Static Headspace GC/MS Method for Determination of Methanol and Ethanol Contents,as the Degradation Markers of Solid Insulation Systems of Power Transformers

Methanol in insulating oil has been proposed as a new marker for condition assessment of the solid insulation system of power transformers. In the current work, as a first step of using the new marker, an analytical static headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry method has been developed, optimized, and validated to measure methanol and ethanol contents in the insulating mineral oil. The analyzing setup consists of a 6890 N gas chromatograph equipped with a 5973 network mass spectrometer (MS) in the absence of a costly headspace autosampler, and the chromatography separation was performed on a 60 m × 320 µm × 0.5 µm VF-WAXms GC column. Calibration curves have been provided using several concentrations of the alcohols, and also limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), and relative standard deviation percentage (RSD%) have been determined.     

Magnetic Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion with Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction for the Determination of Ultra Trace Bisphenol A in Water Samples

Magnetic nanoparticle-assisted solid-phase dispersion (MMSPD) combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) prior to high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector (HPLC–FLU) is presented for determination of ultra trace Bisphenol A (BPA) in water. Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MMWCNTs) were synthesized for the adsorption of BPA in water. Ultra trace BPA in water was transferred into the elute solvent by the MMSPD and further concentrated into trace volume extraction solvent by the DLLME. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.003 and 0.01 µg L^?1, respectively. Good linearity of BPA was found, ranging from 0.01 to 10 µg L^?1, with good squared regression coefficient (R ²) of 0.9999. Additionally, relative recoveries were 83.1 and 95.9% for two environmental water samples spiked with 0.20 µg L^?1 BPA, respectively. All results showed that the MMWCNTs nanoparticle-assisted MMSPD–DLLME–HPLC–FLU method was simple and reliable for the determination of ultra trace BPA in environmental water.     

Determination of Enantiomeric Purity of GSK962040 Based on Liquid Chromatography Using Chiral Stationary Phase Combined with a Pre-column Derivatization Procedure

A sensitive and accurate LC method was developed and further validated for the determination of enantiomeric purity of GSK962040. Before separation, a pre-column derivatization procedure was performed. Baseline separation with a resolution higher than 1.9 was accomplished within 15 min using a Chiralpak AD-H (250 × 4.6 mm; particle size 5 μm) column, with n-hexane: 2-propanol (85:15 v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. The eluted analytes were subsequently detected with a UV detector at 260 nm. The effects of mobile phase components and temperature on enantiomeric selectivity as well as resolution of enantiomers were thoroughly investigated. The calibration curves were plotted within the concentration range between 4 and 200 μg mL^?1 (n = 8), and recoveries between 98.15 and 101.48% were obtained, with relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 1.42%. The LOD and LOQ for the Boc-GSK962040 were 1.23 and 4.15 μg mL^?1 and for its enantiomer were 1.38 and 4.76 μg mL^?1, respectively. The developed method was also evaluated and validated by analyzing bulk samples with different enantiomeric ratios of GSK962040. It was demonstrated that the method was accurate, robust and sensitive, and also had practical utilities for real analysis.     

Development of a Simple,Rapid, and Robust Isocratic Liquid Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Pyrimethamine and its Synthetic Impurities in Bulk Drugs and Pharmaceutical Formulations

Pyrimethamine is an important antiparasitic drug in the treatment of malaria and toxoplasmosis and is often used in combination with either sulfadoxine, sulfalene, or sulfadiazine. Determining the content of pyrimethamine and investigating the related substances is currently possible applying either a compendial monograph utilizing thin layer chromatography as well as liquid chromatographic methods used by the respective manufacturers. To provide a simple method which is capable of determining the content of pyrimethamine and of resolving four of its potential synthetic impurities a very simple, cheap, precise, and accurate isocratic RP-HPLC method was developed. All analytes can be separated within a total runtime of 30 min and the method was linear within the concentration ranges of 0.12–0.740, 0.104–0.621, 0.120–0.710, 2.0–11.8, and 1.01–5.80 µg mL^?1 for pyrimethamine, impurity A, impurity B, impurity C, and impurity D, respectively. These substances were separated by employing a Eurospher-II C₁₈H column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm particle size), a mobile phase being a mixture of a 0.05 M KH₂PO₄ buffer solution (pH 2.6) and methanol in the ratio 40:60 (v/v). The analysis was carried out at 30 °C, applying a flow rate of 1.2 mL min^?1, and a detection wavelength of λ = 215 nm. The coefficients of determinations (R ²) for the five analytes were greater than 0.994 for pyrimethamine and all impurities. Results of recovery studies were within the range of 89.1–105.1% for all substances. In all tested genuine batches of pyrimethamine raw material impurities within the specified limits were present which is concurrent with results obtained from using the present manufacturer’s method.     

Novel Method for HPLC Analysis of Triterpenic Acids Using 9-Anthryldiazomethane Derivatization and Fluorescence Detection

Triterpenic acids are a group of secondary plant metabolites which are part of the cuticular waxes covering fruits, leaves, and flowers. To date, quantitative analysis of these compounds has often been conducted using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with spectrophotometric detection or mass spectrometry; however, these methods have some major drawbacks. This paper reports a new method of analysis implementing derivatization with 9-anthryldiazomethane and fluorescence detection. The method consists of the extraction of analytes from a matrix, purification with anion exchanging SPE columns, and an optional step of the alkaline hydrolysis of triterpenic acid esters. The paper also describes a fast and easy method for the synthesis of the derivatization agent. The detection limits of the method presented are approximately 100-fold lower than in a similar method using ultraviolet spectrophotometry as the mode of detection. The recovery and repeatability of the method are at satisfactory levels.     

Accurate Determination of Tributyltin in Tannery Wastewater by a New Procedure Using ID-HPLC–ICP-MS Combined with Low Temperature Extraction

Isotope dilution mass spectrometry is recognized as a primary method to obtain traceable values in the measurement of substances including trace elements and their organometallic compounds. This paper reports a novel method where isotope dilution high performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ID-HPLC–ICP-MS) was combined with low temperature extraction for the determination of tributyltin (TBT) in tannery wastewater from the leather industry. It has been found that the liquid–liquid extraction at very low temperature is in the favor of extraction of organotin, as the enrichment factor for low temperature (?80 °C) extraction was about 1.3 times higher than for extraction at room temperature (20 °C). The method detection limit of TBT, obtained from the proposed ID-HPLC–ICP-MS procedure after extraction with a sample volume of 7.5 by 2.5 mL of organic phase, was found to be 0.13 ng g^?1. When TBT was determined in a range of 10–1000 ng g^?1 in tannery wastewater samples, the analyte recoveries were in the range 90.1–107.2% with relative standard deviations of between 2.0 and 7.2%. Finally, the new method of ID-HPLC–ICP-MS combined with low temperature extraction was applied to the determination of TBT in actual tannery wastewater. The TBT contents from three different tanning procedures (chrome tanning, vegetable tanning and aldehyde tanning), expressed as the mean ± the expanded uncertainty (k = 2) were 378.65 ± 20.38, 110.04 ± 5.96 and 690.17 ± 35.31 ng g^?1, respectively.