A fast high throughput method for the determination of acidity constants by capillary electrophoresis. 3. Basic internal standards

A set of 25 monoprotic bases is proposed as internal standards for pK(a) determination by capillary electrophoresis. The pK(a) of the bases is determined and compared with available literature data. The capillary electrophoresis internal standard method offers numerous advantages over other typical methods for pK(a) determination, especially of analysis time and buffer preparation. However, it requires disposing of appropriate standards with reference pK(a) value. The set of bases established in this work together with the set of acids previously established provide a reference set of compounds with well-determined acidity constants that facilitate the process of selecting appropriate internal standards for fast pK(a) determination by capillary electrophoresis in high throughput screening of pharmaceutical drugs. In addition, the performance of the method when acidic internal standards are used for the determination of acidity constants of basic internal standards has also been tested. Although higher errors may be expected in this case, good agreement is observed between determined and literature values. These results indicate that in most cases structural similarity between the analyte and the internal standard might not be an essential requirement in the internal standard method.     

Fast high-throughput method for the determination of acidity constants by capillary electrophoresis: I. Monoprotic weak acids and bases

A new and fast method to determine acidity constants of monoprotic weak acids and bases by capillary zone electrophoresis based on the use of an internal standard (compound of similar nature and acidity constant as the analyte) has been developed. This method requires only two electrophoretic runs for the determination of an acidity constant: a first one at a pH where both analyte and internal standard are totally ionized, and a second one at another pH where both are partially ionized. Furthermore, the method is not pH dependent, so an accurate measure of the pH of the buffer solutions is not needed. The acidity constants of several phenols and amines have been measured using internal standards of known pK_a, obtaining a mean deviation of 0.05 pH units compared to the literature values.     

Determination of dissociation constants of compounds with potential cognition enhancing activity by capillary zone electrophoresis

Accurate determination of pK(a) values is important for proper characterization of newly synthesized molecules. In this work we have used CZE for determination of pK(a) values of new compounds prepared from intermediates, 2, 3 and 4-(2-chloro-acetylamino)-phenoxyacetic acids, by substituting chloride for 2-oxo-pyrrolidine, 2-oxo-piperidine or 2-oxo-azepane. These substances are expected to have a cognition enhancing activity and free radicals scavenging effect. Measurements were performed in a polyacrylamide-coated fused-silica capillary of 0.075 mm ID using direct UV detection at 254 nm. Three electrolyte systems were used for measurements to eliminate effects of potential interactions between tested compounds and components of the BGE. In the pH range 2.7-5.4, chloride, formate, acetate and phosphate were used as BGE co-ions, and sodium, beta-alanine and epsilon-aminocaproate as counterions. Mobility standards were measured simultaneously with the tested compounds for calculations of correct electrophoretic mobilities. Several approaches for the calculation of the pK(a) values were used. The values of pK(a) were determined by standard point-to-point calculation using Henderson-Hasselbach equation. Mobility and pH data were also evaluated by using nonlinear regression. Three parameter sigmoidal function fitted the experimental data with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. Results from CZE measurements were compared with spectrophotometric measurements performed in sodium formate buffer solutions and evaluated at wavelength where the highest absorbance difference for varying pH was recorded. The experimental pK(a) values were compared with corresponding values calculated by the SPARC online calculator. Results of all three used methods were in good correlation.     

Reversed-polarity capillary zone electrophoretic analysis of usnic acid.

A capillary zone electrophoretic (CZE) method for the determination of usnic acid is described for the first time. Usnic acid is an antibiotic substance from lichens. Due to its low solubility in water, a high content of methanol in CZE buffer is required. Because of the methanol in the buffer, the electroosmotic flow velocity was lower than the electrophoretic mobility of usnic acid. Accordingly, the use of reversed-polarity (with the anode on the detector side of the capillary) was necessary. The optimal buffer composition was 50 mM NaOH, 20 mM acetic acid and 5% water in methanol. The detection limit of UV detector at 290 nm for usnic acid in the injected extract was 3.5 mg/L and the relative standard deviation of the normalized peak area was 3.3% at 250 mg/L.     

Influence of pH on electrophoretic behavior of phenothiazines and determination of pKa values by capillary zone electrophoresis

The influence of buffer pH on the electrophoretic behavior of 13 structurally related phenothiazines and determination of pK(a) values by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) were investigated. The results indicate that phenothiazines with a piperazine substituent behave quite differently from those with substituents having an aliphatic side chain or a piperidine moiety over the pH range studied. To separate these phenothiazines, it is preferable to select buffer pH in the range of 2.5-3.5. The pK(a) values of phenothiazines with three different types of substituents attached at the 10-position of the phenothiazine ring were determined. The determination of pK(a) values of phenothiazines allows us to rationalize the influence of buffer pH on the migration behavior of these compounds in CZE.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis and capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for analyzing qualitative and quantitative variations in therapeutic albumin

The present study describes a reproducible and quantitative capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method, which leads to the separation of nine forms (native, oxidized and glycated) of human serum albumin (HSA). In an attempt to identify the different species separated by this CZE method, the capillary electrophoresis was coupled to mass spectrometry using a sheath liquid interface, an optimized capillary coating and a suitable CE running buffer. CE-MS analyses confirmed the heterogeneity of albumin preparation and revealed new truncated and modified forms such as Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs). Assignment of the CZE peaks was carried out using specific antibodies, carboxypeptidase A or sample reduction before or during the CE separation. Thus, five HSA forms were unambiguously identified. Using this CZE method several albumin batches produced by slightly different fractionation ways could be discriminated. Furthermore, analyses of HSA preparations marketed by five pharmaceutical industries revealed that two therapeutic albumins, including that marketed by LFB, contained the highest proportion of native form and lower levels of oxidized forms.     

A simple method for the titration of multicomponent acid-base mixtures

A titration method has been developed to analyze acid mixtures, in which the pK values differed by 0.5 to 1 pH units. Instead of the use of equivalence points a buffer capacity curve is numerically derived from the titration curve resulting in a presentation similar to chromatograms and spectra. The consumption of the NaOH titrant is determined within pH intervals of 0.2-0.6 units around the pK values of the components. The buffer capacity measured is expressed as the consumption of NaOH over the pH interval. The amounts of compounds are found from these results using simple models of chemometrics. The method has been applied to a mixture of formic and acetic acids with concentrations of 0-3 mmol/20 ml with an error of 0-0.05 mmol. Furthermore a curve-fitting method based on a theoretical equation of buffer capacity can be applied with an error slightly larger than with the previous method. In this case, the pK values were also computed. For titrations beyond the pH range 4-10, the buffer capacity of water has to be subtracted from the titration results. The whole procedure requires including the computations about 3-6 min.     

Simultaneous Determination of Atenolol and Chlorthalidone in Pharmaceutical Preparations by Capillary-Zone Electrophoresis

Abstract

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the simultaneous determination of the β-blocker drugs atenolol and chlorthalidone in pharmaceutical formulations has been developed. The CZE separation was performed under the following conditions: capillary temperature, 25°C; applied voltage, 25 kV; 20 mM H₃PO₄–NaOH running buffer (pH 9.0); and detection wavelength, 198 nm. Phenobarbital was used as internal standard. The method was validated and showed not only good precision and accuracy but also good robustness. The method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of both atenolol and chlorthalidone in pharmaceutical tablets.     

On-line coupling of capillary isotachophoresis and zone electrophoresis for the assay of phenolic compounds in plant extracts

The combination of capillary isotachophoresis (ITP) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in the column coupling configuration was optimized in a mode where the electrolyte for the CZE step is different from the leading and terminating ITP electrolytes. Two colored markers, picric acid and 1-nitroso-2-naphthol, were used for exact timing of the transfer of isotachophoretically stacked analyte zones into the CZE column and for the control of the residual amount of the leading and terminating ITP electrolytes entering the CZE capillary together with the analytes, thus controlling the duration of transient ITP migration in the CZE capillary and ensuring good separation of the analytes and reproducibility of the migration times (relative standard deviations 1%). ITP-CZE was applied to the simultaneous assay of several cinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoids in methanolic extracts of Sambucus flowers and Crataegus leaves and flowers. The preconcentrating and cleansing effect of the ITP step allowed injection of relatively large sample volumes (30 microL). The limits of detection were approximately 20-50 ng x mL(-1) and 100 ng x mL(-1) for the acids and flavonoids, respectively ( thick similar 200-times lower compared to conventional CE) with spectrophotometric detection at 254 nm. The ITP-CZE exhibited satisfactory linearity and precision when using CZE buffer of pseudo "pH" 9.0; 1-nitroso-2-naphthol was employed as the internal standard. The separation took approximately 35 min. The ITP-CZE results for rutin, hyperoside, and vitexin-2-O"-rhamnoside were in good accordance with those obtained previously by high-performance liquid chromatography.     

Determination of weak (2.0–2.5) dissociation constants of non-UV absorbing solutes by capillary electrophoresis

Summary Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has proved to be a fast and convenient method for the determination of the dissociation constants of non-UV absorbing solutes in the acidic pK _A range (2.0–2.5). The electroosmotic flow was reversed by washing the capillary with 0.2% polybren aqueous solution. A series of background electrolytes was prepared with phenylphosphonic acid (pK _A=1.29) and β-alanine (pK _A=3.55) with the same ionic strength and a high buffer capacity in order to improve the repeatability (0.1–0.2 %) of the electrophoretic mobility and to determine the values of pK _A accurately. This procedure was applied to the determination of the dissociation constants of several alkyl-alkylphosphonic acids whose pK _A values have not yet been published in the literature. In this work, their dissociation constants have been found to vary between 1.91 and 2.34 for alkyl-methylphosphonic acids and between 2.10 and 2.38 for alkyl-ethylphosphonic acids.     

A simple method for the titration of multicomponent acid-base mixtures

A titration method has been developed to analyze acid mixtures, in which the pK values differed by 0.5 to 1 pH units. Instead of the use of equivalence points a buffer capacity curve is numerically derived from the titration curve resulting in a presentation similar to chromatograms and spectra. The consumption of the NaOH titrant is determined within pH intervals of 0.2–0.6 units around the pK values of the components. The buffer capacity measured is expressed as the consumption of NaOH over the pH interval. The amounts of compounds are found from these results using simple models of chemometrics. The method has been applied to a mixture of formic and acetic acids with concentrations of 0–3 mmol/20 ml with an error of 0–0.05 mmol. Furthermore a curve-fitting method based on a theoretical equation of buffer capacity can be applied with an error slightly larger than with the previous method. In this case, the pK values were also computed. For titrations beyond the pH range 4–10, the buffer capacity of water has to be subtracted from the titration results. The whole procedure requires including the computations about 3–6 min.     

Standard systems for measurement of pKs and ionic mobilities. 1. Univalent weak acids

Determination of pK values of weak bases and acids by CZE has already attracted big attention in current practice and proved to offer the advantage of being applicable for mixtures of analytes. The method is based on the measurement of mobility curves plotting the effective mobility vs. the pH of the background electrolyte, and following computer-assisted regression involving corrections for ionic strength and temperature. To cover the necessary range of pH for a given case, both buffering weak acids and bases are used in one set of measurements, which requires implementing computations of individual ionic strength corrections for each pH value. It is also well known that some components of frequently used background electrolytes may interact with the analytes measured, on forming associates or complexes. This obviously deteriorates the reliability of the resulting data. This contribution brings a rational approach to this problem and establishes a standard system of anionic buffers for measurements of pKs and mobilities of weak acids, where the only counter cation present (besides H(+)) is Na(+). In this way, the risk of formation of complexes or associates of analytes with counter ions is strongly reduced. Moreover, the standard system of anionic buffers is selected in such a way that it provides, for an entire set of measurements, constant and accurately known ionic strength and the operational conditions are selected so that they provide constant Joule heating. Due to these precautions only one correction for ionic strength and temperature is needed for the obtained set of experimental data. This considerably facilitates their evaluation and regression analysis as the corrections need not be implemented in the computation software. The reliability and the advantages of the proposed system are well documented by experiments, where the known problematic group of phenol derivatives was measured with high accuracy and without any notice of anomalous behaviour.     

Fast determination of flavonoids in Hippophae rhamnoides and its medicinal preparation by capillary zone electrophoresis using dimethyl-beta-cyclodextrin as modifier

A fast capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method, using dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin (DM-β-CD) as modifier, has been developed for the determination of three flavonoids (quercetin (QU), kaempferol (KA) and isorhamnetin (IS)) in the Chinese herbal extract from Hippophae rhamnoides and its medicinal preparation (Sindacon tablet). Optimum separation was achieved with 20 mM borate buffer at pH 10.0 containing 5 mg ml⁻¹ of DM-β-CD. The applied voltage was 15 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 25 °C. Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9973, 0.9992 and 0.9996) between the peak area of each compound (QU, KA and IS) and its concentration. The relative standard deviations of migration times and peak areas were <1.53 and 4.14%, respectively. The effects of several CE parameters on the resolution were studied systematically. The contents of three flavonoids in H. rhamnoides were successfully determined with 4.5 min, with satisfactory repeatability and recovery. It was also tested that the possibilities of using this method for the determination of flavonoids in Chinese medicinal preparation.     

Profiling and screening analysis of 27 aromatic amino acids by capillary electrophoresis in dual modes

An efficient capillary electrophoretic (CE) profiling and screening system based on dual modes of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) was developed for the simultaneous determination of 23 nonprotein amino acids (NPAAs) and 4 protein amino acids with aromatic moiety. It involves separation by an uncoated fused-silica capillary under phosphoric acid buffer in CZE mode and by another uncoated fused-silica capillary under neutral sodium dihydrogen phosphate buffer containing sodium dodecyl sulfate in MEKC mode. Migration orders of the amino acids studied on the two separation modes under each optimum condition were very different. The repeatability of migration times measured by the CZE and MEKC was found to be better than 4.8 and 3.4%, respectively, thereby enabling to cross-check the identification of each amino acid. The method linearity and limit of detection of the CZE for each amino acid were found to be adequate for the assay of aromatic amino acids. When the present CE profiling and screening analysis in dual modes was applied to plant seeds, NPAAs such as mimosine from Mimosa pudica Linné, and 2-phenylglycine from Lindera erythrocarpa Makino were positively detected along with tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine.     

毛细管区带电泳法快速测定复方布洛芬片的有效成分

 研究了用毛细管区带电泳法快速测定复方布洛芬片中布洛芬和伪麻黄碱含量的方法。在０．０２５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ的磷酸盐缓冲液（ｐＨ８．１）中，上述两组分可在３ｍｉｎ内得以完全分离，用紫外检测器在２１０ｎｍ处检测，并以外标法定量。１１次测定含有９．５ｍｇ／Ｌ盐酸伪麻黄碱和６６．７ｍｇ／Ｌ布洛芬的试样溶液，相对标准偏差为２．９％（伪麻黄碱）和１．９％（布洛芬），回收率为１０３．１％（伪麻黄碱）和９７．６％（布洛芬）。应用毛细管区带电泳法测定复方布洛芬片剂的含量，所得结果与ＨＰＬＣ法一致。     

Capillary electrophoresis method for the analysis of inorganic anions, organic acids, amino acids, nucleotides, carbohydrates and other anionic compounds.

A previously developed capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method with indirect UV detection for the simultaneous determination of inorganic and organic anions, amino acids and carbohydrates using 20 mM 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (PDC) as the background electrolyte was extended to allow determination of 206 anions including those above--mentioned and physiological amino acids, nucleotides, aromatic acids, haloacetic acids, alcohols, phosphorylated saccharides, oxyhalides, metal oxoacids, metal-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) complexes, forensic anions, Good's buffers and herbicides. Every compound could be analyzed and their electrophoretic mobility determined simply by selecting detection wavelength. This method is simple and universal for anion analysis, and could be readily applied to the simultaneous determination of anionic compounds. In this work, it was used to identify and quantify important anions in sea urchin and sake.     

毛细管电泳-激光诱导荧光用于中药制剂中氨基酸成分的分析

建立了一种用于测定中药制剂中氨基酸成分的毛细管电泳-荧光检测方法. 用含有α-环糊精(α-CD)的硼砂缓冲溶液为背景电解质, 经异硫氰酸荧光素(FITC)衍生的5种氨基酸在50 min内可以得到很好的分离和测定. 考查了各个分离参数对分离的影响, 得到的优化条件为: 含45 mmol/L的α-环糊精的80 mmol/L硼砂缓冲溶液(pH值9.2)作为背景电解质, 分离电压20 kV; 柱温22 ℃. 衍生试剂FITC与单个氨基酸的化学计量比为4∶1时, 能够获得稳定荧光强度的氨基酸衍生物. 在优化条件下, 各氨基酸成分在73.5～2900 nmol/L 的浓度范围内呈良好的线性关系(相关系数r2为0.9906～0.9998). 保留时间和峰面积的相对标准偏差分别为0.8%～3.0%和0.7%～5.7%, 检测限(3倍信噪比)为3.5～35 nmol/L. 该方法准确可靠, 可用于质量控制为目的的中药制剂中氨基酸成分的定量测定.     

Simultaneous determination of inorganic anions, carboxylic and aromatic carboxylic acids by capillary zone electrophoresis with direct UV detection

Co-electroosmotic capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with direct UV detection was developed for simultaneous determination of inorganic anions, carboxylic and aromatic carboxylic acids. These solutes were separated using a 30 mM phosphate buffer containing 1.0 mM tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) and 20% (v/v) acetonitrile at pH of 6.5 and directly detected by UV at 190 nm. Calibration curves were linear in the range 0.01-2.0 mM, depending of the solutes. The detection limits ranged from 1.0 to 8.0 microM and the relative standards deviations (n=5) in range from 1.9 to 3.6% for the peak area. The proposed method was used to determine inorganic anions and carboxylic and aromatic acids in soil and plant tissue extracts.     

Separation and determination of chalcones from Carthamus tinctorius L. and its medicinal preparation by capillary zone electrophoresis

A new capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method was developed for simultaneous assay of four chalcones, hydroxysafflor yellow A, safflor yellow A, safflamin C, and safflamin A, in the Chinese herbal extract from Carthamus tinctorius L. The optimum buffer system was 30 mM borate buffer (Na2B407/HCl, pH 9.00) with 10% (v/v) methanol. The voltage was 15 kV and detection was at 270 nm. Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9973, 0.9992, 0.9989, and 0.9996) between the peak area of each compound and its concentration. The within-day relative standard deviations of migration times and peak areas were < 1.53 and 4.14%, respectively. The effects of several CE parameters on the resolution were studied systematically. The contents of four chalcones in Carthamus tinctorius L. were successfully determined with satisfactory repeatability and recovery. The possibilities of using this method for the determination of chalcones in Chinese medicinal preparation was also tested.     

毛细管区带电泳法快速测定复方布洛芬片的有效成分

研究了用毛细管区带电泳法快速测定复方布洛芬片中布洛芬和伪麻黄碱含量的方法。在０．０２５ｍｏｌ／Ｌ的磷酸盐缓冲液（ｐＨ８．１）中，上述两组分可在３ｍｉｎ内得以完全分离，用紫外检测器在２１０ｎｍ处检测，并以外标法定量。１１次测定含有９．５ｍｇ／Ｌ盐酸伪麻黄碱和６６．７ｍｇ／Ｌ布洛芬的试样溶液，相对标准偏差为２．９％（伪麻黄碱）和１．９％（布洛芬），回收率为１０３．１％（伪麻黄碱）和９７．６％（布洛芬）。应用毛细管区带电泳法测定复方布洛芬片剂的含量，所得结果与ＨＰＬＣ法一致。