Standardization of capillary zone electropherograms obtained by using field enhanced sample stacking

Migration times in a capillary zone electropherogram obtained by using the field enhanced sample stacking technique are strongly affected by the injected sample volume. That is, the migration times significantly decrease with the increase of the sample volume. To avoid inaccurate qualitative analysis due to the above phenomena, the time axis of the electropherograms was converted into an effective mobility axis using our conversion method taking account of the temperature increase in the separation tube and relaxation of the potential gradient of the separation field. After the conversion, accurate qualitative analysis was possible in spite of drastic change of the migration time, suggesting our conversion method could be successfully used for the standardization of electropherograms obtained even by using the stacking effect. The cause of the decrease of the migration time in the stacking process was briefly discussed.     

Electropherogram of capillary zone electrophoresis with effective mobility axis as a transverse axis and its analytical utility. I. Transformation applying the hypothetical electroosmotic flow

For capillary zone electrophoresis, a new method of transformation from migration time to effective mobility was proposed, in which the mobility increase due to Joule heating and the relaxation effect of the potential gradient were eliminated successfully. The precision of the mobility evaluated by the proposed transformation was discussed in relation to the analysis of rare earth ions. By using the transformation, almost the same pherograms could be obtained even from the pherograms obtained originally at different applied voltages.     

Quantitative and qualitative precision improvements by effective mobility-scale data transformation in capillary electrophoresis analysis

By transforming the time-based x-axis of electropherograms in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) into the corresponding effective mobility-scale, we propose a simple and robust data representation for a better qualitative and quantitative capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis. The time scale of the raw electrophoretic data (detection signal versus time) is transformed into an effective electrophoretic mobility scale (mu eff-scale) with account of the electroosmotic flow (EOF) peak or of an internal standard of known effective mobility. With the new scaling (detection signals versus effective mobility), the obtained electropherograms are more representative of the velocity-based electrophoretic separation and the comparison of complete electropherograms is directly possible. This is of importance when tracking peaks in real samples where alteration in EOF stability can occur or when comparing electrophoretic runs from different experimental setups (independence in column length and voltage). Beside the qualitative possibilities, a quantitative improvement is achieved in the mu eff-scale with significant better peak area reproducibility and equal to more precision in quantitative analysis than with the primary time-scale integration.     

Detection and quantification of chitosan aggregates by pressure-assisted capillary zone electrophoresis

An approach to the detection and determination of chitosan aggregates in acetic acid solutions is proposed using pressure-assisted capillary zone electrophoresis. Processes of chitosan aggregation are studied depending on the composition of dispersion medium and storage time. The presence of several species of positively charged chitosan aggregates is revealed for the first time. Particle sizes in the range 20–2500 nm are determined by scanning electron microscopy and static and dynamic light scattering. The dependence of the shape of electropherograms on particle size distribution obtained under the same conditions is found. A trend to changing electrophoretic mobility depending on the size of the aggregate is observed, which enables the approximate evaluation of the polydispersity of chitosan solutions. Chitosan is used for the effective dynamic modification of capillaries, which does not require the introduction of a modifier into the background electrolyte.     

CZE-ICP-MS separation of metallothioneins in human brain cytosols: comparability of electropherograms obtained from different sample matrices

Capillary zone electrophoresis, with its high resolution capability in the separation of different compounds, is well suited for the investigation of metal-containing proteins, especially when elemental detection is conducted using hyphenated inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. A major problem in the separation of proteins in body fluids is caused by the effects of different sample matrix composition. The migration time of proteins varies significantly, depending on the nature of the matrix. Electropherograms are consequently difficult to compare and the peak identification is uncertain. Pre-analytical steps for the reduction of matrix compounds enhance the quality of the data, but the results are still unsatisfactory. This paper describes a technique for obtaining electropherograms that can be used for comparison purposes by correction of the data with the aid of time markers. A mixture of five substances (caesium chloride, arsenocholine, arsenobetaine, dimethylarsinic acid and monomethylarsonic acid) was added in a separate injection step. Ionic caesium eluted at the start of the separation and the other four markers appeared throughout and at the end of the electropherogram. All electropherograms were normalized to a reference run by recalculation of the time axis using the time markers. The method was applied to the analysis of human brain cytosols. Samples were separated after different pre-treatment steps and were compared, with special emphasis on the detection of the isoform metallothionein-3.     

Alignment of retention time obtained from multicapillary column gas chromatography used for VOC analysis with ion mobility spectrometry

Multicapillary column (MCC) ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) are increasingly in demand for medical diagnosis, biological applications and process control. In a MCC-IMS, volatile compounds are differentiated by specific retention time and ion mobility when rapid preseparation techniques are applied, e.g. for the analysis of complex and humid samples. Therefore, high accuracy in the determination of both parameters is required for reliable identification of the signals. The retention time in the MCC is the subject of the present investigation because, for such columns, small deviations in temperature and flow velocity may cause significant changes in retention time. Therefore, a universal correction procedure would be a helpful tool to increase the accuracy of the data obtained from a gas-chromatographic preseparation. Although the effect of the carrier gas flow velocity and temperature on retention time is not linear, it could be demonstrated that a linear alignment can compensate for the changes in retention time due to common minor deviations of both the carrier gas flow velocity and the column temperature around the MCC-IMS standard operation conditions. Therefore, an effective linear alignment procedure for the correction of those deviations has been developed from the analyses of defined gas mixtures under various experimental conditions. This procedure was then applied to data sets generated from real breath analyses obtained in clinical studies using different instruments at different measuring sites for validation. The variation in the retention time of known signals, especially for compounds with higher retention times, was significantly improved. The alignment of the retention time—an indispensable procedure to achieve a more precise identification of analytes—using the proposed method reduces the random error caused by small accidental deviations in column temperature and flow velocity significantly.     

Pattern recognition in capillary electrophoresis data using dynamic programming in the wavelet domain

A novel approach for CE data analysis based on pattern recognition techniques in the wavelet domain is presented. Low-resolution, denoised electropherograms are obtained by applying several preprocessing algorithms including denoising, baseline correction, and detection of the region of interest in the wavelet domain. The resultant signals are mapped into character sequences using first derivative information and multilevel peak height quantization. Next, a local alignment algorithm is applied on the coded sequences for peak pattern recognition. We also propose 2-D and 3-D representations of the found patterns for fast visual evaluation of the variability of chemical substances concentration in the analyzed samples. The proposed approach is tested on the analysis of intracerebral microdialysate data obtained by CE and LIF detection, achieving a correct detection rate of about 85% with a processing time of less than 0.3 s per 25,000-point electropherogram. Using a local alignment algorithm on low-resolution denoised electropherograms might have a great impact on high-throughput CE since the proposed methodology will substitute automatic fast pattern recognition analysis for slow, human based time-consuming visual pattern recognition methods.     

A vitrification and curing study by simultaneous TMDSC-photocalorimetry

The development of photopolymers was helped by the development of photocalorimetry, which is now a basic technique for the study of these materials. This work shows how to obtain vitrification times in single isothermal curing experiments by monitoring the reversing heat capacity along time in modulated temperature DSC–photocuring systems, overcoming the time-consuming problem of standard DSC. The effects of the light intensity and the isothermal curing temperature on the vitrification time of a photocurable system were evaluated. The results obtained at a given curing temperature with different light intensities indicate that the UV-light affects the molecular mobility hindering the vitrification process. The effects of the curing temperature on the vitrification time, the conversion at the vitrification time and the maximum conversion were also evaluated.     

Dark cure studies of cationic photopolymerizations of epoxides: Characterization of kinetic rate constants at high conversions

The effective propagation rate constant (k_p; averaged over all the propagating active centers) was characterized for solvent‐free cationic photopolymerizations of phenyl glycidyl ether over the entire range of conversions, including the high conversion regime in which mass transfer limitations become important. The profile for the k_p as a function of conversion was found to exhibit a constant plateau value at low to intermediate conversions, followed by a monotonic increase above a threshold value of conversion. To explain this trend, it is proposed that at high conversion the diffusional mobility of the photoinitiator counterion is reduced whereas the mobility of the cationic active center remains high because of reactive diffusion. Therefore, with increasing conversion, the average distance between the active centers and counterions may increase, resulting in an increase in the propagation rate constant. The profiles for the k_p values were investigated as a function of the temperature, photoinitiator anion, and photoinitiator concentration. As the photoinitiator concentration was increased, the plateau value of the effective propagation rate constant decreased whereas the threshold conversion increased. All of the experimental trends are consistent with the proposed increase in ion separation at high conversions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4409–4416, 2004     

Mn-CaO催化剂上甲烷-二氧化碳共活化制C2烃研究Ⅰ.反应性能的研究

考察了不同组成Mn-Ca0催化剂上甲烷一二氧化碳转化制C2烃反应性能，同时考察了反应温度，CO2分压对反应性能的影响及催化反应性能随时间的变化。     

Numerical simulation to correlate photopolymerization kinetics monitoring by RT-NIR spectroscopy and photocalorimetry

Photocalorimetry (DSC) and real time infrared (RTIR) spectroscopy are the two usual methods used to follow photopolymerization reactions. Kinetics obtained by DSC on thin samples and kinetics obtained by real time near-infrared (RT-NIR) spectroscopy on thick samples are not the same. The heat release during the photopolymerization induced a high temperature increase in thick samples because of the absence of temperature control. We think that this temperature offset is the main cause of this kinetic difference. In this paper, we want to verify this assumption. To reach this aim, conversion and temperature evolutions versus time were numerically simulated for a sample placed in the thermal conditions of NIR analysis by using experimental kinetic data obtained by photocalorimetry in isothermal mode. The boundary conditions were determined such as the simulated evolution of the sample temperature is the same as the experimental one. At last, conversion curves simulated to obtain these temperature profiles were compared to experimental results obtained by RT-NIR.     

Determination of B2 and B6 vitamers in serum by capillary electrophoresis-molecular fluorescence-charge coupled detector

A method for the separation by capillary zone electrophoresis and determination of vitamers of two important water-soluble vitamins, i.e., B2 and B6, is proposed here. The working conditions for optimal separation were obtained by a multivariate methodology in order to succeed in the best resolution in the shortest analysis time. The optimization of the buffer composition together with other variables, such as analysis and injection voltage, temperature of the capillary cassette, and injection time, resulted in a solution of 30 mM KH2PO4 adjusted to pH 8.5 with formic acid. Concerning the detection step, the target analytes were quantified by molecular fluorescence, for which two different detectors, a photomultiplier tube (PMT) and a charge-coupled detector (CCD), were compared in terms of resolution, sensitivity, and precision. A Xe-Hg lamp was used as an irradiation source in the two cases. The best option was the CCD, which provides three-dimensional electropherograms and enables to solve the overlapped peaks. Besides, the sensitivity of the CCD was similar to that of the PMT, due to the treatment data, obtaining limits of detection and quantification from 1.16 to 27.1 ng/g and from 3.83 to 89.4 ng/g, respectively. The method was applied to the serum samples for which a prior liquid-liquid extraction using ethanol in an acid medium was mandatory for eliminating the interferences and concentrating the analytes by a factor of 5. The rapidity of the analysis (13 min for the electrophoretic separation) and the excellent precision (repeatability and within-laboratory reproducibility between 2.86 and 4.11% and 7.03 and 8.45%, respectively, both expressed as relative standard deviation) demonstrated the capability of the proposed method for a clinical routine analysis.     

Capillary electrophoresis--electrospray ionization--mass spectrometry for the characterization of natural organic matter: an evaluation with free flow electrophoresis-off-line flow injection electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

The separation of Suwannee River natural organic matter (NOM) with capillary zone electrophoresis hyphenated to electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (CZE-ESI-MS) is presented. The obtained electropherograms and signal distributions are comparable to the mobility distributions obtained with more classical UV detection. A direct comparison of the results was possible with free-flow electrophoresis (FFE), which allows an upscaling of the CZE method and the analysis of the collected fractions in an off-line modus with flow-injection electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (FI-ESI-MS). The changes of the m/z distributions with mobility are very similar with both methods and show a decrease of the m/z with increasing electrophoretic mobility in the humic hump at alkaline pH; superimposed on this hump a low-molecular-weight fraction migrates at lower mobility. The analysis of benzene carboxylic acids, glycerrhycic acid as well as oligomers of polystyrene sulfonic acid and polyacrylic acid additionally illustrates possible fragmentation, formation of adducts and multiplicity of the charges of the molecules prior to MS detection. These hardly controllable difficulties add a challenge to the interpretation of the obtained m/z distributions of NOM in terms of charge and mass distributions of molecules present in the NOM mixture.     

Capillary electrophoresis of associative diblock copolymers.

Water soluble diblock copolymers composed of a long poly(styrene sulfonate) chain (between 200 and 400 monomers) and a short poly(ethylene propylene) or poly(tert.-butylstyrene) hydrophobic end (20-50 monomers) are highly associative and form micelles in aqueous solution. The micelles are composed of a small hydrophobic core and a polyelectrolyte corona, the dimensions of which can be estimated by neutron and light scattering. These physical techniques are, however, not amenable to discriminate easily between the free copolymer and the copolymer micelle. Capillary electrophoresis was implemented in this work as a new and effective tool to investigate the behaviour of such associative copolymer systems. Since the rate of exchange between the micellised and free states is very slow in comparison with the time scale of the electrophoretic process, the electropherograms of the diblock copolymers obtained in plain aqueous borate buffers exhibit two peaks assigned to the two states mentioned above. The identification of the two peaks was first made on the basis of the retention orders of the two peaks equally obtained in similar conditions by size-exclusion chromatography. The copolymer micelles appeared to have a smaller electrophoretic mobility than the free copolymers. This peak assignment is also consistent with the observed ratio of the time-corrected peak areas and peak dispersions. The effects of the copolymer concentration, electric field, temperature and hydroorganic composition of the medium was also studied. Such systems do not exhibit a defined concentration threshold equivalent to a classical critical micelle concentration. Adding methanol to the electrolyte resulted in the progressive loss of baseline return between the two peaks, which might be attributed to a slight increase in the rate of exchange between the two states. Finally, adding a neutral surfactant to the electrolyte at a concentration in excess of its critical micelle concentration resulted in a decrease in the electrophoretic mobility of the peak attributed to the free copoplymer, while the electrophoretic mobility of the copolymer micelle remained unperturbed.     

Ultraviolet (UV) curing of phosphated polyurethane-acrylic dispersions

Phosphate-containing polyurethane-acrylic dispersions were synthesised for UV curing studies. The effects of light intensity, substrate-dependent temperature increase, soft-segment content and water on conversion were investigated. The effect of the light intensity on conversion was twofold. At first, conversion increased with light intensity. This was attributed to the inability of shrinkage to keep pace with the polymerisation and crosslinking, resulting in the creation of free volume, thereby facilitating reaction and enhanced conversion. At higher intensities, conversion was found to be reversed or, at least, it remained constant, owing to increasing radical-radical termination reactions. Phosphated-polyurethane coatings with high soft-segment content show improved conversion with exposure time. This was found to be related to the chain mobility, caused by the low glass transition temperature of the soft segment. The effect of water on conversion was also twofold. On the one hand, water had a plasticising effect on the UV curing and the polymerisation rate was fast. On the other hand, the gel content was found to be lower when films were cured before the evaporation of water.     

Mechanism of the molecular mobility of water in the temperature range 298–359 K

The Raman spectra of liquid water in the region of O-H stretching vibrations were obtained in the temperature range 298–359 K. The Raman spectra were decomposed into the components using the XPSPEAK-4.1 program, and their temperature dependence was evaluated. The number of bifurcate hydrogen bonds and the percentage of rotational conformers containing bifurcate bonds were shown to increase with temperature. The defect mechanism of the molecular mobility of water on the hydrogen bond network in the temperature range 298–359 K was proposed.     

Computer analysis of proteins separated by polyacrylamide gradient pore gel electrophoresis

A method for measuring lymph-to-plasma (L/P) protein concentration ratios obtained from protein fractions separated by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis is presented. A curve-fitting technique is used to decompose lymph and plasma electropherograms containing multiple components into individual components, eliminating protein-protein overlap regions. This allows the concentration of each component in the mixture to be measured accurately, yielding more precise estimates of L/P ratios. This technique consists of three phases. Individual electropherograms are constructed for proteins of various sizes by taking a weighted average of measured electropherograms obtained from the two protein standards closest in size to the protein of interest. Using these generated standard curves, the multicomponent lymph and plasma curves are decomposed into the least number of equally spaced components that yield a good fit. A linear least-squares method is used to do this. Each protein fraction is multiplied by the total measured protein concentration to provide a concentration for each component. Finally, L/P concentration ratios of protein fractions with visible peaks were computed by applying an averaging technique to the equally spaced protein fractions. Plots of sheep lung L/P ratio versus protein size obtained in this manner were compared to L/P ratios obtained using a method of analysis which does not correct for protein overlap. The corrected L/P ratios showed less scatter than the uncorrected curves. Lung lymph data analyzed with the correction method indicated an increased lung microvascular permeability for large proteins following endotoxin infusion, whereas the uncorrected curves were too noisy to support this concept.     

Microfluidic chip-based cell electrophoresis with multipoint laser-induced fluorescence detection system

In this work, the electrophoretic mobility (EPM) measurement of individual cells was investigated by a simple on-chip electrophoresis system with LIF multipoint detection. The system enabled the characterization of cell electrophoresis behavior as well as the fluorescence signal from individual cells simultaneously. The measurement yielded the electropherograms of a large number of cells labeled with dye, in which the migration time and migration distance could be obtained easily. The EPM has been demonstrated to be different between the K562 cells and K562 cells treated with anticancer drug arsenic trioxide (As2O3). The K562 cells were found to exhibit a lower EPM compared to the cells after drug addition with different concentration. In this preliminary study, over 300 cells could be analyzed within 2 h, demonstrated a much higher analysis throughput compared with traditional methods. The established system is simple and fast, which is expected to be a promising method for evaluating cell surface properties and to be useful in clinical and pharmaceutical applications.     

Separation and determination of active components in Schisandra chinensis Baill. and its medicinal preparations by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

A simple, economical and effective non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis separation and detection method was developed for the quantification of deoxyschizandrin and gamma-schizandrin in Schisandra chinensis Baill. and its medicinal preparations for the first time. After optimization of separation conditions, a buffer of 140 mmol/L sodium cholate in methanol was selected for separating the two analytes, but baseline separation of SA and SB in real samples was not obtained. Therefore second-order derivative electropherograms were applied for resolving overlapping peaks. Regression equations revealed good linear relationships (correlation coefficients 0.9975--0.9988) between peak heights in second-order derivative electropherograms and concentrations of the two analytes. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of the migration times and the peak height of the two constituents were in the ranges 0.62--0.79% and 0.25--2.17% (intra-day) and 1.43--2.06 and 4.08--5.72% (inter-day), respectively. The recoveries of the two constituents ranged from 93.2 to 103.0%. The results indicated that baseline separation of the analytes was sometimes hard to obtain in real samples and second-order derivative electropherograms were applicable for the resolution and analysis of overlapping peaks.