Solid-phase extraction and large-volume sample stacking with an electroosmotic flow pump in capillary electrophoresis for determination of methotrexate and its metabolites in human plasma

This paper describes approaches for large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) with an EOF pumpin CE for the determination of methotrexate (MTX) and its metabolites in human plasma. After pretreatment of plasma through a SPE cartridge, a large sample volume was loaded by hydrodynamic injection (3 psi, 70 s) into the capillary filled with phosphate buffer (70 mM, pH 6.0) containing 0.01% polyethylene oxide. Following removal of a large plug of sample matrix from the capillary using polarity switching (-25 kV), the separation of anionic analytes was subsequently performed without changing polarity again, achieving an improvement of sensitivity of around a 100-fold. The method was applied to therapeutic drug monitoring of MTX in one acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient. This study is one of very few applications showing the feasibility of LVSS in analysis of biological samples by CE.     

Determination of mercaptopurine and its four metabolites by large-volume sample stacking with polarity switching in capillary electrophoresis

This study describes approaches for stacking a large volume of sample solutions containing a mixture of mercaptopurine monohydrate, 6-methylmercaptopurine, thioguanine, thioguanosine, and thioxanthine in capillary electrophoresis (CE). After filling the run buffer (60 mM borate buffer, pH 8.5), a large sample volume was loaded by hydrodynamic injection (2.5 psi, 99.9 s), followed by the removal of the large plug of sample matrix from the capillary using polarity switching (-15 kV). Monitoring the current and reversing the polarity when 95% of current recovered, the separation of anionic analytes was performed in a run buffer < 20 kV. Around 44- to 90-fold improvement of sensitivity for five analytes was achieved by large-volume stacking with polarity switching when compared with CE without stacking. This method was feasible for determination of the analytes spiked in plasma. Removing most of electrolytes from plasma is a key step for performing large-volume sample stacking. Solid-phase extraction was used for pretreatment of biological samples. To our knowledge, this study is one of few applications showing the possibilities of this stacking procedure to analyze biological samples by large-volume sample stacking with polarity switching (LVSSPS) in CE.     

Study of enzymatic reaction by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary with indirect or direct detection

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA), in combination with a partial filling technique and indirect or direct detection, is described for the study of enzymes reacting with the high mobility inorganic or organic anions as substrates or products. Part of the capillary is filled with a buffer optimized for the enzymatic reaction, the rest of the capillary with the background electrolyte being optimal for the separation of substrates and products. With haloalkane dehalogenase, chosen as a model enzyme, the enzymatic reaction was performed in a 20 mM glycine buffer (pH 8.6). Because of the wide substrate specificity of this enzyme, utilizing chlorinated as well as brominated substrates and producing either nonabsorbing chloride or absorbing bromide ions, two different background electrolytes and detection approaches were adopted. A 10 mM chromate-0.1 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide background electrolyte (pH 9.2) was used in combination with indirect detection and 20 mM beta-alanine-hydrochloric acid (pH 3.5) in combination with direct detection. The Michaelis constant (K(m)) of haloalkane dehalogenase for 1-bromobutane was determined. The K(m) values 0.59 mM estimated by means of indirect detection method and 0.17 mM by means of direct detection method were comparable with the value 0.13 mM estimated previously by gas chromatography.     

Performance of throughout in-capillary derivatization capillary electrophoresis employing an on-line sample and run buffer loading device

We report on the effect on performance of varying the length of the capillary during throughout in-capillary derivatization (TICD) capillary electrophoresis (CE). Performance was evaluated by on-line coupling with a sample and CE runbuffer loading device that was newly introduced for this study. The device was assembled with a low cost using two 5 mm inner diameter (ID) disposable polyethylene syringes. First, a sequence was manually formed consisting of a 200 microL run buffer solution plug, a 100 microL sample plug and another 200 microL run buffer solution plug. Each plug was separated from its neighbor by a 100 microL air plug. When each plug reached the injection point where both a platinum-wire anode and the end of the separation capillary tube were located, 340 V/cm separation voltage (electrophoresis voltage) and 34 V/cm injection voltage were applied to the capillary for 3 s. Then the analytes were derivatized during migration in 50 microm ID capillaries filled with 2 mM o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a 20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10), followed by separating and detecting of OPA derivatives by absorbance of 340 nm. Derivatization, separation, and detection were performed systematically using capillaries which varied in length from 5 to 80 cm. In the case of TICD-CE of a mixture containing 1 mM aspartic acid (Asp) and 20 mM m-nitorophenol (MNP) as a test solution, it was determined that peak area and peak width ratios of Asp to MNP did not depend on capillary length. Enantiomeric separations of DL-alanine (Ala) and Asp were examined using a run buffer consisting of a 45 microM beta-cyclodextrin (CD)-2 mM OPA/NAC-20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10). Even though the resolution of these enantiomeric pairs decreased with decreasing capillary length, as expected, the peaks corresponding to both enantiomeric amino acids were identified even when a 5 cm capillary was used. An 8-component amino acid mixture was also tested with 5 cm and 10 cm capillaries.     

Screening of aromatase inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicines by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method with partial filling technique was developed for screening aromatase inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicine. The in‐capillary enzymatic reaction was performed in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), and sodium phosphate buffer (20 mM, pH 8.0) was used as a background electrolyte. A long plug of coenzyme reduced β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide 2′‐phosphate hydrate dissolved in the reaction buffer was hydrodynamically injected into a fused silica capillary followed by the injection of reaction buffer, enzyme, and substrate solution. The reaction was initiated with a voltage of 5 kV applied to the capillary for 40 s. The voltage was turned off for 20 min to increase the product amount and again turned on at a constant voltage of 20 kV to separate all the components. Direct detection was performed at 260 nm. The enzyme activity was directly assayed by measuring the peak area of the produced β‐nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and the decreased peak area indicated the aromatase inhibition. Using the Lineweaver–Burk equation, the Michaelis–Menten constant was calculated to be 50 ± 4.5 nM. The method was applied to the screening of aromatase inhibitors from 15 natural products. Seven compounds were found to have potent AR inhibitory activity.     

Determination of the kinetic parameters of rhodanese by electrophoretically mediated microanalysis in a partially filled capillary

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) was applied for the study of kinetic parameters of the bisubstrate enzymatic reaction of rhodanese. The Michaelis constants (K(m)) for both substrates and the effect of temperature on rhodanese reaction were evaluated by means of the combination of the EMMA methodology with a partial filling technique. In this setup, the part of the capillary is filled with the buffer best for the enzymatic reaction whereas, the rest of the capillary is filled with the background electrolyte optimal for separation of substrates and products. The enzymatic reaction was performed in 25 mM N-(2-hydroxymethyl)piperazine-2'-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) (HEPES) buffer (pH 8.5) while the low pH background electrolyte 100 mM beta-alanine-HCl (pH 3.5) was used for separation of substrates and products that are the inorganic anions. The estimated value of K(m) for thiosulfate of 1.30 x 10(-2) M was consistent with previously published values; the K(m) for cyanide of 7.6 x 10(-3) M was determined for the first time. In addition, the type of kinetic mechanism of enzymatic reaction was also elucidated. The finding of the double displacement (ping-pong) mechanism is in accordance with previous literature data. Also, the experimentally determined temperature optimum of the rhodanese-catalyzed reaction around 20-25 degrees C agreed with literature values.     

High-sensitivity capillary electrophoresis method for monitoring purine nucleoside phosphorylase and adenosine deaminase reactions by a reversed electrode polarity switching mode

A simple, efficient, and highly sensitive in-line CE method was developed for the characterization and for inhibition studies of the nucleoside-metabolizing enzymes purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) present in membrane preparations of human 1539 melanoma cells. After filling the running buffer (50 mM borate buffer, 100 mM SDS, pH 9.10) into a fused-silica capillary (50 cm effective length × 75 μm), a large sample volume was loaded by hydrodynamic injection (5 psi, 36 s), followed by the removal of the large plug of sample matrix from the capillary using polarity switching (-20 kV). The current was monitored and the polarity was reversed when 95% of the current had been recovered. The separation of the neutral analytes (nucleosides and nucleobases) was performed by applying a voltage of 15 kV. An about 10-fold improvement of sensitivity for the five investigated analytes (adenosine, inosine, adenine, hypoxanthine, xanthine) was achieved by large-volume stacking with polarity switching when compared with CE without stacking. For inosine and adenine detection limits as low as 60 nM were achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the highest sensitivity for nucleoside and nucleobase analysis using CE with UV detection reported so far. The Michaelis-Menten constants (K(m)) for PNP and ADA and the inhibition constants (K(i)) for standard inhibitors determined with the new method were consistent with literature data.     

Large-volume stacking with polarity switching and sweeping for chlorophenols and chlorophenoxy acids in capillary electrophoresis

This paper describes approaches for stacking large volumes of sample solutions containing a mixture of chlorophenols and chlorophenoxyacetic acids as their anions in capillary zone electrophoresis, and compares results to standard capillary electrophoresis (CE) and normal stacking modes. In order to increase the amount of sample injected beyond the optimal conditions and maintain high resolution, the sample introduction buffer must be removed after the stacking process is completed. This is achieved by pumping the sample buffer out of the column using polarity switching. Large sample volumes are loaded by hydrodynamic injection, then stacked at the injection buffer/run electrolyte interface, followed by the removal of the large plug of low-conductivity sample matrix from the capillary column using polarity switching and finally the separation of the stacked anions in a basic buffer (pH 8.65). Around 10- and 40-fold improvement of sensitivity was achieved by normal stacking and large-volume stacking with polarity switching, respectively, when compared to the standard CE analysis. Sweeping-micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) was also investigated for the purpose of comparison to the stacking technique. The method should be suitable for the analysis of these chemical compound classes in industrial chlorophenoxyacetic acid manufacture.     

Capillary electrophoresis of high-molecular chitosan: the natural carbohydrate biopolymer

Due to its high resolving power and diverse application range, capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been successfully applied to the analysis of carbohydrates. In this paper, a method for the determination of high-molecular chitosan (Mr 200,000) using CE is presented. We studied the optimal condition of buffer pH and type, and column type for determination of chitosan. Optimal CE performance was found when employing 100 mM triethylamine (TEA)-phosphate buffer, pH 2.0 and untreated fused-silica capillary (50 microm x 27 cm) for the chitosan analysis. Under optimum conditions, excellent linear responses were obtained in the concentration range of 1.25-20 microM, with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9983. The standard deviations of the migration time and peak area were found to be 2.5 and 6.4%, respectively. This method could be readily applied to chitosan determination in real biological samples and commercial products.     

Development of a microbioreactor with ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 2 (NTPDase2) immobilized on a polyacrylamide-coated capillary at the outlet

A simple and fast method of immobilization of cell membrane suspension containing human ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 2 (NTPDase2) on a polyacrylamide-coated capillary was developed. The enzyme microbioreactor was prepared by hydrodynamic injection of a small plug of the polycationic electrolyte hexadimethrine bromide (HDB) followed by a suspension of an enzyme-containing membrane preparation. In order to shorten the enzyme assay time and to increase the throughput of the assay, the capillary was coated from the outlet end and all injections were performed from the outlet end of the capillary. For the monitoring of the enzymatic reaction, the substrate ATP dissolved in reaction buffer (140 mM NaCl, 5 mM KCl, 1 mM MgCl₂, 2 mM CaCl₂, and 10 mM Hepes, pH 7.4, internal standard: 10 μM UMP) in the absence or presence of inhibitor was injected electrokinetically and incubated in the microbioreactor for 1 min with 1 kV of applied voltage. Then, the electrophoretic separation of the reaction products was initiated by applying a constant current of 60 μA. A 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) was used for the separations and the products were detected by UV absorbance at 260 nm. The new method was compared with an at-capillary-inlet method without immobilization of the enzyme. The results (K_m values, K_i values for inhibitor) obtained with both methods were similar and comparable with literature data. The developed outlet immobilized enzyme microreactor using a coated capillary is very fast, simple and most economic allowing multiple use of the enzyme.     

Separation and migration behavior of positional and structural naphthalenesulfonate isomers by cyclodextrin-mediated capillary electrophoresis

The effects of the type of buffer system, buffer pH, the polarity of electrode, and both the type and the concentration of cyclodextrins (CDs) on the separation and migration behavior of seven positional and structural naphthalenesulfonate isomers in CD-mediated capillary electrophoresis were systematically investigated. The most effective separation conditions were to use 20 mM phosphate buffer with beta-CD at pH 3.0, while the polarity of the electrodes were reversed across the capillary. Under such conditions, these isomers can be separated in 10 min. The results also indicate that the interactions of naphthalenesulfonate derivatives with CDs are strongly affected by the position of the substituent(s) on the aromatic ring. The inclusion complex formation constants of these compounds were evaluated to improve our understanding of the interaction between the naphthalenesulfonate derivatives and CDs. Moreover, the formation constants of naphthalene-2-sulfonate to beta-CD agreed closely with the data in the literature obtained by a spectrophotometric method and by CE methods in various pH buffers.     

Development of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method for the kinetics study of flavin-containing monooxygenase in a partially filled capillary

An electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method with a partial filling technique was developed for flavin-containing monooxygenase, form 3 (FMO3). The in-line enzymatic reaction was performed in 100 mM phosphate reaction buffer (pH 7.4) whereas 150 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.3) was used as a background electrolyte. A long plug of cofactor NADPH dissolved in reaction buffer was hydrodynamically injected into a fused-silica capillary, followed by enzyme and substrate solution. The reaction was initiated at 37 degrees C in the thermostated part of the cartridge by the application of 9 kV for 0.9 min. The voltage was turned off to increase the product amount (zero-potential amplification) and again turned on at a constant voltage of 10 kV to elute all the components. Direct detection was performed at 191 nm. The developed electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method was applied for the kinetics study of FMO3 using clozapine as a substrate probe. A Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)) of 410.3 microM was estimated from the corrected peak area of the product, clozapine N-oxide. The calculated value of the maximum reaction velocity (V(max)) was found to be 1.86 nmol/nmol enzyme/min. The acquired FMO3 kinetic parameters are in accordance with the published literature data.     

Electrophoretically mediated microanalysis with partial filling technique and indirect or direct detection as a tool for inhibition studies of enzymatic reaction

The inhibition of the model enzyme, haloalkane dehalogenase from Sphingomonas paucimobilis, was investigated by a combination of electrophoretically mediated microanalysis with a partial filling technique, followed by indirect or direct detection. In this setup, part of the capillary is filled with a buffer suitable for the enzymatic reaction (20 mM glycine buffer, pH 8.6) whereas the rest of the capillary is filled with the background electrolyte optimal for separation of substrates and products. Two different background electrolytes and corresponding detection approaches were used to show the versatility of the developed method. The inhibition effect of 1,2-dichloroethane on the dehalogenation of brominated substrate 1-bromobutane was studied by means of 10 mM chromate - 0.1 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (pH 9.2) in combination with indirect detection or 20 mM beta-alanine - hydrochloric acid (pH 3.5) in combination with direct detection. The method was used to estimate the inhibition constant K(I) (0.44 mM by indirect detection and 0.63 mM by of direct detection) and to determine the inhibition type. Compared to spectrophotometric and other discontinuous assays, the method is rapid, can be automated, and requires only small amount of reagents that is especially important in the case of enzymes and inhibitors.     

Quantitation of nicotine in tobacco products by capillary electrophoresis

A simple and rapid capillary electrophoresis (CE) method was developed for the quantitation of nicotine in commercial tobacco products. The method involves a 6 min run at 30 kV, using a 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5), paraquat as internal standard, and UV detection at 260 nm. Nicotine was extracted from tobacco products in <15 min. Recoveries from spiked extracts were >95%, and the extraction efficiencies of water, 1 M HCI, 1 M acetic acid, 5 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5), and 1% triethanol amine were similar. Nicotine concentrations in 67 samples of cigarettes, cigars, and bidis varied between 0.37 and 2.96% (w/w). An established gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method using toluene extraction consistently yielded lower nicotine values than the CE method. Experimental evidence suggests that this is due to insufficient extraction of nicotine by toluene.     

Determination of folic acid by capillary electrophoresis with chemiluminescence detection

A rapid and simple method is presented for the determination of folic acid (FA) by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with chemiluminescence (CL) detection. This method was based on enhance effect of FA on the CL reaction between luminol and BrO(-) in alkaline aqueous solution. Optimal separation and determination was obtained with an electrophoretic buffer of 35 mM sodium borate (pH 9.4) containing 0.8 mM luminol, and an oxidizer solution of 1.6 mM NaBrO in 100 mM NaCO(3) buffer solution (pH 12.0). Under the optimal conditions, the determination of FA was achieved in less than 20 min, and the detection limit was 2.0 x 10(-8) M (S/N=3). The relative standard deviations (RSDs) on peak area and migration time were in the 1.5 and 1.1%, respectively. The present CE-CL method was applied to the determination of FA in commercial pharmaceutical tablets, apple juices and human urine.     

High-throughput CZE-UV determination of arginine and dimethylated arginines in human plasma

Experimental studies document that increased asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) blood levels inhibit NOS significantly, reducing NO generation. ADMA measurement often needs sample cleanup by SPE prior to chromatography and precolumn derivatization that cannot be easily employed in a routine clinical setting. We set up a new reliable CE method to measure ADMA, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), and arginine without sample extraction or precolumn derivatization in order to examine their concentrations in human plasma. Sample was concentrated prior to CE injection and analytes were monitored by UV detection. CE analysis was performed in an uncoated fused-silica capillary, 75 microm id and 60.2 cm length (50 cm to the detection window), injecting 1 s water plug (0.5 psi) followed by 10 s of the sample (0.5 psi). Separation was carried out in a 50 mmol/L Tris-phosphate run buffer at pH 2.30, 15 degrees C and 15 kV (75 microA) at normal polarity. Recovery of plasma ADMA was 101-104% and inter-day CV was less than 3%. Assay performance was evaluated measuring the levels of arginine and its dimethyl derivatives in 77 subjects. Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman test for methods comparison suggest that the data obtained by our method and by a reference CE-LIF assay are similar.     

Determination of brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma by cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography method

A method consisting of cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping (CSEI‐sweeping) as online preconcentration followed by a cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography (CDEKC) enantioseparation has been developed for the simultaneous determination of two brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma. In this method, analytes were electrokinetically injected at a voltage of 8 kV for 80 s in a fused‐silica capillary. Prior to the injection, the capillary was rinsed with 50 mM phosphate buffer of pH 3.5, followed by a plug of a higher conductivity buffer (150 mM phosphate pH 3.5, 20 psi, 6 min) and a plug of water (0.5 psi, 5 s). Separation was carried out applying –20 kV in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 3.5, containing 10% v/v ACN and 30 mg/mL sulfated‐β‐cyclodextrin (S‐β‐CD). Analytical signals were monitored at 210 nm. The detection sensitivity of brompheniramine enantiomers was enhanced by about 2400‐fold compared to the normal injection mode (hydrodynamic injection for 3 s at 0.5 psi, with a BGE of 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 20 mg/mL S‐β‐CD at pH 3.5), and LLOQ of two enantiomers were both 0.0100 μg/mL. In addition, this method had fairly good repeatability and showed promising capabilities in the application of stereoselective pharmacokinetic investigations for brompheniramine enantiomers in rat.     

Analysis of polymyxin B sulfate by capillary zone electrophoresis with cyclodextrin as additive. Method development and validation

A capillary zone electrophoresis method for analysis of polymyxin B sulfate is described. In this method, triethanolamine (TEA)-phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 was employed to reduce the adsorption of analyte onto the capillary wall. Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M-beta-CD) and 2-propanol (IPA) were found to be necessary for selectivity enhancement. In order to optimize the method and to control its robustness, a central composite design was performed with four parameters, i.e. concentration of M-beta-CD, TEA, IPA and buffer pH. The optimal separation conditions were as follows: capillary, 55 cm (50 microm I.D., 47 cm effective length); 130 mM TEA-phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) containing 5 mM M-beta-CD and 5% IPA; 24 kV (51 microA) applied voltage; column temperature, 20 degrees C. Further, linearity and limits of detection quantification were examined. Three commercial samples were analyzed quantitatively.     

CE as orthogonal technique to HPLC for alprazolam degradation product identification

The control of degradation products is currently a critical issue to the pharmaceutical industry. A degradation product that appeared in alprazolam tablets during their stability assay, 7-chloro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]quinolin-4-amine, also named triazolaminoquinoline, was tested as possible candidate in the HPLC method employed for the study. The impurity showed the same retention time and spectra as the degradation product; but as all these compounds are very closely related, a confirmation with an independent technique was necessary, and CE was chosen for that purpose. Problems related to the adsorption of the analytes to the negatively charged silica surface were solved by employing a new polymeric capillary coating consisting of poly(3-aminopropylmethylsiloxane). The polymer provided EOF towards the anode, and the two compounds were separated in less than 8 min in a 60 cm total-length capillary, 75 microm id capillary with a BGE containing 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.0 with 20% ACN. When the sample containing the degradation product was injected, the presence of triazolaminoquinoline was confirmed.     

In‐capillary reactant mixing for monitoring glycerol kinase kinetics by CE

CE was used for the first time to study the two‐substrate enzyme glycerol kinase. The capillary was used as a nanoreactor in which the enzyme and its two substrates glycerol and adenosine‐5′‐triphosphate were in‐capillary mixed to realize the enzymatic assay. For kinetic parameters determination, reactants were injected (50 mbar × 5 s) as follows: (i) incubation buffer; (ii) adenosine‐5′‐triphosphate; (iii) enzyme, and (iv) glycerol. Enzymatic reaction was then initiated by mixing the reactants using electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (+20 kV for 6 s) followed by a zero‐potential amplification step of 3 min. Finally, electrophoretic separation was performed; the product adenosine‐5′‐diphosphate was detected at 254 nm and quantified. For enzyme inhibition, an allosteric inhibitor fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphate plug was injected before the first substrate plug and +20 kV for 8 s was applied for reactant mixing. A simple, economic, and robust CE method was developed for monitoring glycerol kinase activity and inhibition. Only a few tens of nanoliters of reactants were used. The results compared well with those reported in literature. This study indicates, for the first time, that at least four reactant plugs can be in‐capillary mixed using an electrophoretically mediated microanalysis approach.