Comparison of combustion sources for sulfur chemiluminescence detection

Three different types of SCD combustion source have been evaluated for use in the chromatographic analysis of atmospheric sulfur compounds. The conventional FID source and the newer inverted burner source were found to be less sensitive and less stable than the flameless design. Overall, the flameless source was superior for use with HRGC-SCD.     

Determination of acidic chlorinated pesticides in water: Comparison of official EPA method 515.1 and liquid-solid extraction HPLC/UV and HPLC/PBMS analyses

Summary A comparison of the official EPA method 515.1 for determination of chlorinated acidic pesticides and a modification of it is illustrated. Extraction of the analytes from water and their determination and quantitation is by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD), liquid chromatography-UV detection and liquid chromatography-particle beam mass spectrometry. Although HPLC-PBMS was found to be less sensitive than the GC-ECD method, it was, nevertheless, more sensitive than HPLC-UV. The modified method is simpler, quicker and allows more accurate determination of pesticides in aqueous samples.Deceased July 31, 1996     

Microcolumn ion chromatography with conductimetric detection

Summary A miniaturized flow cell for an electrical conductivity detector has been made and applied to the ion chromatography of inorganic anions. It consisted of stainless steel tubes (0.13 mm ID×0.31 mm OD) and PTFE tubes (0.25 mm ID×2 mm OD). The detection limit for chloride at S/N=3 was 36 pg or 0.33 ppm for a 0.11 l injection.     

Determination of chromium(III) in water by solid-phase microextraction with a polyimide-coated fiber and gas chromatography-flame photometric detection

A method for the determination of trace Cr(III) in aqueous solution by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography (GC)-flame photometric detection (FPD) was developed. Aqueous Cr(III) was first converted to the volatile chromium trifluoroacetylacetonate (Cr(tfa)3) by derivatization with 1,1,1-trifluoroacetylacetone (Htfa), followed by SPME extraction using a polyimide-coated silica fiber. The distribution constants (K) of derivatized cis- and trans-Cr(tfa)3 between the polyimide phase and aqueous phase were 2012 and 2214, respectively. The two Cr(tfa)3 isomers extracted can be efficiently separated by a DB-210 GC column within 9 min. Selective detection of Cr was performed by a FPD equipped with a 385-nm long-pass filter. Linearity (r> 0.99) over the concentration range 5-300 ng ml(-1) Cr was obtained and the limit of detection was 2 ng ml(-1) Cr. The relative standard deviation was 7% at 10 ng ml(-1) Cr (n = 5). Applicability of this method to water analysis was tested by analyzing the chromium content in a reference standard water sample and an industrial effluent.     

A common method for the determination of several calcium channel blockers using an HPLC system with ultraviolet detection

We report a common HPLC method for the single or simultaneous determination of four calcium channel blockers (CCB), namely diltiazem (DTZ), verapamil (VER), nifedipine (NIF) and nitrendipine (NIT) and their active metabolites demetildiltiazem and deacetildiltiazem (MA and M1), norverapamil (NOR), and dehydronifedipine (DHN). DHN was first synthesised in our laboratory and different pH values of the mobil phase were subsequently prepared and tested for chromatographic separation. The detection system and the environmental light conditions were optimised. The best separations of all analytes were obtained using a C₁₈ column and a mobile phase of methanol, 0.04 M ammonium acetate, acetonitrile and triethylamine (2:2:1:0.04 v/v). Quantitation was performed using imipramine (IMI) as the internal standard. For DTZ and its metabolites (M1 and MA), the wavelength chosen was 237 nm; for VER and its metabolite NOR, it was 210 nm; and, finally for NIF and its metabolite DHN and NIT it was 216 nm. When a simultaneous analysis was carried out the wavelength was of 230 nm. The optimum pH were 7.90 and 7.10 when the separation of NIT and DTZ or VER and NIF were carried out, respectively, and 7.90 when a simultaneous separation was carried out. The detection limit of the assay was less than 8 ng ml⁻¹ for all compounds, with coefficients of variation less than 7% (for inter- and intra-day) over the concentration range of 1–1000 ng ml⁻¹. The retention times were less than 11 min. When NIF or NIT were studied, it was necessary to use a sodium vapour lamp in order to avoid the photodegradation which takes place under daylight conditions.     

Determination of weak (2.0–2.5) dissociation constants of non-UV absorbing solutes by capillary electrophoresis

Summary Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has proved to be a fast and convenient method for the determination of the dissociation constants of non-UV absorbing solutes in the acidic pK _A range (2.0–2.5). The electroosmotic flow was reversed by washing the capillary with 0.2% polybren aqueous solution. A series of background electrolytes was prepared with phenylphosphonic acid (pK _A=1.29) and β-alanine (pK _A=3.55) with the same ionic strength and a high buffer capacity in order to improve the repeatability (0.1–0.2 %) of the electrophoretic mobility and to determine the values of pK _A accurately. This procedure was applied to the determination of the dissociation constants of several alkyl-alkylphosphonic acids whose pK _A values have not yet been published in the literature. In this work, their dissociation constants have been found to vary between 1.91 and 2.34 for alkyl-methylphosphonic acids and between 2.10 and 2.38 for alkyl-ethylphosphonic acids.     

Indirect thermal lens detection for capillary electrophoresis

Thermal lens detection with a 325.0 nm He-Cd excitation laser is used for thermooptical indirect detection in combination with the capillary electrophoretic separation of organic anions. The optimization of indirect thermooptical detection is discussed. With Mordant Yellow 7 (an azo dye) chosen as a probe ion limits of detection for 1-heptane-, 1-pentane-, 1-butane-, 1-propanesulfonic, and acetic acid at a level of n × 10⁻⁷ M were achieved with a separation electrolyte containing 50 μM of the probe ion and 5 mM Tris pH 9.90. A further increase in the detection sensitivity (twofold decrease in the limit of detection ) was obtained with a separation electrolyte containing a volume fraction of 20% acetonitrile.     

Analysis of Spectinomycin by HPLC with Evaporative Light-Scattering Detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD) has been developed for analysis of spectinomycin and related impurities. Separation of spectinomycin from structurally related impurities was achieved on a C₁₈ column. The optimized mobile phase was 25 mmol L⁻¹ ammonium acetate (pH 7.5)-methanol, 90:10 (v/v), at a flow rate of 0.6 mL min⁻¹. The temperature of the drift tube of the ELSD was 95°C and the flow rate of carrier gas was 2.2 L min⁻¹. The accuracy, specificity, precision, linearity, sensitivity, and robustness of the method were validated in accordance with ICH guidelines. In addition to determination of spectinomycin and related impurities, the method is also ideal for determination of the salts spectinomycin hydrochloride and spectinomycin sulfate.     

Liner as the Key of Injection Optimization in Pesticide Analysis

Regulations for pesticide residue analysis in food require very low detection limits; thus requiring maximum sensitivity in the gas chromatographic determination. This is accomplished by an overall method optimisation, which includes optimisation of injector parameters. Here we study the effect of the inlet liner design on the optimisation by comparing five liner designs in splitless and pulsed splitless injection modes, using a test mixture of fifteen pesticides analyzed by GC-ECD. Possible links between the injection parameters and liner types were evaluated, with the result that, accurate choice of inlet liner and injection parameters can reduce detection limits by up to 300%. Revised: 25 October 2005 and 9 January 2006     

Determination of levodopa methyl ester and its metabolites in rat serum by CZE with amperometric detection

A reliable and reproducible method, capillary zone electrophoresis with amperometric detection (CZE–AD), has been developed for separation and quantification of levodopa methyl ester (LDME) and its biotransformation products levodopa (L-DOPA) and dopamine (DA) in rat serum. A carbon-disk electrode was used as working electrode. The optimum conditions for CZE detection were 50 mmol L^–1 phosphate solution at pH 7.0 as running buffer, 17 kV as separation voltage, 1.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl, 3.0 mol L^–1) as detection potential, and sample injection for 8 s at 17 kV. The linear ranges were from 2.4×10^–2 to 2.2 g mL^–1 for LDME, 2.9×10^–1 to 49.5 g mL^–1 for L-DOPA, and 1.4×10^–2 to 1.5 g mL^–1 for DA with correlation coefficients of 0.9997, 0.9994, and 0.9999, respectively. The detection limits for LDME, L-DOPA, and DA were 14.6, 98.0, and 9.7 ng mL^–1, respectively. Recoveries were 80.3% for LDME, 93.5% for L-DOPA, and 86.5% for DA. This method was applied to serum samples after intravenous injection of LDME and L-DOPA to rats.