Enantiomeric separations of primary amino compounds by capillary electrochromatography with monolithic chiral stationary phases of chiral crown ether-bonded negatively charged polyacrylamide gels

A novel enantiomeric separation method by capillary electrochromatography with chiral crown ether-bonded negatively charged polyacrylamide gels is presented. Two kinds of chiral crown ether derivatives, (+)-tetraallyl 18-crown-6 carboxylate and (+)-18-crown-6 tetracarboxylic acid 2-allyl ester were synthesized and allowed to covalently bind to a negatively charged polyacrylamide gel, a so-called monolithic stationary phase, respectively. The gel was placed in fused-silica tubing, the walls of which had been activated with a bifunctional reagent to make the resulting gel bind covalently to the inner surface. Enantiomeric separations of 12 primary amino compounds were achieved using these columns and mobile phases of 200 mM triethanolamine-300 mM boric acid buffers with high efficiencies of up to 135000 plates m(-1). Both the within- and between-run reproducibilities of retention time and separation factor were good. The reproducibilities of retention time and separation factor for three different columns prepared from a different batch of monomers were acceptable. The gel-filled capillaries were stable for at least 13 months with intermittent use for 3 months followed by storage at room temperature for 10 months. The result of the optical purity test of alanine-2-naphthylamide is also described.     

Enantiomeric Separations of Acidic and Neutral Compounds by Capillary Electrochromatography with β‐Cyclodextrin‐Bonded Positively Charged Polyacrylamide Gels

The novel enantiomeric separation of acidic and neutral compounds by capillary electrochromatography with β‐cyclodextrin‐bonded positively charged polyacrylamide gels was examined. The columns used are capillaries filled with a positively charged polyacrylamide gel, a so‐called monolithic stationary phase, to which allyl carbamoylated β‐CD derivatives covalently bind. The capillary wall was activated first by bifunctional reagent to make the resulting gel bind covalently inside the fused‐silica tubing. Enantiomeric separations of sixteen acidic and two neutral compounds were achieved using the above‐mentioned columns and 200 mmol dm^–3 Tris–300 mmol dm^–3 boric acid buffer (pH 8.1) as a mobile phase. High efficiencies of up to 150 000 plates m^–1 were obtained for dansyl‐DL‐amino acids. The within‐run and between‐run reproducibilities of retention time and separation factor were examined for three dansyl‐DL‐amino acids and warfarin. The relative standard deviations of the within‐run and between‐run reproducibilities of retention time were less than 1.2 and 1.3% over the six injections, respectively. Those of the separation factor were less than 0.3 and 0.2%, respectively. The gel‐filled capillaries were stable for at least four months with intermittent use.     

Performance of throughout in-capillary derivatization capillary electrophoresis employing an on-line sample and run buffer loading device

We report on the effect on performance of varying the length of the capillary during throughout in-capillary derivatization (TICD) capillary electrophoresis (CE). Performance was evaluated by on-line coupling with a sample and CE runbuffer loading device that was newly introduced for this study. The device was assembled with a low cost using two 5 mm inner diameter (ID) disposable polyethylene syringes. First, a sequence was manually formed consisting of a 200 microL run buffer solution plug, a 100 microL sample plug and another 200 microL run buffer solution plug. Each plug was separated from its neighbor by a 100 microL air plug. When each plug reached the injection point where both a platinum-wire anode and the end of the separation capillary tube were located, 340 V/cm separation voltage (electrophoresis voltage) and 34 V/cm injection voltage were applied to the capillary for 3 s. Then the analytes were derivatized during migration in 50 microm ID capillaries filled with 2 mM o-phthalaldehyde (OPA)/N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in a 20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10), followed by separating and detecting of OPA derivatives by absorbance of 340 nm. Derivatization, separation, and detection were performed systematically using capillaries which varied in length from 5 to 80 cm. In the case of TICD-CE of a mixture containing 1 mM aspartic acid (Asp) and 20 mM m-nitorophenol (MNP) as a test solution, it was determined that peak area and peak width ratios of Asp to MNP did not depend on capillary length. Enantiomeric separations of DL-alanine (Ala) and Asp were examined using a run buffer consisting of a 45 microM beta-cyclodextrin (CD)-2 mM OPA/NAC-20 mM phosphate-borate buffer (pH 10). Even though the resolution of these enantiomeric pairs decreased with decreasing capillary length, as expected, the peaks corresponding to both enantiomeric amino acids were identified even when a 5 cm capillary was used. An 8-component amino acid mixture was also tested with 5 cm and 10 cm capillaries.     

The capillary electrophoresis separation of benzodiazepine drug using dextran sulfate and SDS as running buffer

Capillary electrophoresis has been applied the analyses of many clinical drugs due to its rapid, high-resolution separation. In this study, electrokinetic chromatography involving the combination of SDS and dextran sulfate, which are synthetic polymers, was examined in order to obtain high resolution. Use of 2% dextran sulfate (10,000 molecular weight), 20 mm SDS running buffer containing boric acid solution (pH 9.2) and a silica capillary (inner diameter of 75 micro m, effective length of 50 cm, 57 cm overall length) afforded separation of 10 kinds of benzodiazepines. The detection limit was 0.2 micro g/mL; additionally, reproducibilities were de fi ned as the peak height and migration time. The average peak height was 5.92% (2.46-17.61), whereas the average migration time was 0.44% (0.18-0.76; n = 5). This separations system can be applied to the analysis and measurement of other pharmaceuticals as well.     

Comparison of the performance of conventional microparticulates and monolithic reversed-phase columns for liquid chromatography separation of eleven pollutant phenols

The performance of isocratic separations of 11 pollutant phenols (PP) using monolithic (Chromolith RP-18e) and conventional reversed-phase 5 microm (Luna and Purospher C18) and 4 microm (Synergi C12) particulate size columns, selected from high purity silica materials, has been compared. The separations have been optimized based on a previously optimized separation in which a reversed-phase C18 Luna column and acetonitrile as organic modifier were used, allowing the separation of all phenols tested in 23 min. The optimization process was carried out for each column by studying the effect of the mobile phase (acetonitrile as organic modifier, pH, flow-rate) on phenols separation. Under the optimized separation conditions, all phenols were separated in less than 23 min for all columns tested. Asymmetry factors were further evaluated and used to estimate column efficiency using the Dorsey-Foley equation. The efficiency and asymmetry factors were lower for Chromolith than for Purospher and Luna columns respectively. The Chromolith column was finally selected, due to its lower flow resistance, analysis time and good efficiency and asymmetry factors. The PPs separation was achieved in 3 min. The asymmetry factors were in the range 0.9-1.5 using 50mM acetate buffer (pH = 5.25)-ACN (64:36, v/v) as mobile phase, T=45 degrees C and 4.0 ml min(-1) flow-rate.     

以L-酒石酸正己酯-硼酸配合物作为反相液相色谱手性流动相添加剂拆分5种β-受体阻滞剂

本文以L-酒石酸正己酯-硼酸配合物为手性流动相添加剂,建立了普萘洛尔、艾司洛尔、美托洛尔、比索洛尔、索他洛尔和阿替洛尔六种β-受体阻滞剂的反相高效液相色谱手性分离方法。对影响对映体分离的主要因素：L-酒石酸正己酯、硼酸浓度,缓冲溶液种类、浓度、pH值和有机改性剂-甲醇含量等进行了详细考察。最佳色谱条件为：Venusil MP-C18色谱柱（4.6 mm × 250 mm,5 μm）,流动相为15 mmol/L乙酸铵-甲醇（体积比为20: 80或30: 70,含60 mmol/L硼酸,70 mmol/L L-酒石酸正己酯,醋酸调节pH值6.00）,检测波长214 nm。在最佳分离条件下,五对对映体（普萘洛尔、艾司洛尔、美托洛尔、比索洛尔、索他洛尔）可以分别获得基线分离。     

毛细管区带电泳法测定卷烟中的生物碱

在磷酸缓冲体系中采用毛细管区带电泳法测定卷烟中的生物碱时,检测灵敏度低,分离度差。考察了卷烟中生物碱的 提取条件,分离缓冲溶液的类型、pH值和浓度,卷烟中生物碱测定方法的线性范围、检出限、重现性和回收率。结果发 现,当采用410 mmol/L的酒石酸溶液（pH 2.8）为缓冲体系时,卷烟中生物碱的检测灵敏度和分离度均有明显改善,烟碱 的线性范围为0.06~0.80 mg/L（其他生物碱为0.006~0.10 mg/L）,检出限为0.002~0.01 mg/L,相对标准偏差为2.2%~10%,回收率为87.6%~102%。     

Photopolymerized monolithic capillary columns for rapid micro high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of proteins

The preparation of monolithic poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) capillary columns using photoinitiated in situ polymerization within 200 microm i.d. capillaries and their application for microHPLC separations of proteins have been studied. The low resistance to flow characteristic of monolithic columns, enabled the use of very high flow rates of up to 100 microL/min representing a flow velocity of 87 mm/s. Very good separations of a model protein mixture consisting of ribonuclease A, cytochrome c, myoglobin, and ovalbumin was achieved in less than 40 s using a very simple single step gradient of the mobile phase. Interestingly, no effect of the pore size on the separations of proteins was observed for these monolithic columns within the size range of 0.66-2.2 microm. The monolithic microHPLC columns are found very robust and no changes in the long term separation performance and back pressure were observed.     

Enantiomeric separation of R,S-naproxen by conventional and nano-liquid chromatography with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin as a mobile phase additive

Chiral separations of R,S-naproxen mixtures were obtained on an achiral column (ODS) with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin as a mobile phase additive using conventional and nano-LC. The optimised mobile phase composition was 20 mmol l(-1) methyl-beta-cyclodextrin, 20% (v/v) acetonitrile, and 50 mmol l(-1) sodium acetate buffer at pH 3 using hydrochloric acid for pH adjustment. In addition to UV detection at 232 nm, amperometric detection was also investigated. Without using any internal standard, the reproducibility of amperometric detection (+1.05 V vs. Ag/AgCl) over a long analysis cycle in LC was greatly improved by choosing the peak area ratio between R- and S-naproxen as the analytical readout (the relative standard deviation was 2.11%) and enantiomeric purity could be assessed directly. This method was successfully employed for enantiomeric purity assessment in commercial naproxen tablets. Finally, successful transfer from conventional LC to nano-LC was realised, resulting in over 1000-fold reduction in reagent consumption.     

Fractionation and separation of human salivary proteins by pH-gradient ion exchange and reversed phase chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

In the present work, a 2-D capillary liquid chromatography method for fractionation and separation of human salivary proteins is demonstrated. Fractionation of proteins according to their pI values was performed in the 1-D employing a strong anion exchange (SAX) column subjected to a wide-range descending pH gradient. Polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) RP columns were used for focusing and subsequent separation of the proteins in the 2-D. The SAX column was presaturated with a high pH buffer (A) consisting of 10 mM amine buffering species, pH 9.0, and elution was performed with a low pH elution buffer (B) having the same buffer composition and concentration as buffer A, but pH 3.5. Isoelectric point fractions eluting from the 1-D column were trapped on PS-DVB trap columns prior to back-flushed elution onto the PS-DVB analytical column for separation of the proteins. The 1-D fraction eluting at pH 9.0-8.7 was chosen for further analysis. After separation on the RP analytical column, nine RP protein fractions were collected and tryptic digested for subsequent analyses by MALDI TOF MS and column switching capillary LC coupled to ESI TOF MS and ESI QTOF MS. Eight proteins and two peptides were identified in the pH 9.0-8.7 fraction using peptide mass fingerprinting and uninterpreted MS/MS data.     

Cyclodextrin-Modified Gold Nanoparticle Capillary Electrochromatography with Online Sample Stacking for Simultaneous and Sensitive Determination of Aminobenzoic Acid Isomers

A newly-developed method of complete separation and sensitive determination of o-, m-, and p-aminobenzoic acid isomers was achieved by combining open-tubular columns for capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) and online sample stacking. In this study, spherical gold nanoparticles were modified by a covalent attachment of mono-6-thio-β-cyclodextrin, and OT-CEC was formed by immobilizing cyclodextrin-modified gold nanoparticles (CD-AuNP) on prederivatized 3-mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane fused-silica capillaries. Based on the theory of moving chemical reaction boundary, effects of several important factors such as the pH and concentration of running buffer and the conditions of stacking analytes were optimized. The optimized separations were carried out in 58 mmol/L HAc buffer at pH 3.0 using a capillary coated with CD-AuNP, while the optimized concentration was carried out in 50 mmol/L disodium hydrogen phosphate (pH 9.5). The linear ranges for m-, p-, and o-aminobenzoic acid were from 5.0 × 10⁻⁴–0.1, 5.0 × 10⁻⁴–0.1 and 1.0 × 10⁻⁴–0.1 mmol/L, respectively. And the detection limits (S/N = 3) were as low as 8.22 × 10⁻⁵, 8.21 × 10⁻⁵, and 3.76 × 10⁻⁵ mmol/L for m-, p-, and o-aminobenzoic acid, respectively. The run-to-run, day-to-day, and column-to-column reproducibilities of migration time were satisfactory with relative standard deviation values of less than 4.5 % in all cases. This method was successfully used in determining procaine hydrochloride injection sample with recoveries in the range of 96.1–106.6 % and relative standard deviations less than 5.0 %.

     

Cyclodextrin-Modified Gold Nanoparticle Capillary Electrochromatography with Online Sample Stacking for Simultaneous and Sensitive Determination of Aminobenzoic Acid Isomers

A newly-developed method of complete separation and sensitive determination of o-, m-, and p-aminobenzoic acid isomers was achieved by combining open-tubular columns for capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) and online sample stacking. In this study, spherical gold nanoparticles were modified by a covalent attachment of mono-6-thio-β-cyclodextrin, and OT-CEC was formed by immobilizing cyclodextrin-modified gold nanoparticles (CD-AuNP) on prederivatized 3-mercaptopropyl-trimethoxysilane fused-silica capillaries. Based on the theory of moving chemical reaction boundary, effects of several important factors such as the pH and concentration of running buffer and the conditions of stacking analytes were optimized. The optimized separations were carried out in 58 mmol/L HAc buffer at pH 3.0 using a capillary coated with CD-AuNP, while the optimized concentration was carried out in 50 mmol/L disodium hydrogen phosphate (pH 9.5). The linear ranges for m-, p-, and o-aminobenzoic acid were from 5.0 × 10^?4–0.1, 5.0 × 10^?4–0.1 and 1.0 × 10^?4–0.1 mmol/L, respectively. And the detection limits (S/N = 3) were as low as 8.22 × 10^?5, 8.21 × 10^?5, and 3.76 × 10^?5 mmol/L for m-, p-, and o-aminobenzoic acid, respectively. The run-to-run, day-to-day, and column-to-column reproducibilities of migration time were satisfactory with relative standard deviation values of less than 4.5 % in all cases. This method was successfully used in determining procaine hydrochloride injection sample with recoveries in the range of 96.1–106.6 % and relative standard deviations less than 5.0 %.     

Sodium maleopimaric acid as pseudostationary phase for chiral separations of amino acid derivatives by capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A new type of chiral surfactant, sodium maleopimaric acid (SMA), was synthesized, and employed for the enantioselective micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) separation of amino acid enantiomers derivatized with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA-D/L-AAs). The effect of the surfactant concentration, type and concentration of the BGE, and buffer pH on the resolution was studied, and optimized conditions were used to evaluate the ability of this new surfactant to perform chiral separations toward NDA-D/L-AAs by MEKC. Enantiomeric separations of NDA-D/L-AAs were achieved with a running buffer consisting of 100 mM borate (pH 9.5) and 20 mM SMA in a 58.5 cm length x 50 microm id capillary. Under the conditions selected, two pairs of tested amino acid enantiomers including NDA-D/L-trptophan (Trp) and NDA-D/L-kynurenine (Kyn) were resolved.     

Preparation and evaluation of a vancomycin-immobilized silica monolith as chiral stationary phase for CEC

Enantiomeric separations in CEC with the macrocyclic antibiotic vancomycin immobilized silica monolith as a chiral stationary phase are presented. The monolithic silica capillary columns were prepared by a sol-gel process in fused-silica capillaries with an inner diameter of 50 mum and subsequently in situ immobilization of vancomycin as a chiral selector by reductive amination. Enantioselectivity was obtained for eight pairs of enantiomers in nonaqueous polar organic or aqueous mobile phases and most of them were baseline-separated with high column efficiencies. It was observed that the organic modifier ratio (MeOH/ACN) in the polar organic mobile phase played a significant role in controlling the resolution and efficiency of the enantiomers. In enantiomeric separation of propranolol, repeatability for column efficiency and resolution in the nonaqueous mobile phase was given in terms of RSD values at 1.1 and 2.3% (n = 5) for run-to-run injections and 7.2 and 9.6% (n = 5) for column-to-column testing while repeatability for the separation of thalidomide in the aqueous mobile phase was given in terms of RSD values at 1.5, 2.8% and 6.1, 10.5%, respectively.     

Determination of tocopherols in vegetable oils by CEC using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns

The separation and determination of tocopherols (Ts) in vegetable oils by CEC using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns has been developed. The effects of pore size of the monolithic columns were studied, and the composition of mobile phase was optimized. The optimal pore size of the monolith was obtained with 12 wt% 1,4-butanediol in the polymerization mixture. Excellent resolution between tocopherols was achieved within 10 min analysis time with a 99:1 v/v MeOH-aqueous buffer containing 5 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane at pH 8.0. The LODs were lower than 2.3 microg/mL, and interday and column-to-column reproducibilities at 25 microg/mL were better than 5.6%. Using a 93:7 v/v MeOH-aqueous buffer, both tocopherols and tocotrienols (T(3)s) of grapeseed and palm oils were resolved. Application to the detection of olive oil adulteration with low-cost edible oils was demonstrated.     

Simultaneous determination of eleven preservatives in cosmetics by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A new method for the simultaneous quantitation of 11 preservatives-imidazolidinyl urea, benzyl alcohol, dehydroacetic acid, sorbic acid, phenoxyethanol, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, and four parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, and butyl)-in cosmetics by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography was established and validated. The separation was performed using an uncoated fused-silica capillary (50 pm id x 60.2 cm, effective length 50 cm) with a running buffer consisting of 15 mmol/L sodium tetraborate, 60 mmol/L boric acid, and 100 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate. A 1:10 dilution of the running buffer was used as the sample buffer to extract the cosmetic samples. The key factors, such as the concentration and pH of the running and sample buffers, which influence quantitative analysis of the above 11 preservatives in cosmetic samples, were investigated in detail. The linear ranges of the calibration curves for imidazolidinyl urea and the other 10 preservatives were 50-1000 and 10-200 mg/L, respectively. The correlation coefficients of the standard curves were all higher than 0.999. The recoveries at the concentrations studied ranged from 93.0 to 102.7%. RSDs were all less than 5%. The new method with simple sample pretreatment met the needs for routine analysis of the 11 preservatives in cosmetics.     

Effects of the operation parameters on Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography separation of phenolic acids on zwitterionic monolithic capillary columns

Strongly polar phenolic acids are weakly retained and often poorly separated in reversed-phase (RP) liquid chromatography. We prepared zwitterionic polymethacrylate monolithic columns for micro-HPLC by in situ co-polymerization in fused-silica capillaries. The capillary monolithic columns prepared under optimized polymerization conditions show some similarities with the conventional particulate commercial ZIC-HILIC silica-based columns, however have higher retention and better separation selectivity under reversed-phase conditions, so that they can be employed for dual-mode HILIC-RP separations of phenolic acids on a single column. The capillary polymethacrylate monolithic sulfobetaine columns show excellent thermal stability and improved performance at temperatures 60–80 °C. The effects of the operation conditions on separation were investigated, including the type and the concentration of the organic solvent in the aqueous-organic mobile phase (acetonitrile and methanol), the ionic strength of the acetate buffer and temperature. While the retention in the RP mode decreases at higher temperatures in mobile phases with relatively low concentrations of acetonitrile, it is almost independent of temperature at HILIC conditions in highly organic mobile phases. The best separation efficiency can be achieved using relatively high acetate buffer ionic strength (20–30 mmol L⁻¹) and gradient elution with alternately increasing (HILIC mode) and decreasing (RP mode) concentration of aqueous buffer in aqueous acetonitrile. Applications of the monolithic sulfobetaine capillary columns in alternating HILIC-RP modes are demonstrated on the analysis of phenolic acids in a beer sample.     

Comparison of enantioseparation of amino acid derivatives in aqueous and mixed aqueous-organic media by capillary zone electrophoresis

The chiral separation of dansyl-amino acids has been performed by capillary zone electrophoresis using ¶β-cyclodextrin as a chiral selector, urea as an additive and 2-propanol and methanol as organic modifiers. The enantiomeric separations of dansyl-amino acids were investigated in aqueous medium and compared with the separation in mixed aqueous-organic medium as background electrolytes. The separation conditions, (concentration of buffer, β-cyclodextrin, methanol, urea and the pH value of buffer) were optimized. In the absence of organic modifier, only five pairs of 8 separated dansyl-amino acids were resolved when run separately. A mixture of up to eight chiral amino acids can be baseline resolved in less than 19 min by β-cyclodextrin-modified capillary zone electrophoresis with a buffer of 60 mmol L^–1 H₃BO₃-KCl/40 mmol L^–1 NaOH (pH 9.0), 4 mol L^–1 urea, 100 mmol L^–1β-cyclodextrin and 10% (v/v) methanol.     

Comparison of three modifications of fused‐silica capillaries and untreated capillaries for protein profiling of maize extracts by capillary electrophoresis

In this work, capillary electrophoresis was applied to protein profiling of fractionated extracts of maize. A comparative study on the application of uncoated fused‐silica capillaries and capillaries modified with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, ω‐iodoalkylammonium salt and a commercially available neutral capillary covalently coated with polyacrylamide is presented. The coating stability, background electrolyte composition, and separation efficiency were investigated. It was found that for zeins separation, the most stable and efficient was the capillary coated with polyacrylamide. Finally, the usefulness of these methods was studied for the differentiation of zein fraction in transgenic and nontransgenic maize. Zeins extracted from maize standards containing 0 and 5% m/m genetic modification were successfully separated, but slight differences were observed in terms of the zein content. Albumin and globulin fractions were analyzed with the use of unmodified fused‐silica capillary with borate buffer pH 9 and the capillary coated with polyacrylamide with phosphate buffer pH 3. In the albumin fraction, additional peaks were found in genetically modified samples.     

Analysis of metallothionein isoforms by capillary electrophoresis: optimisation of protein separation conditions using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) techniques have been successfully applied to the separation of metallothionein (MT) isoforms and have proved to be rapid, practical and economical. Study of a variety of different electrolytes and capillaries has shown that electrolyte buffer composition and capillary wall surface modifications can have considerable influence on isoform separation and resolution. Ionic surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) form micelles at elevated concentrations and the partitioning of molecules between the hydrophobic micelle phase and the aqueous phase and their resulting migration in an electric field is the basis of the technique known as micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC). In the present work, we have used sheep and rabbit MT to optimise MECC conditions for analysis of MT isoforms. Capillaries of 57 cm gave much better separations than shorter columns although analysis times were increased to about 12 min. Changing the buffer and SDS concentration or the pH affected the selectivity of isoform separation and up to 5 isoforms in sheep MT and 6 in rabbit MT were completely or partially resolved. Comparing different diameter capillaries we conclude that 25 μm I.D. columns give better separations than 50 or 75 μm I.D. columns although sensitivity is reduced by a factor of about 3 and 5, respectively. Using our MECC conditions, columns coated with C₁ or C₁₈ hydrophobic material were not found to be useful in improving MT separation or resolution although further evaluation of these columns is in progress. Analysis of sheep liver extracts using optimised conditions showed the expression of at least 4 MT isoforms in response to Zn injection and 3 of these forms were evident in extracts from untreated sheep. We therefore conclude that MECC is a suitable method for MT isoform analysis.