Quantitative analysis of ethylenediamine in plasma by capillary column gas chromatography

A specific and sensitive method for the determination of ethylenediamine in human plasma is described. The aqueous sample is treated with m-toluoyl chloride, yielding the N,N′-bis(m-toluoyl) derivative of the diamine, which is extracted into dichloromethane and quantitated after “on column” methylation by capillary gas liquid chromatography with alkali flame ionization detection. The corresponding derivative of putrescine serves as internal standard. The assay is reproducible and calibration curves are linear over the concentration range 0.05 to 10 μg · ml^?1. The lower detection limit is about 10 ng · ml^?1. The structures of the compounds of interest eluting from the capillary column are examined by gas liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The assay has been applied to the analysis of ethylenediamine in plasma following the administration of aminophylline and ethylenediamine in a cross-over study to patients with bronchopulmonary diseases. The method also proves suitable for measuring other primary and secondary amines and diamines in aqueous solutions by gas liquid chromatography.     

Application of open tubular electrochromatography for acidic and basic analytes

Summary The separation of charged analytes by electrochromatography has been examined on porous-layer open tubular capillaries prepared using the sol gel method. An electroosmotic flow of about 2.10×10⁴ cm²V¹s¹ was obtained using between 10 and 30% acetonitrile in the mobile phase. Acidic diuretic drug compounds were successfully separated at high pH as were theN-alkylanilines in their basic and neutral forms. The limitation of open tubular columns was observed on separating some basic pharmaceutical drugs. These components showed severe peak tailing and were not resolved on a 20 μm i.d. porous silica layer open tubular column. Strongly acidic components could not be detected on these columns due to their higher counter electromobilities. The successful separation of neutral aryl alkyl ketones with an efficiency of 101,533 plates m¹ for butyrophenone was an indication of the improved phase ratio on this type of open tubular columns.     

Gas-Chromatographic Determination of Trace Isobutyl S-2-(N,N-Diethylamino)ethyl Methylphosphonothioate (VX-like Compound) in Soil and Construction Materials

Procedures were developed for the determination of trace isobutyl S-2-(N,N-diethylamino)ethyl methylphosphonothioate (IBDAEMP) in soil and construction materials by gas chromatography at a level of 1 × 10^–9%. The procedures are based on the extraction of IBDAEMP from test materials using an aqueous solution of monoethanolamine or chloroform saturated with ammonia, the back extraction of IBDAEMP into hexane, the evaporation of the hexane solution (with an addition of HCl) to dryness, the treatment of the residue with a solution of silver nitrate in methanol for obtaining O-isobutyl O-methyl methylphosphonate, and gas-chromatographic separation on an open tubular column with the HP–5MS chemically modified stationary phase with flame-photometric detection.     

Determination of residual amounts ofO-IsobutylS-2-(N,N-Diethylamino)ethyl methylphosphonate in decontaminating solutions by gas chromatography

A method is proposed for the determination ofO-isobutylS-2-(N,N-diethylamino)ethyl methylphosphonate (mixed ester, ME) in spent decontaminating solutions by gas chromatography at a level of 1 x 10^-5%. The interfering effect of mono- and diisobutyl methylphosphonates (matrix components formed on the destruction of ME) is eliminated by extraction and back extraction. The effect of bis(N,N-diethylaminoethyl) disulfide in the determination of ME is eliminated by changing the order of elution from a Chromatographic column. Decontaminating solutions that are used in the laboratory practice for the detoxication of hydrophilic process ME solutions are aqueous solutions of alkali hydroxide with additions of hydrogen peroxide and an emulsifier.     

High‐throughput gas chromatography for volatile compounds analysis by fast temperature programming and adsorption chromatography

The synergy of combining fast temperature programming capability and adsorption chromatography using fused silica based porous layer open tubular columns to achieve high throughput chromatography for the separation of volatile compounds is presented. A gas chromatograph with built‐in fast temperature programming capability and having a fast cool down rate was used as a platform. When these performance features were combined with the high degree of selectivity and strong retention characteristic of porous layer open tubular column technology, volatile compounds such as light hydrocarbons of up to C₇, primary alcohols, and mercaptans can be well separated and analyzed in a matter of minutes. This analytical approach substantially improves sample throughput by at least a factor of ten times when compared to published methodologies. In addition, the use of porous layer open tubular columns advantageously eliminates the need for costly and time‐consuming cryogenic gas chromatography required for the separation of highly volatile compounds by partition chromatography with wall coated open tubular column technology. Relative standard deviations of retention time for model compounds such as alkanes from methane to hexane were found to be less than 0.3% (n = 10) and less than 0.5% for area counts for the compounds tested at two levels of concentration by manual injection, namely, 10 and 1000 ppm v/v (n = 10). Difficult separations were accomplished in one single analysis in less than 2 min such as the characterization of 17 components in cracked gas containing alkanes, alkenes, dienes, branched hydrocarbons, and cyclic hydrocarbons.     

Tetraalkylammonium Ions in Aqueous and Non-aqueous Solutions

Property data for tetraalkylammonium cations, [H(CH₂) _n ]₄N⁺, are reviewed. They pertain to the isolated cations and their transfer from the gas phase into aqueous solutions. Various properties of these cations in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions and data for their transfer between these are also reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the dependence of data on the length n of the alkyl chains rather than on the absolute values. Most of the data are available only for the first four members of the series. The properties of the isolated ions increase linearly with the chain length. Molar enthalpies of formation of the gaseous and aqueous cations, and absolute standard molar enthalpies of hydration, are derived. Standard molar entropies of dissolution of several salts in water are obtained from their solubilities and enthalpies of solution. The molar entropies of the crystalline iodides of the first four members of the series then give the standard partial molar entropies of the aqueous cations and their molar entropies of hydration. The standard partial molar volumes in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions are quite linear with n and in non-aqueous solutions the molar volume hardly depends on the nature of the solvent. On transfer from water to non-aqueous solvents the volume of Me₄N⁺ suffers some shrinkage, that of Et₄N⁺ appears to be unaffected, but from Pr₄N⁺ onwards an increasing expansion takes place. This unexpected result is tentatively explained by hydrophobic intra-molecular association of pairs of alkyl chains in aqueous solutions, resulting in a tightening of the structure. The transfer of the R₄N⁺ cations from water into non-aqueous solvents is governed by a large positive entropy change, outweighing the smaller positive enthalpy change. The transport properties of the aqueous R₄N⁺ cations are non-linear with n. A major impediment to movement is thus the sticking of the water molecules to the ice-like hydrophobic hydration sheaths of the larger cations. The number of water molecules affected by the hydrophobic cations is open to widely differing estimates resulting from various approaches, and constitute an open issue.     

Determination of Ultratrace Amounts of Copper and Cadmium in Seawater by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with Flow-Injection Semi On-line Preconcentration

Methods are described for the determination of ultratrace amounts of copper and cadmium in seawater by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry with flow-injection, microcolumn preconcentration. A new type of C₁₈ column loaded with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (sodium-DDC) was used to extract copper and cadmium from seawater as the DDC chelates. The analytical effects of the pH of the mixture of the sample and sodium-DDC solutions and the concentration of the chelating reagent were studied. Sodium-DDC-loaded columns and unloaded C₁₈ columns with different shapes and volumes were compared. To determine copper in seawater, a simple aqueous calibration was made with a mixture of palladium and magnesium nitrate as a matrix modifier, while for cadmium no matrix modifier was necessary. This method required only small seawater volumes, 600 and 400 μl for the determination of copper and cadmium respectively, with preconcentration factors of 15-fold for copper and 10-fold for cadmium. Detection limits for the preconcentration of aqueous solutions of copper and cadmium were 0.024 and 0.004 μg liter⁻¹ (3σ), respectively. Results for determinations of copper and cadmium in National Research Council of Canada, CASS-2, Nearshore Seawater Reference Material showed no significant differences between the certified values and the measured values, based on Student′s t test at the 95% confidence level. The relative standard deviations of the various measurements varied between 2 and 8%.     

Preparation and evaluation of 3 m open tubular capillary columns with a zwitterionic polymeric porous layer for liquid chromatography

A 3 m zwitterionic polymeric porous layer open tubular column (3 m × 25 μm id × 375 μm od) with a polymeric porous layer thickness of 4 μm was fabricated by the copolymerization of [2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl‐(3‐sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide and N,N’‐methylenebis(acrylamide). The effects of the diameter of the capillary, reaction temperature, and polymerization time on the preparation of the open tubular column were investigated. Characterized by scanning electron microscopy, the zwitterionic layer was observed to be rough and throughout the fused‐silica capillary homogenously, which increased the phase ratio. The separation of neutral, basic, and acidic compounds demonstrates the strong hydrophilicity of the poly[2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl‐(3‐sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide coating. In addition, the poly[2‐(methacryloyloxy) ethyl] dimethyl‐(3‐sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide porous layer open tubular column was applied for the analysis of flavonoids from the rootstalk of licorice, revealing the potential in separating complex samples. The relative standard deviation of retention time for run‐to‐run (n = 5), day‐to‐day (n = 3), and column‐to‐column (n = 3) of toluene, N,N‐dimethylformamide, formamide, and thiourea were below 1.2%, exhibiting good repeatability.     

Determination of L-Dopa and L-Dopamine in Aqueous Solutions Using In-Loop SPME Coupled with LC

A new in-loop solid-phase microextraction (in-loop-SPME) technique, based on an aluminum capillary tube coupled to HPLC, is described for on-line isolation, concentration, and analysis of analytes from aqueous samples. L-Dopa and L-dopamine, in aqueous solutions, were selected as model compounds. The main conditions affecting extraction of the analytes from aqueous samples, desorption, injection, and chromatographic separation were investigated. The method is simple and reproducible. Using the proposed method, reliable determination of L-dopa and L-dopamine at parts-per-billion concentrations was achieved. The calibration plots were linear in the range of 2.5–1500 ng mL⁻¹ with correlation coefficients of 0.999 and 0.998 for L-dopa and L-dopamine, respectively. The detection limits were 0.5–1 ng mL⁻¹ with a relative standard deviation less than 4.1%. Concentration factors more than 100-fold were obtained for these compounds.     

Raman spectroscopic study of the conformational order of octadecylsilane stationary phases: effects of electrolyte and pH

This study investigates effects of the electrolyte, of acidic and basic compounds, and of pH on the rotational and conformational order of octadecylsilane stationary phases with surface coverages of 3.09 and 6.45 mol/m². Both phases exhibit an increase in alkyl chain rotational and conformational order in 5–200 mM aqueous electrolyte solutions relative to water. These stationary phases are effectively salted-out of aqueous electrolyte solutions, thereby causing alkyl chain intermolecular interactions to increase with a concomitant increase in alkyl chain order. Although the presence of acidic and basic compounds generally has no effect on the conformational order of either stationary phase as a function of pH, the higher coverage stationary phase does exhibit pH-dependent changes in aqueous solutions of benzoic acid. At pH values below the pK_a of benzoic acid, the conformational order of this stationary phase is unchanged relative to that observed in the same pH solution in the absence of benzoic acid. In light of independent evidence that such monosubstituted aromatics interact with the octadecylsilane stationary phase under these conditions, the absence of a measurable effect on alkyl chain order for these conditions is attributed to benzoic acid self-association at the stationary phase-mobile phase interface. In contrast, at pH values above the pK_a of benzoic acid, slight disordering of the alkyl chains is observed and is attributed to repulsive interactions between retained benzoate anions.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

A Hexagonally Ordered Nanoporous Silica-Based Fiber Coating for SPME of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Water Followed by GC–MS

A highly porous fiber coating material was prepared and functionalized with 3-amino propyl triethoxysilane (APTES) on hexagonally ordered nanoporous silica (SBA-15). Applicability of this coating was assessed employing a laboratory made solid-phase microextraction (SPME) device and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for the simultaneous sampling and determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous sample solutions. A one at the time optimization strategy was applied to investigate and optimize important extraction parameters such as extraction temperature, extraction time, ionic strength and sonication time. In the optimum conditions, the relative standard deviations for deionized water, spiked with selected PAHs were between 3.3 and 7.7% (n = 3), and detection limits for the studied compounds were 4.2 and 26.1 pg mL⁻¹. No significant change was observed in the extraction efficiency of the new SPME fiber, over 50 extractions. The proposed method was successfully applied to the extraction and determination of PAHs in the waste water samples.

     

Optimization of an analytical methodology for the determination of alkyl- and methoxy-phenolic compounds by HS-SPME in biomass smoke

A sampling and analysis method for the determination of 21 phenolic compounds in smoke samples from biomass combustion has been developed. The smoke is used to make smoked foods, following an artisanal procedure used in some parts of the Canary Islands. The sampling system consists of a Bravo H air sampler, two impingers, each one containing an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide 0.1 mol L⁻¹, followed by a silica gel trap. The variables optimized to reach the best sampling conditions were volume of absorbent solution and sampling flow. Under the optimum conditions, 100 mL of absorbent solution of NaOH 0.10 mol L⁻¹ and 2 L min⁻¹ for the sampling flow, sampling efficiencies are higher than 80%. Analysis of phenolic compounds was carried out by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Five different fiber coatings were employed in this study. By means of a central composite design, extraction time, salt concentration, and pH of the solution were optimized: 65-μm carbowax–divinylbenzene, extraction time 90 min, concentration in NaCl of 35% (m/v), and pH 2 yielded the highest response. Detection limits of phenol and their alkyl derivatives, guaiacol and eugenol, are between 1.13 and 4.60 ng mL⁻¹. 3-Methoxyphenol, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, and vanillin have detection limits considerably higher. Good linearity (R ²≥0.98) was observed for all calibration curves in the established ranges. The reproducibility of the method (RSD, relative standard deviation) was found to oscillate between 7 and 18% (generally close or lower than 10%).     

Modified analcime loaded with zincon as a useful material for the separation and preconcentration of trace palladium and its determination by third-derivative spectrophotometry

This work assesses the potential of natural analcime zeolite as a sorbent for the preconcentration of palladium. Palladium is quantitatively retained on modified analcime zeolite loaded with zincon using the column method in the pH range from 2.5 to 3.5 at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The palladium complex was removed from the column with 5.0 mL of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and determined by third-derivative spectrophotometry. The detection limit is 0.03 μg/mL (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) in the final solution. Since it is possible to retain 0.15 μg of palladium from 600 mL of solution passing through the column, elution with 5.0 mL of DMSO gives a detection limit of 0.25 ng/mL for palladium in the initial aqueous solution. The calibration curve is linear over the range 0.1 to 5.0 μg/mL of palladium(II) in the final solution with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996. Seven replicated determinations of 5.0 μg of palladium in 5.0 mL dimethylsulfoxide gave a mean d ³ A/dλ³ (peak-to-peak signal between λ₂ = 625 and λ₁ = 654 nm) of 0.64 with a relative standard deviation of 1.2%. The sensitivity of the method (d ³ A/dλ³) is 0.5843 mL/μg of palladium(II) from the slope of the calibration curve. The interference of a large number of anions and cations has been studied and the optimized conditions developed were utilized for the determination of trace palladium in various synthetic and water samples. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Open‐tubular capillary electrochromatographic determination of ten sulfonamides in tap water and milk by a metal‐organic framework‐coated capillary column

In this study, a metal‐organic framework (MOF), [Mn(cam)(bpy)], was synthesized and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. An open‐tubular capillary column was fabricated from [Mn(cam)(bpy)] via the amide coupling method. Ten types of sulfonamides were separated through the fabricated capillary column, which showed a good limits of detection (<0.07 μg/mL) and linear ranges (1–100 or 5–100 μg/mL) with a high correlation coefficients (R² > 0.9987). The intra‐day, inter‐day and column‐to‐column relative standard deviations (RSDs) in the migration times ranged from 0.44 to 4.87%, and the peak area RSDs ranged from 0.80 to 7.28%. The developed capillary electrochromatography method can be successfully utilized for the determination of sulfonamides in tap water and milk samples.     

Chemiluminescence flow system for the determination of sulfite

A novel chemiluminescence(CL) flow system for sulfite is described based on electrostatically immobilized luminol on an anion exchange column. Sulfite is detected by the CL reaction with luminol bleeding from the column by hydrolysis. The calibration graph is linear in the range 3 × 10^–7 to 1 × 10^–5 mol/L, and the detection limit is 1 × 10^–7 mol/L. Interfering metal ions co-existing in sample solutions could be effectively eliminated on-line by an upstream cation exchanger. A complete analysis could be performed in 1 min with a relative standard deviation of less than 5%. The system could be reused for over 50 h and has been applied successfully to the determination of sulfur dioxide in air.     

Simultaneous determination of35S and14C in double-labelled organic compounds by liquid scintillation counting

An isotope analytical method for the simultaneous determination of³⁵S and¹⁴C in double-labelled organic compounds by liquid scintillation counting is described. The sample is burned in a stream of oxygen. Sulfur oxides are converted to sulfuric acid and separated from other combustion products, including carbon-14 dioxide, on a heated quartz wool column previously wetted with hydrogen peroxide. Carbon dioxide is collected from the gas stream by an absorbent suitable for liquid scintillation counting. The residual sulfuric acid is rinsed off the column with water and the aqueous solution obtained is mixed with a liquid scintillation cocktail for radioactivity measurement. The final solutions ready for counting are obtained in less than fifteen minutes, quantitative collection recovery is achieved and no cross contamination occurs.     

Graphite layer open tubular (GLOT) columns in gas chromatography and environmental analysis

Summary The preparation of graphite layer open tubular (GLOT) columns is described together with their application to the analysis of priority pollutants and polar compounds such as alcohols, free carboxylic acids, aliphatic amines and phenols at the sub-nanogram level.A specific application of GLOT columns is for the direct analysis of aqueous solutions avoiding solvent extraction procedures. Several chromatograms of critical separations are reported together with calibration curves. A study of the reproducibility of column preparation is reported in terms of the standard deviation of the capacity ratio and of the minimum HETP obtained.     

A Sensitive Method for Methyl tert-Butyl Ether Analysis in Water Samples by a New HS-SPME Vial and GC

In this study, a new sample vial has been designed for the extraction and determination of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in water samples by headspace solid-phase microextraction method. The special feature of this new vial is cooling the HS above the aqueous sample by cold water stream for maximum analyte absorption on SPME fiber coating. The analysis was by a gas chromatograph equipped with flame ionization detector and a capillary column (CP-sil 13 CB). Some significant variables affecting the extraction procedure were optimized. By use of divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fiber, a sample volume of 10 mL, stirring rate of 1,000 rpm, salt concentration of 24%, extraction time of 15 min and extraction temperature of 83 °C, detection limit of 0.022 μg L⁻¹ and a good linearity (R ² = 0.998) in a calibration range of 0.1–400 μg L⁻¹ were achieved. The relative standard deviation for triplicate runs ranged between 6 and 8%. The method could be applied to the analysis of trace levels of MTBE in various water samples.

     

Separation of Sulphonium Salts by Ion Chromatography: Five- and Six-Membered Cyclic Sulphonium Salts

Abstract

Several cyclic 5-and 6-membered sulphonium compounds were separated by ion pair chromatography on a opti-dbb ion pair column. The salts show specific retention behavior when using different mixtures of acetonitrile and aqueous sodium perchlorate solutions as eluents. The increase of retention times with extending chain length of the alkyl group R and with ring size is due to an increase of the solute molecular surface areas which were also calculated. The obtained retention parameters give additional information for structural determination.     

Extractable organic compounds in polyurethane foam with special reference to aromatic amines and derivatives thereof

Methods for determination of aromatic amines and related compounds in flexible toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-based polyurethane (PUR) foam were investigated. The foam was extracted using 0.1% (w/v) aqueous acetic acid (HAc). Extraction solutions were analysed and aromatic amines were determined as ethyl chloroformate (Et) and pentafluoropropionic acid anhydride (PFPA) derivatives. The determinations were performed using liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) detection with electrospray ionisation (ESI) or gas chromatography (GC)-MS with chemical ionisation monitoring negative ions (NCI). The Et derivatives were determined using LC-ESI⁺-MS with detection limit of 2 pg of toluenediamine (TDA). The PFPA derivatives were determined using LC-ESI⁻-MS or GC-NCI-MS with detection limits of 0.1 and 0.02 pg of TDA, respectively. Using trideuterium labelled TDA as internal standard, linear calibration curves were obtained in the range of 0.01-0.50 μg ml⁻¹ (n=7), with correlation coefficients >0.999. When plotting calibration curves for TDA-PFPA derivatives determined using LC-MS against TDA-PFPA using GC-MS and TDA-Et using LC-MS, linear curves were obtained. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) for determination of TDA in foam extraction solutions were 13%. LC-MS determination of PFPA derivatives was more selective, as compared to LC-MS of Et derivatives.In foam extraction solutions, 2,4- and 2,6-TDA, several isomers of methylenedianiline (MDA) and dimers of TDA/TDI were observed. 2,4-TDA and 4,4′-MDA are possible human carcinogens. Hydrolysis of the extraction solution revealed a large pool of TDA/TDI compounds and oligomers. The concentration of TDA in foam was affected by the extraction media, temperature and duration. The choice of derivatisation procedure also affected the determination of TDA. In extraction solutions from six different commercially available flexible foam qualities 2,4- and 2,6-TDA were found in the range of 0-7 and 0-6 μg g⁻¹ foam, respectively. When flexible foam was heated, considerable higher concentrations of TDA were observed.