Separation of inorganic anions on a high capacity porous polymeric monolithic column and application to direct determination of anions in seawater

A Hydrophilic Strong Anion-Exchange Hybrid Monolith for Capillary Liquid Chromatography

A hydrophilic strong anion-exchange monolithic hybrid column was prepared by in-capillary coating 5-µm bare silica particles with the copolymers of methacryloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride and pentaerythritol triacrylate in the presence of a porogen consisting of water, methanol, and cyclohexanol. The composition of the porogen and the concentration of the monomers were investigated and selected. The resulting column was characterized. The column had an uniform pore structure and could withstand a back pressure up to 3500 psi. Its permeability was comparable to that of packed columns and the swelling-shrinking behaviour negligible. Its hydrophobicity could be suppressed at acetonitrile concentrations above 40% (v/v) and the minimum theoretical plate height was about 10 µm for BrÑ. The column-to-column relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 2.2% and 3.5% (n = 9) and the batch-to-batch RSDs were 2.4% and 5.5% (n = 3) for k and H values, respectively. The column exhibited a remarkable performanceforthe separation of inorganic anions, organic weak acids, phenols, and nucleotides.

Trends in sample preparation and separation methods for the analysis of very polar and ionic compounds in environmental water and biota samples

Recent years showed a boost in knowledge about the presence and fate of micropollutants in the environment. Instrumental and methodological developments mainly in liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry hold a large share in this success story. These techniques soon complemented gas chromatography and enabled the analysis of more polar compounds including pesticides but also household chemicals, food additives, and pharmaceuticals often present as traces in surface waters. In parallel, sample preparation techniques evolved to extract and enrich these compounds from biota and water samples. This review article looks at very polar and ionic compounds using the criterion log P ≤ 1. Considering about 240 compounds, we show that (simulated) log D values are often even lower than the corresponding log P values due to ionization of the compounds at our reference pH of 7.4. High polarity and charge are still challenging characteristics in the analysis of micropollutants and these compounds are hardly covered in current monitoring strategies of water samples. The situation is even more challenging in biota analysis given the large number of matrix constituents with similar properties. Currently, a large number of sample preparation and separation approaches are developed to meet the challenges of the analysis of very polar and ionic compounds. In addition to reviewing them, we discuss some trends: for sample preparation, preconcentration and purification efforts by SPE will continue, possibly using upcoming mixed-mode stationary phases and mixed beds in order to increase comprehensiveness in monitoring applications. For biota analysis, miniaturization and parallelization are aspects of future research. For ionic or ionizable compounds, we see electromembrane extraction as a method of choice with a high potential to increase throughput by automation. For separation, predominantly coupled to mass spectrometry, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography applications will increase as the polarity range ideally complements reversed phase liquid chromatography, and instrumentation and expertise are available in most laboratories. Two-dimensional applications have not yet reached maturity in liquid-phase separations to be applied in higher throughput. Possibly, the development and commercial availability of mixed-mode stationary phases make 2D applications obsolete in semi-targeted applications. An interesting alternative will enter routine analysis soon: supercritical fluid chromatography demonstrated an impressive analyte coverage but also the possibility to tailor selectivity for targeted approaches. For ionic and ionizable micropollutants, ion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis are amenable but may be used only for specialized applications such as the analysis of halogenated acids when aspects like desalting and preconcentration are solved and the key advantages are fully elaborated by further research. Graphical abstract.

HPLC-DAD Determination of Nitrite and Nitrate in Human Saliva Utilizing a Phosphatidylcholine Column

The aim of this research was to optimize the separation and quantitative determination of nitrites and nitrates in human saliva. HPLC with UV absorption (HPLC/DAD) using a phosphatidylcholine column (IAM.PC.DD2 Regis HPLC) was applied in this assay. Nitrates were detected directly by their absorbance at 210 nm, whereas nitrites were detected after oxidation to nitrates by potassium permanganate at acidic conditions. The kinetics of the permanganate–nitrite reaction was measured chromatographically. The calibration graph for nitrates was linear in the range of 0.5–35 µg mL⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999. The limit of detection was 4.56 ng mL⁻¹. The calibration graph for nitrites (after oxidation to nitrates) was linear in the range of 0.5–15 µg mL⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient of 0.9972. The limit of detection was 4.21 ng mL⁻¹. The nitrate concentrations in the saliva samples were found in the range of 8.98–18.52 μg mL⁻¹, whereas nitrite was in the range of 3.50–5.34 μg mL⁻¹.

Determination of inorganic anions in weak acids by using ion exclusion chromatography - Capillary ion chromatography switching column technique

An improved "heart-cut" column-switching method combining ion-exclusion column, monolithic anion exchange concentrator and capillary anion-exchange column is developed and successfully applied for the determination of inorganic anions (Cl^-, Br^-, NO₃^- and HPO₄^2-) at trace level in weak acids. The quantitative determination of selected inorganic anions in the samples of fifteen weak acids and hydrogen peroxide are accomplished with analysis time of 45 min per sample. The obtained limits of detection (LODs) are in the range of 2.1-32.6 ng/L based on the s/n = 3 and injection volume of 50 μL. RSDs for retention time and peak area were all ≤1.89%. A spike-recovery study was performed under these conditions and satisfactory recoveries between 85.3 and 103.9% for all studied anions were obtained.

Determination of bromate in sea water using multi-dimensional matrix-elimination ion chromatography

A multi-dimensional matrix-elimination ion chromatography approach has been applied to the determination of bromate in seawater samples. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional configurations were evaluated for their efficacy to eliminate the interference caused by the high concentration of ubiquitous ions present in seawater, such as chloride and sulfate. A two-dimensional approach utilising a high capacity second dimension separation comprising two Dionex AS24 columns connected in series was applied successfully and permitted the determination of bromate in undiluted seawater samples injected directly onto the ion chromatography system. Using this approach the limit of detection (LOD) for bromate based on a signal to noise ratio of 3 was 1050 μg/L using a 500 μL injection loop. Good linearity was obtained for bromate with correlation coefficients for the calibration curves of 0.9981 and 0.9996 based on peak height and area, respectively. A three-dimensional method utilising two 10-port switching valves to allow sharing of the second suppressor and detector between the second and third dimension separations showed better resolution and detection for bromate and reduced the LOD to 60 μg/L for spiked seawater samples. Good linearity was maintained with correlation coefficients of 0.9991 for both peak height and area. Ozonated seawater samples were also analysed and exhibited a non-linear increase in bromate level on increasing ozonation time. A bromate concentration in excess of 1770 μg/L was observed following ozonation of the seawater sample for 120 min. Recoveries for the three-dimensional system were 92% and 89% based on peak height and area, respectively, taken over 5 ozonated samples with 3 replicates per sample.

Improvement of separation efficiencies of anion-exchange chromatography using monolithic silica capillary columns modified with polyacrylates and polymethacrylates containing tertiary amino or quaternary ammonium groups

Anion-exchange (AEX) columns were prepared by on-column polymerization of acrylates and methacrylates containing tertiary amino or quaternary ammonium groups on monolithic silica in a fused silica capillary modified with anchor groups. The columns provided a plate height (H) of less than 10 microm at optimum linear velocity (u) with keeping their high permeability (K=9-12 x 10(-14) m2). Among seven kinds of AEX columns, a monolithic silica column modified with poly(2-hydroxy-3-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)propyl methacrylates) (HMPMA) showed larger retentions and better selectivities for nucleotides and inorganic anions than the others. The HMPMA column of 410 mm length produced 42,000-55,000 theoretical plates (N) at a linear velocity of 0.97 mm/s with a backpressure of 3.8 MPa. The same column could be employed for a fast separation of inorganic anions in 1.8 min at a linear velocity of 5.3 mm/s with a backpressure of 20 MPa. In terms of van Deemter plot and separation impedance, the HMPMA column showed higher performance than a conventional particle-packed AEX column. The HMPMA column showed good recovery of a protein, trypsin inhibitor, and it was applied to the separation of proteins and tryptic digest of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in a gradient elution, to provide better separation compared to a conventional particle-packed AEX column.

Using scanning contactless conductivity to optimise photografting procedures and capacity in the production of polymer ion-exchange monoliths

Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4D) is utilised as a simple, rapid and non-invasive technique for the quantitative evaluation of the ion-exchange capacity of charged polymer monoliths in capillary format. A charged monomer, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) was photografted onto a 100 microm i.d. butyl methacrylate-co-ethylenedimethacrylate monolith in a number of discrete 10 mm zones. By varying the energy dose (J/cm2) during grafting of each zone, the grafting density and thus ion-exchange capacity could be precisely controlled. Ion-exchange capacity could be correlated with energy dose by measuring the conductive response of each grafted region using scanning C4D techniques. Repeatability of the scanning C4D method was excellent with % RSD values of 0.7% and 2.4% obtained for three replicate scans of the ungrafted and grafted regions of a single monolith, respectively. Repeatability of the photografting process on separate monoliths was also examined by comparison of C4D profiles. The spatial accuracy of photografting was probed using scanning C4D which could measure the conductive response of the monolith at measurement intervals as low as 1 mm along its entire length. Scanning C4D was also used for the real time visualisation of the equilibration of grafted zones to permit the optimisation of monolith washing procedures. Finally, scanning C4D was applied to the measurement of the ion-exchange capacity of butyl methacrylate-co-AMPS-co-ethylenedimethacrylate copolymers with a direct correlation between monolith conductive response and concentration of charged monomer in the polymerisation mixture. The longitudinal homogeneity of charge along the monolith was 0.3% RSD, demonstrating that the charged functional monomer was evenly dispersed throughout the bulk of the monolith. Ion-exchange capacity was cross validated chromatographically using breakthrough studies and found to closely correlate to within 1% of the measurements made by scanning C4D.