Role of the co-surfactant nature in soybean w/o microemulsions.

Abstract The influence of the co-surfactant on physicochemical properties of w/o soybean oil microemulsions (MEs) has been studied. In spite of the similarity in phase diagrams, the MEs display remarkable differences when examined by electrical conductivity, dynamic light scattering (DLS), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and linear voltammetry. When different short-chain alcohols were employed as co-surfactants, together with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, the DLS results indicated the systems to be monodisperse. Both the electrical conductivity of the MEs and the hydrodynamic radii of the droplets (RH) increased with water content while RH diminished as temperature increas…

Classification of vegetable oils according to their botanical origin using amino acid profiles established by direct infusion mass spectrometry.

Amino acid profiles, established by direct infusion mass spectrometry, have been used to classify vegetable oils according to their botanical origin. The proteins present in hazelnut, sunflower, corn, soybean, olive, avocado, peanut and grapeseed oils were precipitated with acetone, and the residue was hydrolyzed in acid medium, diluted in a hydrochloric acid/ethanol mixture, and infused into the mass spectrometer. The spectra of the hydrolyzed protein extracts showed [M+H]+ ions of the following amino acids: glycine, alanine, serine, proline, valine, threonine, cysteine, isoleucine + leucine, aspartic acid, lysine, glutamic acid, methionine, histidine, phenylalanine, arginine and tyrosine.…

Reliable and simple analytical methods for determination of citrulline and metabolically related amino acids by liquid chromatography after derivatization: comparison between monolithic and core–shell columns

We describe the development of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of citrulline and other amino acids relevant to intestinal diseases. The amino acids were derivatized with 9-fluorenylmethylchloroformate (FMOC-Cl) and their derivatives were separated on two different columns, a core-shell column (Halo C18) and a silica-based monolith (Chromolith Performance RP-18). The derivatization reaction was optimized with respect to pH, buffer concentration and reproducibility. The optimal derivatization conditions were achieved with 0.4 M borate buffer at pH 9.20, a constant ratio of FMOC-Cl/total amino acids (10 : 1) and 75 mM tyramine after 1 min (quenching…

Zwitterionic codeine-derived methacrylate monoliths for enantioselective capillary electrochromatography of chiral acids and chiral bases

Thiol-ene click reaction of N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester to codeine, followed by reaction with allyl isocyanate and hydrolysis to the corresponding zwitterionic chiral selector and its subsequent bonding to the surface of a methacrylate monolith provided a new chiral capillary column for enantiomer separation of chiral acids and chiral bases. First, the epoxy groups of a poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith were converted into amine residues, followed by reaction with allylglycidyl ether. In this way, a spacer arm was bonded to the surface before coating and cross-linking poly(3-mercaptopropyl methylsiloxane) (PMPMS) via radical addition (thiol-ene click react…

Authentication of extra virgin olive oils by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), followed by multivariate treatment of the spectral data, was used to classify vegetable oils according to their botanical origin, and also to establish the composition of binary mixtures of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) with other low cost edible oils. Oil samples corresponding to five different botanical origins (EVOO, sunflower, corn, soybean and hazelnut) were used. The wavelength scale of the FTIR spectra of the oils was divided in 26 regions. The normalized absorbance peak areas within these regions were used as predictors. Classification of the oil samples according to their botanical origin was achieved by linear discriminant analysis (…

Hybrid methacrylate monolithic columns containing magnetic nanoparticles for capillary electrochromatography

Abstract Vinylized iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (VMNPs) were incorporated into polymethacrylate monolithic columns to develop novel stationary phases with enhanced separation performance. The VMNPs were dispersed in a polymerization mixture containing gycidyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as monomers, cyclohexanol and 1-dodecanol as porogens and azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The stability of the VMNPs in the polymerization mixture was investigated at several VMNP contents. Using short UV-polymerization times, polymeric beds with homogenously dispersed VMNPs were obtained. The novel stationary phases were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The chroma…

Capillary electrophoresis enhanced by automatic two-way background correction using cubic smoothing splines and multivariate data analysis applied to the characterisation of mixtures of surfactants

Mixtures of the surfactant classes coconut diethanolamide, cocamido propyl betaine and alkylbenzene sulfonate were separated by capillary electrophoresis in several media containing organic solvents and anionic solvophobic agents. Good resolution between both the surfactant classes and the homologues within the classes was achieved in a BGE containing 80 mM borate buffer of pH 8.5, 20% n-propanol and 40 mM sodium deoxycholate. Full resolution, assistance in peak assignment to the classes (including the recognition of solutes not belonging to the classes), and improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio was achieved by multivariate data analysis of the time-wavelength electropherograms. Cubic s…

Determination of major carotenoids in vegetables by capillary electrochromatography.

A simple and rapid method for the isocratic separation and determination of carotenoids (carotenes and xanthophylls) in vegetables by CEC is described. The capillary column (100 microm ID, 25 cm effective length) was packed with 3 microm Hypersil ODS particles. The optimized mobile phase contained 60% ACN, 35% THF and 5% of a 5 mM Tris aqueous buffer of pH 8. beta-Carotene, lycopene and lutein were separated with efficiencies of 66 000-128 000 plates/m within a short time (less than 12 min for the last peak eluted, 13/13'-cis-beta-carotene). An excellent resolution of the three carotenoids, as well as partial resolution of their geometrical isomers, was achieved. Application to the determin…

Methacrylate monolithic columns functionalized with epinephrine for capillary electrochromatography applications.

Epinephrine-bonded polymeric monoliths for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) were developed by nucleophilic substitution reaction of epoxide groups of poly(glycidyl-methacrylate-co-ethylenedimethacrylate) (poly(GMA-co-EDMA)) monoliths using epinephrine as nucleophilic reagent. The ring opening reaction under dynamic conditions was optimized. Successful chemical modification of the monolith surface was ascertained by in situ Raman spectroscopy characterization. In addition, the amount of epinephrine groups that was bound to the monolith surface was evaluated by oxidation of the catechol groups with Ce(IV), followed by spectrophotometric measurement of unreacted Ce(IV). About 9% of all th…

Recognition and alignment of variables from UV–vis chromatograms and application to industrial enzyme digests classification

Abstract In the last years, industrial applications of chemometrics have largely increased due to their capacity to extract important information from complex records as chromatograms or spectra data. The use of chemometric methods also can avoid the use of detectors of elevated cost. In this work, a procedure to recognize the relevant chemical information contained in complex UV–vis chromatograms, after a trypsin digestion, to identify the three enzyme main classes (proteases, amylases and cellulases) commonly employed in the cleaning industry, has been developed. In order to recognize the chromatogram peaks, six indices of peak identity or identifiers were defined. A program written in MA…

Determination of cow’s milk in non-bovine and mixed cheeses by capillary electrophoresis of whey proteins in acidic isoelectric buffers

An improved method for the determination of cow's milk in non-bovine cheese is reported: electrophoresis of whey proteins in acidic, isoelectric buffers. Two background electrolytes (BGEs) have been tested: (i) 50 mM iminodiacetic acid (pH=isoelectric point=2.30 at 25 degrees C), 0.5% hydroxyethylcellulose, 0.1% Tween 20 and 6 M urea (apparent pH 3.1), E=300 V/cm, for the separation of alpha-lactalbumins (alpha-LAs); (ii) a BGE with the same composition, but supplemented with 10% Tween 20, E=450 V/cm, for the fractionation of beta-lactoglobulins (beta-LGs). Surfactants have a discriminating effect on the retention behaviour of the bovine alpha-LA and beta-LG proteins, owing to the different…

Systematic procedure for the preparation of sets of calibration standards for x-ray fluorescence analysis of ceramic materials

A systematic procedure for the preparation of optimized sets of calibration solid standards for the x-ray fluorescence analysis of ceramic materials is described. The matrix of the contents of the N analytes in the n standards (n ≥ N) is calculated from an n x N experimental design matrix, and from the upper and lower limits of the calibration range for each of the N analytes. Two procedures, which are useful for taking into account analyte interactions, are proposed for constructing the experimental design matrix, i.e. the scroll procedure and the procedure of the centers. A program developed to help the analyst in designing and preparing the set of standards following the proposed procedu…

Separation and determination of homologues of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates by nonaqueous capillary zone electrophoresis using alkylammonium salts in ethanol

The separation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) using negative polarity, and a buffer containing acetic acid and an alkylamine in nonaqueous ethanol, has been investigated. Several primary, secondary, and tertiary alkylamines with alkyl chains of different length were compared. The solutes travelled against the electroosmotic flow (EOF), and at the same time were braked by association with the alkylamine molecules or with the alkylammonium ions. The best resolution between adjacent LAS homologues (R approximately 2.1), partial isomer resolution in two peaks, and at the same time an excellent repeatability, was obtained with a small dipen…

Prediction of the curing time of Spanish hams using peptide profiles established by capillary zone electrophoresis

Abstract A capillary zone electrophoresis procedure for the prediction of curing time of Spanish hams using peptide profiles has been developed. Excellent resolution between the seven peptide peaks was achieved within 30 min analysis time with a BGE containing 60 mM MgSO 4 and 50 mM phosphate at pH 2.5. Using hams with curing times of 6, 8 and 12 months, both linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) models were constructed. In both cases, two different normalisation procedures of the peak areas were compared. Using LDA, all the ham samples corresponding to the three categories were correctly classified. Using MLR, the ham curing time could be predicted with av…

Determination of non-ionic and anionic surfactants in industrial products by separation on a weak ion-exchanger, derivatization and liquid chromatography

Abstract A method for the determination of priority surfactants, including fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAE), alkylether sulfates (AES) and linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LAS) is described. The samples were diluted with 50% methanol at pH 4 prior to solid-phase extraction on a weak anionic exchanger (WAX). The AES and LAS surfactant classes were retained, whereas the non-ionic components, including most FAE oligomers were eluted. After washing the WAX cartridge to remove cations, the remaining hydrophobic FAE oligomers were eluted using hot 80% methanol at pH 4 (at ca. 50 °C). These two eluates were combined to constitute the non-ionic fraction. Then, AES and LAS were eluted using 80% MeOH w…

Determination of alcohols in essential oils by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection after chromogenic derivatization

Abstract An HPLC-UV method to determine compounds having a hydroxyl functional group in plant essential oils is developed. The sample is diluted with 1,4-dioxane and the analytes are derivatized with phthalic anhydride. The derivatives (phthalates hemiesters) are separated on a C8 column using an acetonitrile (ACN)/water gradient. Separation conditions were optimized using the DryLab® method development software. For the alcohols and phenols present in mint and rose essential oils, optimization led to a ca. 40 min gradient time and a column temperature of 8 °C. The alcohol and its derivatives were identified using HPLC with mass spectrometry (MS) detection. A large sensitivity enhancement w…

Determination of cow's milk and ripening time in nonbovine cheese by capillary electrophoresis of the ethanol-water protein fraction

A novel method is reported for analyzing adulteration of goat and ewe cheeses with cow's milk: capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in isoelectric, acidic buffers (50 mM imino diacetic acid, IDA, pH = pI 2.3). The cheese samples were extracted with a 20:80 v/v ethanol-water mixture in presence of 3 M urea and 1% beta-mercaptoethanol for 1 h. After centrifugation and lipid extraction, the samples were dissolved in 50 mM IDA, 6 M urea and 0.5% hydroxyethyl cellulose and analyzed by CZE at 700 V/cm. A total of 18 characteristic peaks were resolved among the three types of cheeses and 18 variables were defined as their respective areas. There was excellent similarity among the electrophoretic p…

Prediction of the genetic variety of Spanish extra virgin olive oils using fatty acid and phenolic compound profiles established by direct infusion mass spectrometry.

Abstract The genetic varieties of Spanish extra virgin olive oils (Arbequina, Hojiblanca and Picual) were predicted by direct infusion of the samples in the electrospray ionization source of a mass spectrometer, followed by linear discriminant analysis of the spectral data. The samples were 1:50 diluted (v/v) with an 85:15 propanol/methanol (v/v) mixture containing 40 mM KOH and infused. The abundances of the [M–H] − peaks of the free fatty acids (7 peaks) and 28 phenolic compounds (20 peaks) were measured. Ratios of pairs of peak abundances were used as predictors in the construction of the linear discriminant analysis models. An excellent resolution between the three genetic varieties was…

Characterization of hydroxyaromatic compounds in vegetable oils by capillary electrophoresis with direct injection in an oil-miscible KOH/propanol/methanol medium.

The separation of hydroxyaromatic compounds in vegetable oils, including synthetic antioxidants (3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisol and 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene), E-vitamers and other natural oil components, by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis in an oil-miscible background electrolyte (BGE) was investigated. The BGE contained 40 mM KOH in a methanol/1-propanol (PrOH) mixture (15:85 v/v). The oil samples were 1:1 diluted with PrOH and directly injected in the capillary. Under negative polarity (cathode at the injection end), the anionic solutes moved faster than the electroosmotic flow, being well-resolved among them and from the triacylglycerols. Using virgin palm, extra virgin oliv…

Comparison of monolithic and microparticulate columns for reversed-phase liquid chromatography of tryptic digests of industrial enzymes in cleaning products.

Abstract Enzymes of several classes used in the formulations of cleaning products were characterized by trypsin digestion followed by HPLC with UV detection. A polymeric monolithic column (ProSwift) was used to optimize the separation of both the intact enzymes and their tryptic digests. This column was adequate for the quality control of raw industrial enzyme concentrates. Then, monolithic and microparticulate columns were compared for peptide analysis. Under optimized conditions, the analysis of tryptic digests of enzymes of different classes commonly used in the formulation of cleaning products was carried out. Number of peaks, peak capacity and global resolution were obtained in order t…

Chemical analysis and antioxidant activity of the essential oils of three Piperaceae species growing in the central region of Cuba.

The present study describes the phytochemical profile and antioxidant activity of the essential oils of three Piperaceae species collected in the central region of Cuba. The essential oils of Piper aduncum, P. auritum and P. umbellatum leaves, obtained by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main components of P. aduncum oil were piperitone (34%), camphor (17.1%), camphene (10.9%), 1,8-cineol (8.7%) and viridiflorol (7.4%), whereas that of P. auritum and P. umbellatum was safrole (71.8 and 26.4%, respectively). The antioxidant properties of the essential oils were also evaluated using several assays for radical scavenging ability (DPPH test and redu…

Enhanced spectrophotometric determination of nicotinic acid in a sodium dodecyl sulphate micellar medium.

The spectrophotometric determination of pyridine and pyridine derivatives by means of the König reaction was studied in micellar media of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), N-cetylpyridinium chloride and Triton X-100. The sensitivity was largely increased in SDS micellar medium. The attack of the pyridine ring with cyanogen bromide to produce a glutaconic aldehyde was not affected by the presence of SDS, but the yield of the coupling reaction with an arylamine to produce a polymethine dye was largely increased. In the SDS micellar medium, aniline was superior to other coupling reagents. The limits of detection (LODs) were 6 x 10(-7), 1 x 10(-6) and 5 x 10(-7)M for pyridine, pyrrol-ylmethylpyrid…

Enzyme class identification in cleaning products by hydrolysis followed by derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde, HPLC and linear discriminant analysis.

The enzymes present in raw materials of the cleaning industry (enzyme industrial concentrates) and in household cleaners were isolated by precipitation with acetone and hydrolyzed with HCl. The resulting amino acids were derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde, and the derivatives were separated by HPLC. The peaks of 14 amino acids were observed using a C18 column and a multi-segmented gradient of acetonitrile-water in the presence of a 5 mM citric/citrate buffer of pH 6.5. Using either normalized peak areas (divided by the sum of the peak areas of the chromatogram) or ratios of pairs of peak areas as predictor variables, linear discriminant analysis models, capable of predicting the enzyme cla…

Determination of thyreostatics in animal feed by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The determination of the thyreostatics 2-thiouracil, its derivatives (4-methyl-2-thiouracil, 4-propyl-2-thiouracil and 4-phenyl-2-thiouracil) and methimazole in manufactured dried animal feed by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) is described. A 99 +/- 5% extraction yield at the 20 micrograms g-1 level (n = 8) was achieved by shaking the milled fodder with methanol-1 M NaOH (80 + 20). Aliquots of the supernatant were injected in a 75 microns x 33.5 cm uncoated silica capillary using pressure; separation was performed at 23 degrees C with 15 kV (positive polarity) in a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 40 mM sodium dihydrogenphosphate, 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 15 mM …

Analytical characteristics, applications and perspectives in thermal lens spectrometry

Abstract The following selected aspects of thermal lens spectrometry are briefly outlined: fundamentals, sensitivity and background noise, detection approaches, flowing samples, multi-wavelength experiments, thermal lens circular dichroism, associated colateral phenomena and physico-chemical applications and requirements of analytical procedures. The state-of-the-art and problems encountered are discussed.

Photo-polymerized lauryl methacrylate monolithic columns for CEC using lauroyl peroxide as initiator

Lauryl methacrylate (LMA)-ester based monolithic columns photo-polymerized using lauroyl peroxide (LPO) as initiator were prepared, and their morphological and CEC properties were studied. The composition of the polymerization mixture (i.e. ratios of monomers/porogenic solvents, 1,4-butanediol/1-propanol and LMA/crosslinker) was optimized. The morphological and chromatographic properties of LMA columns were evaluated by means of SEM pictures and van Deemter plots of PAHs, respectively. The polymerization mixture selected as optimal provided a fast separation of a mixture of PAHs with excellent efficiencies (minimum plate heights of 8.9-11.1 μm). Satisfactory column-to-column (RS D < 4.5%) a…

Determination of inorganic species by thermal lens spectrometry

Abstract The application of thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) to the determination of inorganic species is reviewed. The requirements of a chromogenic reaction to be advantageously adapted to TLS detection, and the necessary conditions for reaching very low limits of detection are discussed. Methods for the determination of metals and P, Si, S and N compounds in several samples are examined. Flow-injection and extraction methods, associated photoinduced reactions and surface phenomena, speciation and equilibrium studies are discussed. Gas phase NO 2 methods are also commented upon. Trends are given.

On the determination of underivatised fatty alcohol ethoxylates by electrospray ionisation–mass spectrometry

Abstract The oligomers of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEs) exhibit large sensitivity differences in mass spectrometry with electrospray ionisation (ESI–MS) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). Standards of the oligomers from m = 1 to 7 ethylene oxide units (EOs) and linear alkyl chains from n = 10 to 18 carbon atoms were infused to examine the relative sensitivities or response factors in several media. The response factors of the [M + H]+ and [M + Na]+ peaks in 9:1 acetonitrile/water and methanol/water media containing acid buffers increased following irregular patterns when n and m increased. In methanol/water the response factors depended on the parity of m, being larger …

Preparation of organic monolithic columns in polytetrafluoroethylene tubes for reversed-phase liquid chromatography

[EN] In this work, a method for the preparation and anchoring of polymeric monoliths in a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubing as a column housing for microbore HPLC is described. In order to assure a covalent attachment of the monolith to the inner wall of the PTFE tube, a two-step procedure was developed. Two surface etching reagents, a commercial sodium naphthalene solution (Fluoroetch®), or mixtures of H2O2 and H2SO4, were tried and compared. Then, the obtained hydroxyl groups on the PTFE surface were modified by methacryloylation. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the successful modification…

Study of the Fragmentation of D-Glucose and Alkylmonoglycosides in the Presence of Sodium Ions in an Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer

Abstract Using electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry, the fragmentation of D-glucose and alkylmonoglycopyranosides (alkyl-GPs) was studied. In the presence of Na+, B1 and 0,2A fragmentations were observed. The alkyl-GPs also showed a 2,5Afragmentation. A cluster containing no carbon atoms and adducts of this cluster with neutral molecules were observed. Standards of alkylmonoglycofuranosides (alkyl-GFs) were not available; however, their fragmentation was studied by high-performace liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and HPLC-MS2 using an industrial mixture of alkylpolyglycosides. The cluster and its adducts were more easily formed by the alkyl-GPs than by the alkyl-GFs, but…

Rapid determination of sterols in vegetable oils by CEC using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns

A method for the determination of sterols in vegetable oils by CEC with UV-Vis detection, using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns, has been developed. To prepare the columns, polymerization mixtures containing monomers of different hydrophobicities were tried. The influence of composition of polymerization mixture was optimized in terms of porogenic solvent, monomers/porogens and monomer/crosslinker ratios. The composition of the mobile phase was also studied. The optimum monolith was obtained with lauryl methacrylate monomer at 60:40% (wt:wt) lauryl methacrylate/ethylene dimethacrylate ratio and 60 wt% porogens with 20 wt% of 1,4-butanediol (12 wt% 1,4-butanediol in the polymeriz…

RAPID LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF TETRACYCLINES IN ANIMAL FEEDS USING A SURFACTANT SOLUTION AS MOBILE PHASE

ABSTRACT A chromatographic procedure was developed for the determination of oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC), doxycycline (DC) and minocycline (MINO) in animal feeds. Clear analyte-rich extracts were obtained using a 1 : 1 acetonitrile/water mixture buffered at pH 3. The extracts were injected into a conventional unprotected C18 chromatographic column and eluted with a mobile phase of 0.05 M sodium dodecyl sulfate/5% 1-butanol/0.01 M oxalic acid at pH 3. Good resolution was achieved for the five compounds, whereas OTC and TC coeluted with an optimized aqueous-organic mobile phase of methanol/acetonitrile/0.01 M oxalic acid at pH 3. Mean recoveries from spike…

Chromium(VI) oxide oxidation of non-ethoxylated and ethoxylated alcohols for determination by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

A new derivatization procedure to increase the sensitivity of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) to non-ethoxylated and ethoxylated alcohols was investigated. The analytes were oxidized with chromium(VI) oxide and the resulting carboxylic and ethoxy-carboxylic acids were isolated by extraction with ethyl acetate; the extracts were alkalinized and infused into the ESI-MS system working in the negative-ion mode. The yields of the combined oxidation-extraction were ca. 100% for non-ethoxylated fatty alcohols dissolved in acetone and they decreased moderately in samples containing increasing amounts of water (e.g., a 75% yield was obtained with 50% water). Ethoxylated alcohols w…

Characterization of the alcoholic fraction of vegetable oils by derivatization with diphenic anhydride followed by high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric and mass spectrometric detection

Abstract Aliphatic and triterpene alcohols present in vegetable oils have been identified and determined by HPLC using UV–vis and MS detection after previous derivatization with diphenic anhydride. The alcoholic fraction was obtained by saponification, extraction and TLC (according to the European Union official procedure). Derivatization was performed in tetrahydrofuran in the presence of suspended grinded urea, which increases the reaction rate and yield. Derivatized extracts were chromatographed on a C8 column using gradient elution with acetonitrile/water mixtures containing 0.1% acetic acid, with UV–vis followed by negative-ion mode MS detection. Using linear discriminant analysis of t…

On the use of mixing reactors in flow injection analysis with thermal lens calorimetric detection

Abstract In flow injection analysis with thermal lens calorimetric detection, mixing of reagent streams of different composition before the detection cell produces a large background noise. The noise is due to the heterogeneity of the mixture which produces refractive changes in the probe beam direction. Procedures to measure the homogeneity of the mixture of solutions are derived, and used to evaluate and improve the mixing efficiencies of packed bead reactors. Using well-designed reactors, the mixing noise can be reduced below the noise levels due to other sources.

Characterization of poly(4-vinylpyridine 1-oxide) by free-solution capillary electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The migration characteristics of poly(4-vinylpyridine 1-oxide) (PVP-NO) in phosphate buffers of acidic pH (20 mM H 3 PO 4 or NaH 2 PO 4 ) have been studied using both free-solution capillary electrophoresis (FSCE) and MEKC. To inhibit adsorption, 250 mM o-phosphoethanolamine (2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate) was used. In FSCE, PVP-NO showed a narrow peak and a broader band, both having anionic behavior. These peak and band were attributed to the free and aggregated or micellized PVP-NO forms, respectively. According to surface tension measurements, the CMC of SDS in the BGE was 1.8 and 0.48 mM in the absence and in the presence of 1000 μpg/mL PVP-NO, respectively, and the association of t…

Determination of phenolic antioxidants in vegetal and animal fats without previous extraction by dilution with n-propanol and micellar liquid chromatography

Abstract A simple and rapid HPLC method for the determination of phenolic antioxidants (propyl and octyl gallates, tert -butylhydroquinone and 3- tert -butyl-4-hydroxyanisole) in sunflower, corn and olive oils, margarine, lard and butter oil is described. The samples are diluted with n -propanol, filtered and injected; solutions containing 30% (w/w) sample can be injected. The analytes are separated with a C18 column and a micellar mobile phase containing 0.1 M SDS, 2.5% n -propanol and 10 mM phosphate of pH 3, and detected at 290 nm. Calibration curves are linear ( r  > 0.9999) and the limits of detection range from 0.2 to 1.3 ng, which correspond to antioxidant concentrations well below t…

Focused microwave-assisted Soxhlet extraction: An expeditive approach for the isolation of lipids from sausage products

A prototype of extractor based on the conventional Soxhlet principles but assisted in the cartridge zone by focused microwaves is proposed for accelerating the extraction of lipids from sausage products. The extraction process has been optimised using a multivariate design involving the main variables influencing the performance of the prototype (namely, irradiation power P, irradiation time T and number of cycles C). Under the optimum working conditions (P=160 W, T=10 s and C=14), the extraction of lipids from different Spanish sausage products is complete in 45 min. The extracts thus obtained have been compared with those provided by conventional Soxhlet extraction for 8 h by development …

Monitoring supercritical fluid extraction by thermal lens spectrometry with pulsed laser excitation

Abstract A dual-beam thermal lens spectrometer (TLS) with a pulse pump–probe coaxial configuration was coupled to commercially available supercritical fluid extraction equipment using a high-pressure flow cell interface. Because of its feasible critical parameters, moderate cost and good thermooptical properties, carbon dioxide was used as supercritical solvent. Using trans -β-carotene as analyte, several factors related with the extraction process under continuos flow conditions were studied in order to establish their influence in the thermal lens signal magnitude. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the relative TLS signal area showed a linear relationship with the concentration o…

Thermal desorption gas chromatography with mass spectrometry study of outgassing from polymethacrylimide foam (Rohacell®)

Polymethacrylimide foams are used as light structural materials in outer-space devices; however, the foam closed cells contain volatile compounds that are outgassed even at low temperatures. These compounds ignite as plasmas under outer-space radiation and the intense radio-frequency fields used in communications. Since plasmas may cause spacecraft fatal events, the conditions in which they are ignited should be investigated. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative knowledge about polymethacrylimide foam outgassing should be established. Using thermogravimetric analysis, weight losses reached 3% at ca. 200°C. Thermal desorption gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection was used to…

Optical saturation thermal lens spectrometry in non-polar solvents

Abstract A model for thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) in partial optical saturation conditions which was previously applied to polar solutes in aqueous media is now checked with non-polar organic dyes and metal dithizonates in carbon tetrachloride. Some literature data are also examined. Most data can be consistently explained on the basis of the molecular structures, the sensitivity increasing with the capability of the solute to rapidly communicate the absorbed energy to the solvent molecules.

Optical recognition and removal of Hg(II) using a new self-chemosensor based on a modified amino-functionalized Al-MOF

Abstract We developed a simple self-chemical optical sensor for the monitoring and removal of ultra-trace levels of Hg(II) from aqueous media. The development of this sensor was based on the covalent attachment of amino-functionalized aluminum-based MOF particles with ninhydrin. The new sensor is densely coated with a chelating ligand to permit an ultra-fast, selective, pH-dependent visualization for removal of Hg(II) with detection limit (LOD∼0.494 μg L−1). Monitoring was accomplished via both a colorimetric signal visible to the naked eye as well as UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. Digital image-based colorimetric analysis has also used as a semi-quantitative analysis for determination the…

Improvement of the electrophoretic protein profiles of Leguminosae gums extracts using gamanase and application to the evaluation of carob–guar mixtures

Abstract A quantitative assay for guar gum in carob gum, based on the extraction of proteins in acetonitrile–water (7:3), separation by capillary electrophoresis and multiple linear regression (MLR) using the areas of nine selected peaks as predictors, was improved by performing the extraction in the presence of gamanase. In the absence of the enzyme, peak migration times and areas depended on the guar content, which complicated peak identification and evaluation. Manual correction of the migration times by comparison with standard electropherograms obtained with pure carob and carob–guar mixtures was required; however, when the proteins were extracted under sonication at 60 °C for 30 min i…

Analysis of the sensitivity to the systematic error in least-squares regression models

An algorithm that calculates the sensitivity to the systematic error of the fitted parameters of a least-squares regression model, with respect to the known parameters, is developed. The algorithm can be applied to mechanistic and empirical models, obtained by linear and non-linear regression, including principal component and partial least-squares. It can be useful in identifying those parameters or calibration regions that can influence other parameters and the response mostly, and thus, whose accuracy should be particularly procured. Other applications are the weighing of experimental points and the comparison of different models and regression methods in terms of its ability of amplifyi…

Analytical Study of the Thermal Induced Oscillations Known as Heartbeats

Abstract A laser beam traveling horizontally at a short distance below the free surface of an absorbing solution exhibits various oscillatory states (periodic, quasiperiodic, and chaotic) which depend on both the buoyancy (Archimedes force) and the thermal coefficient of the surface tension (Marangoni effect). The beam oscillations have been called “heartbeats.” In this work, the heartbeats were produced by pumping 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) solutions in silicone oil with an Ar+continuous-wave laser beam. The relationships between PAN concentration and the other parameters that control the oscillatory behavior were studied. The frequency of the oscillations sensitively varied with sm…

Determination of the four major surfactant classes in cleaning products by reversed-phase liquid chromatography using serially connected UV and evaporative light-scattering detection.

Abstract A method for the simultaneous determination of the most frequently used surfactant families –linear alkyl benzenesulphonates (LAS), alkyl ether sulphates (AES), fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAE) and oleins (soaps, fatty acid salts) – in cleaning products, has been developed. The common reversed phase octyl (C8), pentafluorophenyl and biphenyl columns were not capable of separating the anionic LAS and AES classes; however, since only LAS absorbs in the UV, these two classes were independently quantified using a C8 column and serially connected UV and ELSD detection. The best compromise to resolve the four surfactant classes and the oligomers within the classes was achieved with a C8 c…

Modeling of Retention in Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography

Influencia del procesado industrial sobre las características químico-físicas y contenido en lípidos y antioxidantes del salvado de arroz

Se investigaron las características químico-físicas de los salvados de arroz en distintos momentos de su procesado industrial, incluyendo materia prima (salvados de arroz blanco y vaporizado), salvado peletizado y salvado desgrasado. Se determinó la humedad, la acidez y el índice de peróxidos. Utilizando extractos en éter de petróleo y cromatografía de gases, se estableció el contenido lipídico total y los perfiles de los ácidos grasos. Mediante HPLC se determinaron los tocoferoles y el γ-orizanol. El salvado de arroz vaporizado mostró la mayor concentración de lípidos y la menor acidez, lo que indica que el vaporizado es el proceso más eficaz para estabilizar el salvado. Los ácidos oleico,…

Electrokinetic capillary chromatography in a polar continuous‐phase water‐in‐oil microemulsion constituted by water, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and n ‐pentanol

A water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion (ME) constituted by 15% Tris buffer, pH 8.4, in water and 85% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/n-pentanol 1:4 mixture, capable of dissolving up to 30% vegetable oils and lard, was used as background electrolyte in reverse microemulsion electrokinetic capillary chromatography (RMEEKC). Owing to the free SDS ions in the continuous phase and some degree of percolation, the ME showed a high conductivity (0.65 mS. cm(-1) at 25 degrees C) and sustained a very stable capillary current. Previous rinsing of the capillary with a quaternary ammonium salt for electroosmotic flow (EOF) reduction, a series of nonionic and anionic solutes dissolved either in the ME or in fat…

Determination ofl-Ascorbic Acid and Total Ascorbic Acid in Vascular and Nonvascular Plants by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) procedure for the determination of l-ascorbic acid (AA) and total ascorbic acid (TAA, as the sum of AA and dehydroascorbic acid) in vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, and liverworts is described. The samples were frozen in liquid nitrogen and extracted with 2% metaphosphoric acid. To determine AA, an aliquot was directly injected in a fused-silica capillary. The determination of TAA was performed upon its reduction with dl-homocysteine at pH 7. The background electrolyte contained 60 mM sodium chloride, 60 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate, 1 x 10(-4)% hexadimetrine bromide, and NaOH up to pH 7. The procedure was rapid and highly reproducible; the limi…

Sensitive determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water samples using monolithic capillary solid-phase extraction and on-line thermal desorption prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A methacrylate-based monolithic capillary column has been evaluated for the preconcentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from environmental water samples. For this purpose, the monolyte was in situ synthesized in a 6cm×0.32mm id fused-silica capillary. The microextraction unit was fitted to a micro-HPLC pump to pass 10mL of sample. The isolated pollutants were eluted by means of 10μL of methanol, the organic phase being directly collected in a specific interface that can be fitted to the injection port of the gas chromatograph without modification. The interface allows the on-line thermal desorption of the PAHs, avoiding the dilution and providing enough sensitivity to reach …

Modeling of the Low-Frequency Noise in Thermal Lens Spectrometry

The low-frequency noise observed in thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) can be modeled by assuming that the heated region, constituted by the thermal lens gradient and associated convective stream, behaves as a weakly damped harmonic oscillator with a natural frequency, vo, which is forced to move at an externally imposed pump frequency, vp. Out-of-phase lower-frequency oscillations of the TLS signal can be produced both by transient events, such as the beginning of the TLS experiment and small changes in the pump beam stability, and by drift of boundary conditions, such as the temperature of the surroundings. A model is developed and checked using 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-napthol (PAN) solutions in …

Evaluation of the quality of olive oil using fatty acid profiles by direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Abstract Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is used to predict the olive oil quality according to European Union marketing standards. Samples were 1:50 diluted in an alkaline 85:15 (v/v) propanol/methanol mixture and directly infused into the electrospray ionization source of an ion trap mass spectrometer. The establishment of ratios of the peak abundances of the free fatty acids followed by linear discriminant analysis was employed to predict the olive oil quality grade. In addition, using multiple linear regression and partial least-squares regression, the percentages of extra virgin and virgin olive oils in binary mixtures were predicted with 5–11% average prediction errors.

On the Retention of Diuretics in Micellar Liquid Chromatography and Their Site of Action Within the Nephron

Abstract The therapeutical action of diuretics has been attributed to their hydrophobic character, among other properties. Therapeutical and physiological classifications of diuretics are correlated. The site of action of high efficacay diuretics is the loop of Henle, that of intermediate efficacy diuretics is the distal tubule and that of low efficacy diuretics is the proximal and distal tubules, and the collecting duct. Partition coefficients between water and micelles offer a scale for hydrophobicity, which leads to a further correlation between retention in Micellar Liquid Chromatography (MLC), with a sodium dodecyl sulphate mobile phase and an ODS-C18 column, and the sites of action wi…

Characterization of industrial alkylpolyphosphonates by infusion electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry with identification of the impurities by tandem capillary zone electrophoresis

Technical grade diethylene-triaminepentakis(methylenephosphonic acid) (I), dihexamethylene-triaminepentakis(methylenephosphonic acid) (II), ethylene-diaminetetrakis(methylenephosphonic acid) (III), hexamethylene-diaminetetrakis(methylenephosphonic acid) (IV), amino-tris(methylenephosphonic acid) (V), hydroxyethyl-aminobis(methylenephosphonic acid) (VI), 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (VII), and 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (VIII) were characterized by ion trap mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI-ITMS). Using the negative ion mode and acid and alkaline media, peak series corresponding to the nominal compounds and to impurities with a lower number of p…

Spectrophotometric Determination of the Antihistamines, Carbinoxamine Maleate and Doxylamine Succinate, in anN-Cetylpyridinium Chloride Micellar Medium

Abstract The pyridine antihistamines carbinoxamine maleate and doxylamine succinate were derivatized by hydrolysis with cyanogen bromide and coupling with aniline to form a polymethine dye, and determined by colorimetry. In a micellar cationic medium of N-cetylpyridinium chloride (NCPC), the reaction times were reduced and the sensitivities improved. In 0.1 M NCPC the apparent molar absorptivities of the derivatives were 5,900 and 3,500 M−1 cm−1, and the limits of detection (as 3s) were 8.6x10−7 M and 1.7x106 M, for carbinoxamine and doxylamine, respectively. The sensitivity was enhanced in a three- to six-fold factor with respect to a non-micellar medium. The reproducibility was 0.8% for 1…

Determination of clenbuterol in urine by azo-dye precolumn derivatization and micellar liquid chromatography

Clenbuterol has been determined in urine by solidphase extraction on a C18 cartridge, diazotization of the eluate with nitrite, coupling of the diazonium ion with 1-(naphthyl)ethylenediamine, and separation of the azo dye formed by HPLC with a C18 column and a micellar mobile phase containing 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulphate, 12%n-butanol and 0.05 M citrate buffer, pH 3. Recoveries higher than 90% were obtained by mixing the samples with a 20% 0.2 M NaOH before extraction. Limits of detection of 51 and 6.7 ng L−1 were obtained with spectrophotometric and thermal lens spectrometric detection, respectively; respective repeatabilities were 3.1% (5 μg mL−1) and 5.6% (0.16 μg mL−1).

Thermal lens spectrometry in biochemical analysis.

The photothermal spectroscopic techniques, with special emphasis on the thermal lens spectrometry (TLS), are introduced to the non-specialist in laser spectroscopy. The following topics are treated on an elementary basis: fundamentals and analytical characteristics, instrumentation, selectivity and multi-wavelength capability, the models describing the signal-concentration relationship, the sensitivity, background noise and limits of detection, the influence of light scattering and flow. Applications related to the fields of clinical and biochemical analysis and organic pollution are given. The thermal lens circular dichroism and the infrared TLS are also briefly outlined.

Determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates with diphenic anhydride derivatization and liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection

A method for the determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEs) using diphenic anhydride as derivatization reagent and RP-HPLC separation with UV-vis detection is presented and compared to derivatization with maleic, phthalic, and other cyclic anhydrides. With these anhydrides, the reaction rates increased when urea was added to the reaction medium, and the yields did not decrease when the samples contained moderate amounts of water. Gradient elution on a C8 column was performed with water/acetonitrile in the presence of 0.1% acetic acid. The use of diphenic anhydride was advantageous for both the chromatographic separation and the detection. Specifically, sensitivity at 200 and 220 nm w…

Determination of tocopherols in vegetable oils by CEC using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns

The separation and determination of tocopherols (Ts) in vegetable oils by CEC using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns has been developed. The effects of pore size of the monolithic columns were studied, and the composition of mobile phase was optimized. The optimal pore size of the monolith was obtained with 12 wt% 1,4-butanediol in the polymerization mixture. Excellent resolution between tocopherols was achieved within 10 min analysis time with a 99:1 v/v MeOH-aqueous buffer containing 5 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane at pH 8.0. The LODs were lower than 2.3 microg/mL, and interday and column-to-column reproducibilities at 25 microg/mL were better than 5.6%. Using a 93:7 v/v M…

Sensitive determination of parabens in human urine and serum using methacrylate monoliths and reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A method for the determination of parabens in human urine and serum by capillary liquid chromatography (cLC) with UV-Vis and mass spectrometry (MS) detection using methacrylate ester-based monolithic columns has been developed. The influence of composition of polymerization mixture was studied. The optimum monolith was obtained with butyl methacrylate monomer at 60/40% (wt/wt) butyl methacrylate/ethylene dimethacrylate ratio and 50wt% porogens (composed of 36wt% of 1,4-butanediol, 54wt% 1-propanol and 10wt% water). Baseline resolution of analytes was achieved through a mobile phase of acetonitrile/water in gradient elution mode. Additionally, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME)…

Identification of Leguminosae gums and evaluation of carob-guar mixtures by capillary zone electrophoresis of protein extracts.

A procedure for the extraction and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separation of proteins from carob, guar and tara gums in a background electrolyte (BGE) of pH 9 containing 0.1% polyvinyl alcohol is described. The CZE protein profiles exhibit characteristic peaks for each one of the Leguminosae gums, which can be used to construct models capable of identifying samples of carob, guar and tara gums, and predicting the guar content in binary carob-guar mixtures of different geographical origin and harvested in different years. The classification and prediction models are constructed by using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and multiple linear regression (MLR), respectively. An excelle…

γ-Oryzanol and tocopherol contents in residues of rice bran oil refining

Rice bran oil (RBO) contains significant amounts of the natural antioxidants γ-oryzanol and tocopherols, which are lost to a large degree during oil refining. This results in a number of industrial residues with high contents of these phytochemicals. With the aim of supporting the development of profitable industrial procedures for γ-oryzanol and tocopherol recovery, the contents of these phytochemicals in all the residues produced during RBO refining were evaluated. The samples included residues from the degumming, soap precipitation, bleaching earth filtering, dewaxing and deodorisation distillation steps. The highest phytochemical concentrations were found in the precipitated soap for γ-…

Classification of pumpkin seed oils according to their species and genetic variety by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.

Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), followed by multivariate treatment of the spectral data, was used to classify seed oils of the genus Cucurbita (pumpkins) according to their species as C. maxima, C. pepo, and C. moschata. Also, C. moschata seed oils were classified according to their genetic variety as RG, Inivit C-88, and Inivit C-2000. Up to 23 wavelength regions were selected on the spectra, each region corresponding to a peak or shoulder. The normalized absorbance peak areas within these regions were used as predictors. Using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), an excellent resolution among all categories concerning both Cucurbita species a…

Overlapped moving windows followed by principal component analysis to extract information from chromatograms and application to classification analysis

Variable generation from chromatograms is conveniently accomplished using unsupervised rather than manual techniques. With unsupervised techniques, there is no need for selecting a few peaks for manual integration and valuable information is quickly and efficiently collected. The generation of variables can be performed by using either peak searching or moving window (MW) strategies. With a MW approach, the peaks are ignored and many variables, only part of them carrying information, are generated. Thus, variable generation by MWs should be followed by data compression to generate the variables to be further used for classification or quantitation purposes. In this work, unsupervised proces…

Single-pump heart-cutting two-dimensional liquid chromatography applied to the determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates.

Abstract A setup for heart-cutting bi-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC–LC), constructed with a chromatograph provided with a single pump, an auxiliary 6-port 2-position valve (V 6/2 ) and a column selector valve (V CS ), is described. The possible ways of connecting the two valves for LC–LC, namely with V 6/2 first followed by V CS and vice versa, are compared. The possibility of using the setups for preconcentration followed by the backwards transfer of the preconcentrated solutes to the detector or to a second column is also shown. The V 6/2 -first configuration for LC–LC was applied to the characterization of industrial fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEs) using UV–vis detection. For th…

Evaluation of molecular mass and tacticity of polyvinyl alcohol by non-equilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures of a polymer and a dye

Non-equilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures (NECEEM) has been used to characterize polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Commercial PVA samples with different molecular masses, from M(w)=15 up to 205 kDa, were used. According to the (13)C NMR spectra, the samples also differed in tacticity (stereoregularity). Mixtures of PVA and the anionic azo-dye Congo Red (CR) were injected in the presence of a borate buffer. The electropherograms gave a band and a peak due to the residual PVA-CR complex and the excess dye, respectively, plus a superimposed exponential decay due to the partial dissociation of the complex during migration. The stoichiometry of the PVA-CR complex, q=[monomer]/[dye…

Separation and determination of alkylglycosides by liquid chromatography with electrospray mass spectrometric detection

The separation of alkylpolyglycosides by liquid chromatography with electrospray mass spectrometric detection, using either an alkylamide or a cyanopropyl column, and acetonitrile/water mixtures as mobile phases, was developed. Using the alkylamide column and isocratic elution, the alpha- and beta-epimers and ring isomers (pyranosides and furanosides) of the alkylmonoglycosides were resolved. The ring isomers were also resolved in a much shorter time using the cyanopropyl column with gradient elution. Using these columns, the isomers of the alkyldiglycosides and alkyltriglycosides were also partially resolved. The equilibration time was much shorter with the cyanopropyl column, which was se…

Solvent selection in liquid chromatography

Many solvents and additives are used to prepare mobile phases in liquid chromatography (LC). Also, mixtures of solvents at different ratios are used to modify the mobile-phase properties. This can make solvent selection for method development a puzzling task, unless suitable guidelines are followed. This chapter summarizes the most common strategies used by skilled chromatographers in reversed-phase, normal-phase, and hydrophilic interaction LC. These are based on considerations about the global polarity of solutes, stationary phase, and mobile phase, which determine the elution strength, and on the particular profile of the contributions of intermolecular interactions to the global polarit…

Direct injection of edible oils as microemulsions in a micellar mobile phase applied to the liquid chromatographic determination of synthetic antioxidants

Abstract A simple and quick procedure for analysis of hydrophobic samples by direct injection in a liquid chromatograph, without previous extraction, has been developed. The sample is solved in a water/sodium dodecyl sulphate/n-pentanol microemulsion without destroying the microemulsion structure, and injected. A micellar mobile phase containing 0.1 M SDS, 2.5% n-propanol and 10 mM phosphate of pH 3 is used. The procedure is applied to the determination of synthetic antioxidants (propyl gallate, tert-butylhydroquinone, 2,4,5-trihydroxybutyrophenone, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, octyl gallate, 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and dodecyl gallate) in sunflower, corn and olive oils. Linear calibrat…

Determination of Parabens in Cosmetics without Previous Extraction by Micellar Liquid Chromatography

A simple and rapid micellar liquid chromatography method for the determination of p-hydroxybenzoic acid esters (methyl-, ethyl-, n-propyl-, and n-butylparaben) in cosmetics (bath foam, milk lotion, hand cream, cream base, and shampoo) is described. The samples are solved with n-propanol, further diluted with more n-propanol or with an aqueous sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) micellar solution, and injected. Separations are performed with a micellar mobile phase containing 0.1M SDS, 2.5% n-propanol, 10mM phosphate (pH 3), and with an octadecyl silica column (C 18 ). Calibrations are linear (correlation coefficient r > 0.999) and the limits of detection range from 0.03 to 0.3 ng paraben. The det…

Determination of alkylphenol ethoxylates by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with bile salts

Octyl- and nonylphenol ethoxylates (OPEs and NPEs) with different numbers of ethoxy units (average values: n = 10 and N = 40 for OPEs, and n = 10 for NPEs) were separated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography under positive polarity using an 80 mM borate buffer of pH 8.5 containing sodium deoxycholate (SDC) or sodium cholate (SC). When sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added to the background electrolyte (BGE) in the absence of the bile salt, a single peak at a migration time longer than that of the EOF was obtained. Substituting the SDS by a bile salt, the homologues were resolved. At the same bile salt concentration, resolution between the homologues was higher with SDC than using SC. …

Determination of synthetic antioxidants in dairy products and dietetic supplements by micellar liquid chromatography with direct sample injection

A simple and rapid HPLC method for the determination of synthetic antioxidants (propyl gallate, tert-butylhydroquinone, 2,4,5-trihydroxybutyrophenone, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, octyl gallate, 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and dodecyl gallate) in powdered and liquid milk, cream of milk and dietetic supplements is described. The samples are diluted or solved in a micellar solution, filtered and directly injected. The retention behavior of the antioxidants on a C18 column, with micellar mobile phases containing SDS (0.05–0.15 M), n-propanol (1–9%, v/v) and 10 mM phosphate at pH 3, has been studied by using mathematical models. Retention is predicted with errors below 3%. To optimize the mobil…

Rapid characterization of alkylpolyphosphonates by CZE with indirect photometric and mass spectrometric detection.

Methods for the rapid characterization of industrial alkylpolyphosphonates (APPs) by infusion MS and CZE with indirect photometric (IPD) and MS detection are described. Technical-grade APPs, including alkylaminepolyphosphonates with 3-5 phosphonate groups and different hydrocarbon skeletons, hydroxyethyl-amino-bis(methylenephosphonic acid), hydroxyethylidene-diphosphonic acid, and 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid, were examined. A 10 mM solution of adenosine triphosphate disodium salt at pH 2.2 was used as BGE. The nominal compounds of the industrial APPs and their impurities were well resolved in less than 15 min. The peaks were identified by using extracted ion electropherograms…

Characterization and quantitation of mixtures of alkyl ether sulfates and carboxylic acids by capillary electrophoresis with indirect photometric detection

The separation, characterization, and determination of mixtures of alkyl ether sulfates (AES) and fatty acids (C10-C16) in background electrolytes (BGEs) containing acetonitrile (ACN)-water mixtures is addressed. Due to inhibition of the ionization of the carboxylate groups, the migration time and the resolution between the fatty acids decreased when the water content of the BGE was reduced, but efficiency and resolution between the AES oligomers improved. The migration times increased and resolution improved by substituting 5% ACN by an equivalent amount of dioxane. A complete separation of the two surfactant classes, up to the AES oligomers with 8 ethylene oxide units (EOs) with respect t…

Characterization and determination of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) by complexation with an anionic azo-dye and nonequilibrium capillary electrophoresis

Using capillary zone electrophoresis in nonequilibrium conditions, the complexes of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) with anionic azo-dyes dissociate following a first-order kinetics. Two peaks due to the remaining PVP-dye complexes and the equilibrium concentration of the free dye, plus an exponential region due to the dye liberated by the complexes during the electrophoretic run, are obtained. This behaviour was closely similar to that described in the literature for protein-probe and DNA-protein mixtures, upon application of the technique known as nonequilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures or NECEEM. Using Congo Red and Acid Blue 113, information about the maximal stoic…

Rapid classification of enzymes in cleaning products by hydrolysis, mass spectrometry and linear discriminant analysis

A method for the rapid classification of proteases, lipases, amylases and cellulases used as enhancers in cleaning products, based on precipitation with acetone, hydrolysis with HCl, dilution of the hydrolysates with ethanol, and direct infusion into the electrospray ion source of an ion-trap mass spectrometer, has been developed. The abundances of the ([M+H]+ ions of the amino acids, from the hydrolysates of both the enzyme industrial concentrates and the detergent bases spiked with them, were used to construct linear discriminant analysis models, capable of distinguishing between the enzyme classes. For this purpose, the variables were normalized as follows: (A) the ion abundance of each …

Application of Organic Monolithic Materials to Enantioseparation in Capillary Separation Techniques.

This review article is primarily focused on the state-of-the-art of enantioseparations on organic monolithic materials. The article gives an overview of the chiral stationary phases and its application in capillary electrochromatography (CEC), and capillary- and nano-liquid chromatography (cLC and nLC). Since thousands of publications have been emerged from 2000’s and citing all these papers would extend the scope of this review; then, recent developments from last 10 years (2006 to 2016) will be mentioned. Mostly, stationary phases based on copolymers obtained from chiral functional monomers and surface modifications of organic monoliths with chiral ligands will be discussed. The effective…

A series expansion of the extended Debye-H�ckel equation and application to linear prediction of stability constants

The Debye-Hückel semiempirical extended equation is frequently used to calculate activity coefficients of chemical species and equilibrium constants at ionic strengths different from those used in their experimental evaluation. A series expansion of the extended Debye-Hückel equation is proposed here and checked with experimental data taken from the literature. The expansion is linear in the ionic parameters and yields a geometrical series which converges rapidly and that enables the accurate calculation of interpolated and extrapolated activity coefficients and equilibrium constants by simple and multiple linear regression without previous knowledge of the ionic parameters.

Synchronized gradient elution in capillary liquid chromatography

Abstract The synchronization of injection valve operation and gradient elution in capillary liquid chromatography (cHPLC) is studied. Focus is placed on the cHPLC systems which rely on the splitting of a primary flow to provide the much smaller secondary flow required at the injection device and analytical column. Owing to the tiny secondary flow rates, synchronization is necessary to achieve proper optimization of gradient elution methods. Otherwise, there is a risk of having the analytes totally or partially eluted in the initial isocratic conditions, and there is no control on the actual gradient profile reaching the column. Synchronization is first achieved by switching back the valve t…

Physical chemical properties and kinetics of redox processes in water/soybean oil microemulsions

Microemulsoes de agua em oleo (ME w/o) constituidas de agua, oleo de soja, SDS (dodecil sulfato de sodio) e diversos alcoois de cadeia curta foram caracterizadas sob o ponto de vista fisico-quimico e de propriedades eletroanaliticas. Foram testados diferentes co-surfactantes e razoes surfactante:cosurfactante, sendo a ME com a composicao mais favoravel utilizada para estudar a cinetica de processos redox. Para tanto, realizaram-se medidas de voltametria ciclica utilizando como eletrodo de trabalho um ultramicroeletrodo de disco de Pt e, como eletrodo de referencia e auxiliar, foram usados Ag/AgCl e Pt, respectivamente, e ferroceno como uma sonda. Verificou-se que a estabilidade termodinâmic…

An automatic system for stepwise treatment of solid samples and application to pollution evaluation by measuring ion lixiviation rates in lichens

An automatic system for the stepwise treatment of solid samples is described. The system is controlled by a PC computer that is connected to a burette equipped with a three-way valve, to a peristaltic pump, and to a robot arm through two serial interfaces. In a cycle, the burette introduces a solvent volume in the sample cell, sonication is applied, and, after a fixed time, the pump carries the solvent to the vial selected by the robot arm. Measurements can be performed both in-line and off-line by analyzing the vial series. The program was written in Visual Basic 3. Lixiviation rates of several cations from the lichen Ramalina farinacea were measured by capillary zone electrophoresis using…

Evaluation of 2,3-epoxypropyl groups and functionalization yield in glycidyl methacrylate monoliths using gas chromatography

Abstract Poly(glycidyl methacrylate- co -ethylene dimethacrylate) (poly(GMA- co -EDMA)) is most frequently used as parent monolith to obtain stationary phases with a variety of surface chemistries for liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography. Functionalization is performed by opening the accessible 2,3-epoxypropyl groups of the monolith with a suitable reagent. The number of 2,3-epoxypropyl groups which are accessible before and after the functionalization reaction, and the grafting yield, are important parameters, required both to optimize functionalization and to interpret the chromatographic performance of functionalized monoliths. In this work, a method capable of provi…

Determination of Pyrrole Derivatives and Hydroxyproline with 4-(Dimethylamino)benzaldehyde in a Micellar Medium

Abstract The spectrophotometric determination of pyrrole derivatives and hydroxyproline with 4-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde (Ehrlich's reagent) in a sodium dodecyl sulphate micellar medium is studied. Pyrrole and pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid were used as model compounds for the optimization of the procedure. In the micellar medium with 0.2 M HCl at 90° C, pyrrole reacts in 15 min, whereas a HCl concentration larger than 5 M is required in the absence of the surfactant. The sensitivity increases from 1.3 to 5.6-fold with respect to the use of a non-micellar medium, for some pyrrole derivatives. The procedure is applied to the determination of hydroxyproline in meat samples.

Preparation and evaluation of lauryl methacrylate monoliths with embedded silver nanoparticles for capillary electrochromatography

In this article, capillary columns constituted by lauryl methacrylate monoliths with embedded silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were developed and tested. Two incorporation approaches of AgNPs in monoliths were explored. The AgNPs were either photogenerated in situ during polymerization of the monolith by UV irradiation, or incorporated to the polymerization mixture (ex situ). The influence of the AgNP concentration on the morphological and chromatographic properties of the polymer matrix was investigated, and both the in situ and ex situ approaches were comparatively discussed. The morphology of the monoliths was characterized by electron microscopic techniques, and their electrochromatographic…

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Properties and Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Murraya Paniculata Leaves from the Mountains of Central Cuba

The essential oil of Murraya paniculata L leaves from the mountains of the Central Region of Cuba, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Eighteen compounds, accounting for 95.1% of the oil were identified. The major component was β-caryophyllene (ca. 30%). The antioxidant activity of essential oil was evaluated against Cucurbita seed oil by peroxide, thiobarbituric acid and p-anisidine methods. The essential oil showed stronger antioxidant activity than that of butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene, but lower than that of propyl gallate. Moreover, this antioxidant activity was supported by the complementary antioxidant assay in…

Determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates and alkylether sulfates by anionic exchange separation, derivatization with a cyclic anhydride and liquid chromatography

A method for the separation, characterization and determination of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAE) and alkylether sulfates (AES) in industrial and environmental samples is described. Separation of the two surfactant classes was achieved in a 50:50 methanol-water medium by retaining AES on a strong anionic exchanger (SAX) whereas most FAE were eluted. After washing the SAX cartridges to remove cations, the residual hydrophobic FAE were eluted by increasing methanol to 80%. Finally, AES were eluted using 80:20 and 95:5 methanol-concentrated aqueous HCl mixtures. Methanol and water were removed from the FAE and AES fractions, and the residues were dissolved in 1,4-dioxane. In this medium, este…

Prediction of wheat dough W and P/L inflation test parameters by capillary zone electrophoresis of a protein extract followed by multivariate regression.

A procedure for the evaluation of the wheat flour hardness, based on capillary electrophoresis of a protein extract in an isoelectric acidic buffer, was developed. The 13 flour samples were extracted twice, and two injections of each extract were made. Separations were performed in a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 40 mM aspartic acid, 6 M urea, and 0.5% hydroxyethylcellulose at 60 degrees C. Using the normalized and corrected areas of 79 peaks and peak groups, a partial least squares regression (PLS1) model was able to predict the flour strength or dough deformation work (W) and the dough tenacity/extensibility ratio (P/L) (Alveograph parameters) with an average relative standard d…

Pointwise resolutive significance of data and applications in experimental design and data treatment

Abstract The concept of the resolutive significance of a point in a data set with regard to a number of addressed parameters is introduced, and two algorithms able to measure it are proposed. The algorithms are validated using simulated experiments. The sum of all the pointwise resolutive significances of a data set is also proposed as a measure of the resolution of the data set. This sum correlates well with the reciprocal of the standard deviation of the fitted parameters, indicating the precision that can be expected for each parameters. Applications in experimental design, and a method for establishing the weights in the least-quarters regression analysis are discussed.

Quality control of pharmaceuticals containing clenbuterol by thermal lens spectrometry.

An ultrasensitive absorptiometric procedure for the determination of clenbuterol in pharmaceutical preparations was developed. Clenbuterol was diazotized with nitrite and coupled with 1-(naphthyl)ethylenediamine, and the absorbance of the azo dye formed was measured by both spectrophotometry and ultrasensitive thermal lens spectrometry (TLS). The TLS limit of detection was 1.5 ppb, 14-fold lower than with a Hewlett-Packard diode array spectrophotometer. Thus, the TLS procedure can be advantageously applied to quality control of clenbuterol at the individual dose level and in small samples. Repeatability as relative standard deviation was 1.5% (50 ppb, n = 6).

Polymethacrylate monoliths with immobilized poly-3-mercaptopropyl methylsiloxane film for high-coverage surface functionalization by thiol-ene click reaction

In this work, new polythiol-functionalized macroporous monolithic polymethacrylate-polysiloxane composite materials are presented which can be useful substrates for highly efficient immobilization of (chiral) catalysts, chromatographic ligands, and other functional moieties by thiol-ene click reaction. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (poly(GMA-co-EDMA)) monoliths were coated with a poly-3-mercaptopropyl methylsiloxane (PMPMS) film and subsequently the polymer was covalently immobilized by formation of crosslinks via nucleophilic substitution reaction with pendent 2,3-epoxypropyl groups on the monolith surface. This monolith, though, showed similar levels of surface co…

Determination of aerobic-anaerobic metabolism-related compounds in aChaoborus flavicans population by infusion ion trap mass spectrometry of extracts of individual larvae

In a daily migration, the aquatic larvae of Chaoborus flavicans (a phantom midge) alternate oxygen-saturated and anoxic lake strata. To investigate this cycle, larvae were collected at a natural environment, and acetate, propionate, pyruvate, lactate, glycerol, phosphate, maleate, succinate, glucose and citrate were determined. Each larva was homogenized with 200 microL water and deproteinized with a spin-filter; 50 microL aliquots were mixed with 50 microL of a buffer containing 80 mM propylamine, 20 mM HCl and 0.06 mM 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (internal standard) in methanol. The extracts were infused in an electrospray ionization ion-trap mass spectrometer. The limits of detection for th…

Use of triacylglycerol profiles established by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet–visible detection to predict the botanical origin of vegetable oils

A method for the determination of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in vegetable oils from different botanical origins by HPLC with UV–vis detection has been developed. Using a core-shell particle packed column (C18, 2.6 micron), TAG separation was optimized in terms of mobile phase composition and column temperature. Using isocratic elution with acetonitrile/n-pentanol at 10 °C, excellent efficiency with good resolution between most of the TAG peak pairs, within a total analysis time of 15 min, was achieved. Using mass spectrometry detection, a total of 15 peaks, which were common to oils of six different botanical origins (corn, extra virgin olive, grapeseed, hazelnut, peanut and soybean) were iden…

Separation of homologues and isomers of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates by capillary electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate, carboxylic acids and bile salts.

The ability of several anionic compounds, including carboxylic and dicarboxylic acids, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and other bile salts, to separate the C(10)-C(13) homologues and the corresponding 20 positional isomers of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS) by capillary electrophoresis was studied. Up to 19 peaks and a shoulder were observed with a background electrolyte (BGE) containing 10 mM phosphate (pH 6.8), 30% acetonitrile and 40 mM SDS, and 18 peaks were obtained with a BGE containing 10 mM borate (pH 9), 40% ethanol and 40 mM palmitic acid (PA). Resolution increased with the alkyl chain length of the carboxylic acid. Dicarboxylic acids with a short …

Determination of cationic surfactants by capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography with deoxycholate micelles in the presence of large organic solvent concentrations.

Mixtures of the cationic surfactants benzalkonium chloride (BKC) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) were quickly resolved and reproducibly and reliably determined by using background electrolytes (BGEs) containing 80 mM borate, pH 8.5, bile salts and large concentrations of an organic solvent. When the bile salt is present, the separation mechanism changes from capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) to a mixed micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC)-CZE, with predominant MEKC interactions, which lead to an excellent resolution of all the solutes, including the C12-C18 homologues of BKC and CPC. A BGE containing 50 mM sodium deoxycholate and 30% ethanol for an extreme resolution, or 20% …

Resolution of overlapped non-absorbing and absorbing solutes using either an absorption null-balance detection window or multivariate deconvolution applied to capillary electrophoresis of anionic surfactants.

Abstract Non-absorbing alkyl ether sulfates (AES) can be separated using anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid (AQCA) as a probe; however, absorbing alkyl benzene sulfonates (ABS), if present, interfere indirect detection of most AES oligomers. Overcoming of this interference, as well as the simultaneous characterisation and evaluation of AES, fatty acids and ABS, was accomplished by using a diode-array detector and the procedures here discussed. First, it was shown that ABS can be made undetectable by using a 9 nm wide and 227 nm centred charge-absorptivity null-balance detection window (NBDW), where its contribution to the absorbance cancels the dilution effects that its presence induces on the…

Derivatization of hydroxyl functional groups for liquid chromatography and capillary electroseparation

The derivatization reactions commonly used to enhance the analytical signal in the HPLC and CE determination of compounds with hydroxyl functional groups are revised. Focus is placed on the determination of compounds having aliphatic alcohols and phenols while lacking other reactive functional groups. The derivatization with acyl chlorides, organic anhydrides, isocyanates and a variety of other approaches, including oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols, sulfonation, esterification with carboxylic acids, and the use of azides, sulfonyl chlorides and other reagents having miscellaneous leaving groups, is covered. Reactions mainly addressed to introduce a chromophore or a fluorophore in…

Analytical methods for the characterization and determination of nonionic surfactants in cosmetics and environmental matrices

Nonionic synthetic surfactants, constituted of an assortment of classes, are common ingredients of industrial, household and body-care products. Alone or in combination with anionic surfactants, they perform a variety of functions including cleaning action, emulsification, skin conditioning, appearance and consistency modification, solubilization and dispersing agents. By far fatty alcohol ethoxylates (AEs) and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) are more extensively used than any other nonionic surfactant class; however, works appearing in the literature making reference to the analysis of other nonionic surfactant classes have also been collected in this review. The production volume worldwide…

Optical saturation, diffusion and convection effects in thermal lens spectrometry

Abstract In thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) the intense pump radiation can lead the chromophore to partial optical saturation conditions in which the ground state is depleted and the population of an intermediate excited state increases. A model in which the excitation process competes with both the decay processes and diffusion and convection of the species in the excited and ground states is developed. The model is used to explain the variations of the TLS/spectrophotometry sensitivity ratios found for a series of phthalein and azo dyes in aqueous media.

Determination of catecholamines as aminochromes by micellar liquid chromatography with thermal lens spectrophotometric detection

The determination of catecholamines (CAs) using micellar liquid chromatography with thermal lens spectrophotometric detection has been studied. CAs are oxidized with hexacyanoferrate(III) to aminochromes which are separated with a mobile phase of 0.05 M sodium dodecyl sulphate, 7% propanol and 0.03 M citrate buffer, pH 4.8, on a partially endcapped C18 column. The aminochrome-micelles and aminochrome-stationary phase association constants are evaluated. Using the 488 nm line of an Ar+ laser with 250 mW pump power the limits of detection are about 4 ng mL−1. The technique is applied to the determination of unconjugated CAs in urine using isoproterenol as internal standard.

Second-order tensorial calibration for kinetic spectrophotometric determination

Abstract Kinetic-diode array spectrophotometric detection, as well as other multichannel techniques when used in non-equilibrium conditions, constitute second-order instrumentation. The second-order response provided will be bilinear, under certain conditions even trilinear, thus allowing the use of the generalized rank annihilation method (GRAM) and the trilinear decomposition method (TLD). Both numerically simulated and experimental data were used to evaluate the performance of these calibration techniques. The conditions in which the ‘second-order advantage’ (the possibility of quantifying the analytes in the presence of unknown reactions or interferences) is preserved were investigated.…

Reversed Phase Liquid Chromatography

On the Derivatization of Drugs Using 1-Nitroso-2-naphthol, 4-aminoantipyrine and 2,6-Dihaloquinone Chlorimides

Coupling of 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (1N2N), 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP), 2,6-dichloroquinone chlorimide (DCQC) and 2,6-dibromoquinone chlorimide (DBQC) with several bioactive substances, including adren...

Composition, industrial processing and applications of rice bran γ-oryzanol

Abstract Rice bran oil (RBO) (20–25 wt% in rice bran) is a unique rich source of commercially-important bioactive phytochemicals, most of them of interest in nutrition, pharmacy and cosmetics. The unsaponifiable constituents of RBO include mainly tocols (vitamin E, 0.10–0.14%) and γ-oryzanol (esters of trans- ferulic acid with sterols and triterpenic alcohols, 0.9–2.9%). The following topics concerning γ-oryzanol are reviewed: analytical methods for characterisation and determination; influence of genetic and environmental factors on the composition of rice bran; extraction approaches, including supercritical CO 2 and subcritical water; and biomedical and industrial applications, including …

Determination of sulphonamides in human urine by azo dye precolumn derivatization and micellar liquid chromatography

Abstract A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of sulphonamides in urine is reported. The drugs (sulphadiazine, sulphaguanidine, sulphamethizole, sulphamethoxazole, and sulphathiazole) were diazotized with nitrite and coupled with N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride in a sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) micellar medium. Separation of the sulphonamide azo dyes was performed on a C18 column with a 0.05 M SDS-2.4% pentanol mobile phase, which permitted the direct injection of the urine samples. The limits of detection were in the 0.1–0.3 μg/ml range.

Comparison of thermal&amp;hyphen; and photo&amp;hyphen;polymerization of lauryl methacrylate monolithic columns for CEC

Lauryl methacrylate-based (LMA) monolithic columns for CEC, prepared using either thermal initiation or by UV-irradiation in the presence of AIBN have been compared. Thermal polymerization was carried out at 70 degrees C for 20 h. For UV initiation, the effects of the time exposure to UV light and irradiation energy were investigated. For each initiation process, the influence of composition of porogenic solvent (1,4-butanediol/1-propanol ratio) on the physical and electrochromatographic properties of the resulting monoliths was also evaluated. Photochemically lauryl methacrylate stationary phases initiated showed higher permeabilities and better efficiencies than those prepared by thermal …

High-performance micellar liquid chromatography determination of sulphonamides in pharmaceuticals after azodye precolumn derivatization

Abstract A chromatographic procedure with precolumn derivatization to form the N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine dihydrochloride azodyes is proposed for the analysis of several sulphonamides (sodium sulphacetamide, sulphadiazine, sulphaguanidine, sulphamerazine, sulphamethizole, sulphamethoxazole, sulphanilamide and sulphathiazole) in pharmaceutical preparations (tablets, pills, capsules, suspensions and drops). The separation is performed with a 0.05 M sodium dodecyl sulphate/2.4% pentanol eluent at pH 7. The precolumn derivatization improved the resolution in the chromatograms and increased the selectivity in the determination of mixtures of sulphonamides and in preparations where other drugs…

Releasing rates of inorganic ions in lichens monitored by capillary zone electrophoresis as indicators of atmospheric pollution

Abstract The releasing rates of inorganic ions in lichens when a thallus sample is sonicated under water, were studied. Ramalina farinacea samples taken from two locations exposed to atmospheric pollution sources at Els Ports (Castellon, Spain), and from three control locations, were used. Samples without visual symptoms of injuries were sonicated from 3 to 6 successive 10-min periods while renewing the water layer in between. Experiments with successive 2-min-sonication periods were also performed. The extracts were analysed by capillary zone electrophoresis, and K + , NH 4 + , Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Cl − , SO 4 2− and NO 3 − were detected. The apparently undamaged lichens sampled at locat…

Single-pump bi-dimensional LC applied to the characterization of derivatized fatty alcohol ethoxylates.

A column selection valve and a 6-port 2-position injection valve were combined to implement bi-dimensional LC in a system driven by a single pump. The system was applied to the separation of linear fatty alcohol ethoxylates with 12-18 carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon moiety, previous derivatization with diphenic anhydride. Separation on the first separation dimension (C(1)) was carried out with a propyl-diol column and an acetonitrile/aqueous ammonium acetate gradient. Fatty alcohol ethoxylate hydrocarbon series (oligomers with the same number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain but differing in the number of ethylene oxide units) were resolved without distinguishing the oligomers within the …

Determination of catecholamines in urine by micellar liquid chromatography with coulometric detection

The determination of catecholamines by HPLC with a sodium dodecyl-sulphate (SDS), micellar mobile phase on a C18 column and with coulometric detection was studied. The eluate was conditioned at +0.25 and +0.00 V, and the current at −0.16V was recorded. A previously developed model which describes the chromatographic behaviour of solutes in HPLC with hybrid, micellar mobile phases was used to optimize the SDS and ethanol concentrations. A mobile phase of 0.15M SDS in a phosphate buffer of pH 3.4 and without ethanol is recommended. The limits of detection were 0.4–0.7 ng ml−1. The procedure was applied to the determination of unconjugated L-dopa, norepinephrine and dopamine in urine. Direct i…

Modelling and prediction of retention in high-performance liquid chromatography by using neural networks

Multi-layer feed-forward neural networks trained with an error back-propagation algorithm have been used to model retention behaviour of liquid chromatography as a function of the composition of the mobile phases. Conventional hydro-organic and micellar mobile phases were considered. Accurate retention modelling and prediction have been achieved using mobile phases defined by two, three and four parameters. With micellar mobile phases, the parameters involved included the concentrations of surfactant and organic modifier, pH and temperature. It is shown that neural networks provide a competitive tool to model varied inherent nonlinear relationships of retention behaviour with respect to the…

Direct determination of oleic acid in soybean oil by capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection capillary electrophoresis in an oil-miscible KOH/1-propanol/methanol medium

Este trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver um método analítico direto e rápido para a determinação de ácido oleico em óleo de soja por eletroforese capilar com detecção condutométrica sem contato. O eletrólito de corrida empregado foi uma mistura metanol/1-propanol (1:6 v/v) contendo 4 × 10-2 mol L-1 de KOH e 10% (v/v) em etileno glicol. As amostras foram preparadas pela solubilização de 50 g L-1 de óleo de soja e 1,33 × 10-3 de ácido salicílico (padrão interno) no eletrólito de corrida. Os ensaios quantitativos foram realizados adicionando ácido oleico puro às amostras, na faixa entre 0,53 e 2,13 × 10-3 mol L-1. Sob polaridade negativa, os solutos aniônicos deslocaram-se mais rapidamente …