Analytical methods for multiresidue determination of sulfonamides and trimethoprim in meat and ground water samples by CE-MS and CE-MS/MS

Analytical Methods for the Determination of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Solid and Liquid Environmental Matrices: A Review

Among the various compounds regarded as emerging contaminants (ECs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are of particular concern. Their continuous release into the environment has a negative global impact on human life. This review summarizes the sources, occurrence, persistence, consequences of exposure, and toxicity of PPCPs, and evaluates the various analytical methods used in the identification and quantification of PPCPs in a variety of solid and liquid environmental matrices. The current techniques of choice for the analysis of PPCPs are state-of-the-art liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) or tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS2). However, the complexity of the environmental matrices and the trace levels of micropollutants necessitate the use of advanced sample treatments before these instrumental analyses. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) with different sorbents is now the predominant method used for the extraction of PPCPs from environmental samples. This review also addresses the ongoing analytical method challenges, including sample clean-up and matrix effects, focusing on the occurrence, sample preparation, and analytical methods presently available for the determination of environmental residues of PPCPs. Continuous development of innovative analytical methods is essential for overcoming existing limitations and ensuring the consistency and diversity of analytical methods used in investigations of environmental multi-class compounds.

A three-dimensional dynamic DNA walker-mediated branching hybridization chain reaction for the ultrasensitive fluorescence sensing of ampicillin

In this study, a novel, rapid and ultrasensitive fluorescence strategy using the three-dimensional (3D) dynamic DNA walker (DW)-induced branched hybridization chain reaction (bHCR) has been proposed for the detection of ampicillin (AMP). The sensing system was composed of an Nt·Bbvcl-powered DNA walker blocked by an AMP aptamer, hairpin-shaped DNA track probe (TP) and four kinds of metastable hairpin probes as the substrates of bHCR, which triggered the formation of the split G-quadruplex as the signal molecule. Due to the reasonable design, the specific binding between AMP and its aptamer activated the DW, and the DW moved on the surface of the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with the help of Nt·Bbvcl to produce primer probes (PPs), which induced bHCR. The products of the bHCR gathered two split G-quadruplex sequences together to form one complete G-quadruplex. The formed G-quadruplex emitted a strong fluorescence signal in the presence of thioflavin-T (ThT) to achieve the purpose of detecting AMP. The sensitivity of this method was greatly improved by the use of the 3D DNA walker and bHCR. The split G-quadruplex enhanced the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Under the optimal experimental conditions, a good correlation was obtained between the fluorescence intensity of the sensing system and the concentration of AMP ranging from 5 pM to 500 nM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.68 pM. Simultaneously, the method has been applied to the detection of antibiotics in spiked milk samples with satisfactory results.

Synergistic Enhancement Effect for Boosting Raman Detection Sensitivity of Antibiotics

In this paper, a two-step method is used to prepare a regenerative three-dimensional (3D) ZnO/Ag@Au substrate for developing a superior sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method for detecting antibiotics. A great electromagnetic enhancement is observed from the as-prepared composite substrate, which is triggered by tuning the electron distribution of metals and semiconductor metal oxide. The strong interaction between target sample and the huge surface area of ZnO/Ag@Au composite promotes the charge transfer to produce promising chemical enhancement. The synergistic physical and chemical enhancement mechanisms are validated by density functional theory and finite difference time domain simulation. Additionally, the presence of light "echo effect" in the 3D structure of ZnO support could also amplify the efficiency of light excitation for Raman scattering. The above-stated merits benefit to boost the Raman scattering detection sensitivity for real samples. The ZnO/Ag@Au-based SERS substrate could detect rhodamine 6G molecules with an enhancement factor of up to 1.48 × 10⁹ and the lowest detectable concentration of 10^-10 M. As a real application, antibiotics sulfapyridine in milk is determined by using the proposed SERS protocol, and the limit of detection at 1 × 10^-9 M could be reached. As a prospective, the ZnO/Ag@Au-based SERS method would be extended for food safety and biomedicine analysis.

Nanostructured hybrid surface enhancement Raman scattering substrate for the rapid determination of sulfapyridine in milk samples

The fabrication of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates, which can offer the advantages of strong Raman signal enhancement with good reproducibility, is still a challenge for practical applications. In this work, a simple and reproducible SERS substrate combining the properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), is proposed for the determination and quantification of sulfapyridine in milk samples with a concentration range of 10-100 ng mL^-1. The Raman signals of sulfapyridine is enhanced at factor of 4394. The procedure presented is capable of detecting and quantifying small quantities of sulfapyridine without implying any preconcentration step, just using an affordable and portable Raman spectrometer. The precision, in terms of repeatability and inter and intermediate precision, was lower than 8% in all cases.

Polypyrrole-modified magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotube-based magnetic solid-phase extraction combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction followed by UHPLC-MS/MS for the analysis of sulfonamides in environmental water samples

Polypyrrole modified magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes were prepared and applied as an efficient adsorbent for magnetic solid-phase extraction.

Quantum dot based multiplex fluorescence quenching immune chromatographic strips for the simultaneous determination of sulfonamide and fluoroquinolone residues in chicken samples

Quantum dot based fluorescence quenching immune chromatographic strips for simultaneous determination of sulfonamides and fluoroquinolones.

Graphene-doped Bi2S3 nanorods as visible-light photoelectrochemical aptasensing platform for sulfadimethoxine detection

Bismuth sulphide (Bi2S3) nanorods doped with graphene (G) were synthesized and explored as photoactive materials for constructing a photoelectrochemical (PEC) aptasensor for sulfadimethoxine (SDM) detection. The formation of Bi2S3 nanorods and G nanosheets was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and further characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The PEC measurements indicated that the photocurrent response of Bi2S3 was obviously improved by doping suitable amount of G. The G-Bi2S3 composite coated electrode was utilized for fabricating a PEC aptasensor by covalently immobilizing a 5'-amino-terminated SDM aptamer on the electrode surface. Based on the specific interaction between SDM and the aptamer, a PEC sensor responsive to SDM was obtained. Under optimal conditions, the proposed sensor showed a linear photocurrent response to SDM in the concentration range of 1.0-100nM, with a low detection limit (3S/N) of 0.55nM. Moreover, the sensor showed high sensitivity, stability and reproducibility. The potential applicability of the PEC aptasensor was confirmed by detecting SDM in veterinary drug formulation and milk.

Upconversion Nanoparticles and Monodispersed Magnetic Polystyrene Microsphere Based Fluorescence Immunoassay for the Detection of Sulfaquinoxaline in Animal-Derived Foods

A novel fluorescence immunoassay for detecting sulfaquinoxaline (SQX) in animal-derived foods was developed using NaYF4:Yb/Tm upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) conjugated with antibodies as fluorescence signal probes, and monodisperse magnetic polystyrene microspheres (MMPMs) modified with coating antigen as immune-sensing capture probes for trapping and separating the signal probes. Based on a competitive immunoassay format, the detection limit of the proposed method for detecting SQX was 0.1 μg L(-1) in buffer and 0.5 μg kg(-1) in food samples. The recoveries of SQX in spiked samples ranged from 69.80 to 133.00%, with coefficients of variation of 0.24-25.06%. The extraction procedure was fast, simple, and environmentally friendly, requiring no organic solvents. In particular, milk samples can be analyzed directly after simple dilution. This method has appealing properties, such as sensitive fluorescence response, a simple and fast extraction procedure, and environmental friendliness, and could be applied to detecting SQX in animal-derived foods.

A sensitive emulsification liquid phase microextraction coupled with on-line phase separation followed by HPLC for trace determination of sulfonamides in water samples

For the first time, ion-pair based emulsification liquid phase microextraction coupled with a novel approach for phase separation followed by high performace liquid chromatgraphy (HPLC) was utilized for trace determination of sulfonamides in water samples. After the formation of ion-pair complex with a cationic surfactant, sulfonamides were extracted into the drops of dispersed organic extracting solvent. Then, the cloudy solution was passed through an in-line filter located in a suitable holder and was separated based on emulsion filtration. By changing the HPLC valve position, the filter was laid in the mobile phase path, and the extraction phase was eluted by the mobile phase and introduced into the separation column for analysis. The effects of important parameters, such as type of extraction solvent, type of ion-pair agent and its concentration, pH of sample solution, ionic strength, and volume of extraction phase, on the extraction efficiency, were investigated and optimized. Under optimal conditions, the linear range, limits of detection, and precision (relative standard deviations) were 0.3-100, 0.1-0.3 μg L(-1), and 4.7-5.8%, respectively. Preconcentration factors (PFs) for the compounds studied were obtained in the range of 268-664. These PFs correspond to extraction recoveries in the range of 41-97%. The sample throughput of the method was 3 samples per hour, regarding 20 min analysis time for a single procedure. Finally, the method was successfully applied to determine the selected sulfonamides in some water samples.

Fast determination of sulfonamides and their acetylated metabolites from environmental water based on magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers

Group-selective magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) that can extract four widely used sulfonamide antibiotics and their acetylated metabolites from environmental water were synthesized in this study. The MMIPs with saturation magnetization value of 16.7 emu g(-1) could be separated from the environmental water samples easily by the application of an adscititious magnetic field, reducing the time consumption of pretreatment. The extraction conditions were evaluated, and optimal extraction conditions were as follows: extraction time, 25 min; amount of polymers, 90 mg; washing solvent, 30 % methanol aqueous solution; and elution solvent, methanol-acetic acid (95:5, v/v). The target analytes were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and the detection limits of the method are in the range of 0.38-1.32 ng L(-1). The relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day are in the range of 1.3-6.8 % and 1.7-9.1 %, respectively. The proposed method is suitable for the analysis of environmental water samples.

QuEChERS-HPLC-DAD method for sulphonamides in chicken breast

The development of a QuEChERS-HPLC-DAD method using a Lichrospher 60 RP-Select B column (250 x 4.6 mm x 5 µm) at 40ºC, mobile phase constituted by phosphate buffer:acetonitrile (75:25, v/v) at a initial flow rate of 0.5 mL min-1, increased by 1.2 mL min-1 and at 265 nm is presented for simultaneous determination of sulphadiazine, sulphametoxipiridazine and sulphamethoxazole in chicken breast samples. QuEchERS is inexpensive, fast and easy, and the extraction of the analytes of the matrix was successfully employed. In addition, the method presented linearity, in the range of 25, 50, 100, 150, 175, and 200 µg kg-1, precision, selectivity and sensitivity. The intraday precision (RSD %) for QuEChERS method was between 3.6-10.8 (SDZ), 6.9-14.1 (SPZ) and 1.9-10.9 (SMX) and interday precision (RSD%) was between 1.5-9.7, 1.7-4.1 and 2.1-10.2, respectively. Results of accuracy (bias) were in the range of -8.6 to +11.9 %. Therefore, the validated method is clearly useful for the practical residue monitoring of the drugs evaluated in chicken samples, as all the values were within the acceptable criteria used for food safety. Of 6 samples analyzed, none of them showed contamination of the sulphonamides studied at detectable levels.

Ionic liquid-salt aqueous two-phase extraction based on salting-out coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of sulfonamides in water and food

Ionic liquid-salt aqueous two-phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection was developed for the determination of sulfonamides in water and food samples. In the procedure, the analytes were extracted from the aqueous samples into the ionic liquid top phase in one step. Three sulfonamides, sulfamerazine, sulfamethoxazole, and sulfamethizole were selected here as model compounds for developing and evaluating the method. The effects of various experimental parameters in extraction step were studied using two optimization methods, one variable at a time and Box-Behnken design. The results showed that the amount of sulfonamides did not have effect on the extraction efficiency. Therefore, a three-level Box-Behnken experimental design with three factors, which combined the response surface modeling, was used to optimize sulfonamides extraction. Under the most favorable extraction parameters, the detection limits (S/N = 3) and quantification limits (S/N = 10) of the proposed method for the target compounds were achieved within the range of 0.15-0.3 ng/mL and 0.5-1.0 ng/mL from spiked samples, respectively, which are lower than or comparable with other reported approaches applied to the determination of the same compounds. Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of sulfonamide compounds in different water and food samples and satisfactory recoveries of spiked target compounds in real samples were obtained.

Quantitative multiple reaction monitoring of peptide abundance introduced via a capillary zone electrophoresis-electrospray interface

We demonstrate the use of capillary zone electrophoresis with an electrokinetic sheath-flow electrospray interface coupled to a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer for the accurate and precise quantification of Leu-enkephalin in a complex mixture using multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM). Assay time is <6 min, with no re-equilibration required between runs. A standard curve of Leu-enkephalin was performed in the presence of a background tryptic digest of bovine albumin. We demonstrate reasonably reproducible peak heights (21% relative standard deviation), retention times (better than 1% relative standard deviation), and robust electrospray quality. Our limit of detection (3σ) was 60 pM, which corresponds to the injection of 335 zmol of peptide. This is a 10-20-fold improvement in mass sensitivity than we have obtained by nano HPLC/MRM and substantially better than reported for LC/MS/MS. Further quantification was performed in the presence of stable-isotope-labeled versions of the peptides; under these conditions, linearity was observed across nearly 4 orders of magnitude. The concentration detection limit was 240 pM for the stable-isotope-labeled quantification.

Rapid and sensitive determination of sulfonamide residues in milk and chicken muscle by microfluidic chip electrophoresis

A new, rapid, and sensitive method was proposed for the determination of sulfonamide residues in milk and chicken muscle samples by microchip electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection. Separation of fluorescamine-labeled sulfonamides was accomplished by using a buffer containing 5 mmol/L boric acid and 1% (w/v) polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The pH, amount of PVA, and concentration of boric acid in the running buffer were found to have great influence on the separation. By optimizing these conditions, the separation of four sulfonamides, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfaquinoxaline, and sulfanilamide, was achieved within 1 min with limits of detection (S/N = 3) of 0.2-2.3 μg/L, which are well below the maximum residue limit. The proposed method also exhibited very good repeatability; the relative standard deviations for both within-day and between-day measurements were ≤3.0%. With a simplified sample pretreatment protocol, fast determination of sulfonamides in real samples was successfully performed with standard addition recoveries of 93.3-100.8 and 82.9-92.3%, respectively.

Recent advances in the application of capillary electromigration methods for food analysis and Foodomics

The use of capillary electromigration methods to analyze foods and food components is reviewed in this work. Papers that were published during the period April 2007 to March 2009 are included following the previous review by García-Cañas and Cifuentes (Electrophoresis, 2008, 29, 294-309). These works include the analysis of amino acids, biogenic amines, peptides, proteins, DNAs, carbohydrates, phenols, polyphenols, pigments, toxins, pesticides, vitamins, additives, small organic and inorganic ions and other compounds found in foods and beverages, as well as those applications of CE for monitoring food interactions and food processing. The use of microchips, CE-MS, chiral-CE as well as other foreseen trends in food analysis are also discussed including their possibilities in the very new field of Foodomics.

The application of CE-MS in the trace analysis of environmental pollutants and food contaminants

In this review, selected applications of CE-MS in recent years have been highlighted for the separation, detection and determination of environmental pollutants and food contaminants in selected samples. Trace analysis by CE-MS of analytes such as low molecular mass amines, nitroaromatics, alkylphosphonic acids, azo dyes, antidepressants, and antibiotic drugs, among others, in air, sediment and water samples have been reviewed. The CE-MS analysis of pesticides such as triazolopyrimidine sulphoanilides, different types of antibiotics (sulphonamides, beta-lactones, quinolones and tetracyclines) and other exogenous compounds such as acrylamide and toxic oligopeptides in food samples has also been reviewed. The review gives details on the fragmentations, where available, that the ionic species exhibit in-source and in ion trap, triple quadrupole and ToF MS analysers. A critical evaluation is also given of these recent CE-MS analytical methods for the separation, detection and determination of trace levels of such pollutants and contaminants with analytical information on the treatment of the samples, CE separation conditions, linearity ranges, LODs and recoveries from the different matrices presented.

Recent food safety and food quality applications of CE-MS

The first on-line coupling of CE with MS detection more than 20 years ago provided a very powerful technique with a wide variety of applications, among which food analysis is of special interest, especially that dealing with food safety and food quality applications, the major topics of public interest nowadays. With this review article, we would like to show the most recent applications of CE-MS in both fields by recompiling and commenting articles published between January 2004 and October 2008. Although both applications are difficult to separate from each other, we have included in this work two main sections dealing with each specific field. Future trends will also be discussed.

Sulfamethoxazole contamination of a deep phreatic aquifer

Groundwater samples were obtained from the water table region of a phreatic aquifer (unsaturated zone depth up to 28 m) under land irrigated with wastewater effluents for about 5 decades and a relatively deep pumping well (109 m), used as a drinking water source till 2007, located downstream (1300 m) of wastewater effluent and sludge infiltration facilities. Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) concentrations in secondary effluents varied between 90 and 150 ng/L. SMX was extracted using SPE and was analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS. SMX (maximum concentration of 37 ng/L) was detected in the water table region, in two monitoring wells, after an unsaturated zone transport period of about 16 years. The maximum SMX concentration detected in the pumping well was of 20 ng/L. These results question wastewater effluent disposal strategies including the suitability of irrigation with effluents on the replenishment area of an aquifer supplying drinking water.