and sensitivity enhancement. Under the optimal condition, this method can improve the sensitivity of the peak areas ranging from 5000- to 26 000-fold. The RSDs (n = 5) of the migration time and peak area are satisfactory (less than 0.6 and 12%, respectively). Application of the capillary electrophoresis method with bubble cell, FASS, and UV detection thereby leads to the determination of these proteins at concentrations ranging from 3 to 10 ng/mL, based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1.     

On-line sample stacking and short-end injection CE for the determination of fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in plasma: Method development and validation using experimental designs

A short-end injection CE method combining field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) is presented for the analysis of fluoxetine (FL) and norfluoxetine in plasma. In this study, FASS enhanced the sensitivity about 1100-fold, while short-end injection reduced the analysis time to less than 4 min. Parameters involved in the separations were investigated using a central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology to optimize the separation conditions in a total of only 32 runs. Samples injected into the capillary for 99.9 s at a voltage of -5 kV were stacked in a water plug (0.5 psi, 9 s). Baseline resolution of FL and its major metabolite was achieved using a BGE formulation consisting of phosphate-triethanolamine at low pH, and a separation voltage of -10 kV. Five percent methanol was added as organic modifier to enhance selectivity and resolution. The linear range was between 10 and 500 ng/mL (r >0.9946), covering the expected plasma therapeutic ranges. The LOD in plasma were 4 ng/mL (S/N = 3), a value comparable to that obtained using LC-MS, showing the success of the on-line stacking technique. Our method was also successfully validated in quantification and pharmacokinetic studies with three volunteer plasma samples and could be applied to pharmacogenetic studies.     

毛细管电泳场放大进样-高压非接触电导检测测定痕量Zn~(2+)

利用高压电容耦合非接触电导检测器(HV-C4D),结合毛细管电泳场放大进样(FASS),以2-N-吗啡啉乙磺酸(MES)/组氨酸(His)为缓冲溶液,电泳分离测定了Zn2+.考察了样品溶液中MES/His的浓度及电动进样时间对场放大浓缩因子及缓冲溶液浓度对检测灵敏度的影响.在10mmol/LMES/His(pH=4.9)的分离缓冲溶液中,FASS对Zn2+的浓缩因子为1.3×103.Zn2+的浓度在10～1000nmol/L范围内与峰面积有良好线性关系(R=0.9995),检测限为5nmol/L(S/N=3).该方法可用于痕量Zn2+的测定.     

Field-amplified sample stacking for the detection of chemical warfare agent degradation products in low-conductivity matrices by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry

Preconcentration of chemical warfare agent degradation products (alkylphosphonic acids and alkyl alkylphosphonic acids) in low-conductivity matrices (purified water, tap water and local river water) by field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) was developed for capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled to ion trap mass spectrometry. FASS was performed by adding a mixture of HCOONH(4) and NH(4)OH in appropriate concentrations to the sample. This allowed to control the conductivity and the pH of the sample in order to obtain FASS performances that are independent of analyte concentration. The influence of different parameters on FASS (sample to background electrolyte (BGE) conductivity ratio, injection volume and concentration of BGE) was studied to determine the optimal conditions and was rationalized by using the theoretical model developed by Burgi and Chien. A good correlation was obtained between the bulk electroosmotic velocity predicted by this model and the experimental value deduced from the migration time of the electroosmotic flow marker detected by mass spectrometry (MS). This newly developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of tap water and local river water fortified with the analytes and provided a 10-fold sensitivity enhancement in comparison to the signal obtained without preconcentration procedure. The quite satisfactory repeatability and linearity for peak areas obtained in the 0.5-5 microg mL(-1) concentration range allow quantitative analysis to be implemented. Limits of detection of 0.25-0.5 microg mL(-1) for the alkyl alkylphosphonic acids and of 0.35-5 microg mL(-1) for the alkylphosphonic acids were reached in tap water and river water.     

An online field-amplification sample stacking method for the determination of diuretics in urine by capillary electrophoresis-amperometric detection

A simple and sensitive online field-amplification sample stacking (FASS) pre-enrichment method following by capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection has been developed for the determination of diuretics, such as indapamide (IDP), hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) and bumetanide (BMTN) in urine. Under the optimum conditions, it was found that the low concentration buffer solution could be used as the diluents for simultaneous field-amplification injection of three diuretics after electrokinetically injecting a short water plug (15 kV, 3 s). Three analytes could be well separated within 10 min in an uncoated fused-silica capillary with H(3)BO(3)-Na(2)B(4)O(7) (BB) buffer solution (pH 8.98). The detection limits (S/N=3) were 9.0 ng/mL for IDP, 20 ng/mL for HCT and 1.5 ng/mL for BMTN, respectively. The detection limits of three diuretics were much lower by FASS than that by conventional sample injection, of which the detection limits were 340, 890 and 330 ng/mL for IDP, HCT and BMTN, respectively. Especially, for bumetanide the detection limit was 220-time lower by FASS. The linear ranges of three diuretics were all over three orders of magnitude. The proposed method has been successfully applied to analyze the diuretics in human urine samples without off-column sample pre-concentration.     

Head-column field-amplified sample stacking in a capillary electrophoresis-flow injection system

A simple, effective, and continuous online concentration method for the sensitive detection of alkaloids applying CE-flow injection analysis with head-column field-amplified sample stacking was developed. A series of samples was continuously introduced into the capillary by electrokinetic means without interrupting the high voltage. A short water plug was introduced by the EOF at the capillary inlet end prior to sample introduction. Under optimum conditions, 15-fold improvement in concentration sensitivity was achieved, giving an LOD of about 0.67 and 0.73 microg/mL for ephedrine (E) and pseudoephedrine (PE), respectively. The separation could be achieved within 4 min and sample throughput rate could reach up to 7/h. The repeatability (defined as RSD) was 3.62, 1.51% with peak area evaluation and 1.30, 2.58% with peak height evaluation for E and PE, respectively. This method has been successfully applied to the analysis of commercial pharmaceutical preparations containing E and PE, and the recoveries were 92.3-102.4%.     

Combination of cationic surfactant-assisted solid-phase extraction with field-amplified sample stacking for highly sensitive analysis of chlorinated acid herbicides by capillary zone electrophoresis

This report describes a novel online field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) procedure to analyze 16 chlorinated acid herbicides. By using a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-coated capillary to reduce electroosmotic flow and introducing a methanol-water plug before sample loading, the sample injection time could be very long without loss of sample and separation efficiency. Under the optimized condition, the FASS procedure could provide great sensitivity enhancement (5000-10 000-fold) and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviations of migration times less than 2.4%, relative standard deviations of peak areas less than 8.0%). Combined with cationic surfactant-assisted solid-phase extraction (CSA-SPE), the limit of detection of the herbicides ranged from 0.269 to 20.3 ppt, which are two orders lower than those of the US Environmental Protection Agency standard method 515.1. The CSA-SPE-FASS-CE method was successfully applied to the analysis of local pond water.     

Head-column field-amplified sample stacking in presence of siphoning. Application to capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of opioids in urine

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with head-column field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) in presence of a water plug inserted at the capillary tip is a robust approach providing a more than 1000-fold sensitivity enhancement when applied to low-conductivity samples that are analyzed in an integrated instrument. Employing modular systems comprising a small hydrodynamic buffer flow (siphoning) towards the capillary end and featuring UV absorption or electrospray ionization mass spectrometric (MS) detection, insertion of a water plug is demonstrated to deteriorate the performance of head-column FASS or making it unfunctional. Electroinjection in the absence of the water plug can be employed instead and is shown to provide a ng/ml sensitivity when applied to low conductivity samples. With some suction of sample into the capillary during electroinjection, contamination of the sample vial with buffer is thereby largely avoided. Electroinjection applied to the CE-ion trap MS-MS and MS-MS-MS analysis of twofold diluted urines, urinary solid-phase extracts and urinary liquid-liquid extracts is shown to provide much improved sensitivity compared to hydrodynamic injection of these samples. With electroinjection from diluted urine and urinary solid-phase extracts, the presence of free opioids and their glucuronic acid conjugates can be unambiguously confirmed in urines that were collected after single-dose administration of small amounts of opioids (tested with about 7 mg codeine and 25 mg dihydrocodeine, respectively). Thus, CE-multiple MS with direct electroinjection of opioids from untreated urines could prove to become a rapid and simple approach for unambiguous urinary testing of drug abuse. Procedures leading to the reduction of siphoning in modular CE setups are briefly discussed as well.     

毛细管电泳-场强放大样品堆积法检测染发剂中的7种苯胺类物质

建立了毛细管电泳-场强放大样品堆积测定染发剂中4,4′-二氨基二苯甲烷、苯胺、邻甲氧基苯胺、对氨基苯甲醚、3,4-二甲基苯胺、间氨基苯酚、1-萘胺7种苯胺类物质的分析方法。在优化的缓冲溶液体系(0.15 mol/L NaH2PO4,0.015 mol/L 三乙醇胺, pH 2.3)下7种分析物在6.5 min内实现基线分离。考察了样品中添加的磷酸浓度和乙腈浓度、水柱长度、电动进样时间与电压对场强放大富集效率及重现性的影响。最佳的富集条件为: 水柱注入3.45 kPa(0.5 psi)×6 s,样品中添加40%(v/v)乙腈和0.6×10~3mol/L磷酸,进样电压与进样时间为10 kV×10 s。线性范围为3～1000 μg/L(R2＞0.996),检出限为0.26～2.75 μg/L,将已有方法的检测灵敏度提高了1～3个数量级。在2种市售黑色染发剂中均检测到间氨基苯酚,含量分别为7.32 mg/g和1.34 mg/g。平均加标回收率为74%～108%。该方法灵敏度高、快速、重现性好、成本低,可供多种样品基质中痕量苯胺类污染物及其他阳离子物质的测定借鉴使用。     

Sensitive analysis of donepezil in plasma by capillary electrophoresis combining on-column field-amplified sample stacking and its application in Alzheimer's disease

Field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) in capillary electrophoresis (CE) was used to determine the concentration of donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, in human plasma. A sample pretreatment by liquid-liquid extraction with isopropanol/n-hexane (v/v 3:97) and subsequent quantification by FASS-CE was used. Before sample loading, a water plug (0.5 psi, 6 s) was injected to permit FASS. Electrokinetic injection (7 kV, 90 s) was used to introduce sample cations. The separation condition for donepezil was performed in electrolyte solutions containing Tris buffer (60 mM, pH 4.0) with sodium octanesulfonate 40 mM and 0.01% polyvinyl alcohol as a dynamic coating to reduce analytes' interaction with capillary wall. The separation was performed at 28 kV and detected at 200 nm. Using atenolol as an internal standard, the linear ranges of the method for the determination of donepezil in human plasma were over a range of 1-50 ng/mL. The limit of detection was 0.1 ng/mL (S/N=3, sampling 90 s at 7 kV). One female volunteer (54 years old) was orally administered a single dose of 10 mg donepezil (Aricept, Eisai), and blood samples were drawn over a 60 h period for pharmacokinetic study. The method was also applied successfully to monitor donepezil in sixteen Alzheimer's disease patients' plasmas.     

On‐line concentration by field‐enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography for the analysis of coumarins from traditional Chinese medicine and human serum

In this work, a simple, reproducible and sensitive micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was developed for the separation and determination of three coumarins, imperatorin (IM), isoimperatorin (IO) and osthole (OS) from traditional Chinese medicine and human serum. Field‐enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles was used for on‐line concentration of the coumarins. The optimum buffer contained 50 mM H₃PO₄, 160 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, 20% acetonitrile and 15% 2‐propanol, and the pH of buffer was 2.0. The sample solution was diluted with water containing 5 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and injected for 15 s with ?8 kV after injection of 2 s water plug. The effects of concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate and organic modifier, the sample matrix, the injection time of water plug, the injection voltage and injection time of sample on the separation and stacking efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were well separated and by optimizing the stacking conditions, about 93, 195 and 136 fold improvement in the detection sensitivity was obtained for IM, IO and OS. The contents of three coumarins in Angelica dahurica Benth, Radix Angelicae Pubescentis and Fructus Cnidii were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery. The possibilities of using this method for the determination of three coumarins in spiked human serum were also tested. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of capillary electrophoresis with field-amplified sample injection for the detection of new adrenoreceptor antagonist enantiomers in plasma in the low ng/mL concentration range

Throughout the separation of chiral basic drugs by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with neutral hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) as chiral selector, the sensitivity of detection has been improved by using field-amplified sample injection (FASI). In the present work, this on-line stacking method has been used to detect low ng/mL levels of cationic enantiomers of a new adrenoreceptor antagonist in plasma. A systematic study of the parameters affecting on-line concentration of these enantiomers (nature of the preinjection plug, composition of sample solvent, injection times of water and sample plugs) has been performed enabling the detection sensitivity of antagonist enantiomers to be improved by 180 times compared with usual hydrodynamic injection. The quantification of each adrenoreceptor antagonist enantiomer in plasma samples was then performed in the 2-100 ng/mL (or 8-400 nM) concentration range after a solid-phase extraction step. Using this FASI-CE-UV procedure, the limit of quantification (LOQ) for each enantiomer was in the low ng/mL concentration range (3 ng/mL or 10 nM).     

On-line stacking techniques for the nonaqueous capillary electrophoretic determination of acrylamide in processed food

In the present study, field amplified sample stacking (FASS) techniques in the nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis method (NACE) were introduced for the on-line concentration of the acrylamide to improve acrylamide detection at 210 nm by diode-array detection. Acetonitrile (ACN) as a nonaqueous solvent permits acrylamide to be protonated through the change of its acid-base chemistry, allowing capillary electrophoretic separation of this compound. Choosing 30 mmol L(-1) HClO(4), 20 mmol L(-1) NaClO(4), 218 mmol L(-1) CH(3)COOH in ACN as the separation electrolyte and employing sample stacking methods, the LOD value of acrylamide was decreased to 2.6 ng mL(-1) with electrokinetic injection and 4.4 ng mL(-1) with hydrodynamic injection. Optimized stacking conditions were applied to the determination of acrylamide in several foodstuffs. The method is simple, rapid, inexpensive, and widely applicable for the determination of acrylamide in food samples.     

Field amplified sample stacking coupled with chip-based capillary electrophoresis using negative pressure sample injection technique

A multi-T microchip for integrated field amplified sample stacking (FASS) with CE separation to increase the chip-based capillary electrophoresis (chip-based CE) sensitivity was developed. Volumetrically defined large sample plug was formed in one step within 5s by the negative pressure in headspace of the two sealed sample waste reservoirs produced using a syringe pump equipped with a 3-way valve. Stacking and separation can proceed only by switching the 3-way valve to release the vacuum in headspace of the two sample waste reservoirs. This approach considerably simplified the operations and the equipments for FASS in chip-based CE systems. Migration time precisions of 3.3% and 1.3% RSD for rhodamine123 (Rh123) and fluorescien sodium salt (Flu) in the separation of a mixture of Flu and Rh123 were obtained for nine consecutive determinations with peak height precisions of 4.8% and 3.4% RSD, respectively. Compared with the chip-based CE on the cross microchip, the sensitivity for analysis of FlTC, FITC-labeled valine (Val) and Alanine (Ala) increased 55-, 41- and 43-fold, respectively.     

On-line concentration by field-enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography for the analysis of triterpenoids from traditional chinese medicine

In this work, a simple, reproducible and sensitive micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for the separation and determination of five triterpenoids, lupeol (1), 1β-hydroxy-lupeol (2), lup-3β,1α-diol (3), lup-1β,3β,11α-triol (4) and 30-norlupan-3β,11α-diol-20-one (5) in traditional Chinese medicine of Salvia roborowskii Maxim. Field-enhanced sample injection with reverse migrating micelles (FESI-RMM) was used for on-line concentration of triterpenoids. The optimum buffer contained 50 mM H₃PO₄, 160 mM SDS, 20% acetonitrile and 15% 2-propanol and pH of buffer was 2.0. The sample solution was diluted with 10 mM H₃PO₄ (pH 2.5, containing 10 mM SDS) and injected for 15 s with −8 kV after injection of 4 s water plug. The effects of concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and organic modifier, the sample matrix, the injection time of water plug, the injection voltage and injection time of sample on the separation and stacking efficiency were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were well separated and by optimizing the stacking conditions, about 28–96-fold improvement in the detection sensitivity was obtained for triterpenoids. The contents of five triterpenoids in Salvia roborowskii Maxim were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.     

Steroselective determination of trihexyphenidyl using carboxylmethyl-β-cyclodextrin by capillary electrophoresis with field-amplified sample stacking

A simple, sensitive and low-cost method using capillary electrophoresis coupled with field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) technique has been developed for enantioselective separation and quantification of trihexyphenidyl (THP) enantiomers in human serum. In this work, three kinds of modified β-cyclodextrin were tested as chiral selectors in CE. Among the CDs studied, THP enantiomers could only be separated by carboxylmethyl-β-cyclodextrin (CM-β-CD). A systematic study of the parameters (CD concentration and pH value in CE buffer, separation voltage and temperature, composition of sample solvent, injection voltage and time) affecting chiral separation and on-line concentration of THP enantiomers were investigated and optimized. The optimum FASS method provided a sensitivity enhancement of about 490-fold compared with usual hydrodynamic injection. Limits of detection for each enantiomer were in the low ng ml^− 1 concentration range (0.92 ng ml^− 1 or 3.06 nM). The quantification of each THP enantiomer in human serum was performed after serum sample extraction. To validate this CE-FASS method, linear regression analysis, intra and inter-day precision and recovery were determined with satisfying results.     

Electrophoretic determination of albumin in urine using on-line concentration techniques

To improve the sensitivity of the UV-detection for the determination of trace amounts of albumin by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), five on-line preconcentration techniques, including field-amplified sample stacking (FASS), head-column field-amplified sample stacking (HC-FASS), stacking with a polymer solution, dynamic pH junction and large volume sample stacking (LVSS) with reversed polarity, were compared. Sensitivity enhancement factor and reproducibility were two factors that were used to assess the suitability of each method. To minimize protein adsorption on the capillary wall, capillaries were covalently modified with anionic polymer, poly(sulfopropylmethacrylate) coating. All used methods have good reproducibility. The maximum sensitivity enhancement factor (about 67-fold in terms of peak heights) was achieved with LVSS technique. The concentration limit of detection (LOD) (S/N=3) for the human serum albumin obtained with the optimized LVSS approach was 15 microg/ml with UV-detection. The method was further evaluated for the analysis of urine samples with gel-filtration-based sample-desalting procedure.     

Capillary electrophoresis‐laser‐induced fluorescence detection of rat brain catecholamines with microwave‐assisted derivatization

In this study, a rapid and sensitive method is described for the catecholamines detection in rat brain. CE with LIF detection for the determination of FITC derivatized catecholamines (dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) was demonstrated. Conventional water bath and microwave‐assisted derivatization methods were employed and a significant reduction in the derivatization time from 2 h for the conventional water bath at room temperature (ca. 25°C) to 2 min for the microwave‐assisted derivatization was achieved. Online sample concentration of field‐amplified sample stacking (FASS) method was employed to achieve higher sensitivities (the detection limits obtained in the normal injection mode ranged from 2.6 to 4.5 ng L^?1 and in the FASS mode ranged from 22 to 34 pg L^?1). Furthermore, this microwave‐assisted derivatization CE–LIF method successfully determined catecholamines in rat brain with as low as 100 ng L^?1 (FASS mode) to 10 μg L^?1 (normal injection mode). This CE–LIF method provided better detection ability when compared to the best reports on catecholamines analyses.     

Sample stacking of fast-moving anions in capillary zone electrophoresis with pH-suppressed electroosmotic flow

On-line sample concentration of fast moving inorganic anions by large volume sample stacking (LVSS) and field enhanced sample injection (FESI) with a water plug under acidic conditions is presented. Detection sensitivity enhancements were around 100 and 1000-fold for LVSS and FESI, respectively. However, reproducibility and linearity of response in the LVSS approach is superior compared to the FESI approach.     

Analysis of acrylamide in food products by in-line preconcentration capillary zone electrophoresis

Two in-line preconcentration capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) methods (field amplified sample injection (FASI) and stacking with sample matrix removal (LVSS)) have been evaluated for the analysis of acrylamide (AA) in foodstuffs. To allow the determination of AA by CZE, it was derivatized using 2-mercaptobenzoic acid. For FASI, the optimum conditions were water at pH > or = 10 adjusted with NH3 as sample solvent, 35 s hydrodynamic injection (0.5 psi) of a water plug, 35 s of electrokinetic injection (-10 kV) of the sample, and 6s hydrodynamic injection (0.5 psi) of another water plug to prevent AA removal by EOF. In stacking with sample matrix removal, the reversal time was found to be around 3.3 min. A 40 mM phosphate buffer (pH 8.5) was used as carrier electrolyte for CZE separation in both cases. For both FASI and LVSS methods, linear calibration curves over the range studied (10-1000 microg L(-1) and 25-1000 microg L(-1), respectively), limit of detection (LOD) on standards (1 microg L(-1) for FASI and 7 microg L(-1) for LVSS), limit of detection on samples (3 ng g(-1) for FASI and 20 ng g(-1) for LVSS) and both run-to-run (up to 14% for concentration and 0.8% for time values) and day-to-day precisions (up to 16% and 5% for concentration and time values, respectively) were established. Due to the lower detection limits obtained with the FASI-CZE this method was applied to the analysis of AA in different foodstuffs such as biscuits, cereals, crisp bread, snacks and coffee, and the results were compared with those obtained by LC-MS/MS.