Analysis of catechins in extracts of Cistus species by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatographic (MEEKC) method was developed for the separation of six catechins, specific marker phytochemicals of Cistus species. The MEEKC method involved the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, heptane as organic solvent and butan-1-ol as co-solvent. In order to have a better stability of the studied catechins, the separation was performed under acidic conditions (pH 2.5 phosphate buffer). The effects of SDS concentration and of the amount of organic solvent and co-solvent on the analyte resolution were evaluated. The optimized conditions (heptane 1.36% (w/v), SDS 2.31% (w/v), butan-1-ol 9.72% (w/v) and 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 2.5) 86.61% (w/v)) allowed a useful and reproducible separation of the studied analytes to be achieved. These conditions provided a different separation profile compared to that obtained under conventional micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MECK) using SDS. The method was validated and applied to the determination of catechin and gallocatechin in lyophilized extracts of Cistus incanus and Cistus monspeliensis.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatographic determination of bufadienolides in toad venom and in traditional Chinese medicine

A microemulsion electrokinetic chromatographic (MEEKC) method has been developed and validated for determination of resibufogenin and cinobufagin in toad venom and in traditional Chinese medicine prepared from the venom. The MEEKC method involved use of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, heptane as organic solvent, and butan-1-ol as co-solvent. To improve the separation, the effect of temperature and running buffer pH were evaluated. The optimized conditions (heptane 0.81% (w/w), SDS 3.31% (w/w), butan-1-ol 6.61% (w/w), and 10 mmol L⁻¹ sodium tetraborate buffer, pH 9.2, and 298 nm as the detection wavelength) enabled useful and repeatable separation of the analytes.     

Comparison of HPLC and MEEKC for Miconazole Nitrate Determination in Pharmaceutical Formulation

A simple solid phase extraction (SPE) method coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using UV detector and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) has been developed and compared for the quantitative determination of miconazole nitrate in pharmaceutical formulation. For HPLC method, two parameters were optimized, namely, the wavelength and the mobile phases. The optimized condition was at the 225 nm wavelength and the mobile phase of ACN:MeOH (90:10 v/v). There are seven MEEKC parameters that were optimized, in this research, which were applied to voltage, temperature, wavelength, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, buffer pH, buffer concentration and butan-1-ol concentration. The optimum MEEKC condition was obtained using 86.35 % (w/w) 2.5 mM borate buffer pH 9, 0.25 % (w/w) SDS, 0.8 % (w/w) ethyl acetate, 6.6 % w/w butan-1-ol and 6.0 % (w/w) acetonitrile. The combination of SPE using a diol column with HPLC–UV and the MEEKC methods were successfully applied for the determination of miconazole nitrate in a pharmaceutical formulation with the recovery percentage of 98.35 and 92.50 %, respectively.     

Comparison of HPLC and MEEKC for Miconazole Nitrate Determination in Pharmaceutical Formulation

A simple solid phase extraction (SPE) method coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using UV detector and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) has been developed and compared for the quantitative determination of miconazole nitrate in pharmaceutical formulation. For HPLC method, two parameters were optimized, namely, the wavelength and the mobile phases. The optimized condition was at the 225 nm wavelength and the mobile phase of ACN:MeOH (90:10 v/v). There are seven MEEKC parameters that were optimized, in this research, which were applied to voltage, temperature, wavelength, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, buffer pH, buffer concentration and butan-1-ol concentration. The optimum MEEKC condition was obtained using 86.35 % (w/w) 2.5 mM borate buffer pH 9, 0.25 % (w/w) SDS, 0.8 % (w/w) ethyl acetate, 6.6 % w/w butan-1-ol and 6.0 % (w/w) acetonitrile. The combination of SPE using a diol column with HPLC–UV and the MEEKC methods were successfully applied for the determination of miconazole nitrate in a pharmaceutical formulation with the recovery percentage of 98.35 and 92.50 %, respectively.

     

Analysis of baicalein, baicalin and wogonin in Scutellariae radix and its preparation by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography with 1-butyl-3-methylimizolium tetrafluoborate ionic liquid as additive

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM-BF4) ionic liquid (IL) as additive was developed for the analysis of baicalin, wogonin and baicalein in Scutellariae radix and its preparation. After conducting a series of optimizations, baseline separation was obtained for the analytes within 5min under the optimum conditions (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) 0.88% (m/v) ethyl acetate 0.8% (v/v) butan-1-ol 0.2% (v/v) and the buffer composition were 25% acetonitrile (v/v), 7.5 mM BMIM-BF4 and 10 mM NaH2PO4, pH 8.2, applied voltage 17.5 kV and detection at 254 nm), the method has been successfully applied to the determination and quantification of the analytes in the extracts of S. radix (cooked), S. radix (raw) and Qingfeiyihuowan which was the preparation including S. radix.     

Separation and determination of flavonoids using microemulsion EKC with electrochemical detection

A selective and sensitive method of microemulsion EKC (MEEKC) with electrochemical detection (ED) was developed for separation and determination of 14 flavonoids. In order to obtain the better stability for the studied flavonoids, oil (ethyl acetate) with low interfacial surface tension was employed as organic solvent. A running buffer composed of 0.9% (w/v, 30 mM) SDS, 0.9% (w/v, 21 mM) sodium cholate (SC), 0.9% (w/v, 121 mM) butan-1-ol, 0.6% (w/v, 68 mM) ethyl acetate, and 98.2% v/v 10 mM Na(2)B(4)O(7)-20 mM H(3)BO(3) buffer (pH 7.5) was applied for the separation of flavonoids. Under the optimum conditions, the relationship between peak currents and analyte concentrations was linear over about 1.3 and 1.7 orders of magnitude with detection limits (defined as S/N = 3) ranging from 0.02 to 0.5 microg/mL for all analytes. This method was applied for the determination of flavonoids in real samples with simple extraction procedures, and the assay results were satisfactory.     

Separation of seven fluoroquinolones by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography and application to ciprofloxacin, lomefloxacin determination in urine

A simple, reliable microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) method is developed for the simultaneous separation of seven fluoroquinolones (FQs). The best separation is achieved in a carrier electrolyte containing 1% (v/v) heptane, 100 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 10% (v/v) 1-butanol, and 8 mmol/L phosphate-sodium tetraborate buffer at pH 7.30. The proposed method was directly applied to the determination of ciprofloxacin (CPF) and lomefloxacin (LMF) in urine samples of subjects administered either with CPF or LMF.     

Separation and on-column preconcentration of some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography using high-speed separations

Various strategies have been investigated for separating a group of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEEKC) using high-speed separations. The parameters that of affect the separation, such as the nature of the oil droplet and the buffer, and the surfactant concentration have been studied. In addition, several organic solvents were used to decrease the retention of the analytes in the oil droplet phase and to improve the resolution of the NSAIDs. The optimum microemulsion background electrolyte (BGE) solution made of 0.8% w/w ethyl acetate, 6.6% w/w butan-1-ol, 6.0% w/w acetonitrile, 1.0% w/w sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and 85.6% w/w of 10 mM sodium tetraborate at pH 9.2 resolved the drugs within 8 min. The short-end injection procedure is an alternative for reducing the analysis time. When this procedure was used, the microemulsion BGE solution consisted of 0.8% w/w ethyl acetate, 6.6% w/w butan-1-ol, 17.0% w/w methanol, 1.0% w/w SDS, and 74.6% w/w of 10 mM sodium tetraborate, pH 9.2, and the NSAIDs were separated within 3 min. The reversed electrode polarity stacking mode (REPSM) technique was applied to the on-line concentration of the NSAIDs. In this technique, the sample matrix was pumped out of the capillary using a polarity-switching step. When this technique was applied, the sensitivity was enhanced up to 40-fold and the limits of detection (LODs) were in the low microg.L(-1) levels.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography of corticosteroids. Effect of surfactants and cyclodextrins on the separation selectivity

The separation of neutral hydrophobic corticosteroids (cortisone, cortisone acetate, hydrocortisone, hydrocortisone acetate, prednisolone and prednisolone acetate) by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was studied. In the preparation of microemulsion, heptane was the solvent, n-butanol the co-surfactant and, as anionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or taurodeoxycholic acid sodium salt (STDC) were employed. Using an acidic running buffer, (phosphate pH 2.5) a strong suppression of the electroosmotic flow (EOF) was observed; this resulted in a fast anodic migration of the analytes partitioned into the negatively charged microemulsion droplets. Under these conditions, STDC showed better separation of corticosteroids than the conventional SDS; however, the use of a single anionic surfactant did not provide the required selectivity. The addition of the neutral surfactant polyoxyethylene glycol octadecyl ether (Brij 76) significantly altered the migration of each analytes allowing a better tuning of separation; however, in order to obtain adequate resolution between couples of adjacent critical peaks, the addition of neutral cyclodextrins (CDs) was found to be essential. This apparently complex system (CD-MEEKC), was optimized by studying the effect of the most important parameters affecting separation: STDC concentration, Brij 76 concentration, nature and concentration of cyclodextrins. Following a rational step-by-step approach, the optimised conditions providing the complete separation of the analytes were found to be: 4.0% STDC, 2.5% Brij 76, 6.6% n-butanol, 1.36% heptane and 85.54% of a solution 5 mM beta-CD in 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.5). The optimized system was preliminary applied to the detection of corticosteroids related substances at impurity level and it could be considered a useful orthogonal alternative to HPLC methods.     

Enantioseparation of esbiothrin by cyclodextrin‐modified microemulsion and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A comparison between chiral cyclodextrin‐modified microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (CD‐MEEKC) and cyclodextrin‐modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD‐MEKC) for the enantiomeric separation of esbiothrin was carried out. For both methods, the separation conditions were optimized by varying CD types and concentration, running buffer pH and compositions, organic modifiers, and temperature. The optimal CD‐MEEKC conditions were 0.8% n‐heptane, 2.3% SDS, 6.6% n‐butanol, 90.3% 10 mM sodium tetraborate containing 3% (w/v, the ratio of CD mass to microemulsion volume) methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, pH 10, 25°C. The optimized CD‐MEKC conditions were 3.3% SDS, 96.7% 10 mM sodium tetraborate containing 5% (w/v) β‐CD, pH 10, 25°C. The difference in physicochemical properties of the buffer and CDs resulted in different optimal CD type. The competitive distribution between the microemulsion (or micelle) and chiral CD contributed to the chiral separation. Both methods provided excellent separation (R_s ～? 3) with similar migration time (ca. 15 min). CD‐MEEKC provided higher separation efficiencies (>300000) than CD‐MEKC (>200000). The LODs for CD‐MEEKC and CD‐MEKC were 4.7 μg/mL and 3.2 μg/mL, respectively. The RSDs of migration time and peak area for CD‐MEEKC were slightly higher than for CD‐MEKC. Both the demonstrated CD‐MEEKC and CD‐MEKC methods provided high efficiencies, low LODs, and reproducible enantioseparations of esbiothrin.     

Separation of Biphenyl Nitrile Compounds by Microemulsion Electrokinetic Chromatography with Mixed Surfactants

A mixture of nine biphenyl nitrile compounds with high hydrophobicity and similar structures was successfully separated by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) within 30 rain. The buffer system contained 100 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 80 mlnol/L sodium cholate (SC), 0.81% heptane, 7.5% n-butanol, 10% acetonitrile and 10 mmol/L borate. The addition of SC, organic modifiers, sample preparation and temperature all showedremarkable effect on the separation. Meanwhile, the MEEKC method was briefly compared with micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method.     

Rapid determination of water- and fat-soluble vitamins with microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

A rapid, reliable and reproducible method based on microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) for simultaneous determination of 13 kinds of water- and fat-soluble vitamins has been developed in this work. A novel microemulsion system consisting of 1.2% (w/w) sodium lauryl sulphate (SDS), 21% (v/v) 1-butanol, 18% (v/v) acetonitrile, 0.8% (w/w) n-hexane, 20mM borax buffer (pH 8.7) was applied to improve selectivity and efficiency, as well as shorten analysis time. The composition of microemulsion used as the MEEKC running buffer was investigated thoroughly to obtain stable separation medium, as well as the optimum determination conditions. Acetonitrile as the organic solvent modifier, pH of the running buffer and 1-butanol as the co-surfactant played the most important roles for the separation of the fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins and stabilization of system, respectively. The 13 water- and fat-soluble vitamins were baseline separated within 30 min. The system was applied to determine water- and fat-soluble vitamins in commercial multivitamin pharmaceutical formulation, good accuracy and precision were obtained with recoveries between 97% and 105%, relative standard derivations (RSDs) less than 1.8% except vitamin C, and acceptable quantitative results corresponding to label claim.     

Separation of hydrophobic polymer additives by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) has been applied to the separation of some phenolic antioxidants [Irganox 1024, Irganox 1035, Irganox 1076, Irganox 1010, Irganox 1330, Irgafos 138, Irganox 168 and 2,6-di-tert.-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT)]. Due to the extremely hydrophobic nature of these analytes, they could not be separated using standard MEEKC conditions and two alternative approaches were investigated. Using an acidic buffer (phosphate, pH 2.5) to effectively suppress the electroosmotic flow, the addition of 2-propanol to the aqueous phase of the microemulsion buffer to improve partitioning of the analytes, and a negative separation voltage, separation of five of the analytes in under 10 min was possible. The second approach, using a basic buffer (borate, pH 9.2) and a positive separation voltage resulted in complete resolution of all eight analytes. A mixed surfactant system comprising the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and neutral Brij 35 was used to reduce the overall charge and with it the mobility of the droplets, and hence the separation time. Using an optimised MEEKC buffer consisting of 2.25% (w/w) SDS, 0.75% (w/w) Brij 35, 0.8% (w/w) n-octane, 6.6% (w/w) 1-butanol, 25% (w/w) 2-propanol and 64.6% (w/w) 10 mM borate buffer (pH 9.2) the eight target analytes were baseline separated in under 25 min. For these analytes, MEEKC was found to be superior to micellar electrokinetic chromatography in every respect. Specifically, the solubility of the analytes was better, the selectivity was more favourable, the analysis time was shorter and the separation efficiency was up to 72% higher when using the MEEKC method. Detection limits from 5.4 to 26 microg/ml were obtained and the calibration plot was linear over more than one order of magnitude. The optimised method could be applied to the determination of Irganox 1330 and Irganox 1010 in polypropylene.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography for the analysis of green tea catechins: effect of the cosurfactant on the separation selectivity

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was applied to the separation of six catechins and caffeine, the major constituents of the green tea. The developed methods involved the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, n-heptane as organic solvent and an alcohol as cosurfactant. The separations were performed under acidic conditions (pH 2.5 phosphate buffer, 50 mM) to ensure good stability of the catechins, with reversed polarity (anodic outlet). The effect of the alcohol nature on the MEEKC selectivity was evaluated; nine alcohols were used as cosurfactant: 1-butanol, tert-butanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, cyclopentanol, 1-hexanol, 2-hexanol, and cyclohexanol. The migration order of (+)-catechin (C), (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-gallocatechin (GC), (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), caffeine and theophylline was significantly affected by the alcohol used as cosurfactant. Using nine microemulsions, four different selectivities were achieved: A (cyclohexanol); B (2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 2-hexanol); C (1-butanol, 1-pentanol, cyclopentanol); D (tert-butanol). MEEKC methods, based on 2-hexanol and cyclohexanol as cosurfactant were validated and successfully applied to the analysis of catechins and caffeine in commercial green tea products.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography of sulfated disaccharides derived from glycosaminoglycans.

Microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEEKC) is a capillary electrophoresis technique in which neutral and ionized species can be resolved according to their partitioning into moving oil droplets present in the operating buffer. In this report, we present for the first time the application of MEEKC in the analysis of glycosaminoglycans. An efficient method for the separation of the variously sulfated delta-disaccharides obtained following digestion of chondroitin and dermatan sulfates with chondro/ dermato lyases and derivatization with 2-aminoacridone is described. Nonsulfated, mono-, di-, and trisulfated delta-disaccharides were completely separated using the microemulsion octane/butan-1-ol/Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in 10 mM borate buffer, pH 9.3, at 25 kV. Agreement of the obtained disaccharide composition with literature values showed that MEEKC can be used for the analysis of glycosaminoglycans.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography for separation and analysis of curcuminoids in turmeric samples

Microemulsion EKC (MEEKC) was developed for quantitative analysis of curcuminoids, such as curcumin (C), demethoxycurcumin (D), and bis-demethoxycurcumin (B). MEEKC separation of curcuminoids was optimized, and a change in resolution was explained using a modified equation for resolution in MEEKC without electroosmosis. The suitable MEEKC conditions for separation of curcuminoids were obtained to be the microemulsion buffer containing 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5, 1.1% v/v n-octane as oil droplets, 180 mM SDS as surfactant, 890 mM 1-butanol as cosurfactant, and 25% v/v 2-propanol as organic cosolvent; applied voltage of -15 kV; and separation temperature 25 degrees C. Achieved baseline resolution of C:D and D:B was obtained with R(s) -2.4 and analysis time within 18 min. In addition, high accuracy and precision of the method were obtained. This MEEKC method was used for quantitative determination of individual curcuminoids in medicinal turmeric capsules and powdered turmeric used as coloring additive in food, with simple sample preparation such as solvent extraction, dilution, and filtration, and without cleaning up by SPE.     

Determination of avermectins in commercial formulations using microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) was developed for quantitative analysis of avermectins, such as abamectin, doramectin and ivermectin, in commercial formulations, using the microemulsion buffer containing a 50 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5, 1.1% (v/v) n-octane as oil droplets, 180 mM sodium dodecylsulphate as surfactant, 890 mM 1-butanol as co-surfactant and 30% (v/v) ethanol as organic co-solvent. High accuracy and precision of the method were obtained. The contents of avermectins in commercial formulations determined by MEEKC were found to be insignificantly different with those determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Therefore, MEEKC can be used an alternative method to HPLC for quantitative determination of avermectins.     

Separation and determination of biphenyl nitrile compounds by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography with mixed surfactants

A mixture of six biphenyl nitrile compounds and three related substances with high hydrophobicity and similar structures was successfully separated by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) within 30 min. The microemulsion system contained 100 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 80 mM sodium cholate (SC), 0.81% v/v heptane, 7.5% v/v n-butanol, 10% v/v acetonitrile, and 10 mM borate. The addition of SC, organic modifiers, sample preparation, and temperature all showed remarkable effects on the separation. The capacity factor (k) was calculated by using dodecyl benzene as the marker for microemulsion, and the calculated partition coefficient log P(o/w) of the solutes was in the range of 3.35-7.38. The log k values matched well with the log P(o/w) with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. In addition, the linear correlation coefficients of each compound between peak area and concentration were from 0.996 to 0.998 with the repeatability RSD value < 1.2% for migration time and < 4.8% for peak area, and the highest theoretic plate number was > 586000. MEEKC was compared with micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) indicating that the former method is more suitable for this separation and can be used for the quality control of biphenyl nitrile compounds in the synthesis of liquid crystals.     

Analyses of phenolic compounds by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

In this study, a microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) method was developed to analyze and detect 13 phenolic compounds (syringic acid, p-cumaric acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid, gallic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, (+)-catechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, (-)-epicatechin gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, (-)-epicatechin, and (-)-gallocatechin), which are present in many plant-derived foods. The effects of cosurfactant, organic modifier, and oil were examined in order to optimize the separation of these phenolic compounds. The amounts of cosurfactant (cyclohexanol) and organic modifier (acetonitrile) were determined as the major influence on the separation selectivity, while the type of oil partially affected the separation resolution of the phenolic compounds. A highly efficient MEEKC separation method was achieved within 14 min by using a microemulsion solution of pH 2.0 containing 2.89% w/v SDS, 1.36% w/v heptane, 7.66% w/v cyclohexanol, and 2% w/v ACN. Furthermore, the present work could demonstrate that the nature of the oil phase has a significant influence on the separation selectivity of phenolic compounds.     

微乳液毛细管电动色谱法快速测定消炎利胆片中的穿心莲内酯和脱水穿心莲内酯

建立了微乳液毛细管电动色谱同时分析消炎利胆片中穿心莲内酯和脱水穿心莲内酯的方法。考察了缓冲溶液的浓度、pH值、十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)以及助表面活性剂的含量对分离测定的影响。在由乙酸乙酯-SDS-正丁醇-30 mmol/L硼砂缓冲液(pH 9.5)（质量比为0.5∶0.6∶6.0∶92.9）组成的微乳液体系中,两种内酯在6 min内完成分离。该法简便、快速、选择性好,用于实际样品中穿心莲内酯和脱水穿心莲内酯的分析,获得了满意的结果。