Enzymatic determination of choline in milk using a FIA system with potentiometric detection

The development of a FIA system for the determination of total choline content in several types of milk is described. The samples were submitted to hydrochloric acid digestion before injection into the system and passed through an enzymatic reactor containing choline oxidase immobilised on glass beads. This enzymatic reaction releases hydrogen peroxide which then reacts with a solution of iodide. The decrease in the concentration of iodide ion is quantified using an iodide ion selective tubular electrode based on a homogeneous crystalline membrane. Validation of the results obtained with this system was performed by comparison with results from a method described in the literature and applied to the determination of total choline in milks. The relative deviation was always < 5%. The repeatability of the method developed was assessed by calculation of the relative standard deviation (RSD) for 12 consecutive injections of one sample. The RSD obtained was < 0.6%.     

Simultaneous differential kinetic determination of cobalt and nickel based on on-line complex formation and ligand substitution reaction using a stopped-flow FIA system

A differential kinetic method utilizing a stopped-flow FIA system is proposed for the simultaneous determination of cobalt and nickel at sub-ppm levels in mixtures. The method is based on the large difference in the rates of the ligand substitution reaction of the metal complexes of 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(N-propyl-N-sulfopropylamino)aniline (PSAA) with nitrilotriacetic acid. The apparent reaction rate for the Ni-PSAA complex is more than 100 times larger than that for Co-PSAA complex. The relative standard deviations in the analysis of binary mixture of 0.50 g/ml cobalt and 0.30 g/ml nickel were 1.9% and 2.1%, respectively (n=7). The sample throughput is about 20 h^–1. The effect of various ions was also studied. The proposed method has satisfactorily been applied to synthetic samples containing different ratios of cobalt and nickel 1/12 to 10/1.     

Total determination of metal-binding carbohydrates in plant extracts by using FIA with electrochemical detection

FIA with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) is used for the determination of metal-binding carbohydrates in plant extracts. Results of direct FIA measurements agree very well with those of corresponding HPLC-PAD analyses. The proposed method is used to determine total carbohydrates in isolated low-molecular-weight fractions of plant roots, which have been obtained after extraction at different pH values. The results are compared with those obtained by corresponding metal determinations (Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn) by AAS and also with constant potential amperometric detection at a copper working electrode. The latter detection mode is more sensitive, but less selective for carbohydrates. Received: 12 January 2000 / Revised: 2 March 2000 / Accepted: 4 March 2000     

Total determination of metal-binding carbohydrates in plant extracts by using FIA with electrochemical detection

FIA with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) is used for the determination of metal-binding carbohydrates in plant extracts. Results of direct FIA measurements agree very well with those of corresponding HPLC-PAD analyses. The proposed method is used to determine total carbohydrates in isolated low-molecular-weight fractions of plant roots, which have been obtained after extraction at different pH values. The results are compared with those obtained by corresponding metal determinations (Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn) by AAS and also with constant potential amperometric detection at a copper working electrode. The latter detection mode is more sensitive, but less selective for carbohydrates.     

Simple spectrophotometry method for the determination of sulfur dioxide in an alcohol-thionyl chloride reaction

Thionyl chloride is often used to convert alcohols into more reactive alkyl chloride, which can be easily converted to many compounds that are not possible from alcohols directly. One important reaction of alkyl chloride is nucleophilic substitution, which is typically conducted under basic conditions. Sulfur dioxide, the by-product from alcohol-thionyl chloride reactions, often reacts with alkyl chloride to form a sulfonyl acid impurity, resulting in yield loss. Therefore, the alkyl chloride is typically isolated to remove the by-products including sulfur dioxide. However, in our laboratory, the alkyl chloride formed from alcohol and thionyl chloride was found to be a potential mutagenic impurity, and isolation of this compound would require extensive safety measures. As a result, a flow-through process was developed, and the sulfur dioxide was purged using a combination of vacuum degassing and nitrogen gas sweeping. An analytical method that can quickly and accurately quantitate residual levels of sulfur dioxide in the reaction mixture is desired for in-process monitoring. We report here a simple ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry method for this measurement.     

A simple colorimetric FIA method for the determination of pyrite oxidation rates

A method for the rapid determination of the oxidation rate of naturally occurring pyrite (FeS₂) samples is presented. The progress of the oxidation reaction was followed by measurement of the concentration of total dissolved iron using flow injection analysis. Iron was determined using UV-vis detection after reaction with the colorimetric reagent 5-sulfosalicylic acid in the presence of ammonia. The calibration function was linear between 5 and 150 mg L⁻¹, and the detection limit was 0.46 mg L⁻¹. The relative standard deviation was typically less than 1% (n = 10) and the measurement frequency was 60/h. The method was used to quantify the oxidation rate of 10 ground and cleaned pyrite samples (53 μm < x < 106 μm) from various international locations that were subjected to accelerate oxidation in acidic hydrogen peroxide. Results of these experiments showed that there was almost an order of magnitude of difference in oxidation rates of the pyrite samples.     

Parabens determination with a hybrid FIA/HPLC system with ultra-short monolithic column

The combination of an ultra-short C18 monolithic column (5 mm long) with a flow injection analysis (FIA) scheme results in a versatile and efficient system that has been used for the chromatographic determination of four preservatives — methylparaben (MP), ethylparaben (EP), propylparaben (PP) and butylparaben (BP). The separation is carried out by using two carriers, A and B, consisting of a mixture of ACN: water in different proportions. The described procedure is able to separate the analytes in only 150 s. The applicable concentration range, detection limit and the relative standard deviation were the following: for MP from 1.6 × 10^-5 to 1.1 × 10^-3 M; 4.8 × 10^-4 M; 0.65%; for EP between 3.7 × 10^-5 and 2.0 × 10^-3 M; 1.2 × 10^-5 M; 1.2%; for PP between 3.9 × 10^-5 and 2.0 × 10^-3 M; 1.2 × 10^-5 M; 1.2%; and for BT between 6.0 × 10^-5 and 2.0 × 10^-3 M; 1.8 × 10^-5 M; 1.8%. The method was applied and validated satisfactorily for the determination of these parabens in commercial cosmetics samples, comparing the results with those obtained by HPLC reference method.     

A batch modelling approach to monitor a freeze-drying process using in-line Raman spectroscopy

Freeze-drying or lyophilisation is a batch wise industrial process used to remove water from solutions, hence stabilizing the solutes for distribution and storage. The objective of the present work was to outline a batch modelling approach to monitor a freeze-drying process in-line and in real-time using Raman spectroscopy. A 5% (w/v) d-mannitol solution was freeze-dried in this study as model. The monitoring of a freeze-drying process using Raman spectroscopy allows following the product behaviour and some process evolution aspects by detecting the changes of the solutes and solvent occurring during the process. Herewith, real-time solid-state characterization of the final product is also possible.The timely spectroscopic measurements allowed the differentiation between batches operated in normal process conditions and batches having deviations from the normal trajectory. Two strategies were employed to develop batch models: partial least squares (PLS) using the unfolded data and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). It was shown that both strategies were able to developed batch models using in-line Raman spectroscopy, allowing to monitor the evolution in real-time of new batches. However, the computational effort required to develop the PLS model and to evaluate new batches using this model is significant lower compared to the PARAFAC model. Moreover, PLS scores in the time mode can be computed for new batches, while using PARAFAC only the batch mode scores can be determined for new batches.     

Simple method for the determination of rosiglitazone in human plasma using a commercially available internal standard

To the best of our knowledge, bioanalytical methods to determine rosiglitazone in human plasma reported in literature use internal standards that are not commercially available. Our purpose was to develop a simple method for the determination of rosiglitazone in plasma employing a commercially available internal standard (IS). After the addition of celecoxib (IS), plasma (0.25 mL) samples were extracted into ethyl acetate. The residue after evaporation of the organic layer was dissolved in 750 microL of mobile phase and 50 microL was injected on to HPLC. The separation was achieved using a Hichrom KR 100, 250 x 4.6 mm C(18) with a mobile phase composition potassium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (0.01 m, pH 6.5):acetonitrile:methanol (40:50:10, v/v/v). The flow-rate of the mobile phase was set at 1 mL/min. The column eluate was monitored by fluorescence detector set at an excitation wavelength of 247 nm and emission wavelength of 367 nm. Linear relationships (r(2) > 0.99) were observed between the peak area ratio rosiglitazone to IS vs rosiglitazone concentrations across the concentration range 5-1000 ng/mL. The intra-run precision (%RSD) and accuracy (%Dev) in the measurement of rosiglitazone were <+/-10.69 and <-12.35%, respectively across the QC levels (50-1000 ng/mL). The extraction efficiency was >80% for both rosiglitazone and IS from human plasma. The lower limit of quantitation of the assay was 5 ng/mL. In summary, the methodology for rosiglitazone measurement in plasma was simple, sensitive and employed a commercially available IS.     

Novel determination system for urea in alcoholic beverages by using an FIA system with an acid urease column.

A novel determination method for urea using an acid urease column-FIA system was developed, and the system was applied to the determination of urea in rice wine. This novel FIA system was characterized by CO2 detection due to the property of acid urease and by a microfluidic gas-diffusion device with the use of an ultra-thin hollow fiber membrane. A biosensing system fabricated in this study was assembled with a double-plunger pump, a sample-injection valve, an immobilized acid urease column as a recognition element for the assay of urea, a gas-diffusion unit, and a flow-type spectrophotometer. The gas-diffusion unit consisted of a double-tubing structure in which the outer tubing was made of PTFE (i.d. 1.0 mm; o.d. 1.5 mm) and the inner tubing was of porous PTFE (i.d. 0.19 mm; o.d. 0.25 mm). Standard urea solutions (20 microl) were measured through monitoring variations in the absorbance of a coloring agent solution resulting from a pH shift due to carbon dioxide molecules being enzymatically generated. A wide and linear relationship was obtained between the concentration of urea (16 microM - 1.0 mM) and the change in absorbance. This FIA system has great advantages that the system did not suffer from ammonia and ethanol in samples. This system, armed with a microfluidic gas-diffusion device, was applicable to the determination of various substrates of many kinds of decarboxylase, amino-acid oxidase, and amino-acid oxygenase, producing CO2 and NH3 molecules.     

Simple method for determination of selenium in biological materials by flameless atomic-absorption spectrometry using a carbon-tube atomizer

A method for determination of selenium in biological materials by flameless atomic-absorption spectrometry using a carbon-tube atomizer is described. The sample is burned by an oxygen-flask combustion procedure, the resulting solution is treated with a cation-exchange resin to eliminate interfering cations, the selenium is extracted with dithizone in carbon tetrachloride and the resulting selenium dithizonate is combined with nickel nitrate in the carbon tube to enhance the sensitivity for selenium and avoid volatilization losses. The method measures selenium concentrations as low as 0.01 mug/g with a relative standard deviation of 8%.     

Photoelectro-synergistic catalysis combined with a FIA system application on determination of chemical oxygen demand

In this paper, photoelectro-synergistic catalysis oxidation of organics in the water on Ti/TiO₂/PbO₂ electrode was investigated. The prepared TiO₂ film was investigated with Atomic force micrograph (AFM). Furthermore, the results were compared with those obtained from electrocatalysis (EC) and electro-assisted photocatalysis (PC). The method proposed employed photoelectro-synergistic catalysis (PEC), together with flow injection analysis, to determine the chemical oxygen demand (COD) values. It was shown that the method of photoelectro-synergistic catalysis had lower detection limit (15.0 mg l⁻¹) and wider linear range (30.0–2500.0 mg l⁻¹) than the methods of electro-assisted photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. The results obtained by the proposed method and conventional one were compared by carrying out the experiment on 20 wastewater samples and also agreed well by high correlation (R = 0.9912).     

Selective preconcentration of amino acids and peptides using single drop microextraction in-line coupled with capillary electrophoresis

Single drop microextraction (SDME) can be in-line coupled with capillary electrophoresis by attaching a drop to the tip of a capillary. With a 2-layer drop comprised of an aqueous basic acceptor phase covered with a thin organic layer, acidic analytes in an aqueous acidic donor phase can be extracted into the organic layer and then back-extracted into the acceptor phase. However, preconcentration of amino acids and peptides by SDME is difficult since their zwitterionic properties prevent them from being partitioned in the middle organic phase. When amino acids were derivatized with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F), amino acids without a charged side chain were converted to carboxylic acids. In the acidic donor phase, those NBD-amino acids were predominantly neutral and they were successfully concentrated into the basic acceptor phase. In the meantime, amino acids with a charged side chain after NBD-F derivatization were not concentrated via SDME. With this selective SDME, we were able to extract acidic and neutral amino acids obtaining several hundred-fold enrichments within 5 min at 25 °C, while leaving basic amino acids—Arg, Lys, and His—in the acidic donor phase. Furthermore, detection sensitivity was enhanced by employing laser-induced fluorescence detection. We then applied this technique to the selective concentration of peptides.     

Development of FIA equipped with a chemiluminescence detector using a mixed reagent of luminol and 1,10-phenanthroline.

We developed an FIA system equipped with a chemiluminescence detector using a mixed chemiluminescence reagent of luminol and 1,10-phenanthroline for the detection of metal ions and metal complexes. The carrier, mixed chemiluminescence reagent comprising luminol, 1,10-phenanthroline, and cethyltrimethylammonium bromide, and H2O2 solutions were fed by corresponding pumps at a definite flow rate. Sample solutions dissolving hematin, [Co(NH3)4(H2O)2]2(SO4)3, CuSO4, NiCl2, K3[Fe(CN)6], and K4[Fe(CN)6] were analyzed as models by the means of the present FIA system. Solutions of hematin, [Co(NH3)4(H2O)2]2(SO4)3, CuSO4, and NiCl2 were detected as positive peaks, as usual. The order of the catalytic activity of these samples for the present chemiluminescence reaction using the mixed chemiluminescence reagent was [Co(NH3)4(H2O)2]2(SO4)3 > hematin > CuSO4 > NiCl2. On the other hand, sample solutions of K3[Fe(CN)6] and K4[Fe(CN)6] were detected as negative peaks and were determined over the ranges of 1 x 10(-8) - 1 x 10(-6) M with a detection limit of 1 x 10(-8) M and 2 x 10(-8) - 4 x 10(-6) M with a detection limit of 2 x 10(-8) M, respectively. Their negative peaks were observed reproducibly with a relative standard deviation of 2 - 5%.     

Development of a novel analytical method for determination of chondroitin sulfate using an in-capillary enzyme reaction

A novel analytical method for determination of total amount of chondroitin sulfate (CS) based on its conversion to desulfated chondro-disaccharide via an enzyme-catalyzed reaction, was developed. Using the in-capillary enzyme reaction, the method was also applied to the successful construction of an on-line analytical system. Within this system, electrophoretic migration was used to mix zones containing the enzyme mixture (chondroitinase ABC, chondro-4-sulfatase, chondro-6-sulfatase and 2-o-sulfatase) and the substrate (CS). The reaction was then allowed to proceed in the presence of a weak electric field and, finally, the product (desulfated chondro-disaccharide) of enzyme reaction migrated to the detector under the influence of an applied electric field. A polyvinyl alcohol-coated capillary was used to reduce protein adsorption. Desulfated chondro-disaccharide was successfully migrated toward the anode in 10 mM Tris-acetate buffer (pH 7.0) under reversed polarity and detected at 232 nm. The established method was validated and demonstrated to be applicable in the determination of total amount of CS in a commercial ophthalmic solution. No interference from the formulation excipients was observed. Good linearity was obtained, with correlation coefficients above 0.999. Recoveries and precisions ranged from 100.0 to 100.5%, and from 0.2 to 0.6% of the relative standard deviation, respectively. Good agreement was obtained between the established method and traditional photometric method based on carbazole reaction. In this study, application of the method to disaccharide compositional analysis was also performed.     

Application of a modified simplex method to the multivariable optimization of a new FIA system for the determination of osmium

A methodology based on the coupling of experimental design and a modified simplex method is proposed for the optimization of a new flow injection-kinetic system for the spectrophotometric determination of Os (IV) with m-acetylchlorophosphonazo, which has for the first time been used as chromogenic reagent in the quantitative analysis of this element. An orthogonal array design is utilized to design the experimental protocol, in which six variables are varied simultaneously, and obtain the initial simplex using 25 experiments. A modified simplex method is applied to continuously optimize the data of the orthogonal array design; the search for optimum conditions of ¶6 variables using the modified simplex method required only 25 experiments. The efficiency and simplicity of the coupling of the experimental design and the modified simplex method are attractive for the development of new analytical methods. The method has been applied to the determination of Os (IV) in a refined ore as well as in a secondary alloy and provided satisfactory results.     

Simple, rapid and selective method using high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of bretylium in plasma.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection has been developed for the determination of bretylium in plasma. Following a single-step solid-phase extraction procedure, bretylium is selectively isolated and well recovered from plasma. The assay sensitivity is 0.156 micrograms/ml from 250-microliters plasma samples and its linearity was assessed up to 40 micrograms/ml. The method is accurate (101.0 +/- 5.4%) and precise (maximum coefficient of variation of 8%). It provides a simple and time-saving alternative to existing methods and is particularly suitable for pharmacokinetic studies.