Validation of the analysis of the 15+1 European-priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by donnor-acceptor complex chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet/fluorescence detection

The European Commission recommends to monitor the 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) possessing both genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. Since robust analytical methods specific for this set of European PAH are lacking, a new method for their analysis in food is proposed. The donnor-acceptor complex chromatography (DACC) is used as clean-up step and high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet/fluorescence detection (HPLC-UV/FLD) is used for detection and quantification. The method has been validated for analysis of PAH in oil and in dried plants and bears very good results for all compounds.     

Application of column switching in high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of medroxalol in plasma

An automated high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) column-switching system is described for the analysis of medroxalol, a potential antihypertensive agent, in plasma. The HPLC system uses two six-port switching valves with a Corasil C18 short pre-column for an on-line sample clean-up and an SGE ODS analytical column for separation. Plasma samples were diluted with a phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) containing an internal standard and aliquots were injected directly on the HPLC system. The column-switching system was applicable to continuous analysis of hundreds of plasma samples since this technique provided very efficient on-line sample clean-up and regenerated the pre-column effectively. Results were in good agreement and the total analysis time was one third that of an alternative method.     

Determination of melagatran in rabbit plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with automated column switching

Melagatran is an active thrombin inhibitor showing oral and parenteral bioavailability for antithrombotic therapy. A simple and convenient liquid chromatographic method has been developed and applied to the analysis of melagatran in rabbit plasma. The clean-up and separation of the sample solutions were performed by automated on-line column switching HPLC. The method validation shows the suitability of the column switching liquid chromatographic system for the quantitation of melagatran in biological fluids.     

A new on-line sample preparation system for the liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry simultaneous analysis of pesticides in river water.

Current on-line solid-phase extraction methods combined with HPLC for shortening the clean-up operation are not suitable for simultaneously detecting compounds that have a wide variety of hydrophobicities. To solve these problems, we designed a new on-line sample preparation system. The system consists of an eluting pump, a mixing TEE connector, a 10-port 2-position valve and a solid-phase extraction precolumn. The eluate from the precolumn is diluted with a weak solvent from the HPLC at the TEE connection to load low hydrophobic compounds onto the analytical column. The proposed on-line sample preparation system was successfully applied to the simultaneous analysis of 21 pesticides in river water using LC/TOF-MS. In this method, the recoveries from river water samples were 67 to 126% (mean 83%), the reproducibility (CV%) was in the range from 1.1 to 11% (mean 5.6%), the calibration curve was linear in the range from 1 ppb to 500 ppb (r > 0.999) and the detection limits (S/N = 3) were in the range from 0.0034 ppb (daimuron) to 3.3 ppb (oxine-copper).     

Determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in human blood plasma by on-line and off-line liquid chromatography–gas chromatography

A method for the determination of non-, mono- and di-ortho substituted polychlorinated biphenyls in human blood plasma is presented. The non-ortho CBs are isolated from the bulk of PCBs by HPLC on a dinitroanilino-propyl silica column and collected as a heart-cut fraction that is transferred on-line to GC-MS utilizing concurrent solvent evaporation technique. The on-line coupling serves to lower the limit of determination and to partly automate the sample clean-up. The di- and mono-ortho CBs are analyzed by off-line GC-ECD using two different columns. Sample pre-treatment is performed by extraction with organic solvents and fractionation on silica gel. A high reproducibility and an absolute over-all recovery of approximately 70 % is demonstrated. The method is applied to samples of blood from 5 individuals. All the samples demonstrated a similar relative concentration profile. It was also shown that three CB congeners (CB 126, CB 156 and CB 170) contributed to the major part of the toxic equivalent quantity of the PCB content in the blood.     

On-line liquid chromatography – gas chromatography for automated clean-up and analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

A fully automated system, comprising a liquid chromatograph (LC) coupled on-line to a gas chromatograph (GC) by means of a loop interface, has been constructed for clean-up and analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). An autosampler was utilized for sample injection into the LC. By the use of a back-flush technique in conjunction with an ordinary analytical aminopropylsilica column, PAH could be isolated by LC: a concurrent solvent evaporation injection technique was then used for on-line transfer of the PAH fraction to the GC, where the PAH analysis was completed. Compared with ordinary off-line LC clean-up followed by GC analysis, the sensitivity has been increased by a factor of 50–100, yielding a detection limit for individual PAH of a few nanograms per sample when using flame ionization detection. Further, irreproducible losses of low molecular weight PAH as a result of solvent evaporation steps in off-line clean-up procedures have been eliminated. Reproducibility of retention times and relative peak areas is high, facilitating automatic peak identification and calculation of concentrations, and the system can thus be used for automatic sample evaluation. The total time required for clean-up and analysis is only 1.5 hours, and the demand on personnel time for the analysis of PAH has been drastically reduced. The technique has been demonstrated with samples of urban air and of used automobile engine lubricating oil.     

Rapid and sensitive analysis of vincristine in human plasma using on-line extraction combined with liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid method has been developed and validated for the quantitation of vincristine in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization using on-line solid-phase extraction. The method uses vinblastine as internal standard and the sample preparation is limited just to a plasma protein precipitation step. Further sample clean-up is carried out on-line through a perfusion column preceding an analytical phenyl LC column, the latter directly connected to the mass spectrometer. Quantitation is performed in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the transitions of m/z 825.3 --> 765.3 and 811.3 --> 751.3 for vincristine and vinblastine respectively. The assay was linear (r2 > or =0.99) in a concentration range from 0.1 to 500 ng/mL. Carry-over, measured on the experimental set-up, was less than 0.04%. Recovery for vincristine and the internal standard was within 90-95%. The intra-day and inter-day assay precision ranged from 1.2% to 6.8% RSD while mean percentage deviation from nominal value ranged from 0.01% to 6.1%. The proposed assay was found suitable for pharmacokinetics investigations and clinical therapeutic drug monitoring especially in pediatric cancer patients.     

Determination of selenium species in human urine by high performance liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method developed to determine organic and inorganic selenium species in human urine samples is presented in detail. After a simple sample treatment based on elimination of non-charged organic compounds, selenium species were separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a Spherisorb 5 ODS/AMINO column using two different chromatographic conditions: phosphate buffers at pH 2.8 and 6.0. Detection was carried out using an on-line inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Trimethylselenonium ion and two unknown selenium species in urine samples were found. Selenium species were shown to have stability problems, with the maximum allowed storage time of 1 week.     

Clean-up and analysis of carbazole and acridine type polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclics in complex sample matrices

A HPLC method for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocyclics (PANHs) in complex sample matrices is presented. It isolated and separated carbazole and acridine type PANHs with an absolute recovery of between 79–98%. Open column chromatography is used as an initial step to isolate a PANH fraction. By applying normal-phase liquid chromatography using a dimethylaminopropyl silica stationary phase and utilising back-flush technique it was possible to separate the PANH fraction into two fractions containing acridine type and carbazole type PANHs, respectively. The method applied on a sample of solvent refined coal heavy distillate (SRC II HD). A number of 3–5 ring acridines and carbazoles were identified with GC–electron impact MS and quantified with GC–nitrogen–phosphorous detection. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in the SRC II HD sample by automated on-line clean-up and analysis of the obtained PAH fraction with coupled LC–GC–flame ionization detection. There was no overlap between the PANH and the PAH fractions with this method, and carbazoles and acridines were efficiently separated.     

Quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography of nucleosides in biological materials

A rigorous, comprehensive, and reliable reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method has been developed for the analysis of ribonucleosides in urine (psi, m1A, m1I, m2G, A, m2(2)G). An initial isolation of ribonucleosides with an affinity gel containing an immobilized phenylboronic acid was used to improve selectivity and sensitivity. Response for all nucleosides was linear from 0.1 to 50 nmoles injected and good quantitation was obtained for 25 microliter or less of sample placed on the HPLC column. Excellent precision of analysis for urinary nucleosides was achieved on matrix dependent and independent samples, and the high resolution of the reversed-phase column allowed the complete separation of 9 nucleosides from other unidentified UV absorbing components at the 1-ng level. Supporting experimental data are presented on precision, recovery, chromatographic methods, minimum detection limit, retention time, relative molar response, sample clean-up, stability of nucleosides, boronate gel capacity, and application to analysis of urine from patients with leukemia and breast cancer. This method is now being used routinely for the determination of the concentration and ratios of nucleosides in urine from patients with different types of cancer and in chemotherapy response studies.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible fats and oils: occurrence and analytical methods

This review deals with analytical methods for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) determination in oils and fats. The data reported in the introduction deal with PAH dietary intake from this group of food and contamination levels recently found by some authors in different vegetable oils, stressing the importance of establishing a method suitable for routine analyses. Traditional sample preparation relies on tedious, time-consuming procedures. They generally consist of an extraction step (liquid-liquid partition, caffeine complexation, saponification) followed by one or more purification procedures (column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, solid-phase extraction). The analytical determination is usually carried out by HPLC and spectrofluorometric detection, or through high-resolution capillary GC coupled to flame ionisation detection or mass spectrometry. LC is a valid alternative to the traditional sample preparation, and off-line LC-LC allows performing an accurate PAH analysis in less than 2 h. Also supercritical fluid extraction, allowing performing both extraction and clean-up in one combined step, is a promising technique. Hyphenated techniques such as LC-GC and LC-LC-GC seem to be very promising. A completely on-line method for alkylated PAH determination in oils or lipidic extracts contaminated with mineral oil involves a two-dimensional LC-step with intermediate eluent evaporation and GC transfer through a vaporiser/overflow interface.     

Analysis of 1-nitropyrene in air particulate matter standard reference materials by using two-dimensional high performance liquid chromatography with online reduction and tandem mass spectrometry detection

1-Nitropyrene (1-NP) is enriched in diesel exhaust particulate matter (DPM) relative to other sources of particulate matter (PM), and has been proposed as a marker for DPM. However, in ambient air, 1-NP concentrations are typically in the low pg/m(3) range. Therefore, collection of large volume air samples coupled with extensive sample clean-up procedures has been required to achieve adequate detection limits to measure 1-NP in ambient samples. We report here an improved LC-MS/MS method suitable for the detection and quantification of 1-NP in low volume ambient PM samples. The method involves ultrasonic extraction of ambient PM in organic solvent, concentration of the sample under reduced pressure, and two-dimensional HPLC analysis of the extract. 1-NP is isolated on the first HPLC column, then converted to 1-aminopyrene (1-AP) via online reduction in a column packed with a Pt/Rh catalyst. The 1-AP containing fraction from the first column is refocused on a trapping column, then eluted through a second HPLC column prior to MS/MS detection. Deuterated (d(9)) 1-NP (1-dNP) is added to each sample prior to extraction as an internal standard for quantification of 1-NP. The accuracy and precision of the assay, as applied to ambient particulate standard reference materials are 110+/-5.7% for SRM 1650b, 116+/-7.1% for SRM 2975, 108+/-5.8% for SRM 1649a, and 53+/-9.2% for SRM 1648. The analytical limit of detection was 152 fg on column, and analytical limit of quantitation 221 fg on column. To our knowledge, the sensitivity of this method is comparable with GC-NICI-MS methods while having the advantage of considerably less extensive sample preparation. This method is an approximately 10-fold improvement in sensitivity over HPLC methods utilizing fluorescence and/or chemiluminescence detection.     

Determination of active components of Ginkgo biloba in human urine by capillary high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry with on-line column-switching purification

Ginkgo biloba is one of the most popular herbal nutritional supplements, with terpene lactones and flavonoids being the two major active components. An on-line purification high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) method was successfully developed for the quantitative determination of flavonoids and terpene lactones excreted in human urine after ingesting the herbal supplement. Satisfactory separation was obtained using a C18 capillary column made in-house with sample clean-up and pre-concentration achieved using a C18 pre-column with column switching. High selectivity and limits of detection of 1-18 ng/mL were achieved using a selected ion monitoring (SIM) scan in negative ion mode; the on-line solid-phase extraction (SPE) recovery of the active components in Ginkgo biloba determined in this study was greater than 75%.     

Simultaneous determination of ursodeoxycholic acid and its glycine-conjugate in serum as phenacyl esters using multidimensional liquid chromatography

Summary A narrowbore high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method using column switching is described for the simultaneous determination of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and glyco-UDCA (GUDCA) from serum samples as their phenacyl esters. Serum samples were subjected to a preliminary clean-up using octadecylsilane reversed-phase extraction and derivatized with phenacylbromide. The purification, fractionation and concentration of UDCA and GUDCA from the esterified serum sample were performed on-line by appropriate switching of columns. Limit of detection (LOD) of UDCA and GUDCA were 5 ng and the absolute mean recoveries averaged 84.4±8.2% and 85.2±8.4%, respectively. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of UDCA in rats and human.     

Analysis of tocopherols in margarine by on-line HPLC–HRGC coupling

Tocopherol analysis in margarine is usually carried out by HPLC after saponification of the sample and extraction of the vitamin compounds; these steps consume both time and solvents. In this paper we propose an on-line HPLC–HRGC coupling method, which allows us to simplify the preparation of the analytical sample. The sample of margarine is solubilized in hexane in an ultrasonic bath in the dark; the filtered solution is then injected into the liquid chromatograph using a normal phase microbore column eluted with hexane–isopropanol 99.8:0.2. The α-tocopherol, which is eluted with some wax esters, is transferred on-line to the gas chromatograph, using a loop-type interface with the concurrent eluent evaporation and solvent vapor exit, thus it is separated from interfering compounds and determined using an Alltech RSL 300 column (22 m × 0.25 μm i.d., 0.2 μm film thickness). The β, γ, and δ–tocopherols are determined in the same LC run, using fluorimetric detection. The analysis was carried out in 50 min.     

Direct automatic screening of soils for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons based on microwave-assisted extraction/fluorescence detection and on-line liquid chromatographic confirmation

An integrated screening-confirmation system for PAHs in soils is presented. The sample screening configuration comprises on-line microwave-assisted extraction of the selected pollutants, followed by continuous preconcentration and sample clean-up on RP-C18. Those samples for which the total concentration is close to or above the threshold limit established (10 microg/g) are subjected to liquid chromatographic separation for confirmation. An evaluation of the qualitative data obtained was also carried out, by calculating the unreliability zone as well as the false positive and false negative rates. The whole method (extraction/determination/confirmation) was validated using industrial soil and harbour sediment certified reference materials (IRMM, European Commission CRM 524 and CRM 535). Application to the screening of solid environmental samples with subsequent confirmation of the results is also presented.     

On-line multidimensional chromatography using packed capillary liquid chromatography and capillary gas chromatography

The introduction of selected fractions from a liquid chromatograph into a gas chromatograph has been described; however, analyses were performed by off-line experiments requiring collection and reinjection of the separate fractions or by on-line procedures where disadvantageously, only a fraction of the separated peak or a well resolved component in a mixture could be introduced into a gas chromatograph. This disadvantage is overcome by the apparatus and method described in this paper, which utilizes a multidimensional chromatography system employing a high efficiency, packed capillary LC column coupled on-line to a capillary gas chromatograph. The liquid chromatograph (so designed) can act as a highly efficient clean-up or chemical class fractionation step prior to introduction into the gas chromatograph, significantly reducing sample preparation times in many applications. Thus minor components in a complex matrix can be determined without prior sample clean-up, an example of which is the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls in a complex hydrocarbon matrix.     

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water by solid-phase microextraction and liquid chromatography.

This study describes the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with fluorescence detection (FLD). Because individual PAHs are generally present in water only at trace levels, a sensitive and accurate determination technique is essential. The separation and detection of five PAHs were run completely within 25 min by the HPLC/FLD system with an analytical C18 column, a fluorescence detection, and acetonitrile-water gradient elution. Calibration graphs were linear with very good correlation coefficients (r > 0.9998), and the detection limits were in the range of 2-6 ng/l for five PAHs. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was performed for sample pretreatment prior to HPLC-FLD determination, and the governing parameters were investigated. Compared to conventional methods, SPME has high recovery, saves considerable time, and reduces solvents waste. The extraction efficiencies of five PAHs were above 88% and the extraction times were 35 min in one pretreatment procedure. One particular discovery is that 1.5 M sodium monochloroactate (ClCH2COONa) can improve the extraction yield of PAH compounds more than other inorganic salts. The SPME-HPLC-FLD technique provides a relatively simple, convenient, practical procedure, which was here successfully applied to determine five PAHs in water from authentic water samples.     

Rapid and sensitive determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric particulates using fast high-performance liquid chromatography with on-line enrichment system

A method using on-line enrichment and fast high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection has been developed and validated for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric particulate samples. The evaporation step for sample preparation can be eliminated since this system allows the injection of 1000microL of sample solution. PAH recoveries were between 87% and 120% for spiked atmospheric particulate samples. The limit of detection was 0.02-0.23ng/mL (signal/noise ratio=3.3). There was good linear correlation between HPLC peak area and PAH concentration, with a linear range of 0.4-40ng/mL and correlation coefficients >0.997. Furthermore, compared to conventional approaches that include an evaporation step, the method proposed is acceptable for detecting PAHs in atmospheric particulate samples.     

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil and sediment with on-line coupled pressurised hot water extraction,hollow fibre microporous membrane liquid-liquid extraction and gas chromatography

Pressurised hot water extraction (PHWE) was coupled on-line via hollow fibre microporous membrane liquid-liquid extraction (HF-MMLLE) to gas chromatography (GC) and applied in the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil and sediment. In this combination, the MMLLE unit serves as a trapping device for the extracted compounds. Simultaneously it cleans and concentrates the extract, which is then transferred on-line to the GC. No extra clean-up steps are required between the trapping and the transfer to GC. The on-line system gives excellent sensitivity while allowing small sample size. The method was linear, with limits of detection in the range 50-890 pg and limits of quantification 0.11-1.22 microg g(-1). The concentration enrichment factors obtained with the method ranged from 9 to 55. Comparison of the results with those obtained by other techniques confirmed the good performance.