Separation of organic and inorganic arsenic species by capillary electrophoresis using direct spectrophotometric detection

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with UV detection was used for the determination of arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, p-aminophenylarsonic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsonic acid, 4-nitrophenylarsonic acid, phenylarsonic acid, and phenylarsine oxide. The electrophoretic mobilities of these anionic species were determined in a 20 mM phosphate buffer in a pH range from 4 to 11, which established pH 10 as the optimum for the separation. The target analytes were then separated in a fused-silica capillary using 20 mM NaHCO(3)-Na(2)CO(3) buffer, pH 10, as electrolyte and detected at 192 nm. Both normal- and reversed electroosmotic flow (EOF) separation modes were investigated and in the latter case, poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) (PDDAC), was used for dynamic coating of the capillary and to provide a stable and reproducible reversed EOF (relative standard deviation RSD, 0.39%). The influence of electrolyte pH and composition, applied voltage, as well as EOF reversal protocols upon the method performance criteria were investigated. The optimised method provided limits of detection for the target analytes of 1.62, 6.22, 1.45, 1.83, 0.34, 0.40, 0.40, 0.18, and 0.30 mg/L As, respectively. Linearity was obtained in the range of 0.5-40 mg/L As (for aryl compounds) and from 5-100 mg/L As (for the remaining analytes). Reproducibility of peak areas was in the range of 0.8-5.5% RSD. The method was applied to the determination of four aryl arsenic compounds used as additives in animal feed. Analytes were extracted with 40 mM hydrochloric acid - acetonitrile 4:1 v/v, and then cleaned up by passing through a C(18) solid-phase extraction cartridge before analysis by CE with detection at 200 nm. Recoveries for the four analytes were in the range of 78.8-108.3%.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography for the separation of retinol, cholecalciferol, delta-tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatographic method was used to separate fat-soluble vitamins. The separation of retinol, cholecalciferol, and delta- and alpha-tocopherol was performed using a microemulsion containing 0.75% (v/v) n-heptane, 30 mM bis(2-ethylhexyl)sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT), 5% (v/v) 1-butanol, 15% (v/v) 1-propanol and 15% (v/v) methanol in 20mM boric acid-sodium borate buffer. The effect of the different microemulsion constituents was studied, including the type and concentration of surfactant, buffer, oil and co-surfactants. The presence of methanol in the microemulsion was found to be necessary to achieve the separation of the tocopherols. Detection was carried out at 200, 265 and 325 nm for the tocopherols, cholecalciferol and retinol, respectively. Calibration curves and precision data were obtained for each analyte. Good linear relationships were found between the analytical signal and the analytes concentration in the 25-500 mg L(-1) for retinol and cholecalciferol, and 25-300 mg L(-1) for tocopherols ranges. The precision of the method afforded relative standard deviations in the 4.0-10% range.     

Trace ion analysis of sea water by capillary electrophoresis: determination of strontium and lithium pre-concentrated by transient isotachophoresis

The applicability of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) to ions having relatively low natural occurrences in sea water is limited by method's relatively poor concentration detection sensitivity. A combination of CZE with indirect UV detection and transient isotachophoresis (tITP) pre-concentration was developed to evolve the CZE practical utility towards the quantitative determination of the minor sea water cationic components, strontium and lithium. The ITP stacking criterion at the initial stage of a CZE separation was met by taking a highly mobile sodium, the principle matrix cation, to perform the role of a leading ion, whereas the moderately mobile sample macrocomponents, Ca2+ and Mg2+, acted as the terminating ion. The carrier electrolyte, consisting of 10 mM 4-methylbenzylamine and 1.5 mM citric acid at pH 4.8, was found to be optimal to accommodate both analyte cations in the ITP range and then separate them in the CZE mode, with relative standard deviations for migration times from 0.06-0.15% and for peak areas from 4-8%. The limits of detection were 1.3 mg l(-1) Sr2+ and 0.12 mg l(-1) Li+. The developed method was applied to the analysis of a surface sea water sample and a sea water reference material. The results were in good agreement with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET-AAS).     

Simultaneous and rapid determination of main lignans in different parts of Schisandra sphenanthera by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Lignans are imporant active ingredients of Schisandra sphenanthera. A micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight lignans--schizandrin, schisandrol B, schisantherin A, schisanhenol, anwulignan, deoxyschizandrin, schizandrin B and schizandrin C--in different parts of S. sphenanthera. The key factors for separation and determination were studied and the best analysis conditions were obtained using a background electrolyte of 10 mM phosphate-37.5 mM SDS-35% v/v acetonitrile (pH 8.0) at the separation voltage of 28 kV and detection at 214 nm, whereby the plant samples could be analyzed within 9.0 min. Analysis yielded good reproducibility (RSD between 1.19-2.28%) and good recovery (between 92.2-103.8%). The detection limits (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were within 0.4-1.2 mg/L and 1.5-4.0 mg/L. This method is promising to improve the quality control of different parts of S. sphenanthera.     

Analysis of drying oils used as binding media for objects of art by capillary electrophoresis with indirect UV and conductivity detection

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was applied to analyse the long-chain fatty acid composition of vegetable oils, and their degradation products formed upon ageing when drying oils are used as binding media. The analytes were detected with contactless conductivity detection (CCD) and indirect UV absorption, both detectors positioned on-line at the separation capillary. The long-chain fatty acids were resolved in a background electrolyte (BGE) consisting of phosphate buffer (pH = 6.86, 15 mM) containing 4 mM sodium dodecylbenzensulfonate, 10 mM Brij 35, 2% (v/v) 1-octanol and 45% (v/v) acetonitrile. As in this system dicarboxylic analytes, the products of oxidative degradation of unsaturated fatty acids, cannot be determined, a suitable background electrolyte was developed by the aid of computer simulation program PeakMaster. It makes use of a 10 mM salicylic acid, 20 mM histidine buffer, pH 5.85, which combines buffering ability with the optical properties obligatory for indirect UV detection. This buffer avoids system eigenpeaks, which are often impairing the separation efficiency of the system. Separation of the dicarboxylic analytes was further improved by a counter-directed electroosmotic flow (EOF), obtained by dynamically coating the capillary wall with 0.2 mM cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. Long-chain fatty acids and their decomposition products could be determined in recent and aged samples of drying oils, respectively, and in samples taken from two paintings of the 19th century.     

Determination of ammonia, creatinine and inorganic cations in urine using CE with contactless conductivity detection

CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4)D) was used to determine waste products of the nitrogen metabolism (ammonia and creatinine) and of biogenic inorganic cations in samples of human urine. The CE separation was performed in two BGEs, consisting of 2 M acetic acid + 1.5 mM crown ether 18-crown-6 (BGE I) and 2 M acetic acid + 2% w/v PEG (BGE II). Only BGE II permitted complete separation of all the analytes in a model sample and in real urine samples. The LOD values for the optimized procedure ranged from 0.8 microM for Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) to 2.9 microM for NH(4)(+) (in terms of mass concentration units, from 7 microg/L for Li(+) to 102 microg/L for creatinine). These values are adequate for determination of NH(4)(+), creatinine, Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) in real urine samples.     

Development of a fully buffered molybdate electrolyte for capillary electrophoresis with indirect detection and its use for analysis of anions in Bayer liquor

A new counterion-buffered molybdate electrolyte was developed and optimized for simultaneous quantitative determination of up to eight anions (chloride, sulphate, oxalate, fluoride, formate, malonate, succinate, and acetate) in Bayer liquor by capillary electrophoresis with indirect detection at 214 nm. The separation parameters were optimized in respect to separation of the critical analyte group fluoride-formate-malonate, with the optimal electrolyte prepared from molybdic trioxide containing 5.0 mmol/L MoO3, 1.3 mmol/L cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and buffered with diethanolamine (DEA) to pH 9.2 (ca. 20 mM DEA). Total length of separation capillary was 80 cm, resulting in run time of under 4 min. The method is suitable for a wide concentration range of the analytes (1-50 mg/L) with linear calibration plots (R2 = 0.9983-0.9999). Relative standard deviations were 0.05%-0.07% for migration times and 0.67%-2.04% for peak areas. The detection limits were in the range of 0.17-0.51 mg/L or 2-10 micromol/L (hydrostatic injection of 30 s of 1000 x diluted sample). Due to its good buffering capacity, the electrolyte exhibited an excellent ruggedness and good tolerance to the alkaline samples. Consequently, Bayer liquor samples could be diluted as little as 100 x which allows more sensitive determination of minor components over previous methods. The method was successfully applied to analysis of Bayer liquor samples with recoveries in the range of 95-105%.     

Novel nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis separation and determination of bioactive flavone derivatives in Chinese herbs

Nonaqueous CE (NACE) coupled to UV detection is described for the separation and determination of bioactive flavone derivatives in Chinese herbs extraction. After optimization of electrophoresis parameters, including the electrolyte nature and the organic solvent composition, a reliable separation of the analytes in an ACN/methanol (60:40, v/v) mixture containing 80 mM Tris and 10 mM sodium cholate was performed. The detection was performed at 254 nm. Method performances, including migration time and peak area reproducibility, linearity, sensitivity, and accuracy, were evaluated. The method was applied to determine bioactive flavone derivatives in seven Chinese herbs.     

Separation of phenolic acids by capillary electrophoresis with indirect contactless conductometric detection

A new method for the electrophoretic separation of nine phenolic acids (derivatives of benzoic and cinnamic acids) with contactless conductometric detection is presented. Based on theoretical calculations, in which the mobility of the electrolyte co- and counterions and mobility of analytes are taken into consideration, the electrolyte composition and detection mode was selected. This approach was found to be especially valuable for optimization of the electrolyte composition for the separation of analytes having medium mobility. Indirect conductometric detection mode was superior to the direct mode as predicted theoretically. The best performance was achieved with 150 mM 2-amino-2-methylpropanol electrolyte at pH 11.6. The separation was carried out in a counter-electroosmotic mode and completed in less than 6 min. The LODs achieved were about 2.3-3.3 microM and could be further improved to 0.12-0.17 microM by using a sample stacking procedure. The method compares well to the UV-Vis detection.     

Separation of polythionates and the gold thiosulfate complex in gold thiosulfate leach solutions by ion-interaction chromatography

A method for the separation of the polythionates (SxO6(2-), x = 3-5) in gold thiosulfate leach solutions using ion-interaction chromatography with conductivity and ultraviolet (UV) detection is described. Polythionates were eluted within 18 min using an eluent comprising an acetonitrile step gradient at 0.0 min from 15% v/v to 28% v/v, 3 mM TBAOH, and 2.5 mM sodium carbonate, operated using a Dionex NS1-5 micron column with guard. The developed method was capable of separating the gold thiosulfate complex ion in standard solutions, but quantification of this species in realistic leach solutions proved impractical due to a self-elution effect that caused the gold peak to be eluted as a broad band. Detection limits for polythionates using a 10 microL injection volume ranged between 1-6 mg L(-1) (5-23 microM) for conductivity and 0.8-13 mg L(-1) (4-68 microM) for UV detection, based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 2. Calibration was linear over the ranges 5-2000, 10-2000 and 25-2500 mg L(-1) for trithionate, tetrathionate and pentathionate, respectively. The technique was applied successfully to leach liquors containing 0.5 M ammonium thiosulfate, 2 M ammonia, 0.05 M copper sulfate and 20 % m/v gold ore.     

Transient isotachophoresis of highly saline trace metals under strong electroosmotic flow conditions

Transient isotachophoresis (TITP) is usually performed under low-electroosmotic flow (EOF) conditions using a coated capillary or a low pH background electrolyte. We used a bare fused-silica capillary for TITP stacking of anionic complexes of some heavy metals under high-EOF conditions (pH 9.0). The sample component chloride as a leading electrolyte induced stacking by an isotachophoretic mechanism and the complexing agent 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol (PAR) acted as a terminating electrolyte. The optimized background electrolyte was composed of 150 mM N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-3-aminopropanesulfonic acid, 127 mM triethylamine, and 0.1 mM PAR at pH 9.0. The strong EOF at pH 9.0 pulled the analytes against their mobilities toward the outlet side, allowing a separation in the normal polarity mode. The stacking efficiency, reproducibility, analysis time, and sample loading capacity in coated and bare capillaries were compared. The stacking efficiency and reproducibility were higher and the analysis time was shorter in the coated capillary. However, a larger volume of a sample could be injected in the bare capillary to achieve detection limits comparable to those for the coated one without compromising the resolution between the analyte peaks. The limits of detection (S/N = 3) were in the sub-ppb range for the selected metals (Fe2+, 0.3 ppb; Ni2+, 0.16 ppb; and Zn2+, 0.8 ppb) in a standard saline sample with 250 mM NaCl matrix. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of reference urine samples and human urine samples.     

Development of a fast capillary electrophoresis method for determination of creatinine in urine samples

The aim of this work was to develop a fast method using capillary electrophoresis for the determination of creatinine in human urine samples. The pH and constituents of the background electrolyte were selected by inspection of effective mobility of creatinine and candidate urine interferents versus pH curves. The tendency of the analyte to undergo electromigration dispersion and the buffer capacity were evaluated by the Peakmaster software and considered in the optimization of the background electrolyte, composed by 10 mmol L(-1) tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and 20 mmol L(-1) 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid (HIBA) at pH 3.93. Separation was conducted in a fused-silica capillary (32 cm total length and 8.5 cm effective length, 50 microm I.D.), with short-end injection configuration and direct UV detection at 215 nm. The migration time of creatinine was only 22s. A few figures of merit of the method are as follows: good linearity in the concentration interval of 5-70 mg L(-1) (R(2)>0.99), limit of detection of 0.5 mg L(-1), inter-day precision better than 2.7% (n=9) and recovery in the range 99.0-103.7% at three concentration levels (50, 100 and 150 mg L(-1)). Urine samples were prepared by deproteination with acetonitrile (1:3 sample:acetonitrile, v/v), centrifugation and dilution of a deproteinated aliquot with 12.5 mmol L(-1) HIBA (1:4, v/v). Creatinine concentrations between 489 and 1063 mg L(-1) were obtained in the urine of four healthy volunteers.     

Analysis of protoberberine alkaloids in several herbal drugs and related medicinal preparations by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

A simple, rapid, reproducible, and universal non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method has been developed for the separation and determination of three major active protoberberine alkaloids including berberine, palmatine, and jatrorrhizine within 7 min. The effects of the concentrations of acetic acid and electrolyte, the ratio of organic solvent, and the applied voltage on the separation were investigated. The optimum running buffer was composed of 50 mM ammonium acetate, 0.5% (v/v) acetic acid, and 10% (v/v) acetonitrile in methanol. The applied voltage was 18 kV. The analytes were detected by UV at 214 nm. The linearities between peak areas and the concentrations of the analytes were also investigated, and they exhibit excellent linear behavior over the concentration ranges (correlation coefficients: 0.9975-0.9986). The method was successfully applied to determine the three alkaloids in several families of herbal drugs (Rhizoma Coptidis, Cortex Berberidis, Cortex Phellodendri, Herba Chelidonii, Caulis Mahoniae) and their relevant medicinal preparations for the first time, and the recoveries of the three constituents ranged between 95.6-103.2% for berberine, 97.5-103.3% for palmatine, and 96.1 -103.6% for jatrorrhizine.     

Capillary electrophoretic determination of triamterene, methotrexate, and creatinine in human urine

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method using a fused-silica capillary (60.2 cm x 75 microm ID) was investigated for the determination of triamterene (TRI), methotrexate (MTX), and creatinine (CREA) in human urine. The separation was performed using a hydrodynamic injection time of 7 s (0.5 psi), a voltage of 25 kV, a capillary temperature of 30 degrees C, and 40 mM phosphoric acid adjusted to pH 2.25 by addition of triethanolamine as separation electrolyte. Under these conditions, analysis takes about 15 min. A linear response over the 0.5-15.0 mg L(-1) concentration range was found for TRI and MTX, and 0.5-80.0 mg L(-1) for CREA. Dilution of the sample (water:urine, 1:1 for TRI and MTX, and 1:25 for CREA determination) was the only step necessary prior to analysis by electrophoresis. The developed method is easy, rapid, and sensitive and has been applied to determine triamterene,methotrexate, and creatinine in urine samples with satisfactory results.     

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography method for the determination of sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and their main metabolites in human serum

A complete analytical procedure, including sample clean-up and a micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method, is presented for the determination of sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and their main metabolites by using 20 mmol L(-1) borate buffer (pH 9.3), 25 mmol L(-1) sodium dodecylsulfate, and 5% v/v acetonitrile as electrolyte. The separation was carried out at 30 kV and 20 degrees C in a fused silica capillary (60.2 cm x 75 microm inner diameter) fitted with a window in the capillary cartridge of 100 x 800 microm. The detector response was linear from the limit of quantification to 3 mg L(-1) for the individual components. The limits of quantification ranged from 0.13 up to 0.24 mg L(-1). The method was applied to human serum, previously spiked at different concentrations of all the analytes, and recoveries between 95% and 108% were obtained.     

微流控芯片非接触电导法测定药品中的精氨酸布洛芬含量

建立了微流控芯片非接触电导检测快速测定精氨酸布洛芬含量的方法。考察了缓冲液种类和浓度、添加剂、分离电压以及进样时间等因素对分离检测的影响。优化条件为:20 mmol/L Tris-20 mmol/L H3BO3(p H 8.6)为缓冲溶液、不加添加剂、分离电压2.0 k V、进样时间10.0 s,在45.0 s内可实现精氨酸布洛芬的快速分离测定。结果表明,布洛芬和精氨酸在80.0~1.00×103mg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r)分别为0.998和0.997,检出限(S/N=3)为60 mg/L,相对标准偏差分别为1.9%和1.8%,加标回收率分别为97.9%~103%和97.3%~102%。该方法快速、简便,为精氨酸布洛芬非甾体抗炎药物的分析和质量控制提供了一种新方法。     

Separation of caffeine and theophylline in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchannel electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

A method for the rapid separation and sensitive determination of caffeine and theophylline was presented in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchannel electrophoresis integrated with electrochemical detection. By using methanol as an additive, the peak shape and resolution were essentially improved. The analytes were well separated within only 40s in the running buffer of 5.0mM borate solution (pH 9.2) containing 10% (v/v) methanol. The linear ranges were from 6microM to 0.6mM and the detection limits were 4microM for caffeine and theophylline, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to determine caffeine and theophylline in rat serum and urine.     

On-column complexation capillary electrophoretic separation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ using 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid coupled with large-volume sample stacking

On-column complexation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ with 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (2,6-PDCA) formed anionic complexes, which were then separated by capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection at 214 nm. To achieve reasonable separation selectivity and on-column complexation, the conditions such as pH, the concentration of 2,6-PCDA and the EOF modifiers in the electrolyte were examined. The electrolyte contained 5.0 mM 2,6-PDCA, 0.25 mM tetradecyltrimethlammonium bromide (TTAB) and 5% (v/v) acetonitrile at pH 4.0 was optimised for on-column complexation and the separation of Fe[PCDA]2(2-) and Fe[PCDA]2(-). To enhance the detection sensitivity, large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) was used for the on-line preconcentration of Fe[PCDA]2(2-) and Fe[PCDA]2(-). Under the optimised conditions, satisfactory working ranges (0.5-50 microM), lower detection limits (less than 0.1 microM) and good repeatability of the peak areas (R.S.D.: 5.2-7.8%, n = 5) was achieved using LVSS (300 s). With LVSS, the detection sensitivity was enhanced more than 50-fold compared to conventional hydrodynamic injection. The proposed method was used successfully for the determination of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in water samples.     

Characterization of pharmaceutical drugs by a modified nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis--mass spectrometry method

A simple method for the separation and characterization of a group of nine basic compounds, comprising seven tricyclic antidepressant and two bronchodilator drugs, by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) employing ultraviolet and mass spectrometry detection is described. After optimization of the electrophoresis separation conditions, including the compositions of the electrolyte and the organic solvent, a reliable separation of all nine basic analytes was achieved in 80 mM ammonium formate dissolved in a methanol-acetonitrite (80:20 v/v) mixture, having an apparent pH of 8.7. The volatile nonaqueous electrolyte system used with a normal electroosmotic flow polarity also provided an optimal separation condition for the characterization of the analytes by mass spectrometry. When results were compared with reversed-phase gradient and isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods, the NACE method provided greater efficiency, achieving baseline resolution for all nine basic compounds in less than 30 min. The NACE method is suitable for use as a routine procedure for the rapid separation and characterization of basic compounds and is a viable alternative to HPLC for the separation of a wide range of pharmaceutical drugs.     

Determination of anthracycline antibiotics doxorubicin and daunorubicin by capillary electrophoresis with UV absorption detection.

Sweeping preconcentration and electrokinetic injection was used for the capillary electrophoretic analysis of trace amounts of biologically active anthracyclines with UV absorption detection. Phosphate buffer (100 mM), pH 2.5, with addition of 40% v/v methanol was used as background electrolyte (BGE). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (150 mM) was added to BGE in the inlet vial as the sweeping agent. The system enables effective separation of anthracyclines as well as cleanup from matrix impurities. Sweeping preconcentration of sample provides an excellent detection limit (1 x 10(-9) mol L(-1)). The method was applied for the determination of therapeutic levels of doxorubicin in real plasma samples.