Field‐amplified sample injection combined with capillary electrophoresis for the simultaneous determination of five chlorophenols in water samples

A sensitive method of CZE‐ultraviolet (UV) detection based on the on‐line preconcentration strategy of field‐amplified sample injection (FASI) was developed for the simultaneous determination of five kinds of chlorophenols (CPs) namely 4‐chlorophenol (4‐CP), 2‐chlorophenol (2‐CP), 2,4‐dichlorophenol (2,4‐DCP), 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol (2,4,6‐TCP), and 2,6‐dichlorophenol (2,6‐DCP) in water samples. Several parameters affecting CZE and FASI conditions were systematically investigated. Under the optimal conditions, sensitivity enhancement factors for 4‐CP, 2‐CP, 2,4‐DCP, 2,4,6‐TCP, and 2,6‐DCP were 9, 27, 35, 43, and 43 folds, respectively, compared with the direct CZE, and the baseline separation was achieved within 5 min. Then, the developed FASI‐CZE‐UV method was applied to tap and lake water samples for the five CPs determination. The LODs (S/N = 3) were 0.0018–0.019 µg/mL and 0.0089–0.029 µg/mL in tap water and lake water, respectively. The values of LOQs in tap water (0.006–0.0074 µg/mL) were much lower than the maximum permissible concentrations of 2,4,6‐TCP, 2,4‐DCP, and 2‐CP in drinking water stipulated by World Health Organization (WHO) namely 0.3, 0.04, and 0.01 µg/mL, respectively, and thereby the method was suitable to detect the CPs according to WHO guidelines. Furthermore, the method attained high recoveries in the range of 83.0–119.0% at three spiking levels of five CPs in the two types of water samples, with relative standard deviations of 0.37–8.58%. The developed method was proved to be a simple, sensitive, highly automated, and efficient alternative to CPs determination in real water samples.     

Scaling behavior in on‐chip field‐amplified sample stacking

Field amplified sample stacking (FASS) uses differential electrophoretic velocity of analyte ions in the high‐conductivity background electrolyte zone and low conductivity sample zone for increasing the analyte concentration. The stacking rate of analyte ions in FASS is limited by molecular diffusion and convective dispersion due to nonuniform electroosmotic flow (EOF). We present a theoretical scaling analysis of stacking dynamics in FASS and its validation with a large set of on‐chip sample stacking experiments and numerical simulations. Through scaling analysis, we have identified two stacking regimes that are relevant for on‐chip FASS, depending upon whether the broadening of the stacked peak is dominated by axial diffusion or convective dispersion. We show that these two regimes are characterized by distinct length and time scales, based on which we obtain simplified nondimensional relations for the temporal growth of peak concentration and width in FASS. We first verify the theoretical scaling behavior in diffusion‐ and convection‐dominated regimes using numerical simulations. Thereafter, we show that the experimental data of temporal growth of peak concentration and width at varying electric fields, conductivity gradients, and EOF exhibit the theoretically predicted scaling behavior. The scaling behavior described in this work provides insights into the effect of varying experimental parameters, such as electric field, conductivity gradient, electroosmotic mobility, and electrophoretic mobility of the analyte on the dynamics of on‐chip FASS.     

Enhanced sensitivity and resolution for the analysis of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins in water using capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection and field‐amplified sample injection

The profiling of the most lethal paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins (PSTs) in freshwater has increased the need to establish an alternative analytical method with high sensitivity and resolution. In this paper, a coupling technique of field‐amplified sample injection (FASI) and CE with end‐column amperometric detection (CE‐AD) was developed to improve the detection sensitivity and separation of PSTs by electrokinetically injecting a water plug of analytes to the capillary filled with a high‐conductivity BGE. Parameters affecting FASI and CE process were carefully adjusted to achieve the highest response and resolution. Separation selectivity for PSTs, especially for the analogues and epimers, was greatly enhanced by using 40 mM Britton–Robinson buffer (pH 9.5) as BGE, which altered the EOF and mobility of the analytes that interacted with polyborate ions. Satisfactory linear relationship between peak current and concentration of toxins were gained over a wide range of 1.95–254 μg/L. The detection limits (S/N = 3) for five PSTs ranged from 0.63 to 3.11 μg/L, which are below the health alert level in drinking water. In comparison with the up‐to‐date reporting chromatographic methods, the FASI‐CE‐AD method was simple, low‐cost, selective, and sensitive enough for direct quantification of PSTs at very low levels, implying a potential for screening and monitoring of PSTs in surface waters.     

Acupuncture injection for field amplified sample stacking and glass microchip‐based capillary gel electrophoresis

Acupuncture sample injection is a simple method to deliver well‐defined nanoliter‐scale sample plugs in PDMS microfluidic channels. This acupuncture injection method in microchip CE has several advantages, including minimization of sample consumption, the capability of serial injections of different sample solutions into the same microchannel, and the capability of injecting sample plugs into any desired position of a microchannel. Herein, we demonstrate that the simple and cost‐effective acupuncture sample injection method can be used for PDMS microchip‐based field amplified sample stacking in the most simplified straight channel by applying a single potential. We achieved the increase in electropherogram signals for the case of sample stacking. Furthermore, we present that microchip CGE of ΦX174 DNA‐HaeⅢ digest can be performed with the acupuncture injection method on a glass microchip while minimizing sample loss and voltage control hardware.     

On‐line synergistic stacking in capillary zone electrophoresis featuring field‐amplified sample stacking and micelle to cyclodextrin stacking in the determination of two alkaloids in complicated matrix samples

A novel on‐line synergistic proconcentration strategy coupling field‐amplified sample stacking and micelle to cyclodextrin stacking for cationic analytes in capillary zone electrophoresis has been proposed and applied for the separation and determination of two alkaloids, matrine, and oxymatrine in complicated matrix samples. The approach was performed by the long injection of sample in a low‐conductivity sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate solution followed by the injection of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin solution in higher conductivity. The stacking mechanism of this method has been expounded and parameters affecting stacking effect have been optimized in our study. Under the optimum experimental conditions, 169‐ and 218‐fold sensitivity improvements were achieved for matrine and oxymatrine when compared with normal injection. Analytical indicators including linearity, limits of detection, and reproducibility (intra‐ and inter‐day relative standard deviations) were evaluated. Moreover, sample matrix effect was studied using compound flavescent sophora and salicylic acid powder and spiked urine samples. The developed method is an attempt for the combination of micelle to cyclodextrin stacking with other stacking methods. It could be a good alternative choice for the determination of alkaloids in a complex sample matrix.     

Determination of tetracyclines in human urine samples by capillary electrophoresis in combination with field amplified sample injection

A sensitive method using CZE‐UV detection has been developed for the determination of five tetracycline antibiotics in human urine samples. To improve the sensitivity of the method, an on‐line preconcentration strategy, named field‐amplified sample injection, has been developed, based on the electrokinetic injection of the sample, which requires only a 1:100 dilution with sample solvent before injection. Under optimum conditions, sensitivity enhancement factors ranged from 450 to 800 for the studied compounds. The applicability of the proposed method was demonstrated by the determination of these antibiotics in spiked urine samples. The limits of quantification were lower than 0.8 mg/L and the precision (intra‐ and inter‐day), expressed as %RSD was below 14%. Recoveries ranged from 92.1 to 96.7%. Thus, the proposed procedure is a simple, fast and efficient strategy which could be used as therapeutic drug monitoring in human urine samples.     

Surfactant‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with field‐amplified sample stacking in capillary electrophoresis for the determination of mexiletine and lidocaine

A sensitive method for the determination of mexiletine and lidocaine using surfactant‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with capillary electrophoresis was developed. Triton X‐100 and dichloromethane were used as the dispersive agent and extraction solvent, respectively. After the extraction, mexiletine and lidocaine were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis with ultraviolet detection. The detection sensitivity was further enhanced through the use of field‐amplified sample stacking. Under optimal extraction and stacking conditions, the calibration curves were linear over a concentration range of 0.05–1.00 μM for mexiletine and 0.03–1.00 μM for lidocaine. The limits of detection (signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3) were 0.01 and 0.01 μM for mexiletine and lidocaine, respectively. An approximately 1141‐ to 1250‐fold improvement in sensitivity was observed for the two analytes compared with the injection of a standard solution without the surfactant‐assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and field‐amplified sample stacking procedures. This developed method was successfully applied to the determination of mexiletine and lidocaine in human urine and serum samples. Both precision and accuracy for urine and serum samples were less than 8.7 and 6.7%, respectively. The recoveries of the two analytes from urine and serum samples were 54.7–64.9% and 16.1–56.5%, respectively.     

Affinity capillary electrophoresis coupling with partial filling technique and field‐amplified sample injection for enantioseparation and determination of DL‐tetrahydropalmatine

A novel, simple and sensitive method for the enantioseparation and determination of DL ‐tetrahydropalmatine (DL ‐THP) was developed using ACE in combination with partial filling technique and field‐amplified sample injection. A chiral selector, i.e. BSA, was used for the enantioseparation of DL ‐THP in ACE. Effects of BSA concentration, pH and separation voltage on the effectiveness of the enantiomer separation were evaluated. In an optimal condition, D ‐ and L ‐THP were completely enantio‐separated in less than 9 min by partially filling an electrophoretic capillary with 50 μmol/L BSA (50 mbar, 100 s) and carrying out an electrophoresis with 20 mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 15 kV. The sensitivity was further improved by making use of field‐amplified sample injection to lower the LOD (defined as S/N=3) down to 6 ng/mL. Real samples were also tested and promising results for the determination of DL ‐THP enantiomers were obtained.     

Speciation analysis of mercury by dispersive solid‐phase extraction coupled with capillary electrophoresis

A pretreatment method of dispersive solid‐phase extraction (DSPE) along with back‐extraction followed by CE‐UV detector was developed for the determination of mercury species in water samples. Sulfhydryl‐functionalized SiO₂ microspheres (SiO₂−SH) were synthesized and used as DSPE adsorbents for selective extraction and enrichment of three organic mercury species namely ethylmercury (EtHg), methylmercury (MeHg), and phenylmercury (PhHg), along with L‐cysteine (L‐cys) containing hydrochloric acid as back‐extraction solvent. Several main extraction parameters were systematically investigated including sample pH, amount of adsorbent, extraction and back‐extraction time, volume of eluent, and concentration of hydrochloric acid. Under optimal conditions, good linearity was achieved with correlation coefficients over 0.9990, in the range of 4−200 μg/L for EtHg, and 2−200 μg/L for MeHg and PhHg. The LODs were obtained of 1.07, 0.34, and 0.24 μg/L for EtHg, MeHg, and PhHg, respectively, as well as the LOQs were 3.57, 1.13, and 0.79 μg/L, respectively, with enrichment factors ranging from 109 to 184. Recoveries were attained with tap and lake water samples in a range of 62.3−107.2%, with relative standard deviations of 3.5–10.1%. The results proved that the method of SiO₂−SH based DSPE coupled with CE‐UV was a simple, rapid, cost‐effective, and eco‐friendly alternative for the determination of mercury species in water samples.     

High-sensitivity capillary electrophoresis for speciation of organomercury in biological samples using hollow fiber-based liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction combined with on-line preconcentration by large-volume sample stacking

A hollow fiber-based liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (HF-LLLME) combined with on-line large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) has been developed for the speciation of organomercury in biological samples by CE with UV detection. Separation was achieved in less than 11 min with an electrolyte consisting of 35 mM sodium tetraborate at pH 9.1. In LVSS, a reverse electrode polarity-stacking mode (REPSM) was applied as on-line preconcentration strategy. In HF-LLLME, the analytes were extracted from 12 mL volume of sample solution (pH adjusted to 3.0) into bromobenzene impregnated in the pores of the hollow fiber, and into an acceptor solution of L-cysteine (15 microL, 0.02% w/v) inside the hollow fiber. Under the optimized conditions, concentration factors of 2610-4580 were achieved and LODs in the range of 0.03-0.14 microg/L were feasible. The linearity was found to be over two orders of magnitude with correlation coefficient of 0.9991-0.9996. The developed method has been validated using a certified reference material (DORM-2, dogfish muscle), and the determined values coincided very well with the certified values. The method was also applied to the speciation of organomercury in three kinds of fish samples and human hair samples.     

Preparation and application of trimethylamine amination polychloromethyl styrene nanolatex coated capillary column for the determination of bromate by field‐amplified sample stacking open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography

A new trimethylamine amination polychloromethyl styrene nanolatex (TMAPL) and TMAPL coated capillary column (ccc‐TMAPL) were successfully prepared. The TMAPL coating was characterized with reversed steady EOF values of ca. ?16.8 × 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1. It was applied to establish open‐tubular (OT) CEC and field‐amplified sample stacking (FASS) OT‐CEC methods for the determination of bromate in tap water. Compared to OT‐CEC, the LOD with FASS‐OT‐CEC was improved from 80 to 8 ng/mL. The developed FASS‐OT‐CEC method was practically used for the analysis of bromate in tap water samples with recoveries ranging from 93.6 to 103.5%.     

On-line sample enrichment for the determination of proteins by capillary zone electrophoresis with poly(vinyl alcohol)-coated bubble cell capillaries

Field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) is used to separate basic proteins in a poly-(vinyl alcohol)-coated bubble cell capillary. To our knowledge, this is the first paper describing the on-column stacking of proteins (as cations) using FASS in bubble cell capillary. The bubble cell capillary is fabricated using a one-step method. Cetyltrimethylammonium chloride is added into the running buffer to reverse the EOF and, thus, to pump the water plug out during the sample stacking step. The effect of the water plug lengths and sample injection durations were investigated and optimized. The results obtained were compared with those for the normal capillary without bubble cell in terms of resolution and sensitivity enhancement. Under the optimal condition, this method can improve the sensitivity of the peak areas ranging from 5000- to 26 000-fold. The RSDs (n = 5) of the migration time and peak area are satisfactory (less than 0.6 and 12%, respectively). Application of the capillary electrophoresis method with bubble cell, FASS, and UV detection thereby leads to the determination of these proteins at concentrations ranging from 3 to 10 ng/mL, based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1.     

Field‐amplified sample injection combined with CE for the enantiodetermination of cathinones in urine samples

This work presents a capillary electrophoresis methodology for the enantiodetermination of cathinones in urine employing a liquid–liquid extraction sample pretreatment. The cathinones were enantioseparated by adding a mixture of 8 mM 2‐hydroxypropyl β‐cyclodextrin and 5 mM β‐cyclodextrin to the background electrolyte, which consists of 70 mM of monosodium phosphate aqueous solution at pH 2.5. Field‐amplified sample injection was used as preconcentration strategy to improve the sensitivity. We studied various parameters that affect this stacking strategy, in particular, the sample solvent and its pH, the presence or absence of a low conductivity solvent plug introduced before the sample injection, the nature and volume of this plug, and the voltage and time of the electrokinetic injection of the sample. The optimum conditions were achieved by injecting a plug of isopropanol:H₂O 50/50 at 50 mbar for 5 s prior to the electrokinetic injection of the sample prepared in an aqueous solution of HCl 10^?6 M. The sensitivity enhancement factors were from 562 to 601 in terms of peak area and from 444 to 472 in terms of peak height. The method was validated by analyzing spiked urine samples, obtaining a linear range of 25 to 1000 ng/mL and limits of detection ranging from 15 to 45 ng/mL.     

Combination of cationic surfactant-assisted solid-phase extraction with field-amplified sample stacking for highly sensitive analysis of chlorinated acid herbicides by capillary zone electrophoresis

This report describes a novel online field-amplified sample stacking (FASS) procedure to analyze 16 chlorinated acid herbicides. By using a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-coated capillary to reduce electroosmotic flow and introducing a methanol-water plug before sample loading, the sample injection time could be very long without loss of sample and separation efficiency. Under the optimized condition, the FASS procedure could provide great sensitivity enhancement (5000-10 000-fold) and satisfactory reproducibility (relative standard deviations of migration times less than 2.4%, relative standard deviations of peak areas less than 8.0%). Combined with cationic surfactant-assisted solid-phase extraction (CSA-SPE), the limit of detection of the herbicides ranged from 0.269 to 20.3 ppt, which are two orders lower than those of the US Environmental Protection Agency standard method 515.1. The CSA-SPE-FASS-CE method was successfully applied to the analysis of local pond water.     

Organic and inorganic selenium speciation in environmental and biological samples by nanometer-sized materials packed dual-column separation/preconcentration on-line coupled with ICP-MS

A novel, fast, and cheap nonchromatographic method for direct speciation of dissolved inorganic and organic selenium species in environmental and biological samples was developed by flow injection (FI) dual-column preconcentration/separation on-line coupled with ICP-MS determination. In the developed technique, the first column packed with nanometer-sized Al(2)O(3) could selectively adsorb the inorganic selenium [Se(IV), Se(VI)], and the retained inorganic selenium could be eluted by 0.2 mol l(-1) NaOH, while the organic Se [selenocystine (SeCys(2)) and selenomethionine (Se-Met)] was not retained. On the other hand, the second column packed with mesoporous TiO(2) chemically modified by dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) could selectively adsorb Se(IV) and SeCys(2) and barely adsorb Se(VI) and Se-Met. When the sample solution was passed through the column 1, separation of inorganic selenium and organic selenium could be achieved first. Then, the effluent from column 1 was successively introduced into the column 2 and the speciation of organic selenium could be attained due to the different adsorption behaviors of Se-Met and SeCys(2) on DMSA modified TiO(2). After that, the eluent from column 1 contained Se(IV), and Se(VI) was adjusted to desired pH and injected into column 2, and the speciation of Se(IV) and Se(VI) could also be realized thanks to their different retention on column 2. The parameters affecting the separation were investigated systematically and the optimal separation conditions were established. The detection limits obtained for Se(IV), Se(VI), Se-Met and SeCys(2) were 45-210 ng l(-1) with precisions of 3.6-9.7%. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the speciation of dissolved inorganic and organic selenium in environmental and biological samples. In order to validate the methodology, the developed method was also applied to the speciation of selenium in certified reference material of SELM-1 yeast, and the determined values were in good agreement with the certified values.     

Simultaneous determination of aripiprazole and its active metabolite,dehydroaripiprazole, in plasma by capillary electrophoresis combining on‐column field‐amplified sample injection and application in schizophrenia

A sensitive high‐performance CZE combining on‐column field‐amplified sample injection (FASI) has been developed for simultaneous determination of aripiprazole and its active metabolite, dehydroaripiprazole, in human plasma. A sample pretreatment by means of liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) (diethyl ether) with subsequent quantitation by FASI‐CZE was used. The separation of aripiprazole and dehydroaripiprazole was performed using a BGE containing 150 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.5) with 40% methanol and 0.02% PVA as a dynamic coating to reduce interaction of analytes with the capillary wall. Before sample loading, a methanol plug (0.3 psi, 6 s) was injected to permit FASI for stacking. The samples were injected electrokinetically (10 kV, 30 s) to introduce sample cations and the applied voltage was 20 kV with on‐column detection at 214 nm. Several parameters affecting the separation and sensitivity of the drug and its active metabolite were studied, including reconstitution solvent, organic modifier, pH and concentration of phosphate buffer. The linear ranges of the method for test drug and its active metabolite, in plasma using amlodipine as an internal standard, were over the range 5.0–100.0 ng/mL. One female volunteer (25 years old) was orally administered a single dose of 10 mg aripiprazole (Abilify^®, Otsuka) and blood samples were drawn over a 60 h period for pharmacokinetic study. The method was also applied to monitor the concentration of aripiprazole and dehydroaripiprazole in plasma collected after oral administration of 20 or 30 mg aripiprazole (Abilify^®, Otsuka) daily at steady state in one schizophrenic patient.     

Development and validation of a capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of phenothiazines in human urine in the low nanogram per milliliter concentration range using field-amplified sample injection

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with ultraviolet-visible detection has been established and validated for the determination of five phenothiazines: thiazinamium methylsulfate, promazine hydrochloride, chlorpromazine hydrochloride, thioridazine hydrochloride, and promethazine hydrochloride in human urine. Optimum separation was obtained on a 64.5 cm x 75 microm bubble cell capillary using a buffer containing 150 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and 25% acetonitrile at pH 8.2, with temperature and voltage of 25 degrees C and 20 kV, respectively. Naphazoline hydrochloride was used as an internal standard. Field-amplified sample injection (FASI) has been applied to improve the sensitivity of the detection. Considering the influence of parameters affecting the on-line preconcentration (nature of preinjection plug, sample solvent composition, injection times, and injection voltage) and due to the significant interactions among them, in this paper we propose for the first time the application of a multivariate approach to carry out the study. The optimized conditions were as follows: preinjection plug of water for 7 s at 50 mbar, electrokinetic injection for 40 s at 6.2 kV, and 32 microm of H3PO4 in the sample solvent. Also, a solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure is developed to obtain low detection limits and an adequate selectivity for urine samples. The combination of SPE and FASI-CZE-UV allows adequate linearities and recoveries, low detection limits (from 2 to 5 ng/mL), and satisfactory precisions (3.0-7.2% for an intermediate RSD %).     

Simultaneous separation and analysis of camptothecin alkaloids in real samples by large‐volume sample stacking in capillary electrophoresis

Large‐volume sample stacking (LVSS) is commonly used as an effective online preconcentration method in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). In this paper, the method LVSS combined with CZE has been proposed to analyze camptothecin alkaloids. Optimum separation can be achieved in the following conditions: pH 9.0; 25mm borate buffer containing 20 mm sulfobutylether‐β‐cyclodextrin and 20 mm ionic liquid 1‐ethyl‐3‐methyllimidazole l ‐lactate; applied voltage 20 kV; and capillary temperature 25 °C. The LVSS was optimized as hydrodynamic injection 4 s at 5.0 psi and the polarity switching time was 0.17 min. Under the above conditions, the analytes could be separated completely in <20 min and the detector response was increased compared with conventional hydrodynamic injection. The limits of detection were between 0.20 and 0.78 μg/L. A good linearity was obtained with correlation coefficients from 0.9991 to 0.9997. The recoveries ranged from 97.72 to 103.2% and the results demonstrated excellent accuracy. In terms of the migration time and peak area, the experiment was reproducible. The experimental results indicated that baseline separation can be obtained and this method is suitable for the quantitative determination of camptothecin alkaloids in real samples.     

Quantitative on‐line concentration for capillary electrophoresis with inkjet sample introduction technique

A quantitative sample introduction method based upon inkjet injection was applied to capillary electrophoresis coupled with stacking and sweeping on‐line concentration techniques. Methylxanthines were used as model compounds for the proof‐of‐concept of the method. The volume of injected sample could be easily manipulated by controlling the number of ejected droplets in the injection procedure. Under optimized conditions, a linear relationship between the ejected droplet number and peak area was obtained when the droplet number introduced into the capillary was less than 100. Under optimized quantitative on‐line concentration conditions, the limits of detection for theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline were 1.0, 2.0, and 1.0 μM, respectively. The inkjet injection system was evaluated by comparing it with conventional injection methods. The electropherogram of the inkjet injection mode was the same as that for hydrodynamic injection mode, and no sample discrimination was observed compared with the electrokinetic injection mode. The established method was applied to the determination of methylxanthines in bottled green tea. The recoveries of theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline were 94.1, 110.6, and 86.8%, respectively. We conclude that proposed method can be used for quantitative concentration for capillary electrophoresis, thus resulting in an improved accuracy.