Method to determine 4-oxo-retinoic acids, retinoic acids and retinol in serum and cell extracts by liquid chromatography/diode-array detection atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation tandem mass spectrometry

Retinoic acid isomers, 4-oxo-retinoic acid isomers and retinol are present in the serum of mammals. In this study a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation, sample preparation and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was established for quick and easy sample preparation and sensitive determination of retinoids such as all-trans-4-oxo-retinoic acid, 13-cis-4-oxo-retinoic acid, 13-cis-retinoic acid, 9-cis-retinoic acid, all-trans-retinoic acid and retinol in serum and cell extracts. Serum samples were simply treated with three times the volume of isopropanol, dried under vacuum, taken up in the HPLC solvent and immediately put into the autosampler for an automated single-run HPLC analysis. With this MS/MS method we were able to detect 7 pg and quantify 20 pg of all-trans-retinoic acid, 4-oxo-all-trans-retinoic acid and retinol directly on-column and were able to determine a concentration as low as 0.2 ng/mL in ethanolic standards and in biological samples. This method allows ultra-sensitive detection, excellent selectivity and a very simple sample preparation to determine retinoic acids, 4-oxo-retinoic acids and retinol in serum and cell extracts for the study of endogenous retinoids.     

Online concentration of aristolochic acid I and II in Chinese medicine preparations by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

In this study, an online concentration method in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) applying field-enhanced sample injection (FESI) mode was developed for the detection of aristolochic acids (AAs) in Chinese medicine preparations. AA-I and AA-II were baseline separated with high separation efficiency, and 100-fold enhancement of the detection sensitivity was achieved compared with those obtained from normal capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) or simple MEKC method. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of AAs in Chinese medicine preparations.     

High‐speed separation and detection of amino acids in laver using a short capillary electrophoresis system

A high‐speed separation method of capillary MEKC with LIF detection had been developed for separation and determination of amino acids in laver. The CE system comprised a manual slotted‐vial array (SVA) for sample introduction that could improve the separation efficiency by reducing injection volume. Using a capillary with 80 mm effective separation length, the separation conditions for amino acids were optimized. Applied with the separation electric field strength of 300 V/cm, the ten amino acids could be completely separated within 2.5 min with 10 mol/L Na₂HPO₄–NaOH buffer (pH = 11.5) including 30 mmol/L SDS. Theoretical plates for amino acids ranged from 72 000 to 40 000 (corresponding to 1.1–2.0 μm plate heights) and the detection limits were between 25 and 80 nmol/L. Finally, this method was applied to analyze the composition of amino acids in laver and eight known amino acids could be found in the sample. The contents of five amino acids, tyrosine, glutamic acid, glycine, lysine, and aspartic acid that could be completely separated in real sample were determined. The recoveries ranged from 82.3% to 123% that indicated the good reliability for this method in laver sample analysis.     

MEKC Determination of Nilutamide in Human Serum Using Sweeping in High Salt Sample Matrix

The determination of the antiandrogen drug nilutamide in human serum by MEKC using flutamide as an internal standard is described. Several parameters influencing the separation, such as the running electrolyte composition concerning the micelle concentration and pH, are discussed. MEKC separation was achieved within 7 min using 50 mM sodium borate pH 9.0 with the addition of 50 mM sodium dodecylsulfate at +20 kV. The proposed method was applied to determination of nilutamide in spiked human serum samples after protein precipitation with acetonitrile. The increasing of sensitivity for determination of nilutamide in serum was done by sweeping in a high salt concentration sample matrix when the injection of a larger volume of sample diluted in 150 mM NaCl was applied. The limit of detection after the preconcentration step for nilutamide was 26 ??g L^?1.     

Optimization of Liquid Chromatography and Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography for the Determination of Atrazine and its First Degradation Products in Humic Waters Without Sample Preparation

Liquid chromatographic method and micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method were optimized for determination of atrazine, desethylatrazine, desisopropylatrazine, hydroxyatrazine and their polar degradation products in solutions with humic acid without previous sample preparation step. Reversed-phase HPLC method was satisfactory in terms of repeatability and detection limits, which were ± 1.7–12.5% (RSD) and 0.1–0.5 mg L^?1, respectively. However, the most polar products could not be separated from the front peak pertaining to humic acid. With MEKC, excellent separation of both chloro and hydroxy degradation products and parent compounds was achieved in a single analysis, and possible interferences of humic acid were successfully avoided by its retention at the anode. Drawbacks were detection limits, estimated to be 2–4 mg L^?1, and RSD of the migration times was 20% compared to 0.5% with HPLC method. HPLC method was used to monitor degradation of atrazine and its first degradation products in the presence of humic acids, and MEKC was used for confirmation purposes.     

Characterization of amino acids in silk sericin protein from Gonometa rufobrunnae by MEKC with phenyl isothiocyanate derivatization

An MEKC method was developed for the separation and characterization of phenyl-isothiocyanate (PITC)-labeled amino acids derived from Gonometa rufobrunnae silkworm after microdialysis sample cleanup. The influence of the buffer and SDS concentration on the resolution of the amino acids was investigated. A buffer system consisting of 25 mM phosphate, 10 mM borate buffer at pH 9.00, and 70 mM SDS showed the best results, with 13 PITC-amino acid derivatives being resolved out of 15 possible amino acids that were under study. Microdialysis sampling demonstrated its efficiency as a sample cleanup technique. Sericin protein from G. rufobrunnae was found to be characterized by at least 11 positively identified amino acids. These included His, Tyr, Ser, Ala, Phe, Lys, Gly, Arg, Cys, Glu, and Asp. Leu/Met and Val/Thr were coeluting pairs and hence could not be positively confirmed.     

Rapid and accurate determination of deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates from DNA using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with a cationic surfactant additive

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method for rapid and accurate determination of 2′-deoxyribonucleoside 5′-monophosphates (dNMPs), four structural elements of DNA, is described. MEKC separation at an optimized pH enabled complete separation of four dNMPs. The use of a cationic surfactant additive for MEKC led to the reversal of EOF, which enhanced the migration velocities of the negatively charged dNMPs. Under the optimized condition, full-baseline separation of the four dNMPs assuring accurate peak integration was obtained within 5 min. For the given separation condition, pH-mediated on-column sample stacking was optimized and applied to enhance sensitivity up to 6-fold. Analytical precision was improved by spiking iothalamate as an internal standard. The accuracy of dNMP quantitation was ensured with dNMP standard solutions determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy that measured phosphorous quantity. Performance of the proposed method was ultimately proven by accurate quantitation of a DNA oligonucleotide that was enzymatically hydrolyzed prior to dNMP analysis. The proposed MEKC method turned out to be a reliable analytical method for dNMPs that features high speed, high sensitivity, and high precision, and could be utilized for high-accuracy determination of the amount of DNA as well as the base composition of DNA.     

Simultaneous determination of catecholamines and amino acids by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection

A selective and sensitive method was developed for separation and simultaneous determination of catecholamines and amino acids by MEKC with LIF. Interestingly enough, such work has been firstly performed on catecholamines derivatized with 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole and the detailed derivatization mechanism was discussed. After derivatization at 60 degrees C for 20 min, NBD-labeled catecholamines and amino acids were separated in a buffer system containing 10 mM sodium tetraborate-Na2HPO4, 20 mM SDS, and 10% v/v ACN at pH 9.75. SDS micelles were employed to improve the fluorescence intensity of catecholamine derivatives efficiently. Under optimum conditions, two catecholamines and 11 amino acids were separated in a short 13 min analysis time and the RSDs for migration time and peak area were less than 0.60 and 6.50%, respectively. The method was successfully applied for the quantification of catecholamines and amino acids in Portulaca oleracea L., human urine sample, and mixed injection sample.     

Determination of lignans in Schisandra chinensis using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) has been developed as a promising method for the determination of lignans in plant samples. The separation conditions have been optimized with respect to the different parameters including sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and acetonitrile concentration, pH of the background electrolyte, separation voltage, and capillary temperature. The background electrolyte consisting of 40 mM SDS and 35% acetonitrile in 10 mM tetraborate buffer (pH 9.3) was found to be the most suitable electrolyte for this analysis. The applied voltage of 28 kV (positive polarity) and the capillary temperature 25 degrees C gave the best separation of lignans. The interday reproducibility of the peak areas and the migration times was below 2.0%. The results of MEKC analyses were compared with those obtained by capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The possibilities of using this method for the determination of lignans in drug and in serum samples were also tested.     

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.     

Profiling and screening analysis of 27 aromatic amino acids by capillary electrophoresis in dual modes

An efficient capillary electrophoretic (CE) profiling and screening system based on dual modes of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) was developed for the simultaneous determination of 23 nonprotein amino acids (NPAAs) and 4 protein amino acids with aromatic moiety. It involves separation by an uncoated fused-silica capillary under phosphoric acid buffer in CZE mode and by another uncoated fused-silica capillary under neutral sodium dihydrogen phosphate buffer containing sodium dodecyl sulfate in MEKC mode. Migration orders of the amino acids studied on the two separation modes under each optimum condition were very different. The repeatability of migration times measured by the CZE and MEKC was found to be better than 4.8 and 3.4%, respectively, thereby enabling to cross-check the identification of each amino acid. The method linearity and limit of detection of the CZE for each amino acid were found to be adequate for the assay of aromatic amino acids. When the present CE profiling and screening analysis in dual modes was applied to plant seeds, NPAAs such as mimosine from Mimosa pudica Linné, and 2-phenylglycine from Lindera erythrocarpa Makino were positively detected along with tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine.     

Determination of itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole in human serum and plasma by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The electrokinetic separation of the hydrophobic antimycotic drug itraconazole (ITC) and its major metabolite, hydroxyitraconazole (HITC), by a binary aqueous-organic solvent medium containing sodium dodecylsulfate, by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) and by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) was studied. The results suggest that the first approach is difficult to apply and that there is no substantial difference between separations performed using MEEKC and MEKC modified with n-butanol. The simpler MEKC method is more than adequate and was thus employed for the analysis of ITC and HITC in human serum and plasma. Separation was achieved in plain fused-silica capillaries having a low-pH buffer (pH 2.2) with sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles and reversed polarity. The addition of 2-propanol and n-butanol enhanced analyte solubility and altered the selectivity of the separation by influencing the magnitude of the electrophoretic component in the separation mechanism. Under optimised conditions and using head-column field-amplified sample stacking, an internal standard, ITC and two forms of HITC could be separated in under 9 min, with detection limits less than 0.01 microg/mL. Analysis of samples from patients currently prescribed ITC revealed a different HITC peak area ratio to that of the standards, suggesting a stereoselective component of ITC metabolisation. Comparison of MEKC data with those of a HPLC method employed on a routine basis showed excellent agreement, indicating the potential of this approach for therapeutic drug monitoring of ITC.     

Separation and determination of amino acids by micellar electrokinetic chromatography coupling with novel multiphoton excited fluorescence detection

In this article, it was demonstrated that separation and determination of 20 amino acids were accomplished by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) coupling with novel multiphoton excited fluorescence (MPEF) detection method. Different from MPEF achieved by expensive fs laser, continuous wave (CW) diode laser of ultra-low cost was uniquely employed in our MPEF system. Amino acids were fluorescently labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), and were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-based MEKC separation and CW-based MPEF detection. The result was compared with that by single photon excited fluorescence (SPEF), which indicated that MPEF had the advantages of better mass detectability and higher separation selectivity over SPEF. Quantitative analysis was performed and revealed linear dynamic range of over 2 orders of magnitude, with mass detection limit down to ymole level. To evaluate the reliability, this method was successfully applied for analyzing a commercial nutrition supplement liquid.     

Separation of Nile Blue-labelled fatty acids by CE with absorbance detection using a red light-emitting diode

The separation of fatty acids derivatised with Nile Blue (NB) by CE with detection using a red light-emitting diode (LED) was examined. NB was selected as the derivatisation agent due to its high molar absorption coefficient of 76,000 M(-1) cm(-1) at 633 nm, making it well suited for sensitive absorbance detection using a red 635 nm LED. NB-labelled fatty acids were separated by both MEKC using SDS micelles, i-PrOH and n-BuOH and by NACE in a number of solvents including MeOH, EtOH and ACN. The sensitivity of NACE was superior to MEKC, with detection limits of 5x10(-7)-7x10(-7) M obtained for each acid, approximately 20 times lower than the MEKC method. The NACE detection limits are approximately 100 times lower than previous reports on the separation of fatty acids by CE using indirect absorbance detection, ten times lower than using indirect fluorescence detection and are inferior only to those obtained using precapillary derivatisation and direct fluorescence detection. The efficiency of the NACE method was also superior to MEKC and allowed the separation of unsaturated fatty acids to be examined, although it was not possible to baseline-resolve linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) acids in a reasonable time. The method was used to analyse the fatty acid profile of two edible oils, namely sunflower and sesame oils, after alkali hydrolysis, where it was possible to identify both the saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in each sample.     

Pharmaceutical applications of micelles in chromatography and electrophoresis

This review surveys the use of micelles as separation media in chromatography and electrophoresis. Applications to pharmaceuticals whose molecular masses are relatively small are focused on in this review. In high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), chromatography using micelles and reversed-phase stationary phases such as octadecylsilylized silica gel (ODS) columns is known as micellar liquid chromatography (MLC). The main application of MLC to pharmaceutical analysis is the same as in ion-pair chromatography using alkylsulfonate or tetraalkylammonium. In most cases, selectivity is much improved compared with other short alkyl chain ion-pairing agents such as pentanesulfonate or octanesulfonate. Direct plasma/serum injection can be successful in MLC. Separation of small ions is also successful by using gel filtration columns and micellar solutions. In electrophoresis, especially capillary electrophoresis (CE), micelles are used as pseudo-stationary phases in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). This mode is called micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). Most of the drug analysis can be performed by using the MEKC mode because of its wide applicability. Enantiomer separation, separation of amino acids and closely related peptides, separation of very complex mixtures, determination of drugs in biological samples etc. as well as separation of electrically neutral drugs can be successfully achieved by MEKC. Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC), in which surfactants are also used in forming the microemulsion, is successful for the separation of electrically neutral drugs as in MEKC. This review mainly describes the typical applications of MLC and MEKC for the analysis of pharmaceuticals.     

Hyphenated techniques in anticancer drug monitoring. II. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry

A micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) method was developed for the separation of ten phenolic acids including cichoric acid and caftaric acids, specific marker phytochemicals of Echinacea purpurea. The MEKC method involved the use of 70 mM sodium deoxycholate (SDC) in 40 mM borate (pH 9.2) buffer and UV detection at 300 nm. The bile acid was used as biosurfactant able to provided a micellar system with different and more selective properties than sodium dodecyl sulfate. The effects of SDC and borate concentration and buffer pH on the analyte resolution were evaluated. The validated method was applied to the determination of cichoric acid and related compounds in E. purpurea root extracts, and in commercial E. purpurea based dried extracts and tablets.     

Sensitive and fast determination of Sudan dyes in chili powder by partial-filling micellar electrokinetic chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A fast and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of Sudan dyes (I, II, III, and IV) in food samples was developed for the first time using partial filling micellar electrokinectic chromatography-mass spectrometry (MEKC-MS). The use of MEKC was essential to achieve the separation of these neutral analytes, while the partial filling technique was necessary to avoid the contamination of the ion source with non-volatile micelles. MEKC separation and MS detection conditions were optimized in order to achieve a fast, efficient, and sensitive separation of the four dyes. Filling 25% of the capillary with an MEKC solution containing 40 mM ammonium bicarbonate, 25 mM SDS, and 32.5% (v/v) acetonitrile, a baseline separation of the four azo-dyes was obtained in 10 min. Tandem MS was investigated in order to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of the analysis. Limits of detection (LOD) values 5, 8, 15, and 29 times better were obtained for Sudan III, I, II, and IV, respectively, using partial filling MEKC-MS/MS instead of partial filling MEKC-MS. Under optimized conditions, LOD from 0.05 to 0.2 μg/mL were obtained. The suitability of the developed method was demonstrated through the fast and sensitive determination of Sudan I, II, III, and IV in spiked chilli powder samples. This determination could not be achieved by MEKC-UV due to the existence of several interfering compounds from the matrix.     

Simultaneous determination of myo-inositol and scyllo-inositol by MEKC as a rapid monitoring tool for inositol levels

A simple and rapid MEKC method was developed for the simultaneous determination of myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol, and glucose. Prior to electrophoretic separation, the nonfluorescent inositols and glucose were derivatized by N-methylisatoic anhydride at 25 degrees C for 10 min so that they could be detected by a fluorescence detector during separation. The good separation with high efficiency by MEKC was achieved in 13 min with a glycine buffer containing SDS and PEG 4000. Several parameters affecting the separation were studied, including the pH of BGE, the concentrations of glycine, SDS, and PEG 4000, and the applied voltage. Using glycerol as an internal standard, the linear ranges of the method for myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol, and glucose were 0.03-10, 0.01-5, and 0.05-20 mM; the concentration LODs of myo-inositol, scyllo-inositol, and glucose were 0.020, 0.0078, and 0.026 mM, respectively. The method was applied to analyze extracellular myo-inositol and glucose in the microdialysates from rat brain cortex of ischemia animal model and intracellular myo-inositol and scyllo-inositol in the rat brain extract.     

Determination of ceftazidime in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with direct sample injection

A simple micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with UV detection at 254 nm for analysis of ceftazidime in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by direct injection without any sample pretreatment is described. The separation of ceftazidime from biological matrix was performed at 25 degrees C using a background electrolyte consisting of Tris buffer with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the electrolyte solution. Under optimal MEKC condition, good separation with high efficiency and short analyses time is achieved. Several parameters affecting the separation of the drug from biological matrix were studied, including pH and concentration of the Tris buffer and SDS. Using cefazolin as an internal standard (IS), the linear ranges of the method for the determination of ceftazidime in plasma and in CSF were all over the range of 3-90 microg/mL; the detection limit of the drug in plasma and in CSF (signal-to-noise ratio = 3; injection 0.5 psi, 5 s) was 2.0 microg/mL. The applicability of the proposed method for determination of ceftazidime in plasma and CSF collected after intravenous administration of 2 g ceftazidime in patients with meningitis was demonstrated.     

Application of Hadamard transformation to MEKC

The Hadamard transform (HT) technique, which permits the S/N in CE to be improved, was applied to MEKC. Multiple sample injection of fluorescent analytes according to a Hadamard code sequence was performed using an optically gated sample injection technique, in which a sample plug was produced based on photodegradation by irradiation with an intense laser beam. The capillary and reservoirs were filled with a sample solution containing buffer components and SDS as a pseudostationary phase. A preliminary study confirmed that fluorescein ion could be photobleached in the presence of SDS. The optically gated sample injection technique was then applied to multiple sample injection, based on a Hadamard matrix. The S/N in the electropherogram obtained by HT-MEKC was improved substantially compared to that obtained by a single injection method. When the technique was applied to the separation of several amino acids labeled with FITC, the S/N ratio for each amino acid was enhanced, without any evidence of degradation in separation resolution. Moreover, HT-MEKC was applied to the analysis of amino acids contained in a Japanese beverage, resulting in improved S/Ns for the amino acids.