Microwave plasma torch analytical atomic spectrometry

The microwave plasma torch (MPT), as a relative new source, has found extensive use in atomic spectrometry. In this review, the fundamental features and characteristics of the MPT are summarized and compared with other kinds of analytical atomic sources, such as the more popularly used inductively coupled plasma (ICP), the direct current plasma (DCP), as well as other kinds of microwave plasmas (MWPs). Since the MPT offers some attractive features, it has been used as an excitation source for atomic emission spectrometry (MPT-AES), including the atomic emission detection (AED) for gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). Also, it has been used either as an ionization source for atomic mass spectrometry (MPT-AMS) or an atomization source for atomic fluorescence spectrometry (MPT-AFS). The historical development and recent improvements in these MPT atomic spectrometric techniques are evaluated with emphasis on the analytical advantages and limitations. In addition, the future research directions and the application prospects of MPT atomic spectrometry (MPT-AS) are discussed.     

Use of isopycnic plots in designing operations of supercritical fluid chromatography. III: reason for the low column efficiency in the critical region

This paper discusses the origins of efficiency loss in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) when analyses are carried out in the low pressure supercritical region of carbon-dioxide, close to its critical point. Recent publications have shown strong evidence of radial thermal heterogeneity inside an SFC column and suggested that it leads to peak-shape distortion and greatly reduces the column efficiency. We demonstrate that the physico-chemical properties of CO(2) close to the critical point are such that formation of thermal heterogeneity inside the column is highly probable and could cause the observed efficiency loss. Consideration of isopycnic plots of CO(2) permits clear identification of the problematic region and explains why these properties of CO(2) are primarily responsible for the often perplexing efficiency losses taking place during the SFC operations.     

Separation of divalent transition metal beta-diketonates and their adducts by supercritical fluid chromatography

A method for separation and detection of divalent transition metal beta-diketonates by adduct formation/supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with an open-tubular capillary column and a FID detector is described. The crystal structures of copper (Cu)-hexafluoro-acetylacetone (HFA) and Cu bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato) (THD) complexes have been determined by X-ray crystallography. The SFC behavior of Cu beta-diketonates shows a strong correlation with the structure of the complexes. The hydrated cu beta-diketonate complexes usually exhibit strong intermolecular interactions or decomposition in SFC. Formation of adducts with a neutral donor, such as tributyl phosphine oxide (TBPO), can greatly improve the SFC behavior and detection sensitivity of Cu(II) and Mn(II) beta-diketonates. The stoichiometry and thermal stability of the adducts Cu(II) and Mn(II) beta-diketonates with TBPO in supercritical CO(2) have also been investigated. The implications of utilizing adduct formation for supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of divalent transition metals and for on-line coupled SFE/SFC analysis of divalent transition metals are discussed.     

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with atomic emission detection and correlation with mass spectrometric detection: principles and application in petrochemical analysis

Comprehensive gas chromatography (GC x GC) has been combined with atomic emission detection (AED) to enable element-selective detection. Under optimised experimental conditions, the requirement of minimum five data points across a peak can be obtained even for analytes eluting early from the second-dimension column. Simple manipulation of the results allows the combined presentation of up to four sets of elemental data in one two-dimensional plot. GC x GC with AED and mass spectrometric (MS) detection in petrochemical analysis for fingerprinting as well as the identification of N- and S-containing unknowns is presented as an application.     

The plasma emission detector (PED) as an element-selective detector for supercritical fluid chromatography

The plasma emission detector (PED) has been shown to be an element specific detector for supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The commonly used eluents (CO₂ and N₂O) tend to disturb the He plasma; two different discharge tubes were tested in an attempt to overcome this problem. Promising results were obtained with a concentric dual flow torch design for the element specific detection of Cl, H, and C containing analytes using N₂O as SFC mobile phase.     

Development of an orthogonal method for mometasone furoate impurity analysis using supercritical fluid chromatography

While supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has received great popularity in chiral separation and purification, it has rarely been used for trace level pharmaceutical impurity analysis, partially due to the limitation of instrument sensitivity. In this study, a packed column SFC method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of mometasone furoate and its trace level impurities. The UV detection was optimized to improve the sensitivity by 2-4 fold. In combination with an increased sample concentration, this SFC method is capable of trace level (0.05% of the active) analysis of the impurities. The SFC method used a silica column and a mobile phase consisting of CO(2) and methanol. The new method provides an orthogonal selectivity complementary to the reversed phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) method. All of the impurities and the active were baseline separated within 12 min on SFC, which is less than one third of the RP-HPLC method run time. The method was also partially validated for linearity, accuracy, precision (repeatability), and limit of quantitation. This study demonstrated that the SFC method, with improved sensitivity, can be a valuable tool to provide orthogonal selectivity for trace level impurity separation. With further validation, the method may be suitable for release testing and stability testing for mometasone furoate drug substance.     

Instrument-induced effects in the analysis of polycyclic aromatic compounds by capillary gas chromatography with atomic emission detection (GC-AED)

Peak splitting of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic compounds originating from the microwave plasma of an atomic emission detector (AED) coupled to a GC has been described and evaluated. The influence of the solute structure, solute concentration, and physical conditions in the AED (such as detector temperature, make-up gas flow, concentration of reagent gases and distance of column end from the plasma) have been studied. An explanation is presented for peak splitting, which is based on an insufficient solute decomposition and solute mass flow in the discharge tube. Modification of the instrument by introduction of additional make-up gas applied through the transfer line has been shown to improve peak shape and solute response.     

Vapor pressure determinations of 8-2 fluorortelomer alcohol and 1-H perfluorooctane by capillary gas chromatography Relative retention time versus headspace methods

Two distinctly different capillary gas chromatographic methods were used to determine the vapor pressure of 8-2 fluorotelomer alcohol (8-2 FTOH) and 1-H perfluoroheptane at several temperatures. For measurements employing the relative retention-time method, a short polymethylsiloxane column was used from 25 to 65 degrees C. For the 8-2 FTOH, hydrocarbon alcohols and perfluoroalcohols were used as reference standards. For 1-H perfluoroheptane, hydrocarbons were used as reference standards. Vapor pressure estimates could differ by as much as an order of magnitude compared to published results determined by other (nonchromatographic) methods. This variance may be a function of solvent-solute interactions within the gas chromatographic column and the infinite dilution assumption, both used in the relative retention method. For comparison, data were also gathered using headspace gas chromatography (GC) with atomic emission detection (AED). The results from this novel GC/AED method were consistent with prior nonchromatographic results. A discussion of why headspace is the preferred technique for the determination of vapor pressure for fluorinated compounds is presented.     

Electrospray mass spectrometry and supercritical fluid chromatography of methylated beta-cyclodextrins.

Five commercial dimethylated beta-cyclodextrin (DM-beta-CD) samples were analysed by electrospray (or ionspray) mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with evaporative light scattering detection. A silica and a nitro-bonded silica were selected using CO2-methanol-acetonitrile-water and CO2-methanol as mobile phase, respectively. An extensive optimisation scheme was performed for mobile phase selection. Both SFC systems were used for analyses of complex DM-beta-CD samples. Peak identifications were made using off-line ESI-MS. Commercial DM-beta-CDs are impure mixtures of homologues and isomers and analysis reveals that every manufacturer produces a different mixture.     

气相色谱用微波等离子体炬原子发射光谱检测器的Cl,Br,I响应特性的研究

 将微波等离子体炬原子发射光谱检测器(MPT-AED)用作气相色谱检测器,采用氩气作为工作气、载气和尾吹气,优化了气体流量参数;为了防止被测物质在管壁上的沉积,考察了氧气作为气相色谱-微波等离子体炬-原子发射光谱检测器(GC-MPT-AED)清洗气时对Cl,Br,I3种元素发射信号的影响。为了考察检测器的分析性能,研究了GC-MPT-AED对有机化合物中Cl,Br,I3种元素的检出限、线性范围、精密度及其响应特性,并将其结果与气相色谱-电感耦合等离子体-原子发射光谱检测器(GC-ICP-AED)的结果作了比较,结果表明该仪器对Cl,Br的检测能力优于GC-ICP-AED的结果,线性范围与GC-IC     

Gas chromatography with atomic emission detection: a powerful technique

Atomic emission detection (AED) is a sensitive as well as a selective detection technique for gas chromatography (GC) and provides element-specific information. A rapidly increasing number of applications in many different areas illustrates the versatility and analytical power of the technique — especially when complex samples have to be analysed. The complementary use of GC–AED and GC with mass-spectrometric detection often yields the most rewarding results.     

Hyphenation of atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry to supercritical fluid chromatography for polar car lubricant additives analysis

Car lubricant additives are added to mineral or synthetic base stocks to improve viscosity and resistance to oxidation of the lubricant and to limit wear of engines. As they belong to various chemical classes and are added to a very complex medium, the base stock, their detailed chromatographic analysis is very difficult and time consuming. In a previous paper, it was demonstrated that supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) allows the elution of common low-molecular-weight additives. Since their total resolution could not be achieved owing to the limited peak capacity of packed columns, the hyphenation of selective and informative detection methods such as atomic emission detection (AED) was required. Further to results obtained in SFC-AED, this work describes the hyphenation of SFC to atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation ion trap mass spectrometry (MS). SFC–MS hyphenation is detailed: temperature, flow rates of gas and mobile phase introduced in the source, position of the restrictor, ionisation additives and conditions of autotune are studied. Car lubricant monitoring requires negative and positive ionisation modes with or without the addition of ionisation auxiliary solvent according to the nature of additives. Moreover, when sensitivity is of major concern for a selected additive, the autotuning routine of the MS has to be performed in conditions as close as possible to analytical conditions, i.e. under subcritical conditions. Unambiguous identification and structure elucidation of several additives in formulated car lubricants are also presented.     

Rapid and high resolution capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and SFC/MS of trichothecene mycotoxins

The potential application of capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and SFC/mass spectrometry (SFC/MS) for the separation and analysis of mycotoxins of the trichothecene group was examined. Trichothecenes present significant analytical problems for both gas and liquid chromatography with a major difficulty for the latter being the lack of sufficiently sensitive and selective detectors. Supercritical carbon dioxide mobile phases at temperatures up to 100 degrees C were used with deactivated fused silica columns coated with crosslinked stationary phases. Separations were obtained under pressure ramped conditions using long (15 m) 50-micron i.d. columns for several trichothecenes (diacetoxyscirpenol, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin) and related higher molecular weight macrocyclic (roridin and verrucarin) trichothecenes. In addition, new rapid pressure programming techniques with short (less than 2m) 25- to 50-micron i.d. capillary columns were used to obtain fast separations in as little as 1 min. SFC/MS with ammonia chemical ionization provided high selectivity and sensitive detection (with approximately 1-pg detection limits) for trichothecene mixtures. The extension to complex sample matrices is discussed and the application of selective MS/MS detection is demonstrated.     

Kinetic behaviour in supercritical fluid chromatography with modified mobile phase for 5 μm particle size and varied flow rates

After much development of stationary phase chemistry, in recent years the focus of many studies in HPLC has shifted to increase the efficiency and analysis speed. Ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) using sub-2 μm particles, and high temperature liquid chromatography (HTLC), using temperatures above 100°C have received much attention. These new approaches allow the use of flow rates higher than those classically used in HPLC, reducing the analysis duration. Due to the low viscosity of supercritical fluids, high velocities, i.e. high flow rates, can be achieved with classical pumping systems typically used in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The effects of the flow rate increase with CO(2)/methanol mobile phase was studied on the inlet pressure, t(0), the retention factor of the compounds, and on the efficiency. Simple comparisons of efficiencies obtained at varied temperature between SFC and HPLC, with a packed column containing 5 μm particles, show the greater kinetic performances achieved with the CO(2)/methanol fluid, and underline specific behaviours of SFC, occurring for high flow rates and sub-ambient temperature. Some values (N/t(0)) are also compared to UHPLC data, showing that good performance can be achieved in SFC without applying drastic analytical conditions. Finally, simple kinetic plots (t(0) vs N) at constant column length are used to select combinations of temperature and flow rate necessary to achieve a required theoretical plate number.     

Two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the enantiomeric analysis and purification of pharmaceutical samples

A new analytical two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry system (2D SFC/SFC/MS) has been designed and implemented to enhance the efficiency and quality of analytical support in drug discovery. The system consists of a Berger analytical SFC pump and a modifier pump, a Waters ZQ 2000 mass spectrometer, a set of switching valves, and a custom software program. The system integrates achiral and chiral separations into a single run to perform enantiomeric analysis and separation of a racemic compound from a complex mixture without prior clean up. The achiral chromatography in the first dimension separates the racemate from all other impurities, such as un-reacted starting materials and by-products. Mass-triggered fractionation is used to selectively fractionate the targeted racemic compound based on its molecular weight. The purified racemate from the achiral chromatography in the first dimension is then transferred to the chiral column in the second dimension to conduct the enantiomeric separation and analysis. A control software program, we coined SFC2D, was developed and integrated with MassLynx to retrieve acquisition status, current sample information, and real time mass spectrometric data as they are acquired. The SFC2D program also monitors the target ion signal to carry out mass-triggered fractionation by switching the valve to fractionate the desired peak. The 2D SFC/SFC/MS system uses one CO(2) pump and one modifier pump for both first and second dimension chromatographic separations using either gradient or isocratic elution. Similarly, a preparative 2D SFC/SFC/MS system has been constructed by modifying an existing Waters preparative LC/MS system. All components except the back pressure regulator are from the original LC/MS system. Applications of the 2D SFC/SFC/MS methods to the separation and the analysis of racemic pharmaceutical samples in complex mixtures demonstrated that an achiral separation (in first dimension) and a chiral separation (in second dimension) can be successfully combined into a single, streamlined process both in analytical and preparative scale.     

Retention mechanisms in super/subcritical fluid chromatography on packed columns

Whereas the retention rules of achiral compounds are well defined in high-performance liquid chromatography, on the basis of the nature of the stationary phase, some difficulties appear in super/subcritical fluid chromatography on packed columns. This is mainly due to the supposed effect of volatility on retention behaviours in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and to the nature of carbon dioxide, which is not polar, thus SFC is classified as a normal-phase separation technique. Moreover, additional effects are not well known and described. They are mainly related to density changes of the mobile phase or to adsorption of fluid on the stationary phase causing a modification of its surface. It is admitted that pressure or temperature modifications induce variation in the eluotropic strength of the mobile phase, but effects of flow rate or column length on retention factor changes are more surprising. Nevertheless, the retention behaviour in SFC first depends on the stationary phase nature. Working with polar stationary phases induces normal-phase retention behaviour, whereas using non-polar bonded phases induces reversed-phase retention behaviour. These rules are verified for most carbon dioxide-based mobile phases in common use (CO(2)/MeOH, CO(2)/acetonitrile or CO(2)/EtOH). Moreover, the absence of water in the mobile phase favours the interactions between the compounds and the stationary phase, compared to what occurs in hydro-organic liquids. Other stationary phases such as aromatic phases and polymers display intermediate behaviours. In this paper, all these behaviours are discussed, mainly by using log k-log k plots, which allow a simple comparison of stationary phase properties. Some examples are presented to illustrate these retention properties.     

气相色谱-微波等离子体炬原子发射光谱检测器及其响应特性的研究

报道了一种气相色谱用微波等离子体炬原子发射光谱检测器(GC-MPT-AED),以氩气为载气和等离子体工作气体,氧气为清洗气和屏蔽气,研究了MPT-AED对有机化合物中碳元素的响应特性,探讨了氧气作为GC-MPT-AED屏蔽气对碳元素检测性能的影响.     

Fast analysis of oxygen and sulfur compounds in gasoline by GC-AED

This paper describes a method for determining both the total sulfur content and the concentration of oxygenated additives in gasoline by gas chromatography with atomic emission detection (GC-AED). The AED provides selective detection of oxygen and sulfur compounds. Because the response factors for sulfur and oxygen are largely independent of the type of compound, calibration and determination of total element content are simplified. The use of a 0.1 mm i.d. capillary column enables complete elution of the components of the gasoline in under 10 minutes.     

饲料中D-泛酸钙的超临界流体色谱测定

采用超临界流体色谱(SFC)测定了饲料中D-泛酸钙的含量.在二氧化碳流动相中添加14.85%甲醇改性剂及0.15%三氟乙酸添加剂,流速2 mL/min,在Kromasil ODS柱上分离,检测波长为210 nm.结果表明D-泛酸钙能在3 min内完成分离,在1.0 ～25.0 mg/L范围内,样品的质量浓度与色谱峰面积呈良好的线性关系(r=0.999 5).方法的精密度良好,相对标准偏差在2.3%以内,回收率为89% ～98%.方法操作简单,结果准确,适合普及应用.     

Detection of nitro musks in human fat by capillarv gas chromatography with atomic emission detection (AED) using programmed temperature vaporization (PTV)

Atomic emission detection (AED) has been successfully applied to the determination of nitro musks in the fat of human adipose tissue by gas chromatography at trace concentration levels. Element specific detection with the AED combined with a clean-up procedure for nonpolar substances makes target screening analysis for lipophilic nitro aromatic compounds possible for the first time. The lack of sensitivity, especially in the AED nitrogen and oxygen trace, was compensated by higher concentration of the extracts and injection of larger sample volumes performed by cold programmed temperature vaporization (PTV) in the solvent split mode. The combination of the superior quantification properties of the atomic emission detector with large sample volume introduction makes the quantification of nitro musks down to the ppb level possible. All five nitro musks investigated exhibit linear dynamic ranges going down close to instrumental limits of detection. Moreover, organochlorine compounds could be sensitively detected in the same sample extract by the AED chlorine trace without any interferences from coeluting matrix compounds.