Analysis of highly saline samples by capillary zone electrophoresis: enhanced direct UV detection of inorganic anions using on-capillary preconcentration and clean-up techniques

Mixture design of an electrolyte system for the simultaneous separation of Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, NO2-, and HCO3- in shrimp-farming water by CZE-UV

Shrimp is one of the most traded fishery products in the world. The shrimp-farming water ionic composition is fundamental to the growth and survival of these specimens. Therefore, this study is aimed to develop a method for the simultaneous separation of Cl^-, SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, NO₂^-, and HCO₃^- in this sample by capillary zone electrophoresis with UV indirect detection, without any prior sample treatment, besides dilution. The background electrolyte (BGE) was composed of CrO₄^2- (60 mmol L^-1), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, 2.5 mmol L^-1), acetonitrile (0.875% (v/v)), and methanol (2.625% (v/v)). The mixture design optimized the BGE composition. Acetonitrile and methanol changed the degree of solvation of the anions, which decreased the radius, a phenomenon proven by calculating the radius of anions in all the conditions of the mixture design. The optimized and validated method allowed the simultaneous determination of the five above-mentioned anions in 10 min.

Current trends and challenges in analysis and characterization of engineered nanoparticles in seawater

With the increasingly wide use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs), their release into the environment makes it important to determine in what quantitates they occur in aquatic systems and to understand their fate therein. In particular, detection and quantification of ENPs in seawater is challenging and often requires analytical methods to perform close to the feasibility confines. This review is aimed at critical analysis of current and emerging capabilities of analytical methods as have been employed for the analysis and characterization of ENPs in seawater in the last decade. An emphasis is given to the most reliable experimental strategies focused on avoiding the high-salt matrix effect and isolation and enrichment of the nanoparticulate fraction prior to analysis. Advanced analytical methodology in use basically relies on the application of elemental mass spectrometry to determine various particle-core metals and its single-particle mode to characterize the seawater-mediated transformation of ENPs, including dissolution, aggregation, etc. On the other hand, common microscopy, light scattering or X-ray based techniques are not sensitive enough to acquire the transformation information from real seawater samples. Finally, attention is pinpointed upon an acute shortcoming of the current research which is in the overwhelming majority of cases restricted to samples spiked with ENPs and often at excessive concentration levels.

Recent developments of capillary electrophoresis in seawater analysis

Recent applications of capillary electrophoresis (CE) to the determination of various seawater analytes are critically examined, with the aim to reveal method's state-of-the-art and possible future research trends in the area. Given highly developed separation and detection methodology, emphasis is given to the most advantageous sample preconcentration strategies used to evolve the method's practical utility, particularly to low-level analytes. Analytical performance of CE applied to seawater analysis is illustrated with a selection of real-world applications published from 2006, from which it appears that the primary developmental tendency is presently confined to a transit from inorganic to organic seawater analytes.

Mass spectrometric detection of trace anions: The evolution of paired-ion electrospray ionization (PIESI)

The negative-ion mode of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is intrinsically less sensitive than the positive-ion mode. The detection and quantitation of anions can be performed in positive-ion mode by forming specific ion-pairs during the electrospray process. The paired-ion electrospray ionization (PIESI) method uses specially synthesized multifunctional cations to form positively charged adducts with the anions to be analyzed. The adducts are detected in the positive-ion mode and at higher m/z ratios to produce excellent signal-to-noise ratios and limits of detection that often are orders of magnitude better than those obtained with native anions in the negative-ion mode. This review briefly summarizes the different analytical approaches to detect and separate anions. It focuses on the recently introduced PIESI method to present the most effective dicationic, tricationic, and tetracationic reagents for the detection of singly and multiply charged anions and some zwitterions. The mechanism by which specific structural molecular architectures can have profound effects on signal intensities is also addressed.

Microchip electrophoresis with amperometric detection method for profiling cellular nitrosative stress markers

The overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) in cells results in nitrosative stress due to the generation of highly reactive species such as peroxynitrite and N2O3. These species disrupt the cellular redox processes through the oxidation, nitration, and nitrosylation of important biomolecules. Microchip electrophoresis (ME) is a fast separation method that can be used to profile cellular nitrosative stress through the separation of NO and nitrite from other redox-active intracellular components such as cellular antioxidants. This paper describes a ME method with electrochemical detection (ME-EC) for the separation of intracellular nitrosative stress markers in macrophage cells. The separation of nitrite, azide (interference), iodide (internal standard), tyrosine, glutathione, and hydrogen peroxide (neutral marker) was achieved in under 40 s using a run buffer consisting of 7.5 to 10 mM NaCl, 10 mM boric acid, and 2 mM TTAC at pH 10.3 to 10.7. Initially, NO production was monitored by the detection of nitrite (NO2(-)) in cell lysates. There was a 2.5- to 4-fold increase in NO2(-) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cells. The concentration of NO2(-) inside a single unstimulated macrophage cell was estimated to be 1.41 mM using the method of standard additions. ME-EC was then used for the direct detection of NO and glutathione in stimulated and native macrophage cell lysates. NO was identified in these studies based on its migration time and rapid degradation kinetics. The intracellular levels of glutathione in native and stimulated macrophages were also compared, and no significant difference was observed between the two conditions.

A robust method for iodine status determination in epidemiological studies by capillary electrophoresis

Iodine deficiency is the most common preventable cause of intellectual disabilities in children. Global health initiatives to ensure optimum nutrition thus require continuous monitoring of population-wide iodine intake as determined by urinary excretion of iodide. Current methods to analyze urinary iodide are limited by complicated sample pretreatment, costly infrastructure, and/or poor selectivity, posing restrictions to large-scale epidemiological studies. We describe a simple yet selective method to analyze iodide in volume-restricted human urine specimens stored in biorepositories by capillary electrophoresis (CE) with UV detection. Excellent selectivity is achieved when using an acidic background electrolyte in conjunction with dynamic complexation via α-cyclodextrin in an unmodified fused-silica capillary under reversed polarity. Sample self-stacking is developed as a novel online sample preconcentration method to boost sensitivity with submicromolar detection limits for iodide (S/N ≈ 3, 0.06 μM) directly in urine. This assay also allows for simultaneous analysis of environmental iodide uptake inhibitors, including thiocyanate and nitrate. Rigorous method validation confirmed good linearity (R(2) = 0.9998), dynamic range (0.20 to 4.0 μM), accuracy (average recovery of 93% at three concentration levels) and precision for reliable iodide determination in pooled urine specimens over 29 days of analysis (RSD = 11%, n = 87).

High-throughput assay of nitric oxide metabolites in human plasma without deproteinization by lab-on-a-chip electrophoresis using a zwitterionic additive

In order to develop a high-throughput assay for nitric oxide metabolites, nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-), in biological fluids, we have investigated the simultaneous determination of them using an electrophoretic lab-on-a-chip (microchip capillary electrophoresis, MCE) technique. In this study, in order to establish an MCE assay process without deproteinization, the addition of a zwitterionic additive into the running buffer to reduce the adsorption of protein onto the surface of channel was investigated. Initially, some zwitterionic additives were investigated by making a comparison of relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the migration times for NO2(-) and NO3(-) on capillary electrophoresis. From the results of our comparison of the RSD values, 2% (w/w) N-cyclohexyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid (CHES) was selected. As a result of the application of the running buffer with CHES to the MCE process, the complete separation of NO2(-) and NO3(-) in human plasma without deproteinization was achieved within 1 min. Since the RSD values of the positions of the peaks were less than 2.3%, beneficial reduction effects on MCE were suggested. When we used an internal standard method in order to correct the injection volume, the RSDs of the peak heights and areas were less than 10%, and the correlation coefficients of spiked calibration curves ranging from 0 to 350 microM were 0.999 and 0.997 for NO2(-) and NO3(-), respectively. The limits of detection (S/N=3) were 53 microM for NO2(-) and 41 microM for NO3(-). Moreover, the correlation coefficients in excess of 0.99 between the MCE method and a conventional Griess method were achieved for both NO2(-) and NO3(-). Consequently, the possibility of establishing a high-throughput assay process was obtained by utilizing 2% (w/w) CHES to reduce protein adsorption.

Measurement of region-specific nitrate levels of the posterior chamber of the rat eye using low-flow push-pull perfusion

The determination of the presence of nitric oxide metabolites in the rat vitreous cavity in a regioselective manner is complicated by the size and shape of the eye as well as the diffusivity of the molecule and its metabolites. In this work, in vivo low-flow push-pull perfusion sampling was utilized with a rapid capillary electrophoretic assay to monitor levels of the major NO metabolite, nitrate, at the vitreoretinal interface (VRI) of normal and aged rat models. The sampling probe tips were placed in three different positions in the posterior chamber through a 29-gauge guide needle. Sampling was performed along the VRI over the optic nerve head and regions peripheral to the optic nerve head. Additionally, samples were collected from the middle vitreous region to compare to VRI sampling. A significant (P < 0.05) difference in the perfusate nitrate concentration was observed in each location, which may be due to the source of NO production or the clearance mechanism of the molecule from the vitreous cavity. Infusion of L-NAME with physiological saline led to a significant decrease (35%) in the observed nitrate level. LFPPP was then utilized to observe nitrate levels after an average of 4.5 months of aging. A 3-fold increase in the mean level of nitrate over the optic nerve head was observed in mature animals compared to younger control animals. Precise measurement of NO metabolites along the VRI may provide insights into the function of NO in maintaining homeostatic conditions and the molecular changes at the diseased retina.

Determination of iodide in samples with complex matrices by hyphenation of capillary isotachophoresis and zone electrophoresis

A method has been developed for the determination of iodide in mineral water, seawater, cooking salt, serum, and urine based on hyphenation of capillary ITP and zone electrophoresis. A commercially available instrumentation for capillary ITP with column-switching system was used. ITP served for removal of chloride present in the analyzed samples in a ratio of 10(6)-10(7):1 to iodide, zone electrophoresis was used for evaluation. Isotachophoretic separation proceeded in a capillary made of fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer of 0.8 mm id and 90 mm total length to the bifurcation point filled with a leading electrolyte (LE) composed of 8 mM HCl + 16 mM beta-alanine (beta-Ala) + 10% PVP + 2.86 mM N(2)H(4)x2HCl, pH 3.2; and a terminating electrolyte composed of 8 mM H(3)PO(4) + 16 mM beta-Ala + 10% PVP + 5 mM N(2)H(4), pH 3.85 for all the matrices except seawater. For ITP of seawater the LE consisted of 50 mM HCl + 100 mM beta-Ala + 10% PVP + 2.86 mM N(2)H(4)x2HCl, pH 3.52. Distance of conductivity detector from the injection point and bifurcation point was 52 and 38 mm, respectively. Zone electrophoresis was performed in a capillary made of fused silica of 0.3 mm id and 160 mm total length filled with LE from isotachophoretic step. LODs reached for all matrices were 2-3x10(-8) M concentration (2.5-4 microg/L) enabled monitoring of iodide in all analyzed samples with RSD 0.4-9.3%. Estimated concentrations of iodide in individual matrices were 10(-6)-10(-8) M.

Recent methodological advances in the analysis of nitrite in the human circulation: nitrite as a biochemical parameter of the L-arginine/NO pathway

Nitric oxide (NO) plays a pivotal role in the modulation of multiple physiological processes. It acts as a messenger molecule within the cardiovascular system. NO is a highly unstable free radical in circulating blood and is oxidized rapidly to nitrite and nitrate. Recent studies suggest that nitrite has the potential to function as a surrogate of NO production under physiological and pathophysiological conditions and could therefore be of high relevance as a biochemical parameter in experimental and clinical studies. Under hypoxic conditions nitrite is reduced to bioactive NO by deoxyhemoglobin. This mechanism may represent a dynamic cycle of NO generation to adapt the demand and supply for the vascular system. Because of these potential biological functions the concentration of nitrite in blood is thought to be of particular importance. The determination of nitrite in biological matrices represents a considerable analytical challenge. Methodological problems often arise from pre-analytical sample preparation, sample contamination due to the ubiquity of nitrite, and from lack of selectivity and sensitivity. These analytical difficulties may be a plausible explanation for reported highly diverging concentrations of nitrite in the human circulation. The aim of this article is to review the methods of quantitative analysis of nitrite in the human circulation, notably in plasma and blood, and to discuss pre-analytical and analytical factors potentially affecting accurate quantification of nitrite in these human fluids.

On-Chip Millionfold Sample Stacking Using Transient Isotachophoresis

We present a simple and robust isotachophoresis (ITP) method that can be integrated with microchip-based capillary electrophoresis (CE) devices to achieve millionfold sample stacking. We performed an experimental parametric study to show the effects of initial sample ion concentration, leading ion concentration, and trailing ion concentration on ITP stacking. We also discuss the usefulness and limitations of a simple one-dimensional nondispersive model and a scaling analysis for dispersion rate. We found that a single-column ITP configuration together with electroosmotic flow suppression and high leading ion concentration provide high-performance ITP and can be integrated readily with CE separation. We demonstrated detection of trace of 100 fM Alexa Fluor 488 (signal-to-noise ratio of 11) with a concentration increase of a factor of 2 x 10(6). Application of our ITP/CE protocol to the stacking and separation of negatively charged fluorescent tracers (Alexa Fluor 488 and bodipy) resulted in a concentration increase of 6.4 x 10(4) and a signal increase of 4.5 x 10(5). The ITP/CE protocol can be performed with a standard microchannel cross design or simple flow control. The method can be implemented with available off-the-shelf chip systems using off-the-shelf voltage control systems and buffer chemistries.

High-throughput nitric oxide assay in biological fluids using microchip capillary electrophoresis

In order to develop a high-throughput screening method for the nitrogen monoxide metabolites, nitrite and nitrate, in biological fluids, we have investigated the simultaneous determination of these metabolites using microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE). In this study, the control of applied voltage to obtain higher sensitivity by increasing the sample injection volume was investigated. Also, the improvement of reproducibility by correcting the injection volume using the internal standard was investigated. By increasing the sample volume, the limits of detection achieved for nitrite and nitrate were 24 and 12 microM, respectively. Because we used a 10-fold diluted sample when detecting nitrite and nitrate in human serum, it was necessary to increase the sensitivity by a factor of 10-50. The run-to-run and day-to-day relative standard deviations achieved were improved to less than 10% by using an internal standard to correct the injection volume. Moreover, we obtained successful separation of nitrite and nitrate in spiked human serum within 6.5 s under optimum analytical conditions. As a result, although it is necessary to obtain greater sensitivity, it was concluded that determination of the amount of NO metabolites in biological fluids using MCE is possible.

Capillary electrophoresis screening of poisonous anions extracted from biological samples

A method was developed for screening human biological samples for poisonous anions using capillary electrophoresis (CE) employing indirect UV detection. The run buffer consisted of 2.25 mM pyromellitic acid, 1.6 mM triethanolamine, 0.75 mM hexamethonium hydroxide and 6.5mM NaOH at pH 7.7. Biological samples were pretreated using solid phase extraction. The method was applied to the analysis of human blood, plasma, urine, and intestinal contents. Twenty-nine different anions were detectable at aqueous concentrations of 1 part per million (ppm) with a typical analysis time less than 20 min. Intraday migration time R.S.D. and peak area R.S.D. for blood samples were less than 1.1% and 6.3%, respectively. Interday migration time R.S.D. for plasma samples ranged from 7.5% to 10.4%. The new method produced efficient separations of various target anions extracted from complex biological matrices.

Recent advances of transient isotachophoresis-capillary electrophoresis in the analysis of small ions from high-conductivity matrices

Since its invasion into the field of small ion analysis, quantitation of trace ionic analytes has always been a challenging task for CE, especially when dealing with highly saline samples. This review summarizes the method's progress and significant developments in the area due to its combination with on-line preconcentration by transient ITP (tITP). Principles of tITP stacking in high-conductivity solutions and operational preconcentration modes are considered. The most important application areas covered in this review include the analysis of seawater and biological fluids (urine, serum, etc.). Examples cited in this review demonstrate that tITP-CE is now on a certain way of becoming a recognized technique when the determination of trace ionic species in loaded matrices is the aim.

Determinação amperométrica de iodeto em soluções expectorantes orais com análise por injeção em fluxo usando a reação iodeto/nitrito

Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um sistema de injeção em fluxo visando à determinação amperométrica de íons iodeto em soluções expectorantes. O método é baseado na reação do iodeto com íons nitrito em meio ácido. O iodo formado é monitorado por amperometria no potencial de +200 mV vs. Ag/AgCl (3 mol L-1), usando um eletrodo de trabalho de disco de platina (RDE) com raio = 0,75 mm adaptado a uma célula eletroquímica "wall-jet". O sistema em fluxo foi usado com o carregador impulsionado pela pressão gravitacional dos reagentes (carregador: solução 2 x 10-4 mol L-1 em NaNO2 e 0,2 mol L-1 em H2SO4), na vazão de 4 mL min-1. O método é rápido (acima de 100 injeções h-1) e preciso (RSD = 1,9%; n=10 e C I 8 x 10-6 mol L-1), apresentando um limite de detecção de 20 ng I- ou 8 x 10-7 mol L-1 (3SD). A validação do método proposto foi realizada seguindo as normas USP, ou seja, titulação potenciométrica com AgNO3 0,100 mol L-1 e os resultados obtidos mostraramse concordantes com os valores de referência do fabricante.

High sensitivity analysis of nitrite and nitrate in biological samples by capillary zone electrophoresis with transient isotachophoretic sample stacking

Tissue level of nitrate and nitrite are established indicators of altered nitric oxide metabolism under various pathological conditions. Determination of these anions in biological samples, in the presence of high chloride concentration, using capillary zone electrophoresis suffers from poor detection sensitivity. Separation conditions providing excellent resolution and submicromolar detection sensitivity of nitrate and nitrite have been developed and validated. Simple sample preparation was applied that maintains nitrite stability in tissue extracts and at the same time allows transient isotachophoresis stacking of the analytes. Nitrate and nitrite concentrations in rat brain and liver tissue samples were determined in control and lipopolysaccharide treated animals.

Development of a novel running buffer for the simultaneous determination of nitrate and nitrite in human serum by capillary zone electrophoresis

In order to improve NO2- peak height and obtain a convenient buffer system for the assay of nitrogen monooxide metabolites, we developed a novel running buffer for the simultaneous determination of nitrite and nitrate in human serum by capillary electrophoresis. The addition of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride to the running buffer resulted in high-speed separation using reverse electroosmotic flow. Highly sensitive determination was also achieved using stacking with 10-fold diluted sample solutions. The samples were injected hydrodynamically for 100 s into a 50 cm x 75 microm I.D. capillary. The separation voltage was 10 kV (negative polarity). UV detection was performed at 214 nm. We obtained complete separation of nitrite and nitrate in deproteinized human serum within 6 min with optimum analytical conditions. Linear calibration curves for nitrite and nitrate for both peak height and peak area were obtained with standard addition method. The limits of detection obtained at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 for nitrite and nitrate were 4.1 and 2.0 microM, while the values of relative standard deviation of peak height were 2.4 and 2.6%, respectively.

Quantitative capillary zone electrophoresis of inorganic anions

Despite the availability of commercial capillary electrophoresis systems for over ten years, where quantitative analysis is required, capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has often failed to replace ion chromatography as the method of choice for a large number of analytes, not least inorganic anions. To investigate the reasons for this apparent failing, a review is presented of work that has been carried out to-date involving the quantitative application of CZE to the determination of inorganic anions in industrial and environmental samples. This review summarizes work both investigating and improving the quantitative aspects of the CZE of inorganic anions. A complete survey of how CZE has been applied to the determination of inorganic anions in real samples is given, including what, if any, analytical performance parameters were investigated and quoted, and if quality assurance data and validation methods were briefly considered, thoroughly investigated or simply ignored.

Specific analyte-electrolyte additive interaction in transient isotachophoresis-capillary electrophoresis

While cationic surfactants are usually included in the separation electrolyte to reverse the electroosmotic flow, the presence of the surfactant may also offer a means of capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation selectivity control over the anionic analytes, especially those that are prone to ion-pairing interaction. For one such analyte anion, iodide, the formation of several ion-association/partition products with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) was first discovered when optimizing (decelerating) iodide mobility (in order to achieve effective transient isotachophoretic stacking). At comparatively high concentrations of iodide (> or = 0.01 mM) and the cationic surfactant well above the critical micelle concentration (25 mM), an additional peak due to interactions with the CTAC micelle was recorded, with a UV absorption spectrum fairly different from those of both interacting partners and also the iodide-monomeric surfactant ion pair. Never observed before in normal CE mode, this phenomenon is believed to have occurred due to the enrichment effect of the initial isotachophoresis state.

Recent advances in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography of pollutants

An overview of major developments in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography systems in the environmental field is presented, covering relevant publications between the second half of 1999 and early 2001. Contributions are reviewed in relation to developments in detection, sample preparation/preconcentration, precision and applications. Many interesting examples are shown and the influence of important parameters on the performance of developed methods is discussed.

Approaches to enhancing the sensitivity of capillary electrophoresis methods for the determination of inorganic and small organic anions

One of the major problems facing the development of capillary electrophoresis (CE) is the relatively high limits of detection when compared to traditional high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods. While the use of an alternative detector can offer better sensitivity, a more universal approach is sample preconcentration. Numerous on-line methods have been developed to improve the sensitivity of CE, and are based on electrophoretic principles, chromatographic principles, or a combination of both. This review will discuss all forms of on-line preconcentration methods for CE, with emphasis given to those that have shown particular merit when applied to inorganic and small organic anions.