Capillary electrophoresis-tandem mass spectrometry combined with molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction as useful tool for the monitoring of 5-nitroimidazoles and their metabolites in urine samples

Effective extraction and determination of 24 quinolones in water and egg samples using a novel magnetic covalent organic framework combined with UPLC-MS/MS

The excessive use of quinolones (QNs) has seriously threatened human health. In this study, a novel functionalized magnetic covalent organic framework Fe3O4@SiO2@Ah-COF was fabricated with biphenyl-3,3',5,5'-tetracarbaldehyde and hydrazine hydrate (85%) as monomers and was used as a magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) absorbent for the determination of 24 QNs in water and egg samples through ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The extraction parameters of MSPE were optimized, including pH, adsorbent dosage, adsorption time, and eluent type. An effective and rapid detection method was then established, which showed good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9990), low limits of detection (0.003-0.036 μg L-1) and low limits of quantitation (0.008-0.110 μg L-1) for QNs. The good recoveries of 24 QNs in water and egg samples were in the range of 70.3-106.1% and 70.4-119.7%, respectively, with relative standard deviations lower than 10% (n = 5). As a result, Fe3O4@SiO2@Ah-COF is a promising magnetic adsorbent, and the established method was successfully applied for the determination of 24 QNs in water and egg samples.

Facile synthesis of hypercrosslinked polymer as high-efficiency adsorbent for the enrichment of nitroimidazoles from water, honey and chicken meat

Design and fabrication of functionalized hypercrosslinked polymers (HCPs) for enhancing their performance by using green renewable monomers has attracted considerable research interest. In this study, hydroxyl‑functional HCP (labeled as OHHCP) was prepared via the knitting method by applying natural naringenin as a monomer for the first time. Due to the good hydrophilicity and strong H-bonding ability, the OHHCP showed high extraction capacity for nitroimidazoles. Thus, it was successfully applied as a potent adsorbent for solid phase extraction of five nitroimidazoles in water, honey and chicken meat, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector analysis. At the optimized conditions, the limit of detections (S/N = 3) of the proposed method for water, honey and chicken samples were 0.02 - 0.06 ng mL^-1, 0.5 - 1.0 ng g^-1 and 0.8 - 1.0 ng g^-1, respectively. The recoveries were 80.0 - 110%, and the relative standard deviations were below 10.0%. The OHHCP also displayed good application prospects for other organic compounds with H-bonding capability. This study highlights the facile preparation of OH-functionalized HCPs from renewable and natural resources as potent adsorbents for polar compounds.

Evaluation of a porous imine-based covalent organic framework for solid-phase extraction of nitroimidazoles

Covalent organic framework materials (COFs), a kind of porous organic material, have excellent potential application in the field of sample pretreatment due to their high surface areas and thermal stability. In this work, a porous imine-based COF, named BP-COF, was fabricated by a solvothermal method using 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxaldehyde and 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl) benzene as monomers. After a series of structural characterization studies, the BP-COF was used as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) adsorbent for the extraction and enrichment of nitroimidazoles and their metabolites. Several parameters were investigated during the extraction process, including the sorbent dosage, loading pH value, the washing and elution solvent, and the breakthrough volume. By coupling with UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, a sensitive and facile method was established for the quantitation analysis of NDZs. Under the optimum conditions, a low detection limit (0.015-0.12 ng mL^-1) and wide linearity (0.2-500 ng mL^-1) with higher R² were obtained. In addition, the developed method was applied for the determination of NDZs in four water samples with recoveries in the range of 71.7-115.9% and RSDs less than 8.3%. The results indicated that the BP-COF shows great potential for the enrichment of NDZs in water samples.

CE-DAD-MS/MS in the simultaneous determination and identification of selected antibiotic drugs and their metabolites in human urine samples

In this study, a new analytical method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of antibiotic drugs (amoxicillin, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, linezolid, metronidazole) and their metabolites (amoxycilloic acid, amoxicillin diketopiperazine, 3-desacetyl cefotaxime lactone, clindamycin sulfoxide, ciprofloxacin piperazinyl-N4-sulfate, linezolid N-oxide, metronidazole-OH) in human urine. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) along with the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used to determine and identify all analytes. Appropriate conditions for MS/MS measurements along with the use of the central composite design were optimized. The effects of different analytical conditions (the composition, the concentration, and the pH value of the background electrolyte, the time and pressure of the injection, the capillary temperature and influence of the organic modifier) on the migration and separation of antibiotic drugs and metabolites were examined using the CE-DAD. The analytical procedure was linear for concentrations ranging from 20 to 1000 ng/mL, with determination coefficients higher than 0.99 for all the analytes. The validated analytical procedure was then applied to the measurement of antibiotic drugs and their metabolites in human urine samples.

Current applications of capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry for the analysis of biologically important analytes in urine (2017 to mid-2021): A review

Capillary electrophoresis coupled online with mass detection is a modern tool for analyzing wide ranges of compounds in complex samples, including urine. Capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry allows the separation and identification of various analytes spanning from small ions to high molecular weight protein complexes. Similarly to the much more common liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry techniques, the capillary electrophoresis separation reduces the complexity of the mixture of analytes entering the mass spectrometer resulting in reduced ion suppression and a more straightforward interpretation of the mass spectrometry data. This review summarizes capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry studies published between the years 2017 and 2021, aiming at the determination of various compounds excreted in urine. The properties of the urine, including its diagnostical and analytical features and chemical composition, are also discussed including general protocols for the urine sample preparation. The mechanism of the electrophoretic separation and the instrumentation for capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry coupling is also included. This review shows the potential of the capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry technique for the analyses of different kinds of analytes in a complex biological matrix. The discussed applications are divided into two main groups (capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry for the determination of drugs and drugs of abuse in urine and capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry for the studies of urinary metabolome).

Magnetic mesoporous carbon nanosheets derived from two-dimensional bimetallic metal-organic frameworks for magnetic solid-phase extraction of nitroimidazole antibiotics

We prepared two-dimensional (2D) bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (Ni-ZIF-8) nanosheets by a simple solvent-free method at room temperature. The morphology and composition of Ni-ZIF-8 can be controlled through adding different amounts of Ni. And then, the 2D magnetic mesoporous nanosheets (Ni/ZnO@C) were synthesized by directly pyrolyzing Ni-ZIF-8 under argon atmosphere and explored as magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) adsorbents for the determination of nitroimidazole antibiotics (NIABs). Magnetic Ni nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanosheets uniformly resulted in high magnetization saturation of Ni/ZnO@C for easy separation. The Ni/ZnO@C can form hydrogen bond and π-π interaction with three NIABs resulting from their rich N-H containing imidazole, π-electron. Due to the high specific surface area and high mass transfer rate of 2D Ni/ZnO@C, the materials showed satisfactory adsorption capacity and rapid adsorption kinetics for NIABs. A rapid and effective method of Ni/ZnO@C-MSPE combined with high-performance liquid chromatography was proposed for the determination of NIABs. Several main parameters affecting MSPE were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, wide linear was achieved ranging from 0.1 to 500 µg⋅L^-1 with a low detection limit of 0.025-0.05 µg⋅L^-1. The established method has been successfully applied to analyze NIABs from environmental water samples with satisfactory recovery from 74.33 to 105.71%.

Recent advances and applications of molecularly imprinted polymers in solid-phase extraction for real sample analysis

Sample pretreatment is essential for the analysis of complicated real samples due to their complex matrices and low analyte concentrations. Among all sample pretreatment methods, solid-phase extraction is arguably the most frequently used one. However, the majority of available solid-phase extraction adsorbents suffer from limited selectivity. Molecularly imprinted polymers are a type of tailor-made artificial antibodies and receptors with specific recognition sites for target molecules. Using molecularly imprinted polymers instead of conventional adsorbents can greatly improve the selectivity of solid-phase extraction, and therefore molecularly imprinted polymer-based solid-phase extraction has been widely applied to separation, clean up and/or preconcentration of target analytes in various kinds of real samples. In this article, after a brief introduction, the recent developments and applications of molecularly imprinted polymer-based solid-phase extraction for determination of different analytes in complicated real samples during the 2015-2020 are reviewed systematically, including the solid-phase extraction modes, molecularly imprinted adsorbent types and their preparations, and the practical applications of solid-phase extraction to various real samples (environmental, food, biological, and pharmaceutical samples). Finally, the challenges and opportunities of using molecularly imprinted polymer-based solid-phase extraction for real sample analysis are discussed.

Preparation of a Magnetic Nanoporous Polymer for the Fast and Efficient Extraction of 5-Nitroimidazoles in Milk

A magnetic nanoporous organic polymer (M-NOP) was prepared as a new adsorbent with excellent extraction capacity and rapid adsorption kinetics for 5-nitroimidazoles (5-NDZs). Hence, a rapid and effective method was proposed for determination of 5-NDZs in milk by combining M-NOP-based magnetic solid-phase extraction with high-performance liquid chromatography. Main extraction conditions were investigated. Under optimal conditions, good linear response was achieved in a range of 2.4-100 ng mL^-1 with a lower detection limit of 0.8-1.0 ng mL^-1. High accuracy with a recovery of 80.0-116.0% for the fortified samples, good repeatability with relative standard deviation below 10%, and a high enrichment factor of 97-111 were obtained. The rapid adsorption of 5-NDZs on M-NOP is mainly driven by H-bonding, π-stacking, and polar interactions. Finally, the M-NOP-based method was successfully used to determine 5-NDZs in milk samples. The M-NOP is expected to present promising application in the extraction and quantitative analysis of other compounds.

Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry: Instrumentation, methodology and applications

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) offers fast and high-resolution separation of charged analytes from small injection volumes. Coupled to mass spectrometry (MS), it represents a powerful analytical technique providing (exact) mass information and enables molecular characterization based on fragmentation. Although hyphenation of CE and MS is not straightforward, much emphasis has been placed on enabling efficient ionization and user-friendly coupling. Though several interfaces are now commercially available, research on more efficient and robust interfacing with nano-electrospray ionization (ESI), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP) continues with considerable results. At the same time, CE-MS has been used in many fields, predominantly for the analysis of proteins, peptides and metabolites. This review belongs to a series of regularly published articles, summarizing 248 articles covering the time between June 2016 and May 2018. Latest developments on hyphenation of CE with MS as well as instrumental developments such as two-dimensional separation systems with MS detection are mentioned. Furthermore, applications of various CE-modes including capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE), nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE), capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) and capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) coupled to MS in biological, pharmaceutical and environmental research are summarized.

A triazine-based conjugated microporous polymer composite for magnetic solid phase extraction of 5-nitroimidazoles coupled with UPLC-MS/MS for quantification

A triazine-based conjugated microporous polymer composite for magnetic solid phase extraction of 5-nitroimidazoles coupled with UPLC-MS/MS for quantification.