Contactless Conductivity Detection in Capillary Electrophoresis: A Review

The popularity of contactless conductivity detection in capillary electrophoresis has been growing steadily over the last few years. Improvements have been made in the design of the detector in order to facilitate its handling, to allow easy incorporation into available instruments or to achieve higher sensitivity. The understanding of its fundamental working principles has been advanced and the detection approach has also been transferred to lab‐on‐chip devices. The range of applications has been extended greatly from the initial work on small inorganic ions to include organic species and biomolecules. Concurrent determination of cations and anions by dual injection from opposite ends has been demonstrated as well as sample introduction by using flow‐injection systems for easy automation of the process.     

Single-molecule fluorescence detection in microfluidic channels—the Holy Grail in μTAS?

Both single-molecule detection (SMD) methods and miniaturization technologies have developed very rapidly over the last ten years. By merging these two techniques, it may be possible to achieve the optimal requirements for the analysis and manipulation of samples on a single molecule scale. While miniaturized structures and channels provide the interface required to handle small particles and molecules, SMD permits the discovery, localization, counting and identification of compounds. Widespread applications, across various bioscience/analytical science fields, such as DNA-analysis, cytometry and drug screening, are envisaged. In this review, the unique benefits of single fluorescent molecule detection in microfluidic channels are presented. Recent and possible future applications are discussed.Dedicated to the memory of Wilhelm Fresenius     

Quantitative analysis of perchlorate in extracts of whole fish homogenates by ion chromatography: comparison of suppressed conductivity detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The perchlorate anion (ClO ₄ ^– ) is an anthropogenic contaminant of increasing concern in water supplies, and has been shown to disrupt thyroid activity. Most perchlorate analyses are currently carried out by ion chromatography (IC) with suppressed conductivity detection (SCD). While this procedure has been demonstrated to provide acceptable performance for analysis of water samples, the determination of perchlorate in high-conductivity aqueous extracts of plant or animal material is not readily accomplished by IC-SCD unless lengthy cleanup protocols are applied. With the addition of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to IC, it was hypothesized that the interference imposed by various ionic species could be significantly reduced without the need for purification; however, the analysis of perchlorate in relatively unpurified extracts of biologically derived homogenates by IC-ESI-MS has not previously been described in the literature. The research presented here represents a comparison of the capabilities of IC-SCD and IC-ESI-MS to detect perchlorate in reagent water and in crude extracts of perchlorate-exposed fish (threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus). ESI-MS was found to compare favorably to SCD for the detection of perchlorate in deionized water, and to exceed SCD performance in perchlorate analysis of fish-derived extracts.     

On-line sorption preconcentration of metals based on mixed micelle cloud point extraction prior to their determination with micellar chemiluminescence: Application to the determination of chromium at ng l levels

The on-line incorporation of cloud point extraction (CPE) to flow injection analysis (FIA) is modified to extract and preconcentrate metal species rapidly, avoiding the formation of hydrophobic complexes, using a mixed micellar medium. Coupling the procedure with chemiluminescence (CL) detection based on the catalytic activity of metal species on the luminol-hydrogen peroxide reaction and enhancing the signal with the presence of a micellar carrier containing bromide ions produces a powerful tool for the preconcentration and determination of metal species at ng l⁻¹ levels. As an analytical demonstration ultratrace concentrations of chromium were conveniently detected and quantified in samples with a complex matrix such as seawater and wastewater. The figures of merit for the determination of chromium were: 0.9-1.6% R.S.D. (n=5) with detection and quantification limits 0.5 and 2.0 ng l⁻¹, respectively. The calibration graph was rectilinear from 2 to 200 ng l⁻¹ (r=0.9996, n=6). Several other metal ions were determined in ideal situations, with analogous results.     

Determination of thiol by high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection with 5-methyl-(2-(<Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-iodoacetylaminophenyl)benzoxazole

A new high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for measuring low molecular weight (LMW) thiol-containing compounds, including cysteine (CysH), glutathione (GSH), N-acetylcysteine (Nac), penicillamine (PA), and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), has been developed by using 5-methyl-(2-(m-iodoacetylaminophenyl)benzoxazole (MIPBO) as fluorescence-labeling reagent. The derivatization and separation conditions have been investigated in detail. Detection limits ranging from 3.5 to 15.0 fmol were achieved for the thiols investigated in a 16 min separation with detection wavelengths 310 and 375 nm for the excitation and emission, respectively. The utility of the proposed method has been validated by measuring CysH in human urine samples.     

Quantification of volatile PAHs present at trace levels in air flow by aqueous trapping—SPE and HPLC analysis with fluorimetric detection

In the context of a European project, a new approach of sampling of volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from air was developed. In fact, the aim of this project was to test the efficiency of an air cleansing prototype reactor, which was operating by non-thermal plasmolysis. With an eye to model the atmosphere ejected by the prototype, we needed to vaporise the volatile PAHs in an air stream at concentrations as low as those recommended by European Directives (96/62/CE) for PAHs in ambient air (i.e. 1 ng m⁻³). Our strategy was based on the analysis of PAHs trapped in an aqueous medium, in order to avoid important losses of volatile compounds observed during the delicate desorption-concentration step when classical solid supports are used. Then a study was carried out to determine: the design of the collecting part, the flow-rate of the air sampling, the nature and concentration of chemical additives used to enhance PAH solubility in water. The very highly diluted aqueous media obtained after the bubbling step were concentrated by solid-phase extraction (SPE) on hydrophobic cartridges and analysed on-line by reversed-phase HPLC with UV and fluorimetric detections. Lastly, the sampling technique was directly applied to the outlet of the air cleansing prototype and the analysis after 3-6 h of non-thermal plasmolysis showed that the target volatile PAHs were not present in an air stream initially polluted by volatile organic compounds.     

Separation and Determination of Clenbuterol,Cimaterol and Salbutamol by Capillary Electrophoresis with Amperometric Detection

Capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection was applied to determine some β₂‐agonists, such as clenbuterol, cimaterol and salbutamol in this paper. The working electrode used was a 0.3 mm diameter carbon disk electrode. In this work, the pH 6.0–6.4 borax‐potassium dihydrogen phosphate was used as running buffer (150 mmol/L), 10 kV as the separation voltage and 1.05 V (vs. Ag/AgCl, 3 mol/L KCl) as the detection potential. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were baseline separated within 16 min. Linear range for cimaterol, clenbuterol and salbutamol was 1.0–2000, 2.0–2000 and 1.0–2000 ng/mL, respectively. The detection limits (define as 3σ/k) were 0.5, 1.0 and 0.4 ng/mL for cimaterol, clenbuterol and salbutamol, respectively. The developed method has been applied to determine these three analytes in feed and urine by standard addition. The mean recoveries for these three analytes ranged from 89.0% to 102.0%.     

Determination of vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten in complex matrix samples by chelation ion chromatography and on-line detection with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

In this work, two kinds of chelating resin, bis(2-aminoethylthio)methylated resin (BAETM) and γ-aminobutyrohydroxamate resin (γ-ABHX) were synthesized. Of these, the former has a hydrophobic skeleton, and the latter a hydrophilic skeleton. The functionalities of each were 0.91 and 2.21 mmol g⁻¹, respectively. The chelating behavior of these resins towards vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten as a function of pH was studied. To perform trace metals analysis in complex matrices, a hyphenated method-chelation ion chromatography (CIC) coupled on-line detection with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was developed. With a BAETM resin column (5×0.4 cm i.d.) as the separator, a sample volume of 20 μl, nitric acid (pH 1.5) as the eluent and a flow rate of 1 ml min⁻¹, the detection limits for the determination of vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten were lower than 0.05 ng ml⁻¹and the linear ranges were up to 100 ng ml⁻¹ for each element. By increasing the injected sample volume to 250 μl, the resin concentrator improved the detection limit to 0.01 ng ml⁻¹. For the determination of these elements (5 ng ml⁻¹ for each) spiked in artificial sea water samples, γ-ABHX resin column (3×0.6 cm i.d.) demonstrated well resolved peak separation between the analytes and the matrix elements—calcium and magnesium, by using sodium nitrate (10 ml, 10⁻⁴ M) as the eliminator.     

Derivatization of carboxylic acids with 9-bromomethylacridine using micellar phase-transfer catalysis

Summary Micellar phase-transfer catalysis (MPTC) offers the opportunity to derivatize carboxylic acids directly in an aqueous matrix without prior extraction of the acids into a suitable aprotic solvent. The currently developed MPTC system consists of a non-ionic surfactant, Arkopal N-130, an ion-pair agent, tetrakis-(decyl)-ammonium bromide, and a novel fluorescence reagent, 9-bromomethylacridine. The MPTC system can be applied to the derivatization of many types of carboxylic acids. The reaction rate is affected by the lipophilicity of the acid and by the presence of other functional groups. For lipophilic carboxylic acids the reaction is complete within 5 min at 60°C and pH 7.0.     

生物质裂解产物的制备及HPLC检测其成分的虚拟仿真实验开发

In order to improve university laboratory teaching and practical education under the background of information technology, as well as overcome the difficulty for practical training, develop a virtual simulation experiment platform for rapid pyrolysis of natal materials and high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) detection of its components. The experiment integrates the actual operation process of the plant to produce cleaved products by rapid pyrolysis of biomass with HPLC detection. The virtual experiment is divided into biomass sample pretreatment, rapid biomass pyrolysis, bio-oil extraction, and HPLC determination of complex components, making the biomass cleavage workshop "real" through simulation. This virtual simulation experiment fully integrates the utilization of biomass resources and basic chemistry courses (such as organic chemistry, instrumental analysis, chemical engineering principles, etc.), which are widely involved in agricultural and forestry majors with advantageous characteristics value.