Separation and simultaneous determination of the active ingredients in theophylline tablets by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The separation and determination of seven active ingredients in theophylline tablets by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography is described. On a 35 cm × 50 μm I.D. capillary, baseline separation is possible with a carrier solution containing 0.05 M sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in 0.02 M borate buffer (pH 9.2) solution. The migration time of solutes increased markedly with increasing SDS concentration and slightly with increasing pH. With consecutive injections of samples, slight decreases in the migration times of the solutes occurred, but they were in parallel, owing to the temperature rise of the capillary with time. The column efficiency was influenced by the micellar concentration and applied voltage, and optimum values at which the highest theoretical plate number was achieved were established. The determination of the active ingredients was performed using hydrochlorothiazide and levamisole hydrochyloride (for ephedrine hydrochloride only) as internal standards, with good linearity with correlation coefficients from 0.9965 to 0.9999 and recoveries from 94.1 % to 101.1%. For quantitative information, measurements of peak height were better than peak area.     

Polarographic determination of copper, arsenic and arsenic in copper arsenite

A method is proposed in which Cu^II, As^III and As^v can be determined in copper arsenite without prior separation. It is based on the fact that Cu^II and As^III yield prominent, distinguishable, widely-separated cathodic polarographic waves in a 0.1M LiCl-0.01M EDTA—0.001M LiOH solution using a dropping mercury electrode, whereas As^v does not give a wave in this medium. The As^v is determined by difference after reduction with sulphurous acid.     

Determination of fluoride in feed mixtures by capillary isotachophoresis

An isotachophoretic (ITP) method for the determination of fluoride in feed mixtures was developed. A sample of feed mixture, after extraction with 1 M HCl, was analysed using a ZKI 02 column-coupling isotachopherograph. Leading electrolytes for presentation and analytical capillaries consisted of 0.008 M HCl-0.022 M -aminocaproic acid (EACA)-0.001 M CaCl₂-0.05% hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) and 0.002 M HCl-0.005 M EACA-0.05% HPMC, respectively. The terminating electrolyte was 0.01 M tartaric acid. The fluoride released from samples by microdiffusion in 25% perchloric acid was determined using an Ionosep 900.1 single capillary isotachopherograph with 0.002 M HCl-0.005 M EACA-0.05% HPMC as the leading electrolyte and 0.002 M tartaric acid as the terminating electrolyte. The detection limit, depending on the sample treatment, was as low as 4 μg/g as fluoride. A comparison of the developed ITP method with ion- selective electrode method was carried out.     

Ion chromatography of nitrite at the ppb level with photometric measurement of iodine formed by post-column reaction of nitrite with iodide

The difficulty in ion-chromatographic determination of nitrite in aqueous solutions containing a high concentration of chloride arises mainly from incomplete resolution of the peaks for these anions on the separation column whose efficiency is not high. A photometric measurement of iodine formed by a reaction of nitrite with iodide has been found to make it possible to determine, chromatographically, trace amounts of nitrite without any interference from chloride; chloride does not oxidize iodide to produce iodine. The proposed method was based on the separation of nitrite from matrix anions on a silica-based anion-exchange column with a 1.5·10⁻³ M phthalate eluent (pH 5.0), followed by photometric measurement of the iodine (as triiodide) formed via a post-column reaction of the separated nitrite with iodide. The optimal conditions for the post-column reaction were established by varying the concentrations of iodide, copper(II) and nitric acid in a post-column-reaction solution and the length of a reaction tube. A calibration graph for nitrite, plotted as peak heights versus concentrations, was linear up to 1.50·10⁻⁵ M (690 ppb). The detection limit, defined at S/N=3, was 1.00·10⁻⁷ M (4.60 ppb) nitrite. The presence of chloride ions up to 0.01 M did not give any interference to the determination of nitrite. This method was successfully applied to the determination of nitrite in lake water, river water, sewage works water and snow samples without any pretreatment.     

Release of copper from commercial solid-state copper ion-selective electrodes

The release of copper from two commercial solid-state cupric ion-selective electrodes [Orion 94-29 Cupric Electrode (I) and Radiometer F1112 Selectrode (II)] was measured by immersion in the following media: 0.1M potassium nitrate (pH = 4.7), 0.5M sodium chloride (pH = 4.7) and 0.1M nitric acid. In the 0.1M potassium nitrate medium, the amount of copper released from both electrodes causes interference when they are used for the determination of cupric ion at the 10⁻⁷M level. In comparison with the 0.1M potassium nitrate medium, the copper release in the 0.5M sodium chloride and 0.1M nitric acid media was increased for electrode II but not for electrode I. The release of copper was not affected by removal of oxygen from the media but can be substantially lowered by coating the electrodes with a thin cation-exchange membrane (Nafion). The mechanism of copper dissolution is investigated.     

Separation and determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine by combination of flow injection with capillary electrophoresis

A simple, rapid, and accurate method for the separation and determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine using direct UV absorbance detection has been developed by the combination of flow injection with capillary electrophoresis for the first time. The buffer solution used is a 40 mM borate solution with the pH adjusted to 9.5 using a 2 M NaOH solution. The linear calibration range is 50 to 1000 microg/mL (r = 0.9996) for both analytes, and the recoveries are 91.2-108.2% for ephedrine and 92.6-107.3% for pseudoephedrine, respectively. The relative standard deviation of the peak area is 1.6% for ephedrine and 1.3% for pseudoephedrine (n = 6) at a concentration of 500 microg/mL, respectively. A series of samples is injected repeatedly without current interruption and subsequent rinsing, and the contents of these two alkaloids in three marketed drugs and the medical plant, Ephedra sinica, are determined with satisfactory results by this method.     

Exchange interaction energy between two one-active electron atoms at large distances

Developed formulas for the exchange interaction energy between two neutral one-active electron atoms interacting at large distances R are presented in terms of known basic integrals obtained from an asymptotic method for the alkali dimers M₂ dissociating to M(ns) + M(ns), M(n′l) + M(n′l), l = 0, …, 3 and M (np) + M(np). Detailed illustrative numerical results are displayed for the molecular states of Na₂ dissociating to the limit Na(3s) + Na(3p). Comparisons with very accurate ab initio results as well as with some available experimental data show that accurate potential energy curves for these excited states may be obtained in a very large range of internuclear distances by connecting ab initio curves for small and intermediate values of R with long-range curves obtained as the sum of usual multipolar Coulombic energy and asymptotic exchange energy.     

Determination of ephedra alkaloids by high-performance liquid chromatography

Summary Two simple methods were developed for the simultaneous determination of six alkaloids (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, methylephedrine and methyl-pseudoephedrine) inEphedrae Herba by high-performance liquid chromatography. The first method was carried out by using a Cosmosil 5C₁₈-MS column with a gradient solvent system consisting of a phosphate buffer and acetonitrile, and detection at 210 nm. The contents of alkaloids in non-pretreated ephedra herb extracts could be determined easily in 50 min. Alternatively, the alkaloids could be determined within 35 minutes by using a Cosmosil 5C₁₈-MS column with an isocratic solvent system of a sodium dodecyl sulfate-acetonitrile solution. The two methods are compared and discussed.     

The determination of nickel, zinc, cobalt and manganese impurities in cadmium by pulse polarography

A pulse-polarographic method for the simultaneous determination of traces of nickel, zinc, cobalt and manganese in cadmium and its compounds is described. Interference from the reduction of the cadmium matrix was eliminated by a prior electrolytic deposition of cadmium on a mercury cathode at a controlled potential of –0.90 V vs. S.C.E. Iron in excess interfered with the determination of cobalt and was therefore extracted from the electrolysed solutions. The polarographic determination was performed in 0.1 M lithium acetate -0.025 M lithium thiocyanate as supporting electrolyte. A sample weight of 10 g and a final volume of 10 ml allowed the determination of about 0.08 p.p.m. nickel, 0.01 p.p.m. zinc, 0.02 p.p.m. cobalt and 0.003 p.p.m manganese. Less than 0.01 p.p.m. nickel could be determined with a 0.25 M pyridine 0.05 M potassium chloride supporting electrolyte. Several synthetic samples and commercially available cadmium products were analysed.     

Determination of silver in ores, concentrates, zinc process solutions, copper metal and copper-base alloys by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry after separation by extraction of the tribenzylamine-silver bromide complex

A method for determining 0.1 μg/g or more of silver in ores and concentrates and 0.001 μg/ml or more of silver in zinc process solutions is described. Silver is separated from the matrix elements by chloroform extraction of the tribenzylamine—silver bromide ion-association complex from 0.08M potassium bromide—2M sulphuric acid and stripped with 9M hydrobromic acid. This solution is evaporated to dryness and organic material is destroyed with nitric and perchloric acids. Silver is determined by atomic-absorption spectrophotometry in an air—acetylene flame, at 328.1 nm, in a 10% v/v hydrochloric acid—1% v/v diethylenetriamine medium. Cadmium, bismuth and molybdenum are partly co-extracted but do not interfere. The method is also applicable to copper metal and copper-base alloys. Results obtained by this method are compared with those obtained by a fire-assay/atomic-absorption method.     

Analysis of ephedra-alkaloids using sweeping and cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography methods

Two stacking methods of capillary electrophoresis (CE) were developed for the separation of very dilute solutions of ephedra-alkaloids, namely ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, methylpseudoephedrine, norephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine. A sweeping method which uses a carrier comprised of phosphoric acid, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), diethylamine and acetonitrile permits the detection of the alkaloids down to the 10(-1) microg/mL level, and the cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI-Sweep-MEKC) method using phosphoric acid, SDS, and acetronitrile as electrolytes can detect down to the 10(-3) microg/mL level. The former requires the conductance of the sample solution to be adjusted beforehand, and only five peaks were observed, two of which were overlapped. The latter is capable of separating the six alkaloids but has a somewhat poorer reproducibility. Using an optimized injection time, it was found that the more diluted a solution is, the greater the sweeping effect will be. The CSEI-Sweep-MEKC method with a 600 s injection time and a 10(-1) microg/mL solution concentration provides an amplification effect of approximately 10(4). The method is suitable for analyses of dilute herb drug extracts and mouse sera. The effect of buffers on the separation and validation of the methods in this study are also discussed.     

A validated HPLC‐PDA method for identification and quantification of two bioactive alkaloids,ephedrine and cryptolepine,in different Sida species

A simple, rapid, accurate and reproducible reverse‐phase HPLC method has been developed for the identification and quantification of two alkaloids ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species using photodiode array detection. Baseline separation of the two alkaloids was achieved on a Waters RP‐18 X‐terra column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using a solvent system consisting of a mixture of water containing 0.1% Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and acetonitrile in a gradient elution mode with detection at 210 and 280 nm for ephedrine and cryptolepine, respectively. The calibration curves were linear in a concentration range of 10–250 µg/mL for both the alkaloids with correlation coefficient values >0.99. The limits of detection and quantification for ephedrine and cryptolepine were 5 and 10 µg/mL and 2.5 and 5 µg/mL, respectively. Relative standard deviation values for intra‐day and inter‐day precision were 1.22 and 1.04% for ephedrine and 1.71 and 2.06% for cryptolepine, respectively. Analytical recovery ranged from 92.46 to 103.95%. The developed HPLC method was applied to identify and quantify ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coulometric titration of iron by electrolytically generated bromine

Iron^II reacts with bromine more smoothly in acetic acid-sodium acetate medium than in sulphuric acid medium, producing a marked potential change at the end-point. The titration curves and the reaction velocities of the reaction have been studied with regard to various compositions of the electrolytic solution. It was found that iron^IIfrom 0.01 meq to 0.1 meq could be titrated coulometrically with less than about 1% error, if the electrolytic solution contained 0.1M potassium bromate, 1N acetic acid and 0.2N sodium hydroxide.     

Influence of molecular mass on the liquid crystal alignment of photosensitive fluorinated polyester films

Photosensitive fluorinated polyesters (polymer-n) of varying molecular mass M _n (number-average molecular mass) were synthesized. The thin films formed from polymer-n samples could induce liquid crystal (LC) alignment after irradiation by linearly polarized ultraviolet light. The LC alignment direction on the irradiated films was investigated in detail by linearly polarized infrared spectroscopy and polarizing optical microscopy. It was found that LC alignment behaviour changed with change in the molecular mass of polymer-n: irradiated films with lower or higher M _n induced homeotropic or homogenous alignment, respectively. There was no clear morphological anisotropy in these aligned films, as observed by atomic force microscopy. The surface energies of the irradiated films were also measured using the indirect contact angle method, where both surface energy and its polar component increased with increasing M _n. The variation in M _n could be considered as a main reason for varying alignment behaviour.     

Extraction with long chain amines-VII polarographic determination of uranium

A polarographic determination of uranium is described, based on the highly selective extraction of uranium(VI) with a chloroform solution of trioctylammonium chloride, followed by re-extraction of uranium into an aqueous 0·5M KCl-0·5M HCl solution, which also serves as the polarographic supporting electrolyte. In this medium, uranium(VI) is reduced at the dropping mercury electrode to give two polarographic waves, the first of which is of analytical significance. In this way it is possible to determine 50–2400 μg of uranium in 1 ml of supporting electrolyte and in the presence of large amounts of accompanying elements.     

Determination of diastereoisomeric alkaloids in urine by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection

A new and simple capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection was developed for the separation and the quantification of a pair of diastereoisomenc alkaloids（ephedrine and pseudoephedrine）.The limits of detection（S/N = 3） were 4.5×10^-8 mol/L for ephedrine and 5.2×10^-8 mol/L for pseudoephedrine,respectively.The RSDs of migration time and peak area were less than 1.3 and 2.5%（n = 5）,respectively.The applicability of the propose method was illustrated in the determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in human urine,ephedrine in nasal drops,and the monitoring of pharmacokinetics for pseudoephedrine.     

Electrochemical masking of large amounts of copper in dpasv and the determination of thallium in the presence of a large excess of copper

The influence of the following surfactants on the peak of copper in 0.2M EDTA at pH 4.5 was investigated: polyoxyethylated alkylphenols having an average of 3 and 9.5 ethylene oxide units; polyoxyethylene alcohols having 4 and 7 ethylene oxide units; poly(ethylene glycols) having M.W. 4000, 9000 and 20000; hexadecyltributylphosphonium bromide (HDTBPB), tetraphenylphosphonium bromide (TPPB),N,N,N,N,N',N',N-examethylhexamethylenediammonium bromide (HMB), benzyl(di-isobutylphenoxyethoxy) dimethylammonium chloride (Hyamine 1622), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMAB), hexadecyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (HDDMBAC) and tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC). HDDMBAC, as well as all the substances examined which contained an ethylene oxide chain, completely suppressed the copper peak. HDTBPB and TPPB partially suppressed the peak, whereas HDTMAB, HMB and Hyamine 1622 enhanced it. TBAC was without effect. In 0.2M EDTA at pH 4.5 containing TBAC at 0.01M concentration and 10 ppm of Rokafenol N-3, Cu(II), Pb(II) and Bi(III) can be tolerated at concentrations of up to 0.05M, the height of the thallium peak being unaffected. The precision of the determination (3–10%) and the recovery are satisfactory. A 10³-fold ratio of Fe(III) to Tl(I) does not interfere with the determination.     

四丁基碘化铵催化甲基丙烯酸甲酯的可逆-休眠自由基溶液聚合

以四丁基碘化铵(BNI) 为有机催化剂, 碘单质(I₂) 与偶氮二异庚腈(ABVN) 原位生成的碘代异庚腈为引发剂, 进行甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA) 的溶液聚合. 以甲苯为溶剂, MMA:I₂:ABVN的摩尔比为200:1:1.7, 考察了催化剂用量对聚合的影响. 结果表明, 加入催化剂可以缩短诱导期, 当I₂:BNI摩尔比为1:1时聚合反应的诱导期最短(1.7 h); 当BNI:I₂摩尔比为0.25:1~2:1之间时, 聚合物实测分子量与理论值十分接近, 分子量分布较窄, 分子量分布指数(M_w/M_n) 多在1.2以下. 考察了在N,N'-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)、 四氢呋喃(THF)、 苯甲醚、 苯和甲苯5种溶剂中的聚合反应, 发现在苯和甲苯中聚合可控性最佳, M_w/M_n多在1.2以下; 苯甲醚和THF中聚合速率较快, 聚合物分子量分布较苯中的略宽. 以DMF为溶剂时所得聚合物分子量分布很宽, 聚合可控性差. 核磁共振分析聚合物为碘封端结构, 碘原子封端的聚合物链所占比为91.6%.     

Detection of traces of oxidized and reduced sulfur compounds in small samples by combination of different high-performance liquid chromatography methods

Depending on the sulfur species, picomoles of different inorganic sulfur compounds can be detected and separated by HPLC in one arrangement in a sample volume less than 50 μl. The combination of fluorescence labelling of reduced inorganic sulfur compounds such as sulfide (S²⁻), sulfite(SO₃²⁻ and thiosulfate (S₂O₃²⁻) with monobromobimane followed by an extraction of elemental sulfur (S°) by chloroform treatment enables the detection of all mentioned sulfur compounds as well as sulfate (remaining aqueous phase) in the same sample. While the derivatized sulfur compounds could be detected by their fluorescence emission at 480 nm, elemental sulfur is identified by its UV absorption at 263 nm. Sulfate in the remaining aqueous phase is detected by HPLC with indirect UV detection at 254 nm. Detection ranges for the different sulfur compounds examined are as follows: sulfide (5 μM to 1.5 mM), sulfite (5 μM to 1.0 mM), thiosulfate (1 μM to 1.5 mM), elemental sulfur (2 μM to 32 mM) and sulfate (5 μM to >1 mM).     

Low-molecular-mass anion screening for forensic environmental analyses by capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV detection

A method for low-molecular-mass anion screening is described using a buffer composed of 5-sulfosalicylate (SS) as a visualizing ion, hexadimethrine bromide as an electroosmotic flow modifier and Tris as a pH buffer component, at pH 8.6. All ions with effective mobility higher than 2610⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹ V⁻¹ can be separated within 7.5 min under −30 kV. By using the moderately mobile SS (5410⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹ V⁻¹), not only the sensitivity of the detection is improved due to its high UV absorptivity, but also a smaller overall overloading effect is achieved. Meanwhile, the resolution of the high mobility ions, which is normally critical, remains almost the same as compared to a chromate buffer. With an electrokinetic injection, the limit of detection (LOD) of the common ions is 2–13 nM and the detection range is linear up to 0.5–3 μM. With a hydrostatic injection the LOD is 0.15–1 μM and the detection range is linear up to 25–200 μM. The identification of ions is performed by comparing the mobility of the ions with that of standards, taking the apparent and effective mobility of HCO₃⁻, which is normally present in the sample solution, as a reference.