Screening method for determining the presence of N-nitrosodiethanolamine in cosmetics by open-tubular capillary electrochromatography

The presence of the carcinogenic N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA; CAS No. 1116-54-7) in cosmetic samples was determined using an etched, C18 modified capillary in the open-tubular capillary electrochromatography technique. A very simple extraction procedure leads to a sample matrix free from interferences. The calibration curve was created using UV detection at 214 nm. The detector response was linear in the range of 5-120 ppm total amount injected. Minimum detection limits (1 ppm NDELA injected on capillary) are suitable for screening a large number of cosmetic samples. Diethanolamine and triethanolamine precursors of nitrosamines are not detected at the wavelength used. Cosmetic samples were analyzed unspiked and after addition of 60 ppm of NDELA. In spiked samples recoveries varied from 94% (hand and body lotion) to 55% (lipstick sample). NDELA was found in unspiked samples of old (5-15 years old) cosmetics at concentrations of 14.0 ppm and 35.0 ppm.     

Determination of parabens in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products by capillary electrophoresis

A validated capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of parabens-methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl is described. The optimum results were obtained by the use of a run buffer containing 20 mM borate buffer (pH 9.0) with 10% methanol and by applying a voltage of 20 kV, a low hydrodynamic injection of 10 s, and detecting the signals at 200 nm. Moxifloxazin was used as an internal standard. All parabens were separated within 10 min. The method showed a good repeatability, linearity, and sensitivity. It was applied to the determination of parabens in pharmaceutical and certain cosmetic products. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Quality by design-assisted development of a capillary electrophoresis method for the enantiomeric purity determination of tenofovir

A CE method was developed and validated for the assessment of the chiral purity of the drug tenofovir applying a quality by design approach. Following selection of a quaternary ammonium β-CD as chiral selector, a fractional factorial resolution V+ design was employed for identification of the critical process parameters, while a central composite design served for method optimization. The final method used a 40/50.2 cm, 50 μm id fused-silica capillary, a BGE composed of a 100 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.4, containing 45 mg/mL quaternary ammonium β-CD, an applied voltage of 18 kV, and a capillary temperature of 22°C. Robustness was assessed by a Plackett–Burman design. The method was validated according to guideline Q2(R1) of the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use and enabled the determination of the (S)-enantiomer of tenofovir at the 0.1% level.     

Slurry sampling flow injection chemical vapor generation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the determination of trace Ge,As, Cd,Sb, Hg and Bi in cosmetic lotions

A slurry sampling inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method has been developed for the determination of Ge, As, Cd, Sb, Hg and Bi in cosmetic lotions using flow injection (FI) vapor generation (VG) as the sample introduction system. A slurry containing 2% m/v lotion, 2% m/v thiourea, 0.05% m/v l-cysteine, 0.5 μg mL⁻¹ Co(II), 0.1% m/v Triton X-100 and 1.2% v/v HCl was injected into a VG-ICP-MS system for the determination of Ge, As, Cd, Sb, Hg and Bi without dissolution and mineralization. Because the sensitivities of the analytes in the slurry and that of aqueous solution were quite different, an isotope dilution method and a standard addition method were used for the determination. This method has been validated by the determination of Ge, As, Cd, Sb, Hg and Bi in GBW09305 Cosmetic (Cream) reference material. The method was also applied for the determination of Ge, As, Cd, Sb, Hg and Bi in three cosmetic lotion samples obtained locally. The analysis results of the reference material agreed with the certified value and/or ETV-ICP-MS results. The detection limit estimated from the standard addition curve was 0.025, 0.1, 0.2, 0.1, 0.15, and 0.03 ng  g⁻¹ for Ge, As, Cd, Sb, Hg and Bi, respectively, in original cosmetic lotion sample.     

Quantitative determination of bovine caseinoglycomacropeptide in infant formulas by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry

An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization coupled to mass spectrometry method has been developed for determining caseinoglycomacropeptide (CGMP) in infant formulas by selected ion reaction and area monitoring modes. The present study focused on the optimization of sample pretreatment, chromatographic resolution and mass spectrometry parameters. After a simple sample pretreatment, the two genetic variants of caseinoglycomacropeptide, CGMP(A) and CGMP(B), were separated using a BEH300 C(18) column by gradient elution. The established method was extensively validated by determining the linearity (R(2)>0.999), average recovery (95.8-118.4%), inter-day precision (relative standard deviation ≤7.81%) and intra-day precision (relative standard deviation ≤6.99%) based on two scan modes. To further verify the applicability of the method, 21 brands of commercial available infant formulas were analyzed. The results showed that the present method is selective, sensitive and reliable for separating and quantifying two genetic variants (CGMP(A) and CGMP(B)) of caseinoglycomacropeptide in infant formulas with complex matrix.     

Development of a micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography method for the determination of four naphthalenediols in cosmetics and a comparison with a HPLC method

A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) method with ultraviolet visible (UV) detection was used for the determination of 1,7-naphthalenediol, 2,3-naphthalenediol, 1,5-naphthalenediol, and 2,7-naphthalenediol in cosmetics. The current method for their determination in various cosmetics is high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Separation conditions affecting the MEKC method were optimized as 20 mM Na₂B₄O₇–50mM SDS, pH 9.8, with 22 kV applied voltage and UV detection at 230 nm. Under optimal conditions, electrophoretic analysis was completed in less than 6 min, with limit of detection (LOD) of 0.070–0.19 μg/mL and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.23–0.63 μg/mL. A good linear relationship (r² > 0.99) was obtained at the range of 0.75–20 μg/mL. Recoveries for the four naphthalenediols in lotion, loose powder, and sun cream are between 91.2–107.2% with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 4.04%. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of the four naphthalenediols in different kinds of cosmetics. A comparison with HPLC-UV method was also carried out according to the National Standards of the People's Republic of China. The results obtained by MEKC and HPLC methods are comparable, but the proposed MEKC method can help us obtain a much shorter detection time and low cost.     

Development and validation of a chiral capillary electrophoresis method for assay and enantiomeric purity control of pramipexole

A rapid method for the enantioseparation of pramipexole and its R‐enantiomer has been developed by capillary electrophoresis. The influence of chemical and instrumental parameters was investigated including the type and concentration of chiral selectors, buffer composition and pH, co‐ions, applied voltage, capillary length and temperature. Optimal separation conditions were obtained using a 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.8) containing 25 mM carboxymethyl‐β‐cyclodextrin on a fused‐silica capillary. Online UV detection was performed at 262 nm. A voltage of 25 kV was applied, and the capillary temperature was kept at 25°C. Hydrodynamic injection was performed at 3.45 kPa for 5.0 s. The separation of enantiomers was achieved in <6.5 min. The method was further validated in terms of stability of solutions, selectivity, linearity (both pramipexole and R‐enantiomer, R²>0.995), LOD and LOQ (0.91 and 2.94 μg/mL, respectively), repeatability (RSD<1.5%) and accuracy (pramipexole, 100.4%; R‐enantiomer, 100.5%). The proposed method was then applied to two kinds of pramipexole dihydrochloride monohydrate commercially available tablets, immediate release tablets (1.50 and 0.125 mg) and sustained release tablets (0.52 mg), to quantify the main component in the tablets. The amount of distomer could be quantified in bulk sample materials.     

Development of a capillary electrophoresis method for the separation of flavonolignans in silymarin complex

CE method for the baseline separation of structurally similar flavonolignans silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A, isosilybin B, silychristin, silydianin, and their precursor taxifolin in silymarin complex has been developed and validated. The optimized background electrolyte was 100 mmol/L boric acid (pH 9.0) containing 5 mmol/L heptakis(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-CD and 10% (v/v) of methanol. The separation was carried out in an 80.5/72 cm (50 μm id) fused silica capillary at +25 kV with UV detection at 200 nm. Genistein (10 μg/mL) was used as internal standard. The resolution between the diastereomers of silybin and isosilybin was 1.73 and 2.59, respectively. The method was validated for each analyte in a concentration range of 2.5–50 μg/mL. The calibration curves were rectilinear with correlation coefficients ≥0.9972. The method was applied to determine flavonolignans in two dietary supplements containing Silybum marianum extract. The accuracy was evaluated by comparing the results of the CE analyses of the dietary supplements with those of the reference United States Pharmacopeial HPLC method. The unpaired t-test did not show a statistically significant difference between the results of both the proposed CE and the reference method (p > 0.05, n = 3).     

Analytical potential of enzyme-coated capillary reactors in capillary zone electrophoresis

Enzymes immobilized on the inner surface of an electrophoretic capillary were used to increase sensitivity and resolution in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Sensitivity is enhanced by inserting a piece of capillary containing the immobilized enzyme into the main capillary, located before the detector, in order to transform the analyte into a product with a higher absorptivity. This approach was used to determine ethanol. In order to improve resolution, capillary pieces containing immobilized enzymes were inserted at various strategic positions along the electrophoretic capillary. On reaching the enzyme, the analyte was converted into a product with a high electrophoretic mobility, the migration time for which was a function of the position of the enzyme reactor. This approach was applied to the separation and determination of acetaldehyde and pyruvate. Finally, the proposed method was validated with the determination of ethanol, acetaldehyde, and pyruvate in beer and wine samples.     

Validation of a chiral capillary electrochromatographic method for metoprolol on a teicoplanin stationary phase

Summary A chiral capillary electrochromatographic (CEC) method for determination of the enantiomeric purity of either enantiomer of metoprolol has been validated. High resolution and efficiency separations (R _s =2.5 and 80000 plates m⁻¹, respectively) were achieved by use of a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase in the polar organic mode. Method validation showed that detection linearity, robustness, accuracy, and repeatability were adequate. The method was also shown to be sufficiently sensitive for the determination of a minor enantiomer; the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was determined to be 0.09% of the peak area of the enantiomer under investigation. A similar commercial column was subsequently evaluated by use of the validated method and found to yield results for metoprolol comparable with those obtained on the homepacked columns. Acceptable separations on this commercial column were also obtained for other β-blocking drugs; those for alprenolol were particularly noteworthy (R _S =3.8 and 265000 plates m⁻¹).     

Determination of quinocide as impurity in primaquine tablets by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoretic method has been developed and validated for the determination of the impurity quinocide (QC) in the antimalarial drug primaquine (PQ). Different buffer additives such as native cyclodextrins and crown ethers were evaluated. Promising results were obtained when either β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) or 18‐crown‐6 ether (18C6) were used. Their separation conditions such as type of buffer and its pH, buffer additive concentration, applied voltage capillary temperature and injection time were optimized. The use of 18C6 offers slight advantages over β‐CD such as faster elution times and improved resolution. Nevertheless, migration times of less than 5 min and resolution factors (R_s) in the range of 2–4 were obtained when both additives were used. The method was validated with respect to selectivity, linearity, limits of detection and quantitation, analytical precision (intra‐ and inter‐day variability) and repeatability. Concentrations of 2.12 and 2.71% (w/w) of QC were found in pharmaceutical preparations of PQ from two different manufacturers. A possible mechanism for the successful separation of the isomers is also discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multivariate optimization of a capillary zone electrophoresis assay method for simultaneous quantification of metformin and vildagliptin from a formulation

A rapid, accurate, precise, and optimized capillary zone electrophoresis assay was established and validated for the simultaneous quantification of metformin and vildagliptin in tablets. The electrophoretic separation was achieved on an untreated bonded silica capillary with a background electrolyte comprising 25 mM of borate buffer at pH 7.5 at 207 nm. The concentration of the buffer and the pH of BGE were optimized using the multivariate optimization method for determining the retention time and peak area. Furthermore, the sample injection time, capillary oven temperature, and applied voltage were optimized. The capillary zone electrophoresis technique was validated for all required parameters as per the International Conference on Harmonization recommendations. The linearity ranged in the concentrations of 5–500 µg/mL and 5–100 µg/mL with the limit of detections of 0.22 µg/mL and 0.40 µg/mL for metformin and vildagliptin, respectively. In addition, the percent relative standard error for repeatability and inter-day precision was within the acceptable range. The mean recoveries determined by the capillary zone electrophoresis method were 99.2% and 100.4% for metformin and vildagliptin, respectively. Finally, the capillary zone electrophoresis process was effectively used for the assays of metformin and vildagliptin in their solid dosage form, and statistical outcomes were in agreement with the outcomes of the previously validated RP-HPLC method.     

Simultaneous analysis of polyhydroxylated alkaloids by capillary electrophoresis using borate complexation and evaluation of sweeping technique for sensitivity improvement

Summary Capillary zone electrophoresis coupled to UV detection was used for the simultaneous analysis of naturally occurring polyhydroxylated alkaloids. This separation was based on anin-situ complexation with borate ions. The effect of parameters such as borate concentration, capillary temperature and analyte molecular structure on migration times and selectivity were discussed. The best separation was obtained with a fused silica capillary (48.5 cm total length ×50 μm I.D., with a bubble factor of 3), 80 mM sodium tetraborate aqueous solution at pH 9.2 and temperature of 20°C. The method was validated and showed good data in terms of migration time and peak area reproducibility, selectivity, linearity and accuracy. The validated method was applied to determine miglitol in commercially available pharmaceutical tablets. To further improve method sensitivity, a sweeping technique involving borate ions was evaluated. This technique was found very sensitive to the analyte complexation with borate, borate concentration, and temperature as well as sample matrix. In the case of miglitol, a 35-fold improvement in peak height was achieved.     

Preparation of a thiols β‐cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles‐coated open tubular column for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparations

Inspired by the distinct chemical and physical properties of nanoparticles, here a novel open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by electrostatic assembly of poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) onto the inner surface of a fused‐silica capillary, followed by self‐adsorption of negatively charged SH‐β‐cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles. The formation of the SH‐β‐cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles coated capillary was confirmed and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. The results of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry studies indicated that SH‐β‐cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles were successfully coated on the inner wall of the capillary column. The performance of the SH‐β‐cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles coated capillary was validated by the analysis of six pairs of chiral drugs, namely zopiclone, carvedilol, salbutamol, terbutaline sulfate, phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride, and ibuprofen. Satisfactory enantioseparation results were achieved, confirming the use of gold nanoparticles as the support could enhance the phase ratio of the open‐tubular capillary column. Additionally, the stability and reproducibility of the SH‐β‐cyclodextrin/gold nanoparticles coated capillary column were also investigated. Then, this proposed method was well validated with good linearity (≥0.999), recovery (90.0–93.5%) and repeatability, and was successfully used for enantioseparation of ibuprofen in spiked plasma samples, which indicated the new column's potential usage in biological analysis.     

Design and evaluation of capillary coupled with optical fiber light‐emitting diode induced fluorescence detection for capillary electrophoresis

A new detector, capillary coupled with optical fiber LED‐induced fluorescence detector (CCOF‐LED‐IFD, using CCOF for short), is introduced for CE. The strategy of the present work was that the optical fiber and separation capillary were, in the parallel direction, fastened in a fixation capillary with larger inner diameter. By employing larger inner diameter, the fixation capillary allowed the large diameter of the optical fiber to be inserted into it. By transmitting an enhanced excitation light through the optical fiber, the detection sensitivity was improved. The advantages of the CCOF‐CE system were validated by the detection of riboflavin, and the results were compared to those obtained by the in‐capillary common optical fiber LED‐induced fluorescence detector (IC‐COF‐LED‐IFD, using COF for short). The LODs of CCOF‐CE and COF‐CE were 0.29 nM and 11.0 nM (S/N = 3), respectively. The intraday (n = 6) repeatability and interday (n = 6) reproducibility of migration time and corresponding peak area for both types of CE were all less than 1.10 and 3.30%, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed method was judged by employing standard addition method, and recoveries obtained were in the range of 98.0–102.4%. The results indicated that the sensitivity of the proposed system was largely improved, and that its reproducibility and accuracy were satisfactory. The proposed system was successfully applied to separate and determine riboflavin in real sample.     

A new method for determination of hyaluronidase activity in biological samples using capillary zone electrophoresis

The aim of the study was to develop a new capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for determination of enzymatic activity of hyaluronidase. The method permits monitoring of the process of hyaluronic acid digestion by hyaluronidase. Studies were performed using CZE instrument equipped with capillary of 64.5 cm total length, 56 cm effective length and internal diameter 75 µm. Separation was performed in the phosphate buffer (pH 8.10) in the electric field of 20 kV, λ = 220 nm. The procedure was based on mixing a known quantity of hyaluronic acid and an aliquot of hyaluronidase solution, followed by obtaining CZE profiles after a known period of incubation (0.5 h). The activity of hyaluronidase was calculated using multiple regression analysis in which sizes of the peaks of the main degradation products were used. The newly developed method was fully validated and it is appropriate to evaluate the activity of hyaluronidase originating from different sources with high precision and accuracy. t‐Tests showed that there were no significant differences between results obtained using turbidimetric, viscosimetric and the new CZE method. The developed method is characterized by a short duration of analysis, low volume of analyzed sample, small amount of buffers used and low cost of analysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous determination of atropine,scopolamine, and anisodamine in Flos daturae by capillary electrophoresis using a capillary coated by graphene oxide

A novel CE method was developed for the separation and determination of three main tropane alkaloids in Flos daturae with a capillary coated by graphene oxide (GO). The GO‐coated capillary was characterized by SEM, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, and the results indicated that the inner surface of the capillary was partially coated by GO. A phosphate solution (40 mM, pH7.0) containing 20% v/v methanol and 30% v/v acetonitrile was used as the running buffer for the analysis of the atropine, scopolamine, and anisodamine. The linear ranges of atropine, scopolamine, and anisodamine was 0.5–200 μg/mL with satisfactory correlation coefficients (R²) > 0.9987, and this novel method provided an efficient separation for three tropane alkaloids as well as a good reproducibility and stability. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the determination of these three tropane alkaloids in plant extracts.     

A green capillary zone electrophoresis method for the simultaneous determination of piperacillin,tazobactam and cefepime in pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma

A green, novel, rapid, accurate and reliable capillary zone electrophoresis method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of piperacillin, tazobactam and cefepime in pharmaceutical preparations. Separation was carried out using fused silica capillary (50 µm i.d. × 48.6 cm and 40.2 cm detection length) and applied potential of 20 kV (positive polarity) and a running buffer containing 15 m m sodium borate buffer adjusted to pH 9.3 with UV detection at 215 nm. Amoxicillin was used as an internal standard. The method was suitably validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The method showed good linearity in the ranges of 10–100, 20–400 and 10–400 µg/mL with limits of quantitation of 1.87, 3.17 and 6.97 µg/mL and limits of detection of 0.56, 0.95 and 2.09 µg/mL for tazobactam, piperacillin and cefepime, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of these drugs in their synthetic mixtures and co‐formulated injection vials. The method was extended to the in vitro determination of the two drugs in spiked human plasma. It is considered a ‘green’ method as it consumes no organic solvents. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study for the analysis of parabens by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with and without large-volume sample stacking technique

The separation and determination of four parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl p-hydroxybenzoate) which are commonly used as preservatives in cosmetic products, by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) with and without large-volume sample stacking (LVSS) technique were compared. As an effective on-line concentration technique, LVSS was successfully combined with MEKC to determine neutral parabens in an acidic media. The effects of some typical parameters such as sample volume, buffer pH, temperature, and concentration of surfactant were examined. The detection limits for this LVSS-MEKC method were found to be 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ M for each of the parabens based on the signal-to-noise ratio of 3, which were around 300 times lower than normal MEKC technique. The curves of peak response versus concentration were linear from 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 5.0 × 10⁻⁵ M with regression coefficients of 0.9987, 0.9960, 0.9925 and 0.9864, respectively. A simple and easy-manipulative sample preparation method was developed and validated by analyzing commercially available cosmetic samples. It was found that with current sample preparation process and instrumentation system, 0.5 g of sample is enough for the analysis of parabens preservatives in cosmetic product with satisfactory results.     

Development and validation of a cyclodextrin‐modified capillary electrophoresis method for the enantiomeric separation of vildagliptin enantiomers

The enantiomers of vildagliptin, an orally available and selective dipeptidyl‐peptidase‐4 inhibitor used for the treatment of type II diabetes, have been separated by CD‐modified CZE, using uncoated fused‐silica capillary. After screening 13 negatively charged CD derivatives as potential chiral selectors, sulfobutyl‐ether‐α‐CD (SBE‐α‐CD) was selected for the enantioseparation. For the optimization, a factorial analysis study was performed by orthogonal experimental design. Six experimental factors were chosen as variable parameters: temperature, applied voltage, chiral selector and BGE concentrations, pH, and the parameters of the hydrodynamic injection. The optimized system still was not considered final as the second peak (S‐enantiomer) migrated too close to the EOF, resulting in a potential inaccuracy during the determination of the chiral impurity. To fine‐tune the method “one factor at a time” variation approach was applied. The final method (applying 15°C capillary temperature, 40 mbar × 4 s hydrodynamic injection, 25 kV voltage in 75 mM acetate‐Tris buffer [pH 4.75] containing 20 mM SBE‐α‐CD as chiral selector) was validated according to the ICH guideline. RSD percentage of the resolution value, migration times, and corrected peak areas were below 5% during testing repeatability and intermediate precision. LOD and LOQ values were found to be 2.5 and 7.5 μg/mL, respectively. The method is considered linear in the 7.5–180 μg/mL range for the R‐enantiomer. The robustness of the method was justified using Plackett–Burmann statistical experimental design.