Pseudostationary Phase Research Articles

MEKC-MS/MS method using a volatile surfactant for the simultaneous determination of 12 synthetic cannabinoids

This study describes a method for the simultaneous determination of 12 synthetic cannabinoids by MEKC-MS/MS using a volatile surfactant (ammonium perfluorooctanoate) as a constituent of the micellar pseudostationary phase. Although most synthetic cannabinoids comigrated by a CZE method, sufficient separation could be achieved by the proposed method. The best separation was made possible by 50 mM ammonium perfluorooctanoate in 20% v/v acetonitrile/water (apparent pH* 9.0) as the BGE, followed by MS detection using a sheath liquid composed of 5 mM ammonium formate in 50% v/v methanol/water mixed hydro-organic solvent. The standard calibration curve for all analytes showed good linearity (r > 0.99). Satisfactory recoveries, ranging from 89.5 to 101.7%, were obtained. The LODs were 6.5-76.5 μg/g for the target analytes. This method appears to be a useful tool for the identification of synthetic cannabinoids in illegal herbal incense blends.

Separation of total lipids on human lipoproteins using surfactant‐coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes as pseudostationary phase in capillary electrophoresis

Surfactant-coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were used as pseudostationary phase (PSP) in CE to investigate the total lipids of high-density lipoproteins and low-density lipoproteins. To optimize the CE conditions, several experimental factors including carbon nanotube concentration, bile salt concentration, sodium phosphate (PB) concentration, organic modifier concentration and buffer pH value have been examined. In addition, the CE capillary temperature and applied voltage have also been examined. The optimal separation buffer selected was a mixture of 3.2 mg/L MWNT, 50 mM bile salt, 10 mM PB, 20% 1-propanol, pH 9.5. The optimal capillary temperature and applied voltage selected were 50°C and 20 kV, respectively. Phosphatidyl choline (PC) has been used as a model analyte and investigated by the optimal CE method. The linear range for PC was 0.1-3 mg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9934, and the concentration LOD was 0.055 mg/mL. The optimal CE method has been used to characterize the total lipids of high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein. At absorbance 200 nm, one major peak and two or three minor peaks showed for the total lipids of lipoproteins within 13 minutes. Resolutions of the total lipids were enhanced using surfactant-coated MWNTs as PSPs in the CE separation buffer. However, resolutions of the total lipids were not enhanced using surfactant-coated single-walled carbon nanotubes as PSPs in the CE separation buffer.

Online sample concentration in partial-filling chiral electrokinetic chromatography – mass spectrometry.

The concentration sensitivity of a racemic drug (chlorpheniramine maleate) in chiral capillary electrophoresis with electrospray ionization – mass spectrometric detection was improved ~500-fold via stacking. Enantiomeric separation was achieved through the use of a neutral chiral pseudostationary phase (2-hydroxpropyl-β-cyclodextrin), untreated fused-silica capillaries, and the application of a partial-filling technique to prevent the pseudostationary phase from entering the detector. A concentration factor of 50 resulted from field-enhanced sample injection(FESI). However, the higher concentration factor was achieved by combining FESI with micelle-to-solvent stacking (MSS) to increase sample load and focus the analyte band. MSS was achieved by injection of an ammonium lauryl sulfate micellar plug prior to sample injection. The sample diluent was a 20-fold dilution of the background electrolyte (50 mM ammonium acetate, pH 3.5) with 60% acetonitrile. This methodology provided a limit of detection (LOD) of as low as 5 ng/ml of the racemate.

Synthesis and study of the properties of PLOT columns based on new dendritic polymers for the separation of proteins by capillary electrochromatography

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is actively used for biomedical studies. Therefore, the search for new materials for stationary and pseudostationary phases for CEC that allow the control of the selectivity of separation, modification of quarts capillary walls, an increase in efficiency, and the reduction of the limits of analyte detection is a promising line of research. PLOT columns in this work have been synthesized using new dendritic polymers that are water soluble oligosaccharide derivatives of hyperbranched polyethyleneimine (PEI-Mal). The obtained coating has been characterized by the value of electroosmotic flow (EOF), and the influence of the composition and pH of a buffer electrolyte on the separation of proteins under CEC conditions with PLOT columns has been studied.

Quality by Design approach in the development of a solvent-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography method: Finding the design space for the determination of amitriptyline and its impurities

A solvent-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was set up for the simultaneous determination of the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline (AMI) and its main impurities. The method was developed following Quality by Design (QbD) principles according to ICH Guideline Q8(R2). QbD approach made it possible to find the design space (DS), where quality was assured. After a scouting phase, aimed at selecting a suitable capillary electrophoresis pseudostationary phase, risk assessment tools were employed to define the critical process parameters (CPPs) to be considered in a screening phase (applied voltage, concentration and pH of the background electrolyte, concentration of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate, of the cosurfactant n-butanol and of the organic modifiers acetonitrile and urea). The effects of the seven selected CPPs on critical quality attributes (CQAs), namely resolution values between critical peak pairs and analysis time, were investigated throughout the knowledge space by means of a symmetric screening matrix. Response surface study was then carried out on four selected CPPs by applying a Doehlert Design. Monte-Carlo simulations were performed in order to estimate the probability of meeting the desired specifications on CQAs, and thus to define the DS by means of a risk of failure map. Additional points at the edges of the DS were tested in order to verify the requirements for CQAs to be fulfilled. A control strategy was implemented by defining system suitability tests. The developed method was validated following ICH Guideline Q2(R1), including robustness assessment by Plackett–Burman design, and was applied to the analysis of real samples of amitriptyline coated tablets.

Imidazolium-based ionic liquid-type surfactant as pseudostationary phase in micellar electrokinetic chromatography of highly hydrophilic urinary nucleosides

Ionic liquid (IL)-type surfactants have been shown to interact more strongly with polar compounds than traditionally used quaternary ammonium cationic surfactants. The aim of this study is to provide an alternative micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method (MEKC) for the analysis of urinary nucleosides in their ionic form at low surfactant concentration. This approach could overcome the use of high surfactant concentrations typically associated with the analysis of these highly hydrophilic metabolites as neutral species, which is frequently accompanied by high electric current, Joule heating and long analysis time. The investigated IL-type surfactant; 1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (C14MImBr) is similar to the commonly employed cationic surfactant; tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) but it provides a different separation selectivity. We employed C14MImBr micelles for the MEKC analysis of seven urinary nucleosides. The studied analytes possess a negative charge at pH 9.38 (exceptions are adenosine and cytidine which are neutral at this pH value). Borate imparts an additional negative charge to these compounds after complexation with the cis-diol functionality of the ribose unit, which in turn enables them to interact with the oppositely charged C14MImBr micelles via electrostatic (Coulomb) forces. The effect of the concentration of borate (the complexing, competing and buffering ion) on the effective electrophoretic mobilities and on the retention factors was investigated. The effective electrophoretic mobility data show that complexation between these nucleosides and borate occurs with high degree of complexation even at very low borate concentration (2.5mmolL−1 disodium tetraborate). In addition, we found that the retention factors are strongly dependent on the borate concentration being the highest when using the lowest borate concentration and they can be regulated by variation of either tetraborate concentration or the pH of the background electrolyte using only 20mmolL−1 C14MImBr. We confirmed also that the main mode of interaction between these analytes and the C14MImBr micelles is electrostatic interaction. Our experimental results reveal that the cationic surfactant C14MImBr exhibits superior selectivity and higher reproducibility relative to that of TTAB, which makes this surfactant a promising cationic surfactant for the MEKC separation of other hydrophilic polar analytes.

New technique for nanoparticle capillary electrophoresis/microfluidic chip and its uses in enantioselective separation

Nanoparticles have been widely used in separation science due to their large specific surface area and good biocompatibility. Nanoparticle capillary electrophoresis (CE)/microfluidic chip (MC) technique is the hybrid of nanomaterial and the CE/MC technique. By being adsorbed or bonded onto the inner surface of the capillary, the nanoparticles can interact with the analytes as stationary phase. As a kind of separation medium, the nanoparticles can also participate in the separation process acting as a pseudostationary phase (PSP) to improve the separation efficiency and selectivity. Chirality is one of the intrinsic characters of the nature. It is important to develop the novel, fast, highly efficient and sensitive chiral separation technique in many research areas, such as stereoselective synthesis of enantiomers, pharmacology, chiral compounds purity check and environment monitoring. Herein, the recent applications of different types of nanoparticles such as polymer nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes in enantioseparation by CE/MC are reviewed, and the future developments in this area are also prospected.

Water-compatible surface molecularly imprinted silica nanoparticles as pseudostationary phase in electrokinetic chromatography for the enantioseparation of tryptophan

A novel approach based on surface molecularly imprinted technique is demonstrated for the synthesis of surface molecularly imprinted silica nanoparticles (MI-SiNPs) in aqueous media, using l-tryptophan (l-Trp) as template molecule. The MI-SiNPs were fully characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the results showed MI-SiNPs thus prepared were uniform in particle size (∼87nm) with a distinct core–shell structure with shell thickness of ∼7nm. The terminal carboxyl groups endowed the MI-SiNPs with good water-compatibility, and so good suspension stability for MI-SiNPs in water-rich buffer solutions can be easily achieved without the addition of any other reagents. When MI-SiNPs were used as pseudostationary phases (PSPs) in electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) for the enantioseparation of Trp, a resolution of 2.73 can be achieved in less than 10min with symmetric peaks. These excellent separation features are mainly attributed to the fast mass transfer and good accessibility of the interaction sites locating at the surface of the MI-SiNPs. The effects of some important separation factors, e.g., pH and concentration of buffer solution, content of MI-SiNPs added, content of organic modifier in buffer solution, on the enantioseparation of Trp were studied, and an optimum separation condition of 30% (v/v) acetonitrile in 20mmolL−1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), with 0.50mgmL−1 MI-SiNPs added was ultimately selected.

Simultaneous separation and determination of five organic acids in beverages and fruits by capillary electrophoresis using diamino moiety functionalized silica nanoparticles as pseudostationary phase

A kind of novel diamino moiety functionalized silica nanoparticles with the diameter of ∼110nm was successfully prepared and characterised by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and elemental analysis. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with this kind of nanoparticles as pseudostationary phase was developed for the simultaneous analysis of five organic acids in beverage and fruit samples. The effects of pH, buffer concentration, and nanoparticles concentration on separation were carefully investigated. Five organic acids were baseline separated in 5min under optimum experimental conditions. The precisions for five replicate separations of a standard mixture solution were 2.71–6.13% for peak area and 1.22–1.93% for migration time respectively. The detection limits were 7.5, 0.15, 0.23, 0.33 and 10.0mg/L for citric acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, sorbic acid and ascorbic acid, respectively. The developed method was applied to the simultaneous analysis of five analytes in beverage and fruit samples and certified reference materials with satisfactory results.

Graphene nanoparticles as pseudostationary phase for the electrokinetic separation of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs

The exceptional properties of graphene (G) were exploited here to facilitate capillary electrokinetic separations. Two types of commercially available G consisting of nanoparticles containing-one to three and-four to six G sheets, respectively, were compared for this purpose. Both proved effective in separating the arylpropyl derivatives of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The highest resolution and shortest migration times were obtained with G containing high amount of single and double G nanosheets. G affords higher resolution than other types of nanoparticles; stable suspensions can be easily prepared and used as BGE without the need of adding an additional surfactant. This results in a high reproducibility in migration times and stability in background noise. The LOD and LOQ obtained by using G nanoparticles as pseudostationary phases spanned the range 0.29-1.18 mg/L and 0.95-3.95 mg/L, respectively, and the RSD was less than 4.7% in all instances.

Analysis of genomic methylation level using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with UV detection

Analytical methods for quantification of 5'-methylcytosine in genomes are important tools to investigate epigenetic changes in gene expression during development, differentiation, aging, or cancer. Here, we report a novel genomic methylation content assay based on enzymatic hydrolysis of DNA and MEKC separation of 5'-deoxyribonucleoside monophosphates (dNMP) using the cationic surfactant CTAB as pseudostationary phase. Calf Thymus DNA was used during method development to determine electrophoretic parameters and electrolyte composition for a complete separation between 2'-deoxycytosine-5'-monophosphate and 2'-deoxy-5'-methylcytosine 5'-monophosphate (d5mCMP). Methylated and not methylated oligonucleotides were used to confirm the identity of each peak and evaluate analytical parameters of the method. The LOD of the method was found to be 12.5 pmol/μL for d5mCMP.

Evaluation of the enantioselectivity of carbon nanoparticles‐modified chiral separation systems using dextrin as chiral selector by capillary electrokinetic chromatography

Nanoparticles (NPs) can be used as pseudostationary phases (PSPs) in EKC, which is similar to the use of micelle additives as applied in MEKC. To date, the use of NPs to enhance enantiomeric separation by EKC with β-CD or its derivative as chiral selector has been reported only in two papers. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no prior effort to use NPs for achieving enantioseparation with polysaccharides as chiral selector. This paper describes for the first time the use of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) as PSPs to modify chiral separation system employing dextrin as chiral selector for the enantioseparations of several basic drugs in capillary EKC. Three different types of CNPs, including carbogenic nanoparticles (NPs), carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes, and carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes, were used as running buffer additives, respectively. The potential of the PSPs and the effects of dextrin concentration, buffer pH, and buffer concentration on the enantioseparations were evaluated. Four pairs of tested enantiomers were successfully resolved in less than 15 min with the resolution values in the range of 1.41-4.52 under optimized conditions. Compared to the buffer without NPs, the introduction of NPs into the buffer enhanced the separation of the enantiomers.

Application of resorcinarene derivatives in chemical separations

The applications of resorcinarene derivatives in modern separation techniques including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), ion chromatrography (IC), and liquid membranes are reviewed in this paper. Resorcinarenes are macrocyclic compounds which can be modified with various substituents on upper and lower rims to provide specific functionality and selectivity. The derivatives can be adsorbed or covalently bound to the stationary phase of HPLC, GC, and IC, or used as pseudo-stationary phase in CE to separate organic or inorganic species. They have been tested as carriers to selectively transfer species from source phase to receiving phase in bulk liquid membranes, supported liquid membranes, and polymer inclusion membranes. These broad applications of resorcinarene-based macrocyclic ligands indicate that they are a promising class of compounds that are worthwhile to be explored in both synthesis and separation applications.

Sweeping of alprenolol enantiomers with an organic solvent and sulfated β‐cyclodextrin in capillary electrophoresis

Sweeping, an on-line sample concentration technique in CE, is the picking and accumulation of analytes by the pseudostationary phase or complexing additive. In the presence of an electric field, the analytes concentrated at the additive front that initially penetrated the sample zone. Here, we describe the sweeping of cationic alprenolol enantiomers using sulfated β-CD and organic solvent. The separation solution contained the anionic additive while ACN was in the sample solution. With fused silica capillaries, positive polarity, and solutions buffered at pH 3, the direction of the enantiomers' effective electrophoretic mobility was the same as the electrophoretic mobility (or electrophoretic mobility without additive). When the amount of ACN in the sample was increased (i.e. 60%), the interaction between the analytes and additive became negligible. This caused the sweeping boundary to shift from the electrophoretically moving β-CD front to the zone between the sample and separation solution. The equation that described the narrowing of injected sample zone was derived. The performance of sweeping with 60% ACN in the sample was then studied under different operating conditions (e.g. type of injection, injection time, and CD concentration). The low interaction between enantiomers and additive gave only moderate increases in sensitivity (approximately tenfold), but was improved when field enhancement was used during electrokinetic injection. With a conductivity difference (separation/sample solution) of 70 and a short injection time of 30 s at 20 kV, peak improvements of >100-fold was easily achieved.

Twenty‐one years of microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (1991–2012): A powerful analytical tool

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) is a CE separation technique, which utilizes buffered microemulsions as the separation media. In the past two decades, MEEKC has blossomed into a powerful separation technique for the analysis of a wide range of compounds. Pseudostationary phase composition is so critical to successful resolution in EKC, and several variables could be optimized including surfactant/co-surfactant/oil type and concentration, buffer content, and pH value. Additionally, MEEKC coupled with online sample preconcentration approaches could significantly improve the detection sensitivity. This review comprehensively describes the development of MEEKC from the period 1991 to 2012. Areas covered include basic theory, microemulsion composition, improving resolution and enhancing sensitivity methods, detection techniques, and applications of MEEKC.

Separation of phthalates by cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography: Quantitation in perfumes

A new CE method has been developed for the simultaneous separation of a group of parent phthalates. Due to the neutral character of these compounds, the addition of several bile salts as surfactants (sodium cholate (SC), sodium deoxycholate (SDC), sodium taurodeoxycholate (STDC), sodium taurocholate (STC)) to the separation buffer was explored showing the high potential of SDC as pseudostationary phase. However, the resolution of all the phthalates was not achieved when employing only this bile salt as additive, being necessary the addition of neutral cyclodextrins (CD) and organic modifiers to the separation media. The optimized cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD-MEKC) method consisted of the employ of a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 25mM β-CD-100mM SDC in a 100mM borate buffer (pH 8.5) with a 10% (v/v) of acetonitrile, employing a voltage of 30kV and a temperature of 25°C. This separation medium enabled the total resolution of eight compounds and the partial resolution of two of the analytes, di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) (Rs~0.8), in only 12min. The analytical characteristics of the developed method were studied showing their suitability for the determination of these compounds in commercial perfumes. In all the analyzed perfumes the most common phthalate was diethyl phthalate (DEP) that appeared in ten of the fifteen analyzed products. Also dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diallyl phthalate (DAP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCP), and di-n-pentyl phthalate (DNPP) were found in some of the analyzed samples.

Sensitive analysis of aminoglycoside antibiotics via hyphenation of transient moving substitution boundary with field-enhanced sample injection in capillary electrophoresis

A novel field-enhanced sample injection coupled with transient moving substitution boundary method in capillary electrophoresis was developed for aminoglycoside antibiotic (AG) analysis using 18-crown-6-tetracarboxylic acid (18C6H4) as a pseudostationary phase. Results indicated that the stacking mechanism of moving substitution boundary relied on the substitution reaction between 18C6H4-bonded AG complexes and Na+ at the substitution boundary. The stacking mechanism as well as important parameters governing pre-concentration and separation have been investigated in order to obtain maximum resolution and sensitivity. Under optimized conditions, using a sample prepared in a low-conductivity matrix, the limits of detection for streptomycin, neomycin, and kanamycin were 0.62, 5.9 and 8.6nM (S/N=3), respectively, and the detection sensitivities were improved 940-, 692-, and 415-fold, respectively. The method also gave accurate and reliable results in the analysis of AGs in river water samples.

Polyamidoamine-grafted silica nanoparticles as pseudostationary phases for capillary electrochromatographic separation of proteins

Polyamidoamine-grafted silica nanoparticles were synthesized, characterized and investigated for the feasibility as pseudostationary phases in alkaline buffer for separation of cationic and anionic proteins, viz., lysozyme, cytochrome C, gamma globulin, and myoglobin. Neither bare silica nanoparticles nor polyamidoamines nor their mixtures as pseudostationary phases could lead to simultaneous separation of the four proteins. However, polyamidoamine-grafted silica nanoparticles not only suppressed the irreversible wall adsorption of the cationic lysozyme and cytochrome C, but also provided selectivity toward all the proteins. We found that polyamidoamine generation two-modified silica nanoparticles were the optimum pseudostationary phases with respect to detection sensitivity and separation efficiency; presence of the nanoparticles at 0.01% in the running buffer of 12.5 mM tetraborate/phosphate at pH 9.1 resulted in baseline resolution of the four proteins.

Principles of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography applied in pharmaceutical analysis.

Since its introduction capillary electrophoresis has shown great potential in areas where electrophoretic techniques have rarely been used before, including here the analysis of pharmaceutical substances. The large majority of pharmaceutical substances are neutral from electrophoretic point of view, consequently separations by the classic capillary zone electrophoresis; where separation is based on the differences between the own electrophoretic mobilities of the analytes; are hard to achieve. Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography, a hybrid method that combines chromatographic and electrophoretic separation principles, extends the applicability of capillary electrophoretic methods to neutral analytes. In micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography, surfactants are added to the buffer solution in concentration above their critical micellar concentrations, consequently micelles are formed; micelles that undergo electrophoretic migration like any other charged particle. The separation is based on the differential partitioning of an analyte between the two-phase system: the mobile aqueous phase and micellar pseudostationary phase. The present paper aims to summarize the basic aspects regarding separation principles and practical applications of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography, with particular attention to those relevant in pharmaceutical analysis.

In-capillary formation of polymer/surfactant complexes–assisted reversed-migration micellar electrokinetic chromatography for facile analysis of neutral steroids

In this study we developed a novel approach, using in-capillary formation of polymer/surfactant complexes (IPSC)–assisted reversed-migration MEKC (RM-MEKC), for the analysis of neutral steroids. This process involved two sequential events: in-capillary polymer/surfactant complexes formation during sample preconcentration, followed by IPSC separation. The procedure began with a polymer-filled capillary. Initially, on-line preconcentration of the sample was performed at the sample plug. Meanwhile, free surfactants migrated to interact with polymers, forming polymer–surfactant complexes. Analytes were then kinetically partitioned between the mixed phases (micelles and polymer–SDS complexes). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) were employed as pseudo-stationary phases (PSPs). This system allowed the successful separation of five steroids (testosterone, hydrocortisone 21-acetate, dexamethasone, prednisolone, hydrocortisone) in acetate buffer and the determination of urinary free hydrocortisone; it also exhibited excellent performance for sample on-line concentration. The limit of detection for hydrocortisone was 20.98ng/mL (R2=0.9995). The polymer size, concentrations, end-group charges, and SDS concentrations were evaluated. This IPSC/RM-MEKC system, which can be adopted in commercial CE instruments, is easy to operate, suitable for combination with several sample preconcentration options, sensitive, robust, and environmentally sustainable. We suspect that such systems might have potential applications in clinical analyses and in microanalytical devices.