Simultaneous analysis of multiple urinary biomarkers for the evaluation of oxidative stress by automated online in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction coupled with negative/positive ion‐switching mode liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

This study described an automated online method for the simultaneous determination of 8‐isoprostane, 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine, and 3‐nitro‐l ‐tyrosine in human urine. The method involves in‐tube solid‐phase microextraction using a Carboxen 1006 PLOT capillary column as an extraction device, followed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry using a CX column and detection in the negative/positive switching ion‐mode by multiple reaction monitoring. Using their stable isotope‐labeled internal standards, each of these oxidative stress biomarkers showed good linearity from 0.02 to 2.0 ng/mL. Their detection limits (S/N = 3) were 3.4–21.5 pg/mL, and their intra‐ and inter‐day precisions (relative standard deviations) were >3.9 and 6.5% (n = 5), respectively. This method was applied successfully to the analysis of urine samples, without any other pretreatment and interference peaks.     

Magnetic micro‐solid‐phase extraction based on magnetite‐MCM‐41 with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for the determination of antidepressant drugs in biological fluids

A new facile magnetic micro‐solid‐phase extraction coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detection was developed for the extraction and determination of selected antidepressant drugs in biological fluids using magnetite‐MCM‐41 as adsorbent. The synthesized sorbent was characterized by several spectroscopic techniques. The maximum extraction efficiency for extraction of 500 μg/L antidepressant drugs from aqueous solution was obtained with 15 mg of magnetite‐MCM‐41 at pH 12. The analyte was desorbed using 100 μL of acetonitrile prior to gas chromatography determination. This method was rapid in which the adsorption procedure was completed in 60 s. Under the optimized conditions using 15 mL of antidepressant drugs sample, the calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 0.05–500 μg/L (r ² = 0.996–0.999). Good limits of detection (0.008–0.010 μg/L) were obtained for the analytes with good relative standard deviations of <8.0% (n  = 5) for the determination of 0.1, 5.0, and 500.0 μg/L of antidepressant drugs. This method was successfully applied to the determination of amitriptyline and chlorpromazine in plasma and urine samples. The recoveries of spiked plasma and urine samples were in the range of 86.1–115.4%. Results indicate that magnetite micro‐solid‐phase extraction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry is a convenient, fast, and economical method for the extraction and determination of amitriptyline and chlorpromazine in biological samples.     

l‐Cysteine‐modified magnetic microspheres for extraction and quantification of saxitoxin in rat plasma with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

Saxitoxin, which is one of the most typical paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins, ranks the highest intoxication rate of marine biological poisoning cases globally. Efficient clean‐up and extraction of saxitoxin from complex biological matrices are imperative for the analysis and concentration monitoring of the toxin when correlative poisoning cases happen. Herein, l ‐cysteine‐modified magnetic microspheres based on metal‐organic coordination were synthesized by a facile approach and applied for magnetic solid‐phase extraction of saxitoxin from rat plasma samples before liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry detection. Parameters, including adsorbent amount, extraction time, desorption solution, and desorption time that could affect the extraction efficiency, were respectively investigated. The developed method demonstrated good linearity in the range of 5–300 ng/mL (R² = 0.9985) with a limit of quantification of 5 ng/mL and a limit of detection of 0.5 ng/mL, acceptable accuracy. and precision of within‐run and between‐run.     

l‐Cysteine‐modified silver‐functionalized silica‐based material as an efficient solid‐phase extraction adsorbent for the determination of bisphenol A

A new silver‐functionalized silica‐based material with a core–shell structure based on silver nanoparticle‐coated silica spheres was synthesized, and silver nanoparticles were modified using strongly bound l‐ cysteine. l‐ Cysteine‐silver@silica was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. Then, a solid‐phase extraction method based on l‐ cysteine‐silver@silica was developed and successfully used for bisphenol A determination prior to HPLC analysis. The results showed that the l‐ cysteine‐silver@silica as an adsorbent exhibited good enrichment capability for bisphenol A, and the maximum adsorption saturation was 20.93 mg/g. Moreover, a short adsorption equilibrium time was obtained due to the presence of silver nanoparticles on the surface of the silica. The extraction efficiencies were then optimized by varying the eluents and pH. Under the optimized conditions, good linearity for bisphenol A was obtained in the range from 0.4 to 4.0 μM (R² > 0.99) with a low limit of detection (1.15 ng/mL). The spiked recoveries from tap water and milk samples were satisfactory (85–102%) with relative standard deviations below 5.2% (n = 3), which indicated that the method was suitable for the analysis of bisphenol A in complex samples.     

Preconcentration and determination of 2‐mercaptobenzimidazole by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and experimental design

A method was developed to determine 2‐mercaptobenzimidazole in water and urine samples using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction technique coupled with ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry. It was essential to peruse the effect of all parameters that can likely influence the performance of extraction. The influence of parameters, such as dispersive and extraction solvent volume and sample volume, on dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was studied. The optimization was carried out by the central composite design method. The central composite design optimization method resulted in 1.10 mL dispersive solvent, 138.46 μL extraction solvent, and 4.46 mL sample volume. Under the optimal terms, the calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.003–0.18 and 0.007–0.18 μg/mL in water and urine samples, respectively. The limit of detection and quantification of the proposed approach for 2‐mercaptobenzimidazole were 0.013 and 0.044 μg/mL in water samples and 0.016 and 0.052 μg/mL in urine samples, respectively. The method was successfully applied to determination of 2‐mercaptobenzimidazole in urine and water samples.     

An efficient strategy based on liquid‐liquid extraction and pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography for selective enrichment,separation, and purification of alkaloids and organic Acids from natural products

This study presents an efficient strategy based on liquid‐liquid extraction and pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography for selective enrichment, separation, and purification of alkaloids and organic acids from natural products. First, an acid or base modified two‐phase solvent system with maximum or minimum partition coefficient was developed for the liquid‐liquid extraction of the crude extract. As a result, alkaloids or organic acids could be selectively enriched in the upper or lower phase. Then pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography was employed to separate and purify the selectively enriched alkaloids or organic acids efficiently. The selective enrichment and separation of five bufadienolide from toad venom of Bufo marinus was used as an example to show the advantage of this strategy. As a result, 759 mg of selectively enriched bufadienolide was obtained from 2 g of crude extract and the total content of five targets was increased from 14.64 to 83%. A total of 31 mg of marinobufagin‐3‐adipoyl‐l ‐arginine, 42 mg of telocinobufagin‐3‐pimeloyl‐l ‐arginine, 51 mg of telocinobufagin‐3‐suberoyl‐l ‐arginine, 132 mg of marinobufagin‐3‐suberoyl‐l ‐arginine, and 57 mg of bufalin‐3‐suberoyl‐l ‐arginine were all simultaneously separated from 500 mg of selectively enriched sample, with the purity of 92.4, 97.5, 90.3, 92.1, and 92.8%, respectively.     

Determination of betaine,l‐carnitine,and choline in human urine using a self‐packed column and column‐switching ion chromatography with nonsuppressed conductivity detection

A simple method for the determination of betaine, l ‐carnitine, and choline in human urine was developed based on column‐switching ion chromatography coupled with nonsuppressed conductivity detection by using a self‐packed column. A pretreatment column (50 mm × 4.6 mm, id) packed with poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐divinylbenzene) microspheres was used for the extraction and cleanup of analytes. Chromatographic separation was achieved within 10 min on a cationic exchange column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, id) using maleic anhydride modified poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐divinylbenzene) as the particles for packing. The detection was performed by ion chromatography with nonsuppressed conductivity detection. Parameters including column‐switching time, eluent type, flow rates of eluent, and interfering effects were optimized. Linearity (r ² ≥ 0.99) was obtained for the concentration range of 0.50–100, 0.75–100, and 0.25–100 μg/mL for betaine, l ‐carnitine, and choline, respectively. Detection limits were 0.12, 0.20, and 0.05 μg/mL for betaine, l ‐carnitine, and choline, respectively. The intra‐ and interday accuracy and precision for all quality controls were within ±10.11%. Satisfactory recovery was observed between 92.5 and 105.0%. The validated method was successfully applied for the determination of betaine, l ‐carnitine, and choline in urine samples from healthy people.     

Dispersive solid‐phase extraction of buprenorphine from biological fluids using metal‐organic frameworks and its determination by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography

In this work, various types of metal‐organic frameworks were synthesized, and their affinities toward buprenorphine were evaluated using dispersive solid‐phase extraction. The extracted buprenorphine was determined by ultra high performance liquid chromatography‐ultraviolet detection system. The highest extraction recovery was observed by employing zeolitic imidazole framework‐67. Then, a facile and fast extraction method was designed for the extraction and purification of the target drug. Optimization of the extraction method was carried out by the design of experiment approach. A linearity range of 1–1000 μg/L with the limit of detection of 0.15 μg/L and relative standard deviations (50 μg/L, n = 5) of 3.4% was obtained for standard sample analysis. Under optimized experimental and instrumental conditions, the relative recoveries were in the range of 95 to 111%. Eventually, zeolitic imidazole framework‐67 was successfully employed for the extraction and determination of buprenorphine in the biological fluids with satisfactory results.     

Solid‐phase extraction using chloropropyl functionalized sol–gel hybrid sorbent for simultaneous determination of organophosphorus pesticides in selected fruit samples

A new sol–gel hybrid methyltrimethoxysilane‐chloropropyltriethoxysilane was prepared as sorbent for solid‐phase extraction. The extraction efficiency of the prepared sol–gel hybrid methyltrimethoxysilane‐chloropropyltriethoxysilane was assessed by using three selected organophosphorus pesticides, namely, chlorpyrifos, profenofos, and malathion. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was used for detection of organophosphorus pesticides. Several vital parameters were optimized to identify the best extraction conditions. Under the optimum extraction conditions, solid‐phase extraction‐methyltrimethoxysilane‐chloropropyltriethoxysilane method showed good linearity range (0.05‐1 μg/mL) with coefficient of determination more than 0.995. The limits of detection obtained were in the range of 0.01–0.07 μg/mL and limits of quantification ranging from 0.03 to 0.21 μg/mL. The limits of detection obtained for the developed method were 2.3–6.5× lower than the limits of detection of commercial octadecyl silica sorbent. Real samples analysis was carried out by applying the developed method on red apple and purple grape samples. The developed method exhibited good recoveries (88.33–120.7%) with low relative standard deviations ranging from 1.6 to 3.3% compared to commercial octadecyl silica sorbent, which showed acceptable recoveries (70.3–100.2%) and relative standard deviations (6.3–8.8%). The solid‐phase extraction‐methyltrimethoxysilane‐chloropropyltriethoxysilane method is presented as an alternative extraction method for determination of organophosphorus pesticides.     

Validation of a new high‐throughput method to determine urinary S‐phenylmercapturic acid using low‐temperature partitioning extraction and ultra high performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

A new highly sensitive and environmentally friendly analytical method, using low‐temperature partition extraction and ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, without the use of a labeled analyte, was developed and validated to determine and quantify urinary S‐phenylmercapturic acid in urine samples. The World Health Organization, in its guidelines for air quality in Europe, recognizes that benzene is carcinogenic to humans and there is no safe level of exposure. Urinary S‐phenylmercapturic acid is a sensitive and specific biological marker of exposure to benzene. The new analytical method, extraction, and analysis, were linear in the working range between 0.1 and 200.0 μg/L, precise (relative standard deviation lower than 6.0%), accurate (97.0–105.0%), and sensitive. The method's limits of detection and quantification were 0.02 and 0.084 μg/L, respectively. The recovery with the low‐temperature partition extraction was 96.1%, with relative standard deviation less than 3.8%. The method is simple, accurate, and reproducible, and has been successfully applied in the evaluation of nonoccupational exposure to benzene, by urinary S‐phenylmercapturic acid in urine samples.     

A novel sorbent based on carbon nanotube/amino‐functionalized sol–gel for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction of α‐bisabolol from medicinal plant samples using experimental design

A novel sol–gel coating on a stainless‐steel fiber was developed for the first time for the headspace solid‐phase microextraction and determination of α‐bisabolol with gas chromatography and flame ionization detection. The parameters influencing the efficiency of solid‐phase microextraction process, such as extraction time and temperature, pH, and ionic strength, were optimized by the experimental design method. Under optimized conditions, the linear range was between 0.0027 and 100 μg/mL. The relative standard deviations determined at 0.01 and 1.0 μg/mL concentration levels (n = 3), respectively, were as follows: intraday relative standard deviations 3.4 and 3.3%; interday relative standard deviations 5.0 and 4.3%; and fiber‐to‐fiber relative standard deviations 6.0 and 3.5%. The relative recovery values were 90.3 and 101.4% at 0.01 and 1.0 μg/mL spiking levels, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to various real samples containing α‐bisabolol.     

Simple high‐performance liquid chromatography method for formaldehyde determination in human tissue through derivatization with 2,4‐dinitrophenylhydrazine

A simple high‐performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for the determination of formaldehyde in human tissue. FA Formaldehyde was derivatized with 2,4‐dinitrophenylhydrazine. It was extracted from human tissue with ethyl acetate by liquid–liquid extraction and analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The calibration curve was linear in the concentration range of 5.0–200 μg/mL. Intra‐ and interday precision values for formaldehyde in tissue were <6.9%, and accuracy (relative error) was better than 6.5%. The extraction recoveries of formaldehyde from human tissue were between 88 and 98%. The limits of detection and quantification of formaldehyde were 1.5 and 5.0 μg/mL, respectively. Also, this assay was applied to liver samples taken from a biopsy material.     

Determination of phthalates in beverages using multiwalled carbon nanotubes dispersive solid‐phase extraction before HPLC–MS

A microdispersive solid‐phase extraction method has been developed using multiwalled carbon nanotubes of 110–170 nm diameter and 5–9 μm length for the extraction of a group of nine phthalic acid esters (i.e., bis(2‐methoxyethyl) phthalate, bis‐2‐ethoxyethyl phthalate, dipropyl phthalate, butylbenzyl phthalate, bis‐2‐n‐butoxyethyl phthalate, bis‐isopentyl phthalate, bis‐n‐pentyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, and di‐n‐octyl phthalate) from tap water as well as from different beverages commercialized in plastic bottles (mineral water, lemon‐ and apple‐flavored mineral water, and an isotonic drink). Determination was carried out by high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The extraction procedure was optimized following a step‐by‐step approach, being the optimum extraction conditions: 50 mL of each sample at pH 6.0, 80 mg of sorbent, and 25 mL of acetonitrile as elution solvent. To validate the methodology, matrix‐matched calibration and a recovery study were developed, obtaining determination coefficients >0.9906 and absolute recovery values between 70 and 117% (with relative standard deviations < 17%) in all cases. The limits of quantification of the method were between 0.173 and 1.45 μg/L. After the evaluation of the matrix effects, real samples were also analyzed, finding butylbenzyl phthalate in all samples (except in apple‐flavored mineral water), though at concentrations below its limit of quantification of the method.     

Development of a high‐throughput method based on thin‐film microextraction using a 96‐well plate system with a cork coating for the extraction of emerging contaminants in river water samples

In this study, a new method was developed in which a biosorbent material is used as the extractor phase in conjunction with a recently described sample preparation technique called thin‐film microextraction and a 96‐well plate system. The method was applied for the determination of emerging contaminants, such as 3‐(4‐methylbenzylidene) camphor, ethylparaben, triclocarban, and bisphenol A in water samples. The separation and detection of the analytes were performed by high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. These contaminants are considered hazardous to human health and other living beings. Thus, the development of an analytical method to determine these compounds is of great interest. The extraction parameters were evaluated using multivariate and univariate optimization techniques. The optimum conditions for the method were 3 h of extraction time, 20 min of desorption with 300 μL of acetonitrile and methanol (50:50, v/v), and the addition of 5% w/v sodium chloride to the sample. The analytical figures of merit showed good results with linear correlation coefficients higher than 0.99, relative recoveries of 72–125%, interday precision (n = 3) of 4–18%, and intraday precision (n = 9) of 1–21%. The limit of detection was 0.3–5.5 μg/L, and the limit of quantification was 0.8–15 μg/L.     

Combination of a sub‐3 μm superficially porous particle packed column with charged aerosol detection for the simple and sensitive measurement of nine macrolides in human urine

Due to the lack of chromophores in many macrolides, analytical methods based on mass spectrometry and electrochemical detection coupled to liquid chromatography have been suggested to be suitable for the quantification of macrolides in complex matrices. In this study, a simple and sensitive analytical method was established for the simultaneous measurement of nine macrolides in human urine by combining a sub‐3 μm superficially porous particle packed column with charged aerosol detection. After thorough investigation of various sample preparation methods, including two liquid–liquid extraction methods and four solid‐phase extraction methods, HLB solid‐phase extraction was selected and further optimized. Absolute recovery of the optimized sample preparation method ranged from 99.5–110.2%, indicating its very high extraction/clean‐up efficiency. For chromatography, parameters influencing macrolide separation were systematically optimized, and the resulting conditions allowed baseline separation of nine macrolides within 24 min using a very simple mobile phase. The established method was validated for linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, absolute recovery, and precision. Based on its limit of detection (0.025–0.100 μg/mL), the method had similar or greater sensitivity than most methods based on electrochemical detection. It was found that the current method was appropriate for application to real human urine samples after drug administration.     

Polycarbonate-coated magnetic nanoparticles for the extraction of imipramine and its primary metabolite from urine

This study introduces a reliable and inexpensive magnetic dispersive solid phase extraction to extract imipramine and its primary metabolite (desipramine) from urine samples. To accomplish this aim, Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by sonication, subsequently, polycarbonate was precipitated gradually onto the surface of them to form the adsorbent. Extraction recoveries of 85% and 76%, enrichment factors of 57 and 51, limits of detection of 2.5 and 2.8 μg/L, and limits of quantification of 8.3 and 9.3 μg/L were obtained for imipramine and desipramine under the optimal conditions, respectively. In addition, relative standard deviations for intra- (n = 6) and inter-day (n = 5) precisions at two concentrations (50 and 100 μg/L of each analyte) were less than or equal to 4%. Short extraction time, good repeatability, high enrichment factors, and simplicity are the main advantages of the proposed method.     

Dispersive solid‐phase extraction adsorbent of methamphetamine using in‐situ synthesized carbon‐based conductive polypyrrole nanocomposite: focus on clinical applications in human urine

Determination of methamphetamine is of great importance in clinical and forensic laboratories because there are low dosages of drugs in the biological media and social problems created due to the methamphetamine consumption. Polymeric carbon based‐nano composites are reasonable candidates for dispersive solid phase extraction method due to facial and affordable synthesis process and high selectivity and sensitivity. Nano graphene oxide polypyrolle composite was synthesized and employed as dispersive solid‐phase extraction adsorbent for methamphetamine extraction from complex urine matrix. Full characterization of the prepared nano graphene oxide polypyrolle composite was completed and the influential extraction parameters were investigated through one‐parameter‐at‐a‐time method. High‐performance liquid chromatography detectors were applied as detection and quantification instrument. The optimized extraction parameters included 300 µL of methanol, 10 min of extraction and desorption time, 6000 stirring rate, urine pH value of 10, 60 mg of adsorbent, and 6 mL of urine volume. After outlining the calibration curve, the linear range of the method was considered as 30–800 ng/mL. The detection limit for the suggested method was 9 ng/mL. The analysis of addicted subjects with the proposed method confirmed the utility of the method in different analytical and clinical laboratories.     

Rapid determination of lipophilic vitamins in human serum by ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography using a fluorinated column and high‐throughput miniaturized liquid–liquid extraction

A high‐throughput miniaturized liquid–liquid extraction procedure followed by a simple ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography method coupled with fluorescence detection for bioanalytical analysis of all tocopherol isomers and retinol in human serum has been developed and validated. In the extraction procedure, a synthetic internal standard tocol was used, which does not occur in the human body. The separation of structurally related vitamins was achieved using a new generation of pentafluorophenyl propyl core–shell stationary phase with elution using methanol and an aqueous solution of ammonium acetate. The fluorescence of retinol and tocopherol isomers was detected at λ_ex = 325, 295 nm and λ_em = 480, 325 nm, respectively. The rapid baseline separation of all analytes was accomplished within 4.0 min. The sensitivity of method was demonstrated with lower limits of quantification: retinol 0.01 μM, α‐tocopherol 0.38 μM, β‐tocopherol 0.18 μM, γ‐tocopherol 0.14 μM, and δ‐tocopherol 0.01 μM. Possible application of this method in clinical practice was confirmed by the analysis of human serum samples from healthy volunteers. Finally, the simultaneous determination of retinol and all tocopherol isomers in human serum can enable the clarification of their role in metabolism and in diseases such as cancer.     

Poly[(2‐(acryloyloxy) ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride‐co‐ethylene dimethacrylate monolith on‐line solid‐phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry for the fast determination of salicylic acid in foodstuffs

We report the fabrication of an anion‐exchange monolithic column in a stainless‐steel chromatographic column (10 mm × 2.1 mm i.d.) using [2‐(acryloyloxy) ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride as the monomer and ethylene dimethacrylate as the crosslinker. The prepared monolith was developed as the adsorbent for the on‐line solid‐phase extraction of salicylic acid in various animal‐origin foodstuffs combined with liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The monolith was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption analysis, and elemental analysis. Potential factors affecting the on‐line solid‐phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry analysis were studied in detail. Under the optimized conditions, the total analysis time including cleanup and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry separation was 17 min. The developed method gave the linear range of 15–750 μg/kg, detection limits (S/N = 3) of 5 μg/kg, and quantification limits (S/N = 10) of 15 μg/kg. The recoveries obtained by spiking 10, 20, and 100 μg/kg of salicylic acid in the animal‐origin food samples were in the range of 85.2–98.4%. In addition, the monolith was stable enough for 550 extraction cycles with the precision of peak area ≤11.6%.     

Optimized determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers by ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography

A method based on ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction and high‐performance liquid chromatography has been optimized for the determination of six polybrominated diphenyl ether congeners. The optimal condition relevant to the extraction was first investigated, more than 98.7 ± 0.7% recovery was achieved with dichloromethane as extractant, 5 min extraction time, and three cycles of ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction. Then multiple function was employed to optimize polybrominated diphenyl ether detection conditions with overall resolution and chromatography signal area as the responses. The condition chosen in this experiment was methanol/water 93:7 v/v, flow rate 0.80 mL/min, column temperature 30.0°C. The optimized technique revealed good linearity (R² > 0.9962 over a concentration range of 1–100 μg/L) and repeatability (relative standard deviation < 6.3%). Furthermore, the detection limit (S/N = 3) of the method were ranged from 0.02 to 0.13 μg/L and the quantification limit (S/N = 10) ranged from 0.07 to 0.35 μg/L. Finally, the proposed method was applied to spiked samples and satisfactory results were achieved. These results indicate that ultrasound‐assisted liquid–liquid extraction coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography was effective to identify and quantify the complex polybrominated diphenyl ethers in effluent samples.