Monitoring of amoxicilline and ceftazidime in the microdialysate of diabetic foot and serum by capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

Determination of the broad-spectrum antibiotics amoxicilline (AMX) and ceftazidime (CTZ) in blood serum and microdialysates of the subcutaneous tissue of the lower limbs is performed using CE with contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D). Baseline separation of AMX is achieved in 0.5 M acetic acid as the background electrolyte and separation of CTZ in 3.2 M acetic acid with addition of 13% v/v methanol. The CE-C⁴D determination is performed in a 25 µm capillary with suppression of the EOF using INST-coating on an effective length of 18 cm and the attained migration time is 4.2 min for AMX and 4.4 min for CTZ. The analysis was performed using 20 µl of serum and 15 µl of microdialysate, treated by the addition of acetonitrile in a ratio of 1/3 v/v and the sample is injected into the capillary using the large volume sample stacking technique. The LOQ attained in the microdialysate is 148 ng/ml for AMX and 339 ng/ml for CTZ, and in serum 143 ng/ml for AMX and 318 ng/ml for CTZ. The CE-C⁴D method is employed for monitoring the passage of AMX and CTZ from the blood circulatory system into the subcutaneous tissue at the sites of diabetic ulceration in patients suffering from diabetic foot syndrome and also for measuring the pharmacokinetics following intravenous application of bolus antibiotic doses.     

CZE Determination of Flavonoids in Halenia elliptica

A capillary zone electrophoretic method with UV detection at 254 nm has been developed and validated for quantitative analysis of three flavonoids, luteolin?7?O?β?D-glycoside, genkwanin, and luteolin, in Halenia elliptica. The applied voltage was 15 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 °C. The effects on migration of buffer pH, electrolyte concentration, and organic modifier were studied systematically. Optimum separation was achieved with 20 mM borate buffer at pH 9.00 containing10% (v/v) acetonitrile. Regression equations revealed a good linear relationship between the peak area of each compound and its concentration. All correlation coefficients were 0.9999. The relative standard deviations of migration time and peak areas were, respectively, <1.58 and 5.02%(intra-day) and <1.69% and 5.36% (inter-day). The amounts of the three compounds in the different parts of H. elliptica (stems, leaves, and flowers) and in the extracts of the flowers obtained with different solvents (100% methanol and 50% and 75% methanol in water) were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.     

Nonaqueous CE for Rapid and Sensitive Determination of Matrine and Oxymatrine in Sophora flavescens and Its Medicinal Preparations

A simple, rapid, and sensitive non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis procedure for the quantitative determination of matrine and oxymatrine is established. Optimum separation conditions were obtained when the sample was injected under pressure for 3 s at 50 mbar and separated with the buffer containing 70 mM ammonium acetate, 7.0% (v/v) acetic acid, and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile in methanol medium at 25 kV applied voltage. The analytes were detected at 205 nm. The two alkaloids can be separated within 12 min and quantified with high sensitivity. The method was validated in terms of reproducibility, linearity, and accuracy when applied to the analysis of matrine and oxymatrine in Sophora flavescens and its medicinal preparations.     

Rapid electrophoretic monitoring of the anaesthetic ketamine and its metabolite norketamine in rat blood using a contactless conductivity detector to study the pharmacokinetics

A method of capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection has been developed for non‐enantioselective monitoring the anaesthetic ketamine and its main metabolite norketamine. The separation is performed in a 15 μm capillary with an overall length of 31.5 cm and length to detector of 18 cm; inner surface of the capillary is covered with a commercial coating solution to reduce the electroosmotic flow. In an optimised background electrolyte with composition 2 M acetic acid + 1% v/v coating solution under application of a high voltage of 30 kV, the migration time is 97.1 s for ketamine and 95.8 s for norketamine, with an electrophoretic resolution of 1.2. The attained detection limit was 83 ng/mL (0.3 μmol/L) for ketamine and 75 ng/mL (0.3 μmol/L) for norketamine; the number of theoretic plates for separation of an equimolar model mixture with a concentration of 2 μg/mL was 683 500 plates/m for ketamine and 695 400 plates/m for norketamine. Laboratory preparation of rat blood plasma is based on mixing 10 μL of plasma with 30 μL of acidified acetonitrile, followed by centrifugation. A pharmacokinetic study demonstrated an exponential decrease in the plasma concentration of ketamine after intravenous application and much slower kinetics for intraperitoneal application.     

Validation of a fast screening method for the detection of cocaine in hair by MALDI-MS

The sensitivity and specificity of a novel method of screening for cocaine in hair, based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS), have been evaluated. The method entails a rapid extraction procedure consisting of shaking 2.5 mg pulverised hair at high frequency in the presence of an acidic solution (160 μL of water, 20 μL of acetonitrile and 20 μL of 1 M trifluoroacetic acid) and a stainless-steel bullet. Following centrifugation, the supernatant is dried under a nitrogen stream, and the residue is reconstituted in 10 μL of methanol/trifluoroacetic acid (7:3; v/v). One microlitre of the extract is deposed on a MALDI sample holder previously scrubbed with graphite; an α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (matrix) solution is electrosprayed over the dried sample surface to achieve a uniform distribution of matrix crystals. The identification of cocaine is obtained by post-source decay experiments performed on its MH⁺ ion (m/z 304), with a limit of detection of 0.1 ng/mg of cocaine. A total of 304 hair samples were analysed in parallel by MALDI-MS and a reference gas chromatography-MS method. The obtained results demonstrate specificity and sensitivity of 100% for MALDI-MS. Evidence of cocaine presence was easily obtained even when hair samples exhibiting particularly low cocaine levels (<0.5 ng/mg) were analysed.     

Nonaqueous CE for Rapid and Sensitive Determination of Matrine and Oxymatrine in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sophora flavescens</Emphasis> and Its Medicinal Preparations

A simple, rapid, and sensitive non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis procedure for the quantitative determination of matrine and oxymatrine is established. Optimum separation conditions were obtained when the sample was injected under pressure for 3 s at 50 mbar and separated with the buffer containing 70 mM ammonium acetate, 7.0% (v/v) acetic acid, and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile in methanol medium at 25 kV applied voltage. The analytes were detected at 205 nm. The two alkaloids can be separated within 12 min and quantified with high sensitivity. The method was validated in terms of reproducibility, linearity, and accuracy when applied to the analysis of matrine and oxymatrine in Sophora flavescens and its medicinal preparations.     

A Validated Stability-Indicating LC Method for Zonisamide

A simple, isocratic, rapid, and accurate reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been established for quantitative determination of zonisamide. The method is also applicable to determination of related substances in the bulk drug. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a 250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5-μm particle, C₁₈ column; the mobile phase was a 70:30 (v/v) mixture of 0.1% (v/v) aqueous triethylamine, adjusted to pH 2.5 with dilute orthophosphoric acid, and acetonitrile. Chromatographic resolution of zonisamide from its potential impurity, A, was found to be >2. The limits of detection and quantification of zonisamide and impurity A were 0.04 and 0.12 μg mL^?1, respectively, for 20 μL injection volume. Recovery of zonisamide ranged from 98.5 to 101.2% and recovery of impurity A from a sample of zonisamide ranged from 97.4 to 102.7%. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness.     

Sodium Glucocorticoid Hemisuccinate Analysis in Biological Media Using Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with Bubble Cell

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with sensitivity cell (bubble cell) has been developed for the determination of sodium glucocorticoid hemisuccinates (Urbason^® solubile forte 1000, Hydrocortison 100 Rotexmedica^®, Prednisolut 100^®) in biological media (plasma, urine). The samples in urine were diluted (1:1 v/v) in water and were injected into the apparatus without any further sample preparation. In plasma the formulations were also analyzed quantitatively. Here it was necessary to precipitate the protein component. Good results were achieved by treating with acetonitrile (1:3 v/v). The present results have shown that the investigation using a capillary with bubble cell led to an approximately 9-fold improvement of the detection limit compared to standard capillaries. The samples in the biological media were analyzed using a calibration curve for prednisolone hemisuccinate concentrations between 2.5 and 500 μg.mL^?1. The detection limit and the relative standard deviation of the migration times and of the peak areas were determined.     

Identification of Sinomenine from Sinomenium actum and Its Simultaneous Quantitation by GC–MS and Non-Aqueous CE

In the present study, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of alkaloids in the stem and root of Sinomenium acutum (S. acutum) is presented by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE). The extract of alkaloids in S. acutum was examined by GC–MS and the major alkaloids were identified. Sinomenine (SIN) was found as the principal alkaloid in the extracts (about 84.38%). The quantitation of SIN was then accomplished by GC–MS and NACE with diode array detection. NACE was selected in order to use a running buffer fully compatible with samples in organic solvent. Optimum separation was achieved with a fused-silica capillary column and a running buffer containing 80 mM ammonium acetate, 2.0% acetic acid and 20% (v/v) acetonitrile in methanol medium. The applied voltage was 22 kV. The different selectivity displayed by these techniques allowed different separation profiles that could be useful in phytochemical characterization of the sample. The GC–MS and NACE methods were successfully validated and applied for the quantitation of SIN in S. acutum.     

A hydrophilic interaction ultraperformance liquid chromatography (HILIC–UPLC) method for genomic DNA methylation assessment by UV detection

A hydrophilic interaction chromatography-based method, in combination with 1.7 μm ethylene bridged hybrid particle packed column (100 mm × 2.1 mm I.D.) and ultraperformance liquid chromatography, has been developed to measure cytosine (C) and methylcytosine (mC) in order to evaluate the extent of DNA methylation. Separation of cytosine and methylcytosine was achieved with good resolution and in fairly short times (5.5 min) by using isocratic elution with a mixture of 97:3 (v/v) acetonitrile/10 mM ammonium acetate as a mobile phase. The determination coefficients of C and mC were high (R ² > 0.999) within the range tested. The %RSD for intraday and interday were respectively 2.2% and 2.5% for C and 3.5% and 3.8% for mC. The limit of detection was 0.52 μM (0.52 fmol on-column) both for C and mC while the limit of quantification was 1.72 μM (1.72 fmol on-column) both for C and mC. The smallest amount of purified DNA that yielded a measurable level of C and mC was 10 μg. On the whole, this method is simple, rapid, sensitive, and precise.     

Wall modified photonic crystal fibre capillaries as porous layer open tubular columns for in-capillary micro-extraction and capillary chromatography

Wall modified photonic crystal fibre capillary columns for in-capillary micro-extraction and liquid chromatographic separations is presented. Columns contained 126 internal parallel 4 μm channels, each containing a wall bonded porous monolithic type polystyrene-divinylbenzene layer in open tubular column format (PLOT). Modification longitudinal homogeneity was monitored using scanning contactless conductivity detection and scanning electron microscopy. The multichannel open tubular capillary column showed channel diameter and polymer layer consistency of 4.2 ± 0.1 μm and 0.26 ± 0.02 μm respectively, and modification of 100% of the parallel channels with the monolithic polymer. The modified multi-channel capillaries were applied to the in-capillary micro-extraction of water samples. 500 μL of water samples containing single μg L⁻¹ levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons were extracted at a flow rate of 10 μL min⁻¹, and eluted in 50 μL of acetonitrile for analysis using HPLC with fluorescence detection. HPLC LODs were 0.08, 0.02 and 0.05 μg L⁻¹ for acenaphthene, anthracene and pyrene, respectively, with extraction recoveries of between 77 and 103%. The modified capillaries were also investigated briefly for direct application to liquid chromatographic separations, with the retention and elution of a standard protein (cytochrome c) under isocratic conditions demonstrated, proving chromatographic potential of the new column format, with run-to-run retention time reproducibility of below 1%.     

Identifying spectator bonds in modeling reactions: OH + CO → H + CO2

An adiabatic quantum dynamical model is introduced to solve a paradox with respect to the role of the CO vibration in the OH + CO(v) → H + CO₂ reaction. The previous agreement of five-dimensional diabatic with six-dimensional results for CO(v = 0), which erroneously suggested that the CO bond acts as a spectator, is due to a compensation of effects. For CO(v = 1), the reduced dimensionality adiabatic model approximates better the full-dimensional results. Whether AB acts as a spectator in a reaction with X cannot be decided on the basis of a diabatic calculation for AB(v = 0) + X only.     

In-line solid-phase extraction–capillary electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry for determination of drugs of abuse in human urine

In-line solid-phase extraction–capillary electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometric detection (SPE–CE–MS) has been used for determination of 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP), codeine (COD), hydrocodeine (HCOD), and 6-acetylmorphine (6AM) in urine. The preconcentration system consists of a small capillary filled with Oasis HLB sorbent and inserted into the inlet section of the electrophoresis capillary. The SPE–CE–MS experimental conditions were optimized as follows: the sample (adjusted to pH 6.0) was loaded at 930 mbar for 60 min, elution was performed with methanol at 50 mbar for 35 s, 60 mmol L⁻¹ ammonium acetate at pH 3.8 was used as running buffer, the separation voltage was 30 kV, and the sheath liquid at a flow rate of 5.0 μL min⁻¹ was isopropanol–water 50:50 (v/v) containing 0.5% acetic acid. Analysis of urine samples spiked with the four drugs and diluted 1:1 (v/v) was studied in the linear range 0.08–10 ng mL⁻¹. Detection limits (LODs) (S/N = 3) were between 0.013 and 0.210 ng mL⁻¹. Repeatability (expressed as relative standard deviation) was below 7.2%. The method developed enables simple and effective determination of these drugs of abuse in urine samples at the levels encountered in toxicology and doping.     

Determination of rhein and physcion in rhubarb by microchip capillary electrophoresis in mixed hydro-organic solvent combined with laser-induced fluorescence detection

Microchip capillary electrophoresis in mixed hydro-organic solvent combined with laser-induced fluorescence detection was developed for the separation and detection of physcion and rhein in rhubarb. In contrast to the conventional capillary electrophoresis method, ammonium acetate-dimethyl sulfoxide was used as the basic buffer system in this method. The effects of background buffer, buffer apparent pH*, buffer concentration, water ratio, sample preparation method, and separation voltage on separation and detection were investigated. Optimized separation and detection conditions were obtained: the buffer consisted of 20 mmol/L of ammonium acetate in hydro-organic solvent composed dimethyl sulfoxide, formamide, and water mixed at 60/20/20 (v/v/v) ratio. The separation voltage was 1.9 kV. Under these conditions, the physcion, rhein, and other components of rhubarb can be completely separated within 150 s. Under the methodological verification, good linearity (R ≥ 0.9995) for physcion and rhein, and low limits of detection (0.085 μg·mL⁻¹ and 0.077 μg·mL⁻¹, respectively), satisfactory peak area precisions, migration time precisions (1.74%–3.09%), and accuracy (recovery rate 97.8% and 101.4%) were achieved. It is shown that the proposed method is simple, efficient, fast, sensitive, simple instrument, consumes few samples, has low operating cost, and is linear.     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of ammonia using headspace single-drop microextraction

A new method involving headspace single-drop microextraction (SDME) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) is developed for the preconcentration and determination of ammonia (as dissolved NH₃ and ammonium ion). An aqueous microdrop (5 μL) containing 1 mmol/L H₃PO₄ and 0.5 mmol/L KH₂PO₄ (as internal standard) was used as the acceptor phase. Common experimental parameters (sample and acceptor phase pH, extraction temperature, extraction time) affecting the extraction efficiency were investigated. Proposed SDME-CE method provided about 14-fold enrichment in about 20 min. The calibration curve was linear for concentrations of NH₄⁺ in the range from 5 to 100 μmol/L (R² = 0.996). The LOD (S / N = 3) was estimated to be 1.5 μmol/L of NH₄⁺. Such detection sensitivity is high enough for ammonia determination in common environmental and biological samples. Finally, headspace SDME was applied to determine ammonia in human blood, seawater and milk samples with spiked recoveries in the range of 96-107%.     

Liquid chromatographic method to follow-up ceftazidime and pyridine in portable elastomeric infusion pumps over 24 h

Portable infusion pumps are an interesting solution to continue outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) at the patient's home. However, the use of ceftazidime for such applications is challenging in view of its relatively poor stability in solution. In this study, elastomeric infusion pumps with 6 or 7 g of ceftazidime were deflated over 24 h in an oven at 33°C while ceftazidime and its degradation product, pyridine, were regularly monitored. Hereto, a fast and sensitive liquid chromatographic (LC) method has been developed using a Kinetex^® C18 (150 × 3 mm, 2.6 μm) column with gradient elution. Ammonium formate 20 mM and acetonitrile (ACN) were mixed in a ratio of 98:2 v/v for mobile phase A and 85:15 v/v for mobile phase B. Both were adjusted to pH 4.5 with formic acid. The flow rate was set at 0.4 mL/min. The solution with a starting dose of 6 g ceftazidime was found to be degraded 10% after an average of 19 h 11 min so that an administration of 6 g to the patient was not reached. For the solution with a starting dose of 7 g of ceftazidime, 10% degradation was observed after an average of 18 h 42 min. However, by starting from a higher dose, an average of 6.56 g of ceftazidime could be administered over 24 h. In addition, 1.0% of pyridine versus ceftazidime pentahydrate with sodium carbonate (=mixture for injection) was formed over 24 h.     

Analysis of Atorvastatin and Related Substances by MEKC

A new micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic (MEKC) method has been developed for simultaneous quantitation of atorvastatin (AT) and its related substances. The separation was carried out in an extended light path capillary at applied voltage of 30 kV using a background electrolyte consisting of 10 mM sodium tetraborate buffer pH 9.5, 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate and 20% (v/v) methanol. The addition of methanol to the running buffer resulted in a very effective choice to achieve resolution between the peaks of charged substances adjacent to AT as well as the peaks of neutral drug-related substances. Linear calibration curves were established over the concentration range 100–1,200 μg mL^?1 for AT and 1.0–12.5 μg mL^?1 for related substances. The proposed MEKC procedure has been validated with respect to selectivity, precision, linearity, limits of detection, and quantitation, accuracy and robustness. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of AT and purity evaluation of bulk drug and formulated products.     

Capillary electrophoretic study of thiolated α-cyclodextrin-capped gold nanoparticles with tetraalkylammonium ions

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been employed to characterize nanometer-sized thiolated α-cyclodextrin-capped gold nanoparticles (α-CD-S-AuNPs). The addition of tetrabutylammonium (Bu₄N⁺) ions to the run buffer greatly narrows the migration peak of α-CD-S-AuNP. The optimal run buffer was determined to be 10 mM Bu₄N⁺ in 30 mM phosphate buffer at pH 12 and an applied voltage of 15 kV. The effect of various tetraalkylammonium ions on the peak width and electrophoretic mobility (μ_e) of α-CD-S-AuNP was studied in detail. Bu₄N⁺ ions assist in inter-linking the α-CD-S-AuNPs and narrowing the migration peak in CZE. This observation can be explained by the fact that each Bu₄N⁺ ion can simultaneously interact with several hydrophobic cavities of the surface-attached α-CDs on AuNPs. The TEM images show that α-CD-S-AuNPs with Bu₄N⁺ are linked together but in the absence of Bu₄N⁺, they are more dispersed. The migration mechanism in CZE is based on the formation of inclusion complexes between Bu₄N⁺ and α-CD-S-AuNPs which induces changes in the charge-to-size ratio of α-CD-S-AuNPs and μ_e. An inverse linear relationship (r² > 0.998) exists between the μ_e and size of α-CD-S-AuNPs in the core range 1.4–4.1 nm. The CZE analyses are rapid with migration time less than 4 min. A few nanoliters of each of the α-CD-S-AuNP samples were injected hydrodynamically at 0.5 psi for 5 s. Our work confirms that CZE is an efficient tool for characterizing the sizes of α-CD-S-AuNPs using Bu₄N⁺ ions.     

Determination of Phenolic Glucosides in Gentiana piasezkii by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of five phenolic glucosides, 6′-O-vanilloylarbutin (VA), 7-O-feruloylorientin (FE), lutonarin (LN), isoorient (IO) and luteolin (LL), in Gentiana piasezkii with UV detection at 270 nm. 7-O-β-D-glucosyl-coumarin was selected as the internal standard. The applied voltage was 15 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 °C. The effect of pH, the concentration of methanol and boric acid on migration were studied systematically. Optimum separation was achieved with 200 mM boric acid buffer at pH 9.50 containing 10% (v/v) methanol. Regression equations revealed good linear relationship between the peak area ratio of each compound and internal standard and its concentration. The correlation coefficients were 0.9975, 0.9997, 0.9998, 0.9998 and 0.9988 for VA, FE, LN, IO and LL, respectively. The relative standard deviations of migration time and the peak area ratio of each analyte and internal standard were <1.78% and 4.93%, respectively. The contents of the five compounds in Gentiana piasezkii were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery.     

Coaxial flow‐gating interface for capillary electrophoresis

A coaxial flow‐gating interface is described in which the separation capillary passes through the sampling capillary. Continuous flow of the sample solution flowing out of the sampling capillary is directed away from the injection end of the separation capillary by counter‐current flow of the gating solution. During the injection, the flow of the gating solution is interrupted, so that a plug of solution is formed at the inlet into the separation capillary, from which the sample is hydrodynamically injected. Flow‐gating interfaces are originally designed for on‐line connection of capillary electrophoresis with analytical flow‐through methods. The basic properties of the described coaxial flow‐gating interface were obtained in a simplified arrangement in which a syringe pump with sample solution has substituted analytical flow‐through method. Under the optimized conditions, the properties of the tested interface were determined by separation of K⁺, Ba²⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and Li⁺ ions in aqueous solution at equimolar concentrations of 50 μM. The repeatability of the migration times and peak areas evaluated for K⁺, Ba²⁺ and Li⁺ ions and expressed as relative standard deviation did not exceed 1.4%. The interface was used to determine lithium in mineral water and taurine in an energy drink.