Analysis of ephedra-alkaloids using sweeping and cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography methods

Two stacking methods of capillary electrophoresis (CE) were developed for the separation of very dilute solutions of ephedra-alkaloids, namely ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, methylpseudoephedrine, norephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine. A sweeping method which uses a carrier comprised of phosphoric acid, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), diethylamine and acetonitrile permits the detection of the alkaloids down to the 10(-1) microg/mL level, and the cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI-Sweep-MEKC) method using phosphoric acid, SDS, and acetronitrile as electrolytes can detect down to the 10(-3) microg/mL level. The former requires the conductance of the sample solution to be adjusted beforehand, and only five peaks were observed, two of which were overlapped. The latter is capable of separating the six alkaloids but has a somewhat poorer reproducibility. Using an optimized injection time, it was found that the more diluted a solution is, the greater the sweeping effect will be. The CSEI-Sweep-MEKC method with a 600 s injection time and a 10(-1) microg/mL solution concentration provides an amplification effect of approximately 10(4). The method is suitable for analyses of dilute herb drug extracts and mouse sera. The effect of buffers on the separation and validation of the methods in this study are also discussed.     

Concentration and determination of cotinine in serum by cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), combined with on-line concentration techniques, cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) and sweeping, was developed for the analysis of cotinine, the primary biomarker for exposure to secondhand smoke. Experimental parameters including sample matrix, surfactant concentration, injection length and concentration of high-conductivity buffer, and sample electrokinetic injection time were optimized for electrophoretic enrichment and separation processes. Under the optimal conditions, the detection sensitivity of cotinine was enhanced by about 5000-fold using CSEI-sweeping MEKC compared to normal MEKC. The limit of detection for cotinine was found to be 0.2 ng/mL using ultraviolet absorbance detection. Furthermore, the developed method was successfully applied to the detection of cotinine in mouse serum samples.     

Determination of ephedrine and codeine in human urine by cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A sensitive method for the determination of ephedrine and codeine in human urine by capillary electrophoresis(CE)was described.In order to improve the sensitivity,two online concentration techniques including cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI)and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography(sweeping-MEKC)were used.Under the optimum conditions,the detection limits(S/N=3)were 0.10μg/L for ephedrine and 0.80μg/L for codeine.This method was successfully applied to real urine sample analysis.     

Analyses of tobacco alkaloids by cation-selective exhaustive injection sweeping microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

In this study, an on-line concentration method which coupled cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) sweeping technology with microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was used to detect and analyze several tobacco alkaloids (nornicotine, anabasine, anatabine, nicotine, myosmine and cotinine) that are commonly found in various tobacco products. First, the effects of microemulsion compositions (oil, cosurfactant and solution pH) were examined in order to optimize the alkaloid separations in conventional MEEKC. The pH value and the injection length of basic plug were found to be the predominant influences on the alkaloid stacking. This optimal CSEI sweeping MEEKC method provided approximately 180- to 540-fold increase in detection sensitivity in terms of peak height without any loss in separation efficiency when compared to normal MEEKC separation. Furthermore, this proposed CSEI sweeping MEEKC method was applied successfully for the detection of the minor alkaloids nornicotine, anabasine and anatabine in tobacco products.     

Hair analysis for methamphetamine, ketamine, morphine and codeine by cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography

This article presents the state of the art of qualitative analysis in the framework of the chromatographic analysis. After establishing the differences between two main classes of qualitative analysis (analyte identification and sample classification/qualification) the particularities of instrumental qualitative analysis are commented on. Qualitative chromatographic analysis for sample classification/qualification through the so-called chromatographic fingerprint (for complex samples) or the volatiles profile (through the direct coupling headspace-mass spectrometry using the chromatograph as interface) is discussed. Next, more technical exposition of the qualitative chromatographic information is presented supported by a variety of representative examples.     

结合阳离子选择性耗尽-扫集的微乳毛细管电泳法测定吴茱萸生物碱

本文建立了一种毛细管在线富集技术,通过将阳离子选择性耗尽(CSEI)-扫集(sweeping)技术与微乳毛细管电泳相结合,实现了吴茱萸中四种生物碱(1.吴茱萸碱;2.吴茱萸次碱;3.吴茱萸新碱;4.1-甲基-2-十一烷基-4(1H)-喹诺酮)的同时定量检测和分析。通过表面活性剂、有机改性剂、p H等条件的考察得到最佳微乳体系组成为:100 mmol·L-1SDS,1%(体积比)乙酸乙酯,15%(体积比)正丁醇,15%(体积比)乙腈,2.5%(体积比)甲酸,p H 2.00。通过基底缓冲p H和长度、水塞长度考察,CSEI-sweeping最佳富集条件为,水塞0.5psi水动引入2 s,p H 9.00基底缓冲0.5 psi水动引入90 s,+10 k V电动进样90 s。富集倍数达到了8~30倍。将此方法应用于实际样品中四种生物碱的定量,获得满意结果。研究结果表明,所建立CSEI-sweeping与MEEKC联用法能快速、准确地应用于吴茱萸四种生物碱的定量分析。     

Direct and sensitive analysis of methamphetamine, ketamine, morphine and codeine in human urine by cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI-Sweep-MEKC) was directly used to test some abuse drugs in human urine, including morphine (M), codeine (C), ketamine (K) and methamphetamine (MA). First, phosphate buffer (50 mM, pH 2.5) containing 30% methanol was filled into uncoated fused silica capillary (40 cm, 50 microm I.D.), then high conductivity buffer (100 mM phosphate, 6.9 kPa for 99.9 s) was followed. Electrokinetic injection (10 kV, 500 s) was used to load samples and to enhance sensitivity. The stacking step and separation were performed at -20 kV and 200 nm using phosphate buffer (25 mM, pH 2.5) containing 20% methanol and 100 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate. Using CSEI-Sweep-MEKC, the analytes could be simultaneously analyzed and have a detection limit down to ppb level. It was unnecessary to have sample pretreatments. During method validation, calibration plots were linear (r>or=0.9982) over a range of 150-3,000 ng/mL for M and C, 250-5,000 n g/mL for MA, and 50-1,000 ng/mL for K. The limits of detection were 15 ng/mL for M and C, and 5 ng/mL for MA and K (S/N=3, sampling 500 s at 10 kV). Comparing with capillary zone electrophoresis, the results indicated that this stacking method could increase 6,000-fold sensitivity for analysis of MA. Our method was applied for analysis of 28 real urine samples. The results showed good coincidence with immunoassay and GC-MS. This method was feasible for application to detect trace levels of abused drugs in forensic analysis.     

Determination of cypromazine and its metabolite melamine in milk by cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping-capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography

In this study, we described a high‐sensitive on‐line preconcentration method for cypromazine (CYP) and melamine (MEL) analysis using cation‐selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) combined with sweeping‐MEKC. The optimum conditions of on‐line concentration and separation were discussed. The BGE contained 100 mM SDS, 50 mM phosphoric acid (pH=2.0) and 15% acetonitrile (v/v). The sample was injected at 10 kV for 600 s, separated at ?20 kV, and detected at 210 nm. The sensitivity enhancements were 6222 for CYP and 9179 for MEL. The linear dynamic ranges were 0.4?25 ng/mL for CYP (r=0.9995) and 0.2?12 ng/mL for MEL (r=0.9991). The LODs (signal‐to‐noise ratio, 3) were 43.7 and 23.4 pg/mL for CYP and MEL, respectively. The proposed method was applied to analyze CYP and MEL in dairy products pretreated using off‐line SPE to minimize the influence of the matrix. The recoveries of CYP and MEL were satisfactory (ca. 74–83%). The experimental results suggest that the CSEI‐sweeping‐MEKC method is feasible for the application to simultaneously detect trace levels of CYP and its metabolite MEL in real milk samples.     

Systematic optimization of exhaustive electrokinetic injection combined with micellar sweeping in capillary electrophoresis

The combination of exhaustive electrokinetic injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (sweeping-MEKC) in capillary electrophoresis often provides a several thousand-fold improvement in concentration detection limit. However, reproducibility of this method has been a major issue that often prevents its use as a quantitative tool for the analysis of ultra-trace analytes in complex matrices. In this paper, we demonstrate that such a technique can be systematically optimized with five key factors: the conductivity of the sample solution, the conductivities of the separation buffers, the fraction of the capillary that is filled with the high conductivity buffer, the electrokinetic injection time, and the surfactant concentration. By controlling the sample conductivity, we were able to achieve highly reproducible results, while still maintaining the sensitivity of field-amplified sample injection. At optimal conditions, we were able to analyze three amine drugs (amphetamine, methamphetamine, and methylenedioxymethamphetamine) with limits of detection of 6 to 8 pg ml(-1) (ppt), which is a several thousand-fold improvement over normal sample injection using CE with a photodiode array detector.     

Analysis of the herbicides paraquat,diquat and difenzoquat in drinking water by micellar electrokinetic chromatography using sweeping and cation selective exhaustive injection

Optimum conditions for the determination of the herbicides paraquat, diquat and difenzoquat by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) using sweeping and cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) as on-line concentration methods were developed. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (80 mM) in 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) with 20% acetonitrile was used as a background electrolyte for the methods studied. The limits of detection, based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1, were about 2.6-5.1 mg 1(-1) in purified water when MEKC was applied for the standards. By using an on-line preconcentration method known as sweeping-MEKC, up to a 500-fold increase in detection sensitivity was obtained whereas up to a 50 000-fold increase for CSEI-sweeping-MEKC was achieved. The limits of detection using optimum CSEI-sweeping-MEKC were lower than 1 microg 1(-1) and the method was validated obtaining good reproducibility (relative standard deviation lower than 22%) and linearity. CSEI-sweeping-MEKC was successfully applied to the determination of the three herbicides in spiked tap water below the levels established by the US Environmental Protection Agency.     

Cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography for analysis of morphine and its four metabolites in human urine

A cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar EKC (CSEI-Sweep-MEKC) was established to analyze morphine and its four metabolites, including codeine, normorphine (NM), morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G), and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G). After SPE, the urine samples were analyzed by this CE method. The phosphate buffer (75 mM, pH 2.5) containing 30% methanol was first filled into an uncoated fused-silica capillary (40 cm, 50 microm id), then a high-conductivity buffer (120 mM phosphate, 10.3 kPa for 99.9 s) followed. The pretreated urine sample was loaded by electrokinetic injection (10 kV, 600 s). The stacking and separation were performed by using phosphate buffer (25 mM, pH 2.5) containing 22% methanol and 100 mM SDS at -20 kV, and detected at 200 nm. During method validation, calibration plots were linear (r > or = 0.998) over a range of 30-3000 ng/mL for morphine, NM, and codeine, 100-2000 ng/mL for M6G, and 80-3200 ng/mL for M3G. The LODs (S/N = 5, sampling 600 s at 10 kV) were 10 ng/mL for morphine, NM, and codeine, 35 ng/mL for M6G, and 25 ng/mL for M3G. This stacking CE method could increase 2500-fold sensitivity of codeine, when comparing with CZE. Five addicts' urine specimens were analyzed. Their results were compared with those of LC-MS-MS, and showed good coincidence. This method could be feasible for monitoring morphine and its metabolites in forensic interest and pharmacokinetic investigations.     

Using sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography to analyze Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and its major metabolites

We have applied sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography (sweeping-MEKC) to the simultaneous determination of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its major metabolites, 11-hydroxy-Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-OH) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH). We monitored the effects of several of the sweeping-MEKC parameters, including the proportion of organic modifier, the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), the pH, and the sample injection volume, to optimize the separation process. The optimal buffer for the analysis of the three analytes was 25 mM citric acid/disodium hydrogenphosphate (pH 2.6) containing 40% methanol and 75 mM SDS. Under the optimized separation parameters, the enrichment factors for THC, THC-COOH, and THC-OH when using sweeping-MEKC (relative to MEKC) were 77, 139, and 200, respectively. The limits of detection (LODs) for the three compounds in standard solutions ranged from 3.87 to 15.2 ng/mL. We combined the sweeping-MEKC method with solid-phase extraction to successfully detect THC, THC-COOH, and THC-OH in human urine with acceptable repeatability. The LODs of these analytes in urine samples ranged from 17.2 to 23.3 ng/mL. Therefore, this sweeping-MEKC method is useful for determining, with high sensitivity, the amounts of THC and its metabolites in the urine of suspected THC users.     

Cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography for the analysis of methadone and its metabolites in serum of heroin addicts

Methadone (MET) metabolism has been largely demonstrated with a high inter-individual variability and, therefore, quantification of MET is very important for therapeutic drug monitoring. A cation-selective exhaustive injection and sweeping MEKC (CSEI-Sweeping) was first developed to analyze MET and its two metabolites, 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) and 2-ethyl-5-methyl-3,3-diphenyl-1-pyrroline (EMDP), in human serum. After pretreatment, the samples were electrokinetically injected into capillary (10 kV, 500s) and swept by the separation phosphate buffer (100 mM, pH 4.0) containing 20% tetrahydrofuran and 100 mM SDS at -15 kV. The LODs were 200 pg/mL for MET and EMDP, and 400 pg/mL for EDDP. Ten volunteers were administered MET (5.0-120.0 mg/day) orally for 84 days and serum samples were taken after the daily dose of MET (days 1, 2, 7, 14, 28, 56 and 84) individually. This method was used for monitoring MET and its metabolites in heroin addicts and for pharmacokinetic investigations.     

Determination of brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma by cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography method

A method consisting of cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping (CSEI‐sweeping) as online preconcentration followed by a cyclodextrin modified electrokinetic chromatography (CDEKC) enantioseparation has been developed for the simultaneous determination of two brompheniramine enantiomers in rat plasma. In this method, analytes were electrokinetically injected at a voltage of 8 kV for 80 s in a fused‐silica capillary. Prior to the injection, the capillary was rinsed with 50 mM phosphate buffer of pH 3.5, followed by a plug of a higher conductivity buffer (150 mM phosphate pH 3.5, 20 psi, 6 min) and a plug of water (0.5 psi, 5 s). Separation was carried out applying –20 kV in 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 3.5, containing 10% v/v ACN and 30 mg/mL sulfated‐β‐cyclodextrin (S‐β‐CD). Analytical signals were monitored at 210 nm. The detection sensitivity of brompheniramine enantiomers was enhanced by about 2400‐fold compared to the normal injection mode (hydrodynamic injection for 3 s at 0.5 psi, with a BGE of 50 mM phosphate buffer containing 20 mg/mL S‐β‐CD at pH 3.5), and LLOQ of two enantiomers were both 0.0100 μg/mL. In addition, this method had fairly good repeatability and showed promising capabilities in the application of stereoselective pharmacokinetic investigations for brompheniramine enantiomers in rat.     

On-line concentration and determination of tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines by cation-selective exhaustive injection-sweeping-micellar electrokinetic chromatography

In this paper, a micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method combined with cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) and sweeping was developed to separate and concentrate four tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs) including N′-nitrosoanabasine (NAB), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-4-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (iso-NNAL). Experimental parameters affecting separation efficiency and enhancement factors were investigated in detail. Under the optimum MEKC condition, NAB, NNK, NNAL and iso-NNAL were baseline separated with high separation efficiencies and good peak shapes. Furthermore, with the preconcentration by CSEI-sweeping-MEKC, the sensitivity enhancement factors for NAB, NNK, NNAL and iso-NNAL in terms of peak areas ranged from 6.0 × 10³ to 1.5 × 10⁴, and the detection limits (LOD, S/N = 3) of four TSNAs were in the range of 0.004-0.016 μg/mL. In addition, this method had fairly good repeatability, and the RSDs of retention time and peak area were less than 1% and 5%, respectively. Finally, this method showed promising capabilities in the application of detecting and analyzing TSNAs in human urine samples.     

场放大进样-胶束扫集毛细管电脉法测定痕量泼尼松

建立了胶束毛细管电动色谱在线富集技术测定药品中痕量的泼尼松的方法。在胶束扫集的基础上联用场放大进样,使泼尼松的富集倍数提高了136倍;检出限由原来的2.7mg/L降至20μg/L。胶束扫集毛细管电泳缓冲体系为120mmol/LSDS、10mmol/LNaH2PO4(pH2.5)10%乙腈(V/V)。分离电压-20kV,进样电压-20kV,进样时间70s,进水时间180s,检测波长250nm。同时讨论了SDS浓度、样品基质pH、进样电压、进水时间和进样时间对分离效果的影响。实验结果显示:在优化实验条件下,样品的检测仅需8min,泼尼松在0.05～10mg/L的范围内线性关系良好(r=0.998)。回收率在89.4%～106%之间,相对标准偏差在2.1%～2.6%之间,可用于各种中药制剂中泼尼松的含量测定。     

Quantitative determination of isoniazid in biological samples by cation-selective exhaustive injection-sweeping-micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, infects approximately one third of the current world population. Isoniazid is one of the most frequently used first-line anti-TB drugs. In this study, we developed a sensitive cation-selective exhaustive injection–sweeping–micellar electrokinetic chromatography method (CSEI-Sweep-MEKC) for analyzing isoniazid in human plasma. Parameters including acetonitrile (ACN) percentage in the separation buffer; the injection time, and concentration of the high-conductivity buffer; sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration; phosphate concentration in the sample matrix; and the sample injection time were all optimized to obtain the best analytical performance. The optimal background electrolyte comprised 50 mM phosphate buffer, 100 mM SDS, and 15% ACN. Non-micelle background electrolyte, containing 75 mM phosphate buffer and 15% ACN, was first injected into the capillary, followed by a short plug of 200 mM phosphate (high-conductivity buffer). Run-to-run repeatability (n = 3) and intermediate precision (n = 3) of peak area ratios were found to be lower than 8.7% and 11.4% RSD, respectively. The accuracy of the method was within 98.1–106.9%. The limit of detection of isoniazod in human plasma was 9 ng mL⁻¹. Compared with conventional MEKC, the enhancement factor of the CSEI-Sweep-MEKC method was 85 in plasma samples. The developed method was successfully used to determine isoniazid concentration in patient plasma. The results demonstrated that CSEI-Sweep-MEKC has the potential to analyze isoniazid in human plasma for therapeutic drug monitoring and clinical research.     

Approaching over 10 000‐fold sensitivity increase in chiral capillary electrophoresis: Cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping cyclodextrin‐modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A novel and simple method that combines an online concentration technique with an enantioseparation technique for capillary electrophoresis—namely, cation‐selective exhaustive injection and sweeping cyclodextrin‐modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CSEI‐sweeping CD‐modified MEKC)—realizes the effective enantioseparation of cationic analytes while keeping a significant increase of detection sensitivity. This technique consists of a slight modification of the basic CSEI‐sweeping MEKC. The main idea is to simply add an anionic CD as a chiral selector into the micellar buffer including sodium dodecyl sulfate, but not to change any other buffers in order to preserve the online concentration mechanism. When applied to analysis of the street drug, methamphetamine, the method achieved not only a baseline enantioseparation but also limits of detection (LODs; S/N = 3) of 70–90 pg/mL (ppt) for each isomer. This translates to a more than 10 000‐fold improvement compared to the LODs by the usual injection method. The present technique, which was made from a slight modification of CSEI‐sweeping MEKC, would give an attractive approach that is applicable to almost any analytes for which CSEI‐sweeping MEKC is applicable; all that is required is the selection of an appropriate anionic CD to be added to the micellar buffer.     

阴离子耗尽进样胶束扫集毛细管电动色谱法在线富集测定甘草黄酮类化合物

建立了一个毛细管胶束电动色谱(MEKC)在线富集阴离子耗尽进样(ASEI)联用扫集(sweeping)技术测定3种甘草黄酮化合物(异甘草素、甘草素和甘草苷)的方法。考察了MEKC的分离条件和富集体系的优化条件,其中样品基质、水塞进入时间、进样时间对目标化合物的富集效果有较大的影响。在优化实验条件下,异甘草素、甘草素和甘草苷的富集倍数分别提高了110、120、300倍,检出限分别为0.015、0.014、0.011mg/L。该方法用于中药制剂中甘草素、异甘草素和甘草苷含量的测定,回收率在90.6%～107%之间,相对标准偏差(RSD)均小于4.5%(n=3)。实验证明,该方法可成功地应用于实际样品中甘草素、异甘草素和甘草苷含量的测定     

Analysis of amphetamine, methamphetamine and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine by micellar capillary electrophoresis using cation-selective exhaustive injection

Cation-selective exhaustive injection (CSEI) is used as an on-line concentration method for the high-sensitivity analysis of illicit amphetamines using CE. Optimum conditions for the determination of amphetamine, methamphetamine and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine were investigated. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (25 mM) in 100 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.9) with 20% methanol as organic additive was used as the background electrolyte for CE separation. The LOD, based on an S/N of 3:1, was about 0.01 microg/mL using normal capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography, while by using CSEI in combination with micellar sweeping the sensitivity increased up to 1000-fold with the LOD lower than 50 pg/mL. The reproducibility of CSEI combined with micellar sweeping for analyzing amphetamines was satisfactory (relative standard deviation around 10% by using area ratios against an internal standard). This method is highly sensitive and can be used to analyze trace amount amphetamines in human hair.