Separation and analysis of triazine herbcide residues by capillary electrophoresis

Triazines are widely used in agriculture around the world as selective pre‐ and post‐emergence herbicides for the control of broad leaf and grassy weeds. With high toxicity and persistence, triazines can contaminate the environment and crops, so the development of rapid and sensitive methods for the determination of different triazines is necessary. Capillary electrophoresis comprises a group of techniques used to separate chemical mixtures. Analytical separation is based on different electrophoretic mobilities. This review focuses on the analysis of triazine herbicides with different modes of capillary electrophoresis, including capillary zone electrophoresis, micellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis, capillary electrochromatography and nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis. Determinations of triazines in various matrices such as surface water, groundwater, vegetables, soil and grains are emphasized. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of PLE exhaustiveness for the extraction of PCBs from sediments and the influence of sediment characteristics

Pressurized liquid extractions were performed on eight sediments in order to investigate if a modified US EPA method (100 °C, 100 bar, n-heptane/acetone (1:1), 2 × 5 min) provided exhaustive extractions of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from sediment, and to study if the extractability of PCBs from the different sediments was affected by characteristics of the sediment. The recovery from the eight native sediments, contaminated in nature, was between 96.4% and 98.9%, as an average of the recoveries from 10 PCB congeners. Hundred percent recovery was defined as the sum of two consecutive extractions (2 × 5 min each) at the stated conditions. The recoveries of the individual congeners were above 94%, except for one congener in one sediment, which had a recovery of 92%. When the recoveries and different characteristics of the sediments were compared, no correlation appeared between recoveries and sediment PCB concentration, total organic carbon (TOC), soot carbon (SC) or amorphous carbon (AC). The fact that carbon did not influence the extractions was somewhat surprising, since previous experiments have indicated a connection. Instead, statistically significant (p < 0.05) correlations were observed for water content and carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio. The decrease in recoveries with decreased water content was attributed to less access of the solvent to the analytes due to less matrix swelling. The lowered recoveries with increased C/N ratio can indicate that a difference in structure of the organic matter exists, which influences the binding strength between the analytes and the matrix. The difference in structure can possibly be explained by different origin of the organic matter or by aging effects. Overall the method was found to be exhaustive and the excellent recoveries show that sediment characteristics do not influence the extractions markedly.     

Preparation and characterization of C16 monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography

A series of methacrylamide-based C16 monolithic columns were prepared and characterized to determine how their porous structural properties and chromatographic behavior are affected by the percentages of functional monomer, base monomer, and cross-linker in the polymerization solution. Baseline separation of 6 neutral compounds can be readily obtained in an optimized column. Furthermore, the effects of organic additive in the mobile phase, operating voltages, and temperature on retention behaviors and separation efficiencies were also studied. The separation mechanism is also discussed. High column efficiency and good reproducibility indicate that the monolithic columns hold considerable promise.     

Pressurized hot water extraction of berberine, baicalein and glycyrrhizin in medicinal plants

Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) using a laboratory made system was applied for the extraction of thermally labile and reasonably polar components such as berberine in coptidis rhizoma, glycyrrhizin in radix glycyrrhizae/liquorice and baicalein in scutellariae radix. PHWE was carried out dynamically at a flow of 1 ml/min, temperature between 95 and 140 °C, an applied pressure of 10-20 bar and extraction time of 40 min. Extraction by PHWE was found to give efficiencies comparable to Soxhlet extraction for baicalein in scutellariae radix and sonication for berberine in coptidis rhizoma, and glycyrrhizin in radix glycyrrhizae. Effects of ethanol added into the water used in PHWE were explored. Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with methanol as solvent was used for extraction of baicalein in scutellariae radix. The marker compounds present in the various medicinal plant extracts were determined by gradient elution HPLC.     

Development of pressurized liquid extraction and cleanup procedures for determination of organochlorine pesticides in soils

The scope of this work is the development of a rapid, reliable and sensitive method for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides from soils by pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). The effect of four parameters (temperature, pressure, static time and cell volume) on the extraction efficiency was studied. The great extracting power of the PLE causes the extraction of numerous interfering substances, so a more efficient purification of this extract was necessary. In this work several sorbents have also been assayed to carry out the purification of soil samples: Florisil, silica, alumina, carbon, as well as combinations of them. Finally, the proposed analytical method was validated using a certified reference soil material (CRM804-050) and the results were compared with those obtained by other extraction techniques (Soxhlet and microwave-assisted extraction).     

有机聚合物整体柱及其在生物大分子色谱分离中的应用

整体柱是近年发展起来的一种新型的色谱分离分析技术，与传统的色谱柱相比，具有制作简单、背压低、分辨率高、柱容量大等优点。本文介绍了有机聚合物整体柱及其在生物大分子色谱分离领域的应用，分析了其存在的问题，并展望了其应用前景。     

Chromatographic evaluation of perphenylcarbamoylated β-cyclodextrin bonded stationary phase for micro-high performance liquid chromatography and pressurized capillary electrochromatography

Application of mono (6^A-N-ethylenediamine-6^A-deoxy) perphenylcarbamoylated β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) bonded stationary phase (CSP) in micro-high performance liquid chromatography (micro-HPLC) and pressurized capillary electrochromatography (p-CEC) was firstly presented. A series of racemic α-amidophosphonates were resolved in reversed- and normal-phase modes on this CSP. The investigated chromatographic parameters include retention factor (k′), separation factor (α) and resolution (Rs) of solutes. In addition, the structural variation of the solutes and the experimental factors affecting chiral separations have been examined, including the percentage of alcohol modifier, the linear velocity (u) of the mobile phase, electrical field strength, etc. Baseline separation was achieved for most of the entities. Hydrophobic interaction, steric effect and π-π interaction contribute to the possible mechanism. Comparative results indicate that higher Rs value up to 3.1 was found in micro-HPLC, higher efficiency up to 29,970 in p-CEC.     

Rapid determination of panaxynol in a traditional Chinese medicine of Saposhnikovia divaricata by pressurized hot water extraction followed by liquid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Panaxynol is a bioactive component in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), such as Saposhnikovia divaricata and Panax ginseng. In the work, two solvent-free sample techniques of pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) and headspace liquid-phase microextraction (HS-LPME) were combined and developed for the determination of panaxynol in a TCM of S. divaricata. Panaxynol in the TCM samples from different growing areas was extracted by PHWE in dynamic mode, followed by extraction and concentration with HS-LPME and analysis with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The PHWE and HS-LPME parameters were optimized and the method validations were studied. Panaxynol in S. divaricata from four different growing areas was quantitatively analyzed by internal standard method. These results have shown that PHWE-LPME-GC-MS is a simple, rapid, efficient and low-cost method for the determination of panaxynol in TCMs and is a potential tool for TCM quality assessment.     

Pressurized wet digestion in open vessels

The High Pressure Asher (HPA-S) was adapted with a Teflon liner for pressurized wet digestion in open vessels. The autoclave was partly filled with water containing 5% (vol/vol) hydrogen peroxide. The digestion vessels dipped partly into the water or were arranged on top of the water by means of a special rack made of titanium or PTFE-coated stainless steel. The HPA-S was closed and pressurized with nitrogen up to 100 bars. The maximum digestion temperature was 250 °C for PFA vessels and 270 °C for quartz vessels. Digestion vessels made of quartz or PFA-Teflon with volumes between 1.5 mL (auto sampler cups) and 50 mL were tested. The maximum sample amount for quartz vessels was 0.5–1.5 g and for PFA vessels 0.2–0.5 g, depending on the material. Higher sample intake may lead to fast reactions with losses of digestion solution. The samples were digested with 5 mL HNO₃ or with 2 mL HNO₃+6 mL H₂O+2 mL H₂O₂. The total digestion time was 90–120 min and 30 min for cooling down to room temperature. Auto sampler cups made of PFA were used as digestion vessels for GFAAS. Sample material (50 mg) was digested with 0.2 mL HNO₃+0.5 mL H₂O+0.2 mL H₂O₂. The analytical data of nine certified reference materials are also within the confidential intervals for volatile elements like mercury, selenium and arsenic. No cross contamination between the digestion vessels could be observed. Due to the high gas pressure, the diffusion rate of volatile species is low and losses of elements by volatilisation could be observed only with diluted nitric acid and vessels with large cross section. In addition, cocoa, walnuts, nicotinic acid, pumpkin seeds, lubrication oil, straw, polyethylene and coal were digested and the TOC values measured. The residual carbon content came to 0.2–10% depending on the sample matrix and amount.     

Splitless on-line coupling of capillary high-performance liquid chromatography,capillary electrochromatography and pressurized capillary electrochromatography with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A mixture of unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters was separated with a new splitless capillary set-up. With the employed apparatus configuration different capillary separation techniques such as capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (cHPLC), capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and pressurized capillary electrochromatography (pCEC) could be applied. The detection and identification of the sample compounds were accomplished by hyphenating these capillary separation techniques with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy using a novel configuration of the detection capillary set-up. Using modified electrokinetically driven separation techniques, the electric field was applied solely across the separation column. With this improved interface for capillary liquid chromatography-NMR on-line coupling, the stereochemical assignment of the cis and trans configuration of unsaturated fatty acids could be easily accomplished. Finally, the results of cHPLC-NMR, CEC-NMR and pCEC-NMR coupling experiments were compared.Dedicated to Professor Günter Häfelinger on the occasion of his 65th birthday