Efficient separation of tanshinones by polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized graphene-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Recent Applications of Capillary Electrophoresis in the Determination of Active Compounds in Medicinal Plants and Pharmaceutical Formulations

The present review summarizes scientific reports from between 2010 and 2019 on the use of capillary electrophoresis to quantify active constituents (i.e., phenolic compounds, coumarins, protoberberines, curcuminoids, iridoid glycosides, alkaloids, triterpene acids) in medicinal plants and herbal formulations. The present literature review is founded on PRISMA guidelines and selection criteria were formulated on the basis of PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study type). The scrutiny reveals capillary electrophoresis with ultraviolet detection as the most frequently used capillary electromigration technique for the selective separation and quantification of bioactive compounds. For the purpose of improvement of resolution and sensitivity, other detection methods are used (including mass spectrometry), modifiers to the background electrolyte are introduced and different extraction as well as pre-concentration techniques are employed. In conclusion, capillary electrophoresis is a powerful tool and for given applications it is comparable to high performance liquid chromatography. Short time of execution, high efficiency, versatility in separation modes and low consumption of solvents and sample make capillary electrophoresis an attractive and eco-friendly alternative to more expensive methods for the quality control of drugs or raw plant material without any relevant decrease in sensitivity.

Polyethylene Glycols for the Dispersion Development of Graphene in an Aqueous Surfactant Solution Studied by Affinity Capillary Electrophoresis

Water-soluble nonionic polymers of polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were examined to develop the dispersion of graphene in an aqueous surfactant solution. Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate was used as an anionic surfactant to disperse graphene in an aqueous solution and to give negative charge on it. The dispersion of graphene was monitored through the electropherograms in affinity capillary electrophoresis; a broad peak for the dispersed graphene and shot signals for the aggregated one. When PEG was added in the separation buffer as an affinity reagent, the number of the shot signals in the electropherogram was reduced; PEG can develop the dispersion of graphene in an aqueous surfactant solution. The dispersion was also developed with PVP or PVA. The effective electrophoretic mobility of the dispersed graphene was reduced by using the polymer as an affinity reagent. The result suggested that the anionic surfactant on the graphene surface was competitively substituted with the nonionic polymer. The degree of the decrease in the effective electrophoretic mobility was larger with PEG with a high-molecular mass. The broad peak of the dispersed graphene got narrower by the addition of PEG, and the number of theoretical plates was improved.

Microwave assisted synthesis of metal-organic framework MIL-101 nanocrystals as sorbent and pseudostationary phase in capillary electrophoresis for the separation of anthraquinones in environmental water samples

In this work, a CE method was developed to separate five anthraquinones: aloe-emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion. The CE method used a nano-sized metal organic framework MIL-101 (nMIL-101) as pseudostationary phase (PSP) and sorbent for dispersed particle extraction (DPE). The nMIL-101 was synthesized by microwave technique and was characterized by UV-vis, TEM, Zeta potential, X-ray diffraction spectrometry and micropore physisorption. In this method, anthraquinones were adsorbed by nMIL-101 of a fast kinetics within 10 min and then separated by CE. The CE conditions were optimized considering time, pH, buffer ionic strength, and nanoparticles concentration. The optimal CE condition is using 20 mM sodium borate buffer (pH 9.1) containing 15% methanol (v/v) and 400 mg/L nMIL-101 as additives within 8 min. The LODs varied from 24 to 57 μg/L, which were lower than those previously reported. Our method has been successfully applied to determine trace anthraquinones in environmental water samples.