Fast separation of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressants in plasma sample by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

A simple, fast, and sensitive liquid–liquid extraction method followed by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (LLE/NACE) was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of four antidepressants (fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram and paroxetine) in human plasma. Several experimental separation conditions using aqueous and nonaqueous media separation were tested by varying the electrolyte pH value (for aqueous medium) and the ionic strength concentration considering the similar mobility of the compounds. High-resolution separation was achieved with a mixture of 1.25 mol L⁻¹ of phosphoric acid in acetonitrile. The quantification limits of the LLE/CE method varied between 15 and 30 ng mL⁻¹, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 10.3%. The method was successfully applied in therapeutic drug monitoring and should be employed in the evaluation of plasma levels in urgent toxicological analysis.     

Method for derivatization of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in nonaqueous media and determination by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection

A nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection method was developed for the quantification of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine after derivatization with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1, 3-diazol in nonaqueous media. The derivatization was made in off-line mode. By a series of optimizations, a derivatization buffer composed of 40 mm ammonium acetate and 20% acetonitrile and a running buffer composed of 80 mm ammonium acetate and 3% acetic acid were applied for the derivatization and separation of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, respectively. Linear relationships for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were obtained in the range 1.23-19.60 mg/L (correlation coefficients 0.9970 for ephedrine and 0.9994 for pseudoephedrine), and the detection limits for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were 0.014 and 0.011 mg/L, respectively. The method was applied to the analysis of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in four preparations with recoveries in the range 93.9-105.1%.     

Analysis of underivatized cellodextrin oligosaccharides by capillary electrophoresis with direct photochemically induced UV‐detection

This work focuses on the development of a CE method allowing, for the first time, the simultaneous separation of the underivatized first seven cellodextrin oligomers (glucose, cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, cellopentaose, cellohexaose, and celloheptaose), with a view to analyze the hydrolysates obtained after partial acid depolymerization of nitrocellulose, and eight carbohydrates (ribose, xylose, fructose, mannose, galactose, maltose, lactose, and sucrose), which might be potential interfering compounds in explosives samples. Separation was achieved with a highly alkaline BGE containing sodium chloride and direct mid‐UV‐absorbance detection was performed after photo‐oxidation in the detection window. EOF was reversed to speed up the analysis using a dynamic capillary coating by hexadimethrine bromide. A central composite design was carried out to determine the effects of BGE conductivity and sodium hydroxide concentration on resolutions between neighboring peaks, and analysis time. A desirability analysis on modeled responses was applied to maximize resolutions and to minimize analysis time. The simultaneous analysis in 20 min total runtime of the 15 carbohydrates plus internal reference (naphthalene sulfonate) was carried out at 25°C with a BGE composed of 77.4 mM NaOH and 183 mM NaCl to adjust the conductivity at the optimum value. Finally, the resolution robustness was checked. This new method should also be of interest to monitor food and nonfood crop products.     

Study on the effects of electrolytes and solvents in the determination of quaternary ammonium ions by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

A study on the separation of lipophilic quaternary ammonium cations in NACE coupled with contactless conductivity detection (NACE‐C⁴D) is presented. The suitability of different salts dissolved in various organic solvents as running electrolytes in NACE‐C⁴D was investigated. A solvent mixture of methanol/acetonitrile at a ratio of 90%:10% v/v showed the best results. Deoxycholic acid sodium salt as BGE was found to provide exceptional high stability with low baseline noise that leads to highest S/N ratios for the target analytes among all BGEs tested. Under the optimum conditions, capillaries with different internal diameters were examined and an id of 50 μm was found to give best detection sensitivity. The proposed method was validated and showed good linearity in the range from 2.5 to 200 μM, low limits of detection (0.1–0.7 μM) and acceptable reproducibility of peak area (intraday RSD 0.1–0.7%, n = 3; interday RSD 5.9–9.4%, n = 3).     

DNA fragment separations by on‐line combination of capillary isotachophoresis–capillary zone electrophoresis with UV detection

A high‐speed DNA fragment separation system based on an on‐line combination of capillary ITP with CZE (CITP‐CZE) and using UV detection at 260 nm was developed. A novel CITP‐CZE buffer system of pH 6.1 was designed for the separation of ten DNA fragments with sizes ranging from 100 to 1000 bp. An effect of underivatized α‐, β‐ and γ‐cyclodextrins on the resolution of DNA fragments in the CZE step of the CITP‐CZE combination was systematically investigated. Methylhydroxyethylcellulose present in the BGE was used to eliminate the EOF. DNA ladder fragments were separated within 10 min with LODs in the range of 1–5 ng/μL (S/N = 3). The RSDs of the migration time and peak area of individual DNA fragments were in the range of 1–3 and 3–9%, respectively. The developed CITP‐CZE system was further applied to the analysis of digest plasmid DNA samples.     

Enhanced detection of seven glucoconjugated and hydroxylated porphyrins and chlorins by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis combined with stacking

The nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis mode which includes a preconcentration step based on a transient pseudo-isotachophoresis to the simultaneous separation of seven glucoconjugated and hydroxylated porphyrins and chlorins, exhibiting very close structures, is reported. A high methanol content, of the buffer solution, was necessary in order to prevent self-assembly of the compounds and to enhance their solubility during separation. With the addition of 66% (v/v) methanol and 1% (w/v) NaCl in the aqueous sample solution, large volumes could be injected (44% capillary volume) without a loss in resolution. Sensitivity of detection was therefore improved by a 100-fold factor with regard to the method employing normal injection (2% capillary volume). Optimum electrophoretic conditions, in terms of sensitivity and performance, were obtained by using 20 mM phosphoric acid buffer, pH 2.2 and 50% methanol. The method was validated and applied to qualitative analysis of glucoconjugates in serum samples.     

Simultaneous determination of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and parabens by capillary electrophoresis with improved sensitivity in nonaqueous media

New methods based on nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) were developed as promising alternatives for the simultaneous separation and determination of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA) and a group of parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and benzyl p-hydroxybenzoates), with good resolution and excellent sensitivity. As an effective on-line preconcentration technique, large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) was successfully combined with NACE allowing significant sensitivity enhancement. Identification and quantification of the analytes were performed by diode array detection (DAD). The influence of different parameters, such as buffer apparent pH, concentration of electrolyte, temperature, applied voltage and sample volume, on the efficiency, resolution and sensitivity of the electrophoretic separation was studied. The analytical performance was evaluated, and both NACE-DAD and LVSS-NACE-DAD methods showed good linearity, precision and instrumental LODs at low ng/mL levels. These LODs were compared with those described in the literature, and it was found that NACE-DAD method was comparable to GC-MS, while LVSS-NACE-DAD procedure achieved sensitivity similar to LC-MS, LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS, even using conventional ultraviolet-visible absorption detection. To test their suitability, proposed methods were evaluated for the analysis of PHBA and parabens at low and sub-ng/mL levels in environmental water samples.     

Dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction coupled with pressure‐assisted electrokinetic injection for simultaneous enrichment of seven phenolic compounds in water samples followed by determination using capillary electrophoresis

Offline dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction combined with online pressure‐assisted electrokinetic injection was developed to simultaneously enrich seven phenolic compounds in water samples, followed by determination using capillary electrophoresis, namely phenol, 4‐chlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol, 2,4‐dichlorophenol, 2‐chlorophenol, and 2,6‐dichlorophenol. Several parameters affecting separation performance of capillary electrophoresis and the enrichment efficiency of pressure‐assisted electrokinetic injection and dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction were systematically investigated. Under the optimal conditions, seven phenolic compounds were completely separated within 14 min and good enrichment factors were obtained of 61, 236, 3705, 3288, 920, 86, and 1807 for phenol, 4‐chlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol, 2,4‐dichlorophenol, 2‐chlorophenol, and 2,6‐dichlorophenol, respectively. Good linearity was attained in the range of 0.1–200 μg/L for 2,4‐dichlorophenol, 0.5–200 μg/L for 4‐chlorophenol, pentachlorophenol, 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol, 2‐chlorophenol, and 2,6‐dichlorophenol, as well as 1–200 μg/L for phenol, with correlation coefficients (r) over 0.9905. The limits of detection and quantification ranging from 0.03–0.28 and 0.07–0.94 μg/L were attained. This two step enrichment method was potentially applicable for the rapid and simultaneous determination of phenolic compounds in water samples.     

Microalgae amino acid extraction and analysis at nanomolar level using electroporation and capillary electrophoresis with laser‐induced fluorescence detection

Amino acids play a key role in food analysis, clinical diagnostics, and biochemical research. Capillary electrophoresis with laser‐induced fluorescence detection was used for the analysis of several amino acids. Amino acid labeling with fluorescein isothiocyanate was conducted using microwave‐assisted derivatization at 80°C (680 W) during only 150 s. Good electrophoretic resolution was obtained using a background electrolyte composed of sodium tetraborate buffer (100 mM; pH 9.4) and β‐cyclodextrin (10 mM), and the limits of quantification were 3–30 nM. The developed capillary electrophoresis with laser‐induced fluorescence method was used to analyze amino acids in Dunaliella salina green algae grown under different conditions. A simple extraction technique based on electroporation of the cell membrane was introduced. A home‐made apparatus allowed the application of direct and alternating voltages across the electrochemical compartment containing a suspension of microalgae in distilled water at 2.5 g/L. A direct voltage of 12 V applied for 4 min gave the optimum extraction yield. Results were comparable to those obtained with accelerated‐solvent extraction. The efficiency of electroporation in destroying microalgae membranes was shown by examining the algae surface morphology using scanning electron microscopy. Stress conditions were found to induce the production of amino acids in Dunaliella salina cells.     

Separation and determination of 2,4-D, dicamba and 2,4,5-T in tobacco by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

A practical method for residue analysis of 2,4-D, dicamba and 2,4,5-T in baked tobacco leaves has been developed using nonaqueous CE (NACE). The herbicide residues of 2,4-D, dicamba and 2,4,5-T in tobaccos were extracted by ultrasonication with ethyl acetate, followed by a cleanup procedure with gel permeation chromatography. The separation of 2,4-D, dicamba and 2,4,5-T by NACE was optimized based on orthogonal experiment design with four factors at three levels. The optimal NACE condition was established with the running buffer of 40.0 mmol/L ammonium acetate in 90% CH3CN (apparent pH 10.2), and the applied voltage of -25 kV over a capillary of 50 microm id x 46 cm (37.5 cm to the detector window), which gave a baseline separation of 2,4-D, dicamba and 2,4,5-T within 15 min. The LOD were ca. 0.4-0.6 microg/mL for the three herbicides, whereas the overall recovery ranged from 80.8 to 84.1%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to measure 300 real tobacco samples, and the residue profiles of the three herbicides in tobacco samples were obtained and evaluated.     

On-line preconcentration of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

Separation of major environmental pollutants as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) by capillary electrophoresis is reported for the first time. It is not possible to resolve the solutes in an aqueous media. However, the use of methanol and acetonitrile as the background electrolyte (BGE) solvents allowed their rapid separation in an uncoated capillary. A major effort was put into BGE optimization in respect to both separation efficiency and detection for further on‐line preconcentration. 5 mmol.L^?1 naphthalene‐1‐sulfonic acid and 10 mmol.L^?1 triethylamine dissolved in ACN/MeOH (50:50 v/v) provided best separation and detection conditions. Next, the large‐volume sample stacking and the field‐amplified sample injection were applied and compared. Large‐volume sample stacking improved limits of detection (LODs) with regard to the standard injection by 69 times for PFOA and 143 times for PFOS with LODs of 280 and 230 nmol.L^?1, respectively. Field‐amplified sample injection improved LODs 624 times for PFOAand 806 times for PFOS with LODs 31 and 40 nmol.L^?1, respectively. Both preconcentration methods showed repeatabilities of migration times less than 1.2% RSD intraday and 6.6% RSD interday. The method was applied on PFOA and PFOS analysis in a sample of river water treated with solid‐phase extraction, which further improved LOD toward 5.6 × 10^?10 mol.L^?1 for PFOS and 6.4 × 10^?10 mol.L^?1 for PFOA and allows the method to be used for river water contamination screening or decomposition studies.     

A simple and sensitive method of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced native fluorescence detection for the analysis of chelerythrine and sanguinarine in Chinese herbal medicines

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is a highly sensitive detection method for capillary electrophoresis (CE). However, it usually requires analyte to be derivatized, unless the wavelength of native fluorescence of analyte matches the laser's. That limits its application in drug analysis. In this work, we introduced a rapid, simple and sensitive method of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced native fluorescence (NACE-LIF) detection for the analysis of chelerythrine and sanguinarine for the first time. As these two alkaloids have some native fluorescence, they were directly detected using a commercially available Ar⁺ laser without troublesome fluorescent derivatization. The fluorescence was enhanced by nonaqueous media. Compared with previously reported UV detection method, lower limit of detection (LOD) is achieved thanks to the high sensitivity of LIF detection (2.0 ng/mL for chelerythrine and 6.3 ng/mL for sanguinarine). Moreover, with NACE, the baseline separation of these alkaloids is finished within 3.5 min. This method is successfully applied to determine the contents of chelerythrine and sanguinarine in Macleaya cordata (Willd.) R. Br. and Chelidonium majus L.     

Determination of sulfate ester content in sulfated oligo‐ and poly‐saccharides by capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV detection

Carbohydrates having sulfate groups such as glycosaminoglycans and chemically synthesized sucrose sulfate show interesting and important biological activities. We adapted CE with indirect UV detection technique to the determination of sulfate ester in sulfated carbohydrates, which were previously hydrolyzed with HCl. The liberated sulfate ion was analyzed using a background electrolyte consisting of triethanolamine‐buffered chromate with hexamethonium bromide. Sulfate contents of glucose 3‐sulfate and sucrose octasulfate used as a model were in good agreement with theoretical values (accuracy, 95.9–96.7 and 97.4–101.9%, respectively), and relative standard deviation values run‐to‐run were 0.977 and 1.90%, respectively. We applied the method to the determination of the sulfate contents of some glycosaminoglycan samples and showed that the contents were in good agreement with those calculated from sulfur content. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis for the determination of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in waters

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was combined for the first time with NACE‐UV for the selective determination of eight fluoroquinolone antibiotics (lomefloxacin, levofloxacin, marbofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, sarafloxacin, enrofloxacin, danofloxacin and difloxacin) in mineral and run‐off waters. Field‐enhanced sample injection was carried out in order to improve the sensitivity, whereas pipemidic acid was used as internal standard. The BGE that provided complete separation of the eight analytes and the internal standard was composed of 3 M acetic acid, 49 mM ammonium acetate in 55:45 v/v methanol:ACN. Optimum DLLME conditions (extraction of 5 mL of water at pH 7.6 with 685 μL of CHCl₃ and 1250 μL of ACN, extractant and disperser solvents, respectively) were achieved by means of experimental design methodology. Calibration curves of the whole method were obtained with correlation coefficients (R) higher than 0.994 in all cases. An accuracy and precision study was carried out at different levels of concentration, finding that there were no significant differences (Student's t‐test) between real and spiked concentrations.     

Indirect photometric detection of anions in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis employing Orange G as probe and a light-emitting diode-based detector

A method based on indirect photometric detection (IPD) in CE employing a blue LED (473 nm) as a light source and the highly absorbing (478 nm) anionic dye, Orange G, as the probe ion was developed for the sensitive analysis of inorganic and organic anions. The use of nonaqueous solvents was examined as a simple way to reduce the adsorption of the dye onto the capillary wall and to thereby improve the baseline stability. The benefits of this approach were confirmed by experiments using BGEs in methanol (MeOH) and DMSO in which superior baselines were obtained relative to those achieved using aqueous electrolyte systems. A range of commercial LEDs was tested to improve the detection performance, with a difference of 25% in sensitivity being observed between the best and worst performing LED. The final system (4 mM Orange G, 0.05% w/v hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC), 20 mM triethanolamine (TEA) in pure MeOH) exhibited stable baselines and very low LODs (0.10-0.18 microM) for a test mixture comprising nine inorganic and organic anions. These values represent a two- to six-fold improvement over previous studies and the proposed method provides the most sensitive IPD method for the determination of anions using CE published to date. RSDs for ten replicates were in the ranges of 0.42-0.62% for migration time, 1.41-3.46% for peak area and 3.20-5.78% for peak height.     

Simultaneous determination of atropine,anisodamine, and scopolamine in plant extract by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis coupled with electrochemiluminescence and electrochemistry dual detection

A rapid and simple method was demonstrated for the analysis of atropine, anisodamine, and scopolamine by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) coupled with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) and electrochemistry (EC) dual detection. The mixture of acetonitrile (ACN) and 2-propanol containing 1 M acetic acid (HAc), 20 mM sodium acetate (NaAc), and 2.5 mM tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) was used as the electrophoretic buffer. Although a short capillary of 18 cm was used, the decoupler was not needed and the separation efficiency was good. The linear ranges of atropine, anisodamine, and scopolamine were 0.5–50, 5–2000, and 50–2000 μM, respectively. For six replicate measurements of 100 μM scopolamine, 15 μM atropine, and 200 μM anisodamine, the RSDs of ECL intensity, EC current, and migration time were less than 3.6%, 4.5%, and 0.3%, respectively. In addition, because the organic buffer was used, the working electrode (Pt) was not easily fouled and did not need reactivation. The method was also applied for the determination of these three alkaloids in Flos daturae extract.     

Simultaneous determination of aripiprazole and its active metabolite,dehydroaripiprazole, in plasma by capillary electrophoresis combining on‐column field‐amplified sample injection and application in schizophrenia

A sensitive high‐performance CZE combining on‐column field‐amplified sample injection (FASI) has been developed for simultaneous determination of aripiprazole and its active metabolite, dehydroaripiprazole, in human plasma. A sample pretreatment by means of liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) (diethyl ether) with subsequent quantitation by FASI‐CZE was used. The separation of aripiprazole and dehydroaripiprazole was performed using a BGE containing 150 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.5) with 40% methanol and 0.02% PVA as a dynamic coating to reduce interaction of analytes with the capillary wall. Before sample loading, a methanol plug (0.3 psi, 6 s) was injected to permit FASI for stacking. The samples were injected electrokinetically (10 kV, 30 s) to introduce sample cations and the applied voltage was 20 kV with on‐column detection at 214 nm. Several parameters affecting the separation and sensitivity of the drug and its active metabolite were studied, including reconstitution solvent, organic modifier, pH and concentration of phosphate buffer. The linear ranges of the method for test drug and its active metabolite, in plasma using amlodipine as an internal standard, were over the range 5.0–100.0 ng/mL. One female volunteer (25 years old) was orally administered a single dose of 10 mg aripiprazole (Abilify^®, Otsuka) and blood samples were drawn over a 60 h period for pharmacokinetic study. The method was also applied to monitor the concentration of aripiprazole and dehydroaripiprazole in plasma collected after oral administration of 20 or 30 mg aripiprazole (Abilify^®, Otsuka) daily at steady state in one schizophrenic patient.     

Simple in‐house flow‐injection capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity method for the determination of colistin

An in‐house flow‐injection capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection method was developed for the direct measurement of colistin in pharmaceutical samples. The flow injection and capillary electrophoresis systems are connected by an acrylic interface. Capillary electrophoresis separation is achieved within 2 min using a background electrolyte solution of 5 mM 2‐morpholinoethanesulfonic acid and 5 mM histidine (pH 6). The flow‐injection section allows for convenient filling of the capillary and sample introduction without the use of a pressure/vacuum manifold. Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection is employed since colistin has no chromophore but is cationic at pH 6. Calibration curve is linear from 20 to 150 mg/L, with a correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.997. The limit of quantitation is 20 mg/L. The developed method provides precision, simplicity, and short analysis time.     

Monitoring the oleuropein content of olive leaves and fruits using ultrasound‐ and salt‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction optimized by response surface methodology and high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel and rapid ultrasound‐ and salt‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography has been optimized by response surface methodology for the determination of oleuropein from olive leaves. Box–Behnken design was used for optimizing the main parameters including ultrasound time (A), pH (B), salt concentration (C), and volume of miscible organic solvent (D). In this technique, a mixture of plant sample and extraction solvent was subjected to ultrasound waves. After ultrasound‐assisted extraction, phase separation was performed by the addition of salt to the liquid phase. The optimal conditions for the highest extraction yield of oleuropein were ultrasound time, 30 min; volume of organic solvent, 2.5 mL; salt concentration, 25% w/v; and sample pH, 4. Experimental data were fitted with a quadratic model. Analysis of variance results show that BC interaction, A², B², C², and D² are significant model terms. Unlike the conventional extraction methods for plant extracts, no evaporation and reconstitution operations were needed in the proposed technique.     

Effective length calibration method for processing the fluorescence signal detected by charge‐coupled device in capillary electrophoresis

A novel method named effective length calibration method has been developed to process the fluorescence signal detected by charge‐coupled device during capillary electrophoresis. The new method treated each pixel as an individual point detector, and effectively binned a large number of pixels into a final electropherogram without losing the narrow detection window defined by a single pixel. Capillary electrophoresis separations of DNA were carried out and detected by charge‐coupled device and conventional detector (photomultiplier tube). Detection properties including signal‐to‐noise ratio, peak width, detection frequency, and tilt of detector were investigated. It was found that the new method achieved much higher signal‐to‐noise ratio and smaller peak width than the conventional detector did. A Detection width of 0.5 μm was easily achieved.