Flow/sequential injection sample treatment coupled to capillary electrophoresis. A review

Various flow sample handling approaches coupled to capillary electrophoresis (CE) are reviewed, covering the research in this field in the 12 years since the milestone year of 1997, when practical interfaces to on-line couple flow injection (FI) and capillary electrophoresis were first developed independently by two research groups. Some previous attempts are also presented. Since 1997 a plethora of ingenious coupled systems have been developed. Although several reviews are available on various aspects of the topic, we have opted for a comprehensive overview of all FI-CE systems, as well as related and similar systems. This coupling has thus also led to the development of systems based on hybrids between the classical and microchip approaches. Truly microchip FI-CE systems are also included in this review.The developed systems have been used for various sample treatments, including on-line membrane-assisted sample treatment, column-based preconcentration, on-line derivatization and monitoring, to name just a few. The utility of coupling flow sampling to CE has been demonstrated in various practical applications that are discussed in detail. The current state-of-the-art and foreseeable future developments are also discussed.     

Ion association with alkylammonium cations for separation of anions by capillary electrophoresis

A background electrolyte (BGE) containing a 100 mM concentration of an alkylammonium cation with ethyl, propyl or butyl groups provides an excellent medium for separation of anions by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Two major effects were noted. Use of one of a series of alkylammonium cations in the BGE at a selected pH provides a simple and effective way to vary and control electroosmotic flow (EOF) over a broad range. It is believed that the alkylammonium cations are coated onto the capillary surface through a reversible dynamic equilibrium. Secondly, alkylammonium cations modify the electrophoretic migration of sample anions and the electroosmotic migration of neutral organic analytes by association interaction. This selective interaction results in improved anion separations and permits the simultaneous separation of neutral analytes. The degree of association interaction varies with the bulk and hydrophobicity of the alkylammonium cations. Incorporation of an aliphatic amine salt of moderate molecular weight in the running electrolyte provides a valuable new way to vary the migration times of sample anions and to optimize their resolution. The interactions between alkylammonium cations and sample anions or neutral organics appear to take place entirely within the liquid phase and do not require a polymeric or micellar pseudo phase.     

Development of a capillary electrophoresis system coupled to sequential injection analysis and evaluation by the analysis of nitrophenols

A combination of a laboratory-made capillary electrophoresis system and a sequential injection analysis equipment is described. For characterization, the system was successfully applied to the separation and quantification of nitrophenols. A blue LED was used as light source, and hydrodynamic injection was carried out by using a pressure-stable solenoid valve and an inflatable pressure reservoir. A good reproducibility of migration time (0.5%) and peak heights (5%) were obtained. The calibration by using peak heights was found to be linear up to 776?µmol?L^?1 for all three compounds. The system was robust and reliable for autonomous analysis without observation. All maintenance requirements including the conditioning of the capillary and flushing of both buffer reservoirs were carried out automatically. Instrumentation aspects of the capillary electrophoresis part are compared with former described hyphenated flow systems showing maximal operation versatility. Instrumental control and data evaluation were carried out using the software package AutoAnalysis.     

A flow injection-capillary electrophoresis system with high-voltage contactless conductivity detection for automated dual opposite end injection

The system comprises two flow injection-capillary electrophoresis interfaces into which the opposite ends of the separation capillary are inserted. The electrolyte solution flows through both interfaces by use of hydrostatic pressure. The injection of the samples into the electrolyte flow is accomplished by a rotary-type chromatographic valve at the grounded side and by a pinch-valve injector at the high-voltage side that provides sufficient isolation from the high electric field. The system allows a fully automated dual-injection sequence of samples from both capillary ends and simultaneous electrophoretic separation of anions and cations in the samples. The analytes are detected by a high-voltage contactless conductometric detector positioned approximately in the middle of the separation capillary. The parameters of the system were evaluated. The repeatability of the flow injection-capillary electrophoresis system for the simultaneous determination of anions and cations was evaluated for ten consecutive injections and relative standard deviation (RSD) values for peak areas were better than 1.0%. The sample throughput for total ionic analysis was estimated to be 25 samples per hour. The system was used for automated simultaneous analysis of anions and cations in various real samples. Using a short separation capillary, rapid total ionic analysis in less then 1 min is demonstrated.     

Simultaneous separation of 17 anions by capillary electrophoresis with the addition of an organic solvent

Seventeen inorganic and organic anions, that normally are insufficiently separated via ion chromatography, were completely separated by the addition of an organic solvent to a solution of BGE combined with an adjustment of the apparent pH via CE in combination with indirect UV absorbance detection. Methanol, ethanol, and acetonitrile were examined for their utility in manipulating the selective separation of anions. Methanol and acetonitrile were better modifiers than ethanol at enhancing the resolution of anions comigrating in an aqueous solution of BGE. Methanol was selected as the modifier that provided the largest separation window that could achieve a complete separation of the target analytes. Via the use of methanol, manipulation of the selectivity between inorganic anions and that between inorganic and organic anions was enhanced, but the separation between organic anions remained difficult when only methanol was used. By varying the apparent pH of the BGE in the presence of 10% v/v methanol, however, the separation selectivity between organic anions was substantially improved. Eventually, 7 inorganic and 10 organic anions were simultaneously separated using BGE at a pH of 6.3 in the presence of 10% v/v methanol.     

Sequential injection sample introduction microfluidic-chip based capillary electrophoresis system

A sequential injection micro-sample introduction system was coupled to a microfluidic-chip based capillary electrophoresis system through a split–flow sampling interface integrated on the micro-chip. The microfluidic system measured 20×70×3 mm in dimension, and was produced using a non-lithographic approach with components readily available in the analytical laboratory. In the H-configuration channel design the horizontal separation channel was a 75 μm I.D.×60 mm quartz capillary, with two vertical side arms produced from plastic tubing. The conduits were embedded in silicon elastomer with a planar glass base. Sequential introduction of a series of samples with about 2.5% carryover was achieved at 48 h⁻¹ throughput with samples containing a mixture of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled amino acids using SI sample volumes of 3.3 μl and carrier flow-rate of 2.0 ml min⁻¹. Baseline separation was achieved for FITC-labeled arginine, phenylalanine, glycine and FITC (laser induced fluorescence detection) in sodium tetraborate buffer (pH 9.2) within 8–80 s, at separation lengths of 25–35 mm and electrical field strengths of 250–1500 V cm⁻¹, with plate heights in the 0.7–3 μm range.     

Sequential capillary electrophoresis analysis using optically gated sample injection and UV/vis detection

We present sequential CE analysis of amino acids and l ‐asparaginase‐catalyzed enzyme reaction, by combing the on‐line derivatization, optically gated (OG) injection and commercial‐available UV‐Vis detection. Various experimental conditions for sequential OG‐UV/vis CE analysis were investigated and optimized by analyzing a standard mixture of amino acids. High reproducibility of the sequential CE analysis was demonstrated with RSD values (n = 20) of 2.23, 2.57, and 0.70% for peak heights, peak areas, and migration times, respectively, and the LOD of 5.0 μM (for asparagine) and 2.0 μM (for aspartic acid) were obtained. With the application of the OG‐UV/vis CE analysis, sequential online CE enzyme assay of l ‐asparaginase‐catalyzed enzyme reaction was carried out by automatically and continuously monitoring the substrate consumption and the product formation every 12 s from the beginning to the end of the reaction. The Michaelis constants for the reaction were obtained and were found to be in good agreement with the results of traditional off‐line enzyme assays. The study demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of integrating the OG injection with UV/vis detection for sequential online CE analysis, which could be of potential value for online monitoring various chemical reaction and bioprocesses.     

Determination of sulfa antibiotic residues in river and particulate matter by field-amplified sample injection-capillary zone electrophoresis

In the present research, field-amplified sample injection–CZE (FASI–CZE) coupled with a diode array detector was established to determine trace level sulfa antibiotic. Sulfathiazole, sulfadiazine, sulfamethazine, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfisoxazole were selected as analytes for the experiments. The background electrolyte solution consisted of 70.0 mmol/L borax and 60.0 mmol/L boric acid (including 10% methanol, pH 9.1). The plug was 2.5 mmol/L borax, which was injected into the capillary at a pressure of 0.5 psi for 5 s. Then the sample was injected into the capillary at an injection voltage of –10 kV for 20 s. The electrophoretic separation was carried out under a voltage of +19 kV. The capillary temperature was maintained at 20˚C throughout the analysis, and six sulfonamides were completely separated within 35 min. Compared with pressure injection-CZE, the sensitivity of FASI-CZE was increased by 6.25–10.0 times, and the LODs were reduced from 0.2–0.5 to 0.02–0.05 μg/mL. The method was applied to the determination of sulfonamides in river water and particulate matter samples. The recoveries were 78.59–106.59%. The intraday and interday precisions were 2.89–7.35% and 2.77–7.09%, respectively. This provides a simpler and faster method for the analysis of sulfa antibiotic residues in environmental samples.     

On-line sample concentration of organic anions in capillary zone electrophoresis by micelle to solvent stacking

Micelle to solvent stacking (MSS) is a new on-line sample concentration technique for charged analytes in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Sample concentration in MSS mainly relies on the reversal in the effective electrophoretic mobility of the analyte at the boundary zone between the sample solution (S) and CZE background solution (BGS) inside the capillary. The basic condition for MSS is that the S is prepared in a matrix that contains an additive (i.e., micelles) which interacts with and has an opposite charge compared to the analytes. In addition, the BGS must contain a sufficient percentage of organic solvent. MSS was first reported for organic cations using anionic dodecyl sulfate micelles as additive in the S and methanol or acetonitrile as organic solvent in the BGS. Here, theoretical and experimental studies on MSS are described for organic anions using cationic cetyltrimethyl ammonium micelles as additive in the S and methanol as organic solvent in the BGS. Up to an order of magnitude improvement in concentration sensitivity was obtained for the test hypolipidaemic drugs using MSS in CZE with UV detection. The optimized method was also evaluated to the analysis of a spiked wastewater sample that was subjected to a simple extraction step.     

Fast electrophoresis in conventional capillaries by employing a rapid injection device and contactless conductivity detection

A purpose-made set-up featuring an automated fast injector allowed the easy optimization of the injected amount and the adjustment of the separation length of conventional capillaries from a minimum of 5 cm upward. It was found that a compromise in capillary length for separation efficiency and analysis time also has to take into account the injected amount, which in turn affects the sensitivity and hence the detection limit. The versatility of the system was demonstrated by the analysis of the major cations and anions in natural water samples in less than 1 min, the concurrent determination of a mixture of amino acids and carbohydrates in 160 s, and of three active ingredients in a pharmaceutical preparation in 40 s. Plate numbers were typically around 50,000 and detection limits down to 1 M could be achieved.     

Reproducibility of sample separation using liquid or forced air convection thermostatted high performance capillary electrophoresis systems

Run-to-run sample separation reproducibility has been compared on two commercial high performance capillary electrophoresis units which differ in the mode by which the capillary temperature is thermostatted. Three standard analytes, differing dramatically in molecular character and size, were used for the analysis: benzoic acid, a 14 amino acid peptide from human chorionic gonadotropin, and ribonuclease A represent, respectively, small stable organic molecules, small peptides with little or no secondary structure, and proteins with secondary structure. These standards were evaluated with regard to reproducibility of migration time, peak area, and peak height. The analyses, performed in buffers of optimum pH for the separations, demonstrated that the liquid and forced air convection thermostatted systems both performed extremely well. The reproducibility, as judged by the percent coefficient of variance (% CV) of replicate analyses, was generally found to be less than 1 % (migration time); the reproducibility decreased in the order migration time > peak height > peak area. Whereas the absolute % CV values for MT_rel (migration relative to a standard) observed with the liquid thermostatted system were 2- to 4-fold lower than those observed with the forced air convection thermostatted system, there was little statistically significant difference between the two. As expected, the data indicated a reduction in reproducibility as the complexity of the analyte increased, perhaps as the result of an increased potential for wall interactions. Comparing separations in which low (≈?1 watt/meter [W/m] of capillary) and high (>5 W/m) Joule heat was generated by altering the sodium chloride content of the buffer revealed few statistically significant differences in the reproducibility obtained from the two systems. With these particular standard analytes and their respective buffer systems, there appears to be little difference between forced air convection and liquid thermostatting of the capillary.     

Automated capillary electrophoresis with on-line preconcentration by solid phase extraction using a sequential injection manifold and contactless conductivity detection

An extension of a capillary electrophoresis instrument coupled to a sequential injection analysis manifold was developed for automated measurements with on-line solid-phase extraction preconcentration. An in-house built capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector was employed for sensitive detection with narrow capillaries of 25 μm internal diameter. The system was assembled into standardized 19 in. frames and racks for easy transport and mobile deployment. The system can be left running unattendedly without manual intervention with good operation stability. To demonstrate the application of the system, a method for the determination of four drugs, namely ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen and bezafibrate, was developed with enrichment factors of up to several hundreds. Detection of the drug residues down to the nM-scale was found possible and the method was found suitable for the detection of ibuprofen in the waste water of a hospital in Hanoi.     

Capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection coupled to a sequential injection analysis manifold for extended automated monitoring applications

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrument with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D) based on a sequential injection analysis (SIA) manifold was refined. Hydrodynamic injection was implemented to avoid a sampling bias by using a split-injection device based on a needle valve for precise adjustment. For safety and reliability, the integrity of the high voltage compartment at the detection end was fully maintained by implementing flushing of the high voltage interface through the capillary. With this set-up, extended fully automated monitoring applications are possible. The system was successfully tested in the field for the determination of the concentration levels of major inorganic cations and anions in a creek over a period of 5 days.     

Enantiomer separation by capillary electrophoresis using DEAE-dextran and aminoglycosidic antibiotics

Summary Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) dextran hydrochloride and three kinds of aminoglycosidic antibiotics; fradiomycin sulfate, kanamycin sulfate and streptomycin sulfate, were employed as chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis, enantiomer separation. These selectors are cationic or basic because of amino functionality and therefore used for enantiomer separation of acidic compounds. To avoid adsorption of the basic or cationic selectors on the capillary inner surface, a coated capillary was employed. Among those tested, enantiomers of binaphthyl compounds and synthetic intermediates of diltiazem analogues were separated. Methanol addition was effective for the improvement of peak shape and resolution.     

On-line microheterogeneity analysis and rapid phenotyping of haptoglobin by capillary electrophoresis using sodium dodecyl sulfate as additive

To improve the detection sensitivity and determine phenotypes of haptoglobin (Hp), a prefilling technique was developed and tested in capillary electrophoresis (CE) with UV–vis absorbance detection. Adding 0.01% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to the protein sample and 0.1% SDS to the prefilling buffer solution, on-line stacking and microheterogeneity separation of Hp were achieved. In addition, the influences of pH, buffer concentration, sample and prefilling buffer SDS concentration upon resolution were examined. Under optimized conditions, Hp-microheterogeneity was well resolved and two phenotypes of Hp (Hp 1-1 and Hp 2-2) were differentiated. This method was applied to the analysis of sera from normal individuals and β-Thalassemia patients. After the depletion of albumin (HSA) and immunoglobulin G (IgG), this method allowed to determine two phenotypes in different individuals and to detect the decrease of Hp in β-Thalassemia patients. Featuring high efficiency, speed and simplicity, the proposed method shows great potential for use in clinical diagnosis and proteome research.     

Quality evaluation of Guan‐Xin‐Ning injection based on fingerprint analysis and simultaneous separation and determination of seven bioactive constituents by capillary electrophoresis

The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive, rapid and practical capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for quality control (QC) of Guan‐Xin‐Ning (GXN) injection based on fingerprint analysis and simultaneous separation and determination of seven constituents. In fingerprint analysis, a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with a running buffer of 30 mM borate solution (pH 9.3) was established. Meanwhile, ten batches of samples were used to establish the fingerprint electropherogram and 34 common peaks were obtained within 20 min. The RSD of relative migration times (RMT) and relative peak areas (RPA) were less than 5%. In order to further evaluate the quality of GXN injection, a micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for simultaneous separation and determination of bioactive constituents. Seven components reached baseline separation with a running buffer containing 35 mM SDS and 45 mM borate solution (pH 9.3). A good linearity was obtained with correlation coefficients from 0.9906 to 0.9997. The LOD and LOQ ranged from 0.12 to 1.50 μg/mL and from 0.40 to 4.90 μg/mL, respectively. The recoveries ranged between 99.0 and 104.4%. Therefore, it was concluded that the proposed method can be used for full‐scale quality analysis of GXN injection.     

On-line ion-exchange preconcentration in a flow injection system coupled to capillary electrophoresis for the direct determination of UV absorbing anions

On-line ion-exchange preconcentration, performed in a flow injection analysis system, has been integrated with capillary electrophoresis via a specially designed interface, and a sensitive and selective method for the determination of nitrite, nitrate, bromide and iodide using direct UV absorbance detection has been developed. Fivefold enrichment of these aforementioned anions can be realised. Separation conditions such as carrier electrolyte and concentration of electroosmotic modifier were investigated. Limits of detection were ca. 10 ng ml⁻¹ for nitrite and nitrate in aqueous samples, and the overall relative standard deviation was about 5%.     

On-line separation, simultaneous dilution and spectrophotometric determination of zinc in fertilisers with a sequential injection system and xylenol orange as complexing agent

A dialyser unit, equipped with a passive neutral membrane, was incorporated into the conduits of a sequential injection (SI) system for the on-line removal of suspended solids and simultaneous dilution of the analyte before reaction and detection of the analyte. The system was applied to the determination of zinc(II) in fertilisers. The fully automated system is able to analyse zinc at a sampling frequency of ten samples per hour at a %R.S.D. of better than 0.55. The calibration graph was linear between 10 and 50 mg l⁻¹. The detection limit was found to be 4.75 mg l⁻¹. The results obtained with the proposed SI analyser compared favourably with the standard manual flame atomic absorption spectrometric method.     

Mechanism of sequence-based separation of single-stranded DNA in capillary zone electrophoresis

Separation of DNA by length using CGE is a mature field. Separation of DNA by sequence, in contrast, is a more difficult problem. Existing techniques generally rely upon changes in intrinsic or induced differences in conformation. Previous work in our group showed that sets of ssDNA of the same length differing in sequence by as little as a single base could be separated by CZE using simple buffers at high ionic strength. Here, we explore the basis of the separation using circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence anisotropy, and small angle X-ray scattering. The results reveal sequence-dependent differences among the same length strands, but the trends in the differences are not correlated to the migration order of the strands in the CZE separation. They also indicate that the separation is based on intrinsic differences among the strands that do not change with increasing ionic strength; rather, increasing ionic strength has a greater effect on electroosmotic mobility in the normal direction than on electrophoretic mobility of the strands in the reverse direction. This increases the migration time of the strands in the normal direction, allowing more time for the same-length strands to be teased apart based on very small differences in the intrinsic properties of the strands of different sequence. Regression analysis was used to model the intrinsic differences among DNA strands in order to gain insight into the relationship between mobility and sequence that underlies the separation.     

Fast separation of enantiomers by capillary electrophoresis using a combination of two capillaries with different internal diameters

The combination of capillaries with different internal diameters was used to accelerate the separation of enantiomers in capillary electrophoresis. Separation of R ,S‐1,1′‐binaphthalene‐2,2′‐diyl hydrogen phosphate using isopropyl derivative of cyclofructan 6 was studied as a model system. The best separation conditions included 500 mM sodium borate pH 9.5 with 60 mM concentration of the chiral selector. Separation lasted approx. 1.5 min using the combination of 50 and 100 μm id capillaries of 9.7 cm and 22.9 cm, respectively. It allowed approx. 12‐fold acceleration in comparison to the traditional long‐end separation mainly due to the higher electroosmotic flow generated in the connected capillaries.