Rapid and sensitive method for the determination of acetaldehyde in fuel ethanol by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV–Vis detection

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of acetaldehyde in fuel ethanol was developed. Acetaldehyde was derivatized with 0.900 mL 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPHi) reagent and 50 L phosphoric acid 1 mol L^–1 at a controlled room temperature of 15°C for 20 min. The separation of acetaldehyde-DNPH (ADNPH) was carried out on a Shimadzu Shim-pack C₁₈ column, using methanol/LiCl_(aq) 1.0 mM (80/20, v/v) as a mobile phase under isocratic elution and UV–Vis detection at 365 nm. The standard curve of ADNPH was linear in the range 3–300 mg L^–1 per injection (20 L) and the limit of detection (LOD) for acetaldehyde was 2.03 g L^–1, with a correlation coefficient greater than 0.999 and a precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) of 5.6% (n=5). Recovery studies were performed by fortifying fuel samples with acetaldehyde at various concentrations and the results were in the range 98.7–102%, with a coefficient of variation (CV) from 0.2% to 7.2%. Several fuel samples collected from various gas stations were analyzed and the method was successfully applied to the analysis of acetaldehyde in fuel ethanol samples.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction combined with liquid chromatography for the determination of chlorophenoxy acid herbicides in aqueous samples

A novel sample preparation method “Dispersive liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction” (DLLLME) was developed in this study. DLLLME was combined with liquid chromatography system to determine chlorophenoxy acid herbicide in aqueous samples. DLLLME is a rapid and environmentally friendly sample pretreatment method. In this study, 25 μL of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane was added to the sample solution and the targeted analytes were extracted from the donor phase by manually shaking for 90 s. The organic phase was separated from the donor phase by centrifugation and was transferred into an insert. Acceptor phase was added to this insert. The analytes were then back-extracted into the acceptor phase by mixing the organic and acceptor phases by pumping those two solutions with a syringe plunger. After centrifugation, the organic phase was settled and removed with a microsyringe. The acceptor phase was injected into the UPLC system by auto sampler. Fine droplets were formed by shaking and pumping with the syringe plunger in DLLLME. The large interfacial area provided good extraction efficiency and shortened the extraction time needed. Conventional LLLME requires an extraction time of 40–60 min; an extraction time of approximately 2 min is sufficient with DLLLME. The DLLLME technique shows good linearity (r² ≥ 0.999), good repeatability (RSD: 4.0–12.2% for tap water; 5.7–8.5% for river water) and high sensitivity (LODs: 0.10–0.60 μg/L for tap water; 0.11–0.95 μg/L for river water).     

Ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection for sensitive determination of biogenic amines in rice wine samples

Ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection was used for the extraction and determination of three biogenic amines including octopamine, tyramine and phenethylamine in rice wine samples. Fluorescence probe 2,6-dimethyl-4-quinolinecarboxylic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester was applied for derivatization of biogenic amines. Acetonitrile and 1-octanol were used as disperser solvent and extraction solvent, respectively. Extraction conditions including the type of extraction solvent, the volume of extraction solvent, ultrasonication time and centrifuging time were optimized. After extraction and centrifuging, analyte was injected rapidly into high-performance liquid chromatography and then detected with fluorescence. The calibration graph of the proposed method was linear in the range of 5–500 μg mL⁻¹ (octopamine and tyramine) and 0.025–2.5 μg mL⁻¹ (phenethylamine). The relative standard deviations were 2.4–3.2% (n = 6) and the limits of detection were in the range of 0.02–5 ng mL⁻¹. The method was applied to analyze the rice wine samples and spiked recoveries in the range of 95.42–104.56% were obtained. The results showed that ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction was a very simple, rapid, sensitive and efficient analytical method for the determination of trace amount of biogenic amines.     

Particle-into-liquid sampler on-line coupled with solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry for the determination of organic acids in atmospheric aerosols

In the present study, sample collection and preparation were directly integrated with a chromatographic system by coupling a particle-into-liquid sampler for the first time on-line with solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Several organic acids, such as adipic, hydroxyglutaric, mandelic, vanillic, cis-pinonic, pinic, azelaic and sebacic, were used in the research. For sample pretreatment and concentration, strong anion exchange material was used in the extraction. Sampling, extraction and analysis conditions were optimized to obtain reliable information about aerosol chemical composition. To evaluate the performance of the on-line coupled system, half of each sample was analysed on-line and the other half was derivatized and analysed off-line by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Comparison of the two techniques with use of t-test showed the results to be in an excellent agreement. Limits of detection of studied acids in on-line system were between 0.1 and 0.9 ng. The on-line coupled system is fast and reliable and a promising tool for the real time analysis of organic acids in atmospheric aerosols.     

High-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in the identification and determination of phase I and phase II drug metabolites

Applications of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) techniques coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the identification and determination of phase I and phase II drug metabolites are reviewed with an emphasis on recent papers published predominantly within the last 6 years (2002–2007) reporting the employment of atmospheric pressure ionization techniques as the most promising approach for a sensitive detection, positive identification and quantitation of metabolites in complex biological matrices. This review is devoted to in vitro and in vivo drug biotransformation in humans and animals. The first step preceding an HPLC-MS bioanalysis consists in the choice of suitable sample preparation procedures (biomatrix sampling, homogenization, internal standard addition, deproteination, centrifugation, extraction). The subsequent step is the right optimization of chromatographic conditions providing the required separation selectivity, analysis time and also good compatibility with the MS detection. This is usually not accessible without the employment of the parent drug and synthesized or isolated chemical standards of expected phase I and sometimes also phase II metabolites. The incorporation of additional detectors (photodiode-array UV, fluorescence, polarimetric and others) between the HPLC and MS instruments can result in valuable analytical information supplementing MS results. The relation among the structural changes caused by metabolic reactions and corresponding shifts in the retention behavior in reversed-phase systems is discussed as supporting information for identification of the metabolite. The first and basic step in the interpretation of mass spectra is always the molecular weight (MW) determination based on the presence of protonated molecules [M+H]⁺ and sometimes adducts with ammonium or alkali-metal ions, observed in the positive-ion full-scan mass spectra. The MW determination can be confirmed by the [M-H]^- ion for metabolites providing a signal in negative-ion mass spectra. MS/MS is a worthy tool for further structural characterization because of the occurrence of characteristic fragment ions, either MS ⁿ analysis for studying the fragmentation patterns using trap-based analyzers or high mass accuracy measurements for elemental composition determination using time of flight based or Fourier transform mass analyzers. The correlation between typical functional groups found in phase I and phase II drug metabolites and corresponding neutral losses is generalized and illustrated for selected examples. The choice of a suitable ionization technique and polarity mode in relation to the metabolite structure is discussed as well.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction based on ionic liquid in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of bisphenol A in water

A method termed dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-variable wavelength detection (HPLC-VWD) was developed. DLLME-HPLC-VWD is a method for determination of bisphenol A (BPA) in water samples. In this microextraction method, several parameters such as extraction solvent volume, sample volume, disperser solvent, ionic strength, pH, and disperser volume were optimised with the aid of interactive orthogonal array and a mixed level experiment design. First, an orthogonal array design was used to screen the significant variables for the optimisation. Second, the significant factors were optimised by using a mixed level experiment. Under the optimised extraction conditions (extraction solvent: ionic liquid [C₆MIM][PF₆], 60 µL; dispersive solvent: methanol, 0.4 mL; and pH = 4.0), the performance of the established method was evaluated. The response linearity of the method was observed in a range of 0.002–1.0 mg L^?1 (three orders of magnitude) with correlation coefficient (R ²) of 0.9999. The repeatability of this method was 4.2–5.3% for three different BPA levels and the enrichment factors were above 180. The extraction recovery was about 50% for the three different concentrations with 3.4–6.4% of RSD. Limit of detection of the method was 0.40 µg L^?1 at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. In addition, the relative recovery of sample of Songhua River, tap water and barrel-drain water at different spiked concentration levels was ranged 95.8–103.0%, 92.6–98.6% and 87.2–95.3%, respectively. Compared with other extraction technologies, there have been the following advantages of quick, easy operation, and time-saving for the present method.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic drop combined with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of phenolic oestrogens from human urine and water samples

A novel, simple and rapid method, termed dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic drop coupled to high performance liquid chromatography, was developed for analysis of three phenolic oestrogens including diethylstilbestrol, dienestrol and hexestrol in human urine and water samples. The parameters of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic drop procedure including sample pH, type and volume of disperser solvent, and type and volume of extraction solvent were optimised. High performance liquid chromatography was applied for the phenolic oestrogens’ analysis. Under the optimum extraction and detection conditions, excellent analytical performances were attained. Good linear relationships (r ≥ 0.998) between peak area and concentration for diethylstilbestrol and dienestrol were optimised from 0.1 to 20 µg/mL, for hexestrol from 2 to 50 µg/mL. Method detection limits of 28.6–666.7 ng/mL were achieved. Satisfactory relative recoveries ranging from 72% to 122% were determined for urine, lake and tap water samples, with relative standard deviations (RSDs, n = 6) of 1.5–9.8%. The developed dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction with solidification of floating organic drop-high performance liquid chromatography method has a great potential in routine residual analysis of trace phenolic oestrogens in biological and water samples.     

Comparison of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and hollow fiber liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction for the determination of fentanyl,alfentanil, and sufentanil in water and biological fluids by high-performance liquid chromatography

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and hollow fiber liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction (HF-LLLME) combined with HPLC–DAD have been applied for the determination of three narcotic drugs (alfentanil, fentanyl, and sufentanil) in biological samples (human plasma and urine). Different DLLME parameters influencing the extraction efficiency such as type and volume of the extraction solvent and the disperser solvent, concentration of NaOH, and salt addition were investigated. In the HF-LLLME, the effects of important parameters including organic solvent type, concentration of NaOH as donor solution, concentration of H₂SO₄ as acceptor phase, salt addition, stirring rate, temperature, and extraction time were investigated and optimized. The results showed that both extraction methods exhibited good linearity, precision, enrichment factor, and detection limit. Under optimal condition, the limits of detection ranged from 0.4 to 1.9 μg/L and from 1.1 to 2.3 μg/L for DLLME and HF-LLLME, respectively. For DLLME, the intra- and inter-day precisions were 1.7–6.4% and 14.2–15.9%, respectively; and for HF-LLLME were 0.7–5.2% and 3.3–10.1%, respectively. The enrichment factors were from 275 to 325 and 190 to 237 for DLLME and HF-LLLME, respectively. The applicability of the proposed methods was investigated by analyzing biological samples. For analysis of human plasma and urine samples, HF-LLLME showed higher precision, more effective sample clean-up, higher extraction efficiency, lower organic solvent consumption than DLLME.     

In-vial liquid–liquid microextraction-capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of phenolic acids in vegetable oils

An in-vial liquid–liquid microextraction method was developed for the selective extraction of the phenolic acids (caffeic, gallic, cinnamic, ferulic, chlorogenic, syringic, vanillic, benzoic, p-hydroxybenzoic, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic, o-coumaric, m-coumaric and p-coumaric) in vegetable oil samples. The optimised extraction conditions for 20 g sample were: volume of diluent (n-hexane), 2 mL; extractant, methanol: 5 mM sodium hydroxide (60:40; v/v); volume of extractant, 300 μL (twice); vortex, 1 min; centrifugation, 5 min. Recoveries for the studied phenolic acids were 80.1–119.5%. The simultaneous determination of the phenolic acid extracts was investigated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Separations were carried out on a bare fused-silica capillary (50 μm i.d. × 40 cm length) involving 25 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 9.15) and 5% methanol as CE background electrolyte in the normal polarity mode, voltage of 30 kV, temperature of 25 °C, injection time of 4 s (50 mbar) and electropherograms were recorded at 200 nm. The phenolic acids were successfully separated in less than 10 min. The validated in-vial LLME-CE method was applied to the determination of phenolic acids in vegetable oil samples (extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, walnut oil and grapeseed oil). The developed method shows significant advantages over the current methods as lengthy evaporation step is not required.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of diltiazem in human plasma after solid-phase and liquid–liquid extraction

A selective, sensitive, and accurate high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of diltiazem in plasma samples has been developed and validated. The effects of mobile phase composition, buffer concentration, mobile phase pH, and concentration of organic modifiers on retention of diltiazem and internal standard were investigated. Solid-phase and liquid–liquid extraction were examined and proposed for isolation of the drug and elimination of endogenous plasma interferences. A 5 m Lichrocart Lichrospher 60 RP-select B chromatographic column was used; the mobile phase was acetonitrile–0.025 mol L^–1 KH₂PO₄ (pH 5.5), 35:65 ( v / v) at a flow-rate of 1.5 mL min^–1. The detection wavelength was 215 nm. The calibration plots were linear in the concentration range 20.0–500.0 ng mL^–1. The method has been implemented to monitor diltiazem levels in patient samples.     

On-line coupled dynamic sonication-assisted extraction–liquid chromatography for the determination of phenolic acids in Lamiaceae herbs

A fast and efficient on-line coupled dynamic sonication-assisted extraction–liquid chromatography (DSAE–LC) method was developed for the determination of phenolic acids in basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, spearmint and thyme. The extraction and chromatography were coupled via a solid-phase trap filled with strong anion exchange material. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for the retention times were less than 0.4% and those for the peak heights less than 3% except for gallic acid (RSD 1.2% for the retention times and 11% for the peak heights). Limits of detection were below ∼3 ng.     

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography-DAD detection for the determination of sulfonylurea herbicides in water samples

A new method for the determination of four sulfonylurea herbicides (metsulfuron-methyl, chlorsulfuron, bensulfuron-methyl and chlorimuron-ethyl) in water samples was developed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector. Parameters that affect the extraction efficiency, such as the kind and volume of the extraction and disperser solvent, extraction time and salt addition, were investigated and optimised. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors were in the range between 102 and 216. The linearity of the method was obtained in the range of 1.0–100 ng mL^?1 with the correlation coefficients (r) ranging from 0.9982 to 0.9995. The method detection limits were 0.2–0.3 ng mL^?1. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of target sulfonylurea herbicides in river, stream and well water samples with satisfactory results.     

Determination of pesticide residues in red wines with microporous membrane liquid–liquid extraction and gas chromatography

A sample pretreatment method based on microporous membrane liquid-liquid extraction (MMLLE) was developed for the subsequent gas chromatographic determination of pesticides in wine. MMLLE provided efficient and selective extraction with enrichment factors in the range 3-13. The gas chromatographic separation was carried out using on-column injection and flame ionization detection. The method was linear, repeatable and sensitive. The limits of quantification were better than 0.006 mg/L for all the analytes except for iprodione (0.37 mg/L). The method was applied to the determination of pesticides in several red wines of different origin.     

Solid-phase extraction followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the sensitive determination of selected fungicides in wine

A novel approach for the determination of seven fungicides (metalaxyl-M, penconazole, folpet, diniconazole, propiconazole, difenoconazole and azoxystrobin) in wine samples is presented. Analytes were extracted from the matrix and transferred to a small volume of a high density, water insoluble solvent using solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME). Variables affecting the performance of both steps were thoroughly investigated (metalaxyl-M was not included in some optimisation studies) and their effects on the selectivity and efficiency of the whole sample preparation process are discussed. Under optimised conditions, 20 mL of wine were first concentrated using a reversed-phase sorbent and then target compounds were eluted with 1 mL of acetone. This extract was mixed with 0.1 mL of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (CH₃CCl₃) and the blend added to 10 mL of ultrapure water. After centrifugation, an aliquot (1–2 μL) of the settled organic phase was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture (ECD) and mass spectrometry (MS) detection. The method provided enrichment factors (EFs) around 200 times and an improved selectivity in comparison to use of SPE as single sample preparation technique. Moreover, the yield of the global process was similar for red and white wine samples and the achieved limits of quantification (LOQs) (from 30 to 120 ng L⁻¹ and from 40 to 250 ng L⁻¹, for GC–ECD and GC–MS, respectively) were low enough for the determination of target species in commercial wines. Among compounds considered in this work, metalaxyl-M and azoxystrobin were found in several wines at concentrations from 0.8 to 32 ng mL⁻¹.     

Accurate mass determination,quantification and determination of detection limits in liquid chromatography–high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry: Challenges and practical solutions

Uniform guidelines for the data processing and validation of qualitative and quantitative multi-residue analysis using full-spectrum high-resolution mass spectrometry are scarce.     

Application of dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of two fungicides in environmental water samples

Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) has been developed for the extraction and preconcentration of diethofencarb (DF) and pyrimethanil (PM) in environmental water. In the method, a suitable mixture of extraction solvent (50 µL carbon tetrachloride) and dispersive solvent (0.75 mL acetonitrile) are injected into the aqueous samples (5.00 mL) and the cloudy solution is observed. After centrifugation, the enriched analytes in the sediment phase were determined by HPLC-VWD. Different influencing factors, such as the kind and volume of extraction and dispersive solvent, extraction time and salt effect were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factors for DF and PM were both 108 and the limit of detection were 0.021 ng mL^?1 and 0.015 ng mL^?1, respectively. The linear ranges were 0.08–400 ng mL^?1 for DF and 0.04–200 ng mL^?1 for PM. The relative standard deviation (RSDs) were both almost at 6.0% (n = 6). The relative recoveries from samples of environmental water were from the range of 87.0 to 107.2%. Compared with other methods, DLLME is a very simple, rapid, sensitive (low limit of detection) and economical (only 5 mL volume of sample) method.     

Miniaturized liquid–liquid extraction coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for determination of topramezone in soil,corn, wheat,and water

A rapid and simple miniaturized liquid–liquid extraction method has been developed for the determination of topramezone in soil, corn, wheat, and water samples using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-electrospray ionization (ESI)/MS/MS). The established method for the extraction and purification procedure was based on liquid–liquid partitioning into an aqueous solution at a low pH (pH ≈ 2.5), followed by back-partitioning into water at pH > 9. Two precursor, product ion transitions for topramezone were measured and evaluated to provide the maximum degree of confidence in the results. Under negative ESI conditions, quantitation was achieved by monitoring the fragment at m/z = 334 and the qualitative fragment at m/z = 318, whereas also collecting the corresponding parent ion at m/z = 362. Chromatographic separation was achieved using gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of methanol and a 0.01% aqueous ammonium hydroxide solution. Recovery studies for soil, corn, wheat, and water were conducted at four different topramezone concentrations (5 or 10, 50, 100, and 1,000 μg kg⁻¹); the overall average recoveries ranged from 79.9% to 98.4% with intra-day relative standard deviations (RSD) of 3.1~8.7% and inter-day RSD of 4.3~7.5%. Quantitative results were determined from calibration curves of topramezone standards containing 1–500 μg L⁻¹ with an R ² ≥ 0.9994. Method sensitivities expressed as limits of quantitation were typically 6, 8, 9, and 1 μg kg⁻¹ in soil, corn, wheat, and water, respectively. The results of the method validation confirmed that this proposed method was convenient and reliable for the determination of topramezone residues in soil, corn, wheat, and water.