Chemometrics-assisted spectroscopic methods for rapid analysis of combined anti-malarial tablets

Combination of piperaquine (PQ) (320mg) and dihydroartemisinin (DHA) (40 mg) is an anti-malarial formulation, which is recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). Simultaneous analysis of PQ and DHA can be problematic due to the lack of chromophores or fluorophores in DHA molecule. Whereas PQ possesses strong UV absorption and it presents in 8 times of DHA contents in the formulation. In this study, two spectroscopic methods, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, were developed for the determination of both drugs in combined tablets. The FTIR and Raman spectra were recorded in the attenuate total reflectance (ATR) and scattering modes, respectively. The original and pretreated spectra from FTIR and handheld-Raman were subjected to Unscrambler® program to construct partial least squares regression (PLSR) model comparing with references values obtained from high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-UV method. The optimal PLSR models of PQ and DHA from FTIR spectroscopy were obtained from orthogonal signal correction (OSC) pretreatment at the wavenumbers 400-1,800 cm^-1 and 1,400-4,000 cm^-1, respectively. For Raman spectroscopy of PQ and DHA, the optimal PLSR models were obtained from standard normal variate (SNV) pretreatment at the wavenumbers 1,200-2,300 cm^-1 and OSC pretreatment at the wavenumber 400-2,300 cm^-1, respectively. Determination of PQ and DHA in tablets from the optimum model was compared with HPLC-UV method. Results were not significantly different at 95% confidence limit (p-value >0.05). The chemometrics-assisted spectroscopic methods were fast (1-3 min), economical and less labor intensive. Moreover, the handheld Raman spectrometer is portable and can be utilized for onsite analysis to facilitate the detection of counterfeit or substandard drugs at ports of entry.

Sensitivity enhancement in capillary electrophoresis and their applications for analyses of pharmaceutical and related biochemical substances

This review aims to illustrate sensitivity enhancement methods in capillary electrophoresis (CE) and their applications for pharmaceutical and related biochemical substance analyses. The first two parts of the article describe the introduction and principle of CE. The main part focuses on strategies for sensitivity improvement in CE including detector and capillary technologies and pre-concentration techniques. Applications of these techniques for pharmaceutical and biomedical substance analyses are surveyed during the years 2018-2021. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Development and applications of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for simultaneous analysis of anti-malarial drugs in pharmaceutical formulations

The objective of this work was to develop a high-performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with a mass spectrometer (LC-MS) for the simultaneous analysis of artemisinin-based drugs (e.g. artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, artesunate, artemether) and piperaquine in formulations. Simultaneous separation of the investigated drugs was achieved in 14 min on a C18 column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, particle size 1.8 μm) using a gradient elution of 0.05 % v/v formic acid in water and acetonitrile. MS detection was done in a positive ionization mode using electrospray ionization with acquisition in a single ion monitoring mode. Proper diluent and storage time in an autosampler played significant roles on the quantitation accuracy since the target analytes possessed varied solubility and stability in aqueous and organic solvents. The method was fully validated according to ICH guideline and data showed good linearity (R > 0.999, precision (RSD < 3.89 %) and accuracy (%recovery between 98.5 and 103.7) with low limits of detection (LOD < 24.7 ng/mL) and quantitation (LOQ < 82.40 ng/mL). Validation data indicated that the developed LC-MS method is fit for the intended purpose and was successfully applied to evaluate the drug contents in formulations. Among the tested samples, the percent labeled amounts found were between 93.1 and 105.0 % and one supplement capsule contained 0.039 %w/w of artemisinin. The newly developed method could benefit both the quality control departments in pharmaceutical industries and the authorities working on falsified drug problems since official methods for the analysis of these drugs are not available in pharmacopoeias. The method is fast and environmentally friendly due to the requirement of less chemicals and production of less wastes.

Exosome aggregation mediated stop-flow paper-based portable device for rapid exosome quantification

Exosome quantification is important for estimation of informative messengers (e.g., proteins, lipids, RNA, etc.) involving physiological and pathological effects. This work aimed to develop a simple and rapid distance-based paper portable device using exosome-capture vesicles (polydiacetylene conjugated with antiCD81) for exosome quantification in cell cultures. This novel concept relied on distinct aggregation of exosomes and exosome-capture vesicles leading to different solvent migration. Distances of the migration were used as signal readouts, which could be detected by naked eye. PDA-antiCD81 as exosome-capture vesicles were optimized (e.g., size, reaction ratio, and concentration) and the paper designs were investigated (e.g., diameter of sample reservoir and lamination layer) to enhance the solvent stop-flow effects. Finally, exosome screening on three cell culture samples (COLO1, MDA-MB-231, and HuR-KO1 subclone) was demonstrated. The method could linearly measure exosome concentrations in correlation with solvent migration distances in the range of 10⁶ -10¹⁰ particles/mL (R²  > 0.98) from the cell culture samples. The exosome concentration measurements by the developed device were independently assessed by nanoparticle tracking analysis. Results demonstrated no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) by t-test. This low-cost and rapid device allows a portable platform for exosome quantification without the requirement of expensive equipment and expertise of operation. The developed device could potentially be useful for quantification of other biomarker-related extracellular vesicles.

The Triterpene Constituents of the Root Bark of a Hybrid between Morus alba L. and M. rotundiloba Koidz. and its Antityrosinase Activities

Mulberry plants have various traditional uses in Thailand, China, Korea and Vietnam. Recently, the root bark of Morus alba L. is used as whitening ingredient in various skin preparations. This paper describes the isolation of two triterpenes from the root bark of a 5 years old hybrid between M. alba L. and M. rotundiloba Koidz., a mulberry sericulture NM60 which is widely grown in Thailand for tea and silk industries. Pentacyclic triterpenes, α-amyrin acetate and betulinic acid, were isolated and identified, their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses. The antityrosinase activities were tested having the IC50 values of 1.57 mM and 0.50 mM respectively. A validated HPLC technique for betulinic acid was also reported. Linear regression analysis of betulinic acid fell within the range of 61.25-409.15 μg/mL with a linear coefficient of 0.9992. The percentage of recovery is in accordance with that specified by the USP. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were 14.7 and 61.25 μg/mL, respectively. The analysis of the crude methanolic extract revealed 0.14% w/w betulinic acid in the root bark. These findings promote the use of the root bark extract of Thai mulberry hybrid in whitening cosmetics using betulinic acid as a marker and promote further study for the development of antimelanoma agent.

Separation of dynorphin peptides by capillary electrochromatography using a polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride gold nanoparticle-modified capillary

Dynorphin A (Dyn A) is an endogenous opioid peptide found in blood and central nervous system tissue at very low concentrations. Elevated levels of Dyn A due to different disease states, for example neurodegenerative disease, have been linked to toxic nonopioid activity. CE is a powerful technique that can achieve high-efficiency separations of charged analytes. However, CE has limited use for the analysis of basic proteins and peptides, due to their adsorption onto the inner surface of the fused silica at pHs below their pI. This adsorption can lead to a loss of efficiency, irreproducibility of migration times, and peak tailing. To obviate this problem, a polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride-stabilized gold nanoparticle-coated capillary was investigated for the separation of dynorphin metabolites. The positively charged gold nanoparticles (GNP) minimized unwanted adsorption of the positively charged peptides onto the surface of the fused-silica capillary. Separation efficiency and resolution for opioid peptides Dyn A (1-6), Dyn A (1-7), Dyn A (1-8), Dyn A (1-11), and leu-enkephalin on the GNP-coated capillary column were evaluated under different experimental parameters. The best separation of Dyn A (1-17) and its fragments was achieved using a BGE that consists of 40 mM sodium acetate buffer (pH 5) containing 5% GNP, a field strength of -306 V/cm, and a 75 μm id capillary. The developed method was applied to the separation of tryptic peptide fragments of dynorphin A (1-17).

Exploring chip-capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence field-deployable platform flexibility: separations of fluorescent dyes by chip-based non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

Microfluidic chip electrophoresis (chip-CE) is a separation method that is compatible with portable and on-site analysis, however, only few commercial chip-CE systems with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and light emitting diode (LED) fluorescence detection are available. They are established for several application tailored methods limited to specific biopolymers (DNA, RNA and proteins), and correspondingly the range of their applications has been limited. In this work we address the lack of commercially available research-type flexible chip-CE platforms by exploring the limits of using an application-tailored system equipped with chips and methods designed for DNA separations as a generic chip-CE platform - this is a very significant issue that has not been widely studied. In the investigated Agilent Bioanalyzer chip-CE system, the fixed components are the Agilent chips and the detection (LIF at 635 nm and LEDIF at 470 nm), while the chemistry (electrolyte) and the programming of all the high voltages are flexible. Using standard DNA chips, we show that a generic CE function of the system is easily possible and we demonstrate an extension of the applicability to non-aqueous CE (NACE). We studied the chip compatibility with organic solvents (i.e. MeOH, ACN, DMF and DMSO) and demonstrated the chip compatibility with DMSO as a non-volatile and non-hazardous solvent with satisfactory stability of migration times over 50h. The generic CE capability is illustrated with separations of fluorescent basic blue dyes methylene blue (MB), toluidine blue (TB), nile blue (NB) and brilliant cresyl blue (BC). Further, the effects of the composition of the background electrolyte (BGE) on the separation were studied, including the contents of water (0-30%) and buffer composition. In background electrolytes containing typically 80 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 870 mmol/L acetic acid in 100% DMSO baseline separation of the dyes were achieved in 40s. Linearity was documented in the range of 5-28 μmol/L, 10-100 μmol/L, 1.56-50 nmol/L and 5-75 nmol/L (r(2) values in the range 0.974-0.999), and limit of detection (LOD) values were 90 nmol/L, 1 μmol/L 1.4 nmol/L, and 2 nmol/L for MB, TB, NB and BC, respectively.

Quantitative analysis of barakol content in Senna siamea leaves and flowers by TLC-densitometry

OBJECTIVE

To develop a TLC-densitometric method for the determination of barakol content in Senna siamea leaf and flower extracts, and to compare the barakol content in mature leaves, young leaves and young flowers of the plant which are consumed as a vegetable in curry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The extraction of pure barakol was performed by boiling the fresh young leaves of S. siamea with 0.5% sulfuric acid followed by chloroform extraction. The extract was further purified and recrystallized from absolute ethanol. Authentic sample of barakol was used for the validation of the TLC-densitometric method. Chromatography was performed on a TLC aluminium plate precoated with silica gel 60 F(254)as a stationary phase and chloroform-methanol (85:15 v/v) as a solvent system. Fifteen percent ethanolic extracts of mature leaves, young leaves and flowers of S. siamea were analyzed and compared for barakol content using the validated TLC-densitometric method. Both the validation and analysis of barakol by TLC-densitometry were carried out at the absorbance mode of 366 nm.

RESULTS

Barakol was extracted as pure lemon-yellow crystals from young S. siamea leaves with 0.1% yield. Linearity was found over the range of 200-900 ng/spot (r(2) = 0.997). The developed method gave high precision (%RSD < 0.50) and accuracy (average 101.12%). The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 8 and 50 ng, respectively. Barakol content in young leaves, mature leaves and young flowers were 1.67, 0.78 and 1.43% dry weight, respectively. R(f) value of the barakol in young leaves, young flowers and authentic sample was the same: 0.45 +/- 0.03.

CONCLUSION

The TLC-densitometric method was simple, precise and convenient; hence it is an effective procedure for the simultaneous determination of barakol in plant extracts.

Factorial design applied to a non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method for the separation of β-agonists

The aim of this work was to study the effects of both chemical and instrumental parameters on the separation of beta-agonists (clenbuterol (CLE), salbutamol (SAL) and terbutaline (TER)) by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) method. Due to the number of parameters involved and their interactions, factorial experimental designs (EDs) at two levels was applied to investigate the influence of experimental factors (ionic strength of the background electrolyte (BGE), organic solvent, injection time, voltage and temperature) in sets of several CE responses (resolution, (RS), number of theoretical plate (N), tailing factor (TF) and migration time (tm)). As a compromise between the four responses, the optimum condition was obtained in 18 mM ammonium acetate in methanol (MeOH):acetonitrile (ACN):glacial acetic acid (66:33:1%, v/v/v) using an injection time of 4 s, the voltage and the temperature of 28 kV and 24 degrees C, respectively. The proposed NACE permitted the baseline separation of the three beta-agonists within 10.5 min with good repeatability (%RSD < 3.5%) and linearity (r2 > 0.99). The developed method was applicable for the analysis of the beta-agonists in syrup and tablets and the NACE condition was compatible with a mass spectrometer detector.

Comparison of UV spectrophotometric method and high performance liquid chromatography for the analysis of flunarizine and its application for the dissolution test

This study aimed to develop a simple UV spectrophotometric method for the analysis and the dissolution test of flunarizine in capsules. The UV absorbance was both measured directly and by the first derivative measurements at 254 and 268 nm, respectively. The developed methods were validated for their linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) in comparison with the reported HPLC method. The UV spectrophotometric method illustrated excellent linearity (r2 > 0.9999) in the concentration range of 6-24 microg/mL. Precision (%R.S.D. < 1.50) and recoveries were good (%R > 99.62). The LOD of direct UV and first derivative measurements were 0.09 and 0.84 microg/mL, respectively, and the LOQ were 0.26 and 2.55 microg/mL, respectively. Results from the assay of flunarizine in capsules by the UV spectrophotometric methods, both direct and first derivative measurements were not significantly different from those of the HPLC method (P > 0.05). Additionally, the method was successfully used for the dissolution test of flunarizine capsule and was found to be reliable, simple, fast, and inexpensive.

Determination of berberine content in the stem extracts of Coscinium fenestratum by TLC densitometry

OBJECTIVE

To develop the optimal extraction procedure (i.e. maceration, percolation or Soxhlet extraction) and thin- layer chromatographic (TLC)-densitometric method for the determination of berberine content of Coscinium fenestratum.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Maceration, percolation and Soxhlet extraction techniques were used to extract alkaloids from dried stems of C. fenestratum. The solvents used were 50 and 80% ethanol. Crude extracts and berberine content recovered from the TLC fingerprint were evaluated for chemical components of each extraction method. Precoated silica gel GF(254) plates were used as stationary phase while butanol:glacial acetic acid:water (14:3:4) was used as a mobile phase. Detection and quantitation of berberine were performed by densitometry at the wavelength of 415 nm over the linearity range of 240-840 ng (r(2) = 0.9982). The relative standard deviations from intraday and interday precisions were less than 4.13%.

RESULTS

The recovery of standard berberine was 97.58-98.71% (%RSD = 3.85), and the limit of detection and quantitation were 25 and 50 ng/spot, respectively. Eighty percent ethanol gave a higher content of berberine than 50% ethanol. Berberine contents from maceration, percolation and Soxhlet extraction with 80% ethanol were 3.37+/- 0.30, 3.08+/- 0.38 and 2.67+/- 0.27% w/w, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The TLC-densitometric method was simple, accurate and precise for quantitating berberine in the stem extract of C. fenestratum. Maceration with 80% ethanol gave the highest content of berberine in the extract. TLC of the extracts from different methods showed a similar pattern.

Precision improvement for the analysis of flavonoids in selected Thai plants by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the analyses of kaempferol in Centella asiatica and Rosa hybrids and rutin in Chromolaena odorata was developed. The optimization was performed on analyses of flavonoids (e.g., rutin, kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin, and apigenin) and organic carboxylic acids (e.g., ethacrynic acid and xanthene-9-carboxylic acid) by investigation of the effects of types and amounts of organic modifiers, background electrolyte concentrations, temperature, and voltage. Baseline separation (R(s) = 2.83) of the compounds was achieved within 10 min in 20 mM NaH2PO4 - Na2HPO4 (pH 8.0) containing 10% v/v ACN and 6% v/v MeOH using a voltage of 25 kV, a temperature of 30 degrees C, and a detection wavelength set at 220 nm. The application of the corrected migration time (t(c)), using ethacrynic acid as the single marker, was efficient to improve the precision of flavonoid identification (% relative standard deviation (RSD) = 0.65%). The method linearity was excellent (r2 > 0.999) over 50-150 microg/mL. Precision (%RSD < 1.66%) and recoveries were good (> 96% and %RSDs < 1.70%) with detection and quantitation limits of 2.23 and 7.14 microg/mL, respectively. Kaempferol in C. asiatica and R. hybrids was 0.014 g/100 g (%RSD = 0.59%) and 0.044 g/100 g (%RSD = 1.04%), respectively, and rutin in C. odorata was 0.088 g/100 g (%RSD = 0.06%).

A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography method for monitoring mycophenolic acid in serum of transplant recipients

Mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active metabolite of the immunosuppressive agent mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), was for the first time quantified in the serum of transplant recipients using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC). Sample preparation was carried out with solid phase extraction (SPE) using octadecyl-modified endcapped silica (C18 EC) as sorbent. Extremely varying recovery rates in preliminary experiments showed both the importance of pH monitoring during the single SPE steps and the necessity of an internal standard. MPA carboxy butyl ether (CBE), a specifically developed reference standard, was employed. Furthermore, optimisation of the MEKC parameters detection wavelength and injection time was of primary importance in order to enable the quantitation of therapeutic trough serum levels of MPA in the range lower than 5 microg x mL(-1). Under optimised conditions, a limit of quantitation of 1.0 microg x mL(-1) was achieved allowing the determination of MPA in the serum of patients.

Simultaneous determination of paracetamol and chlorpheniramine maleate by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was established for determination of paracetamol (PARA) and chlorpheniramine maleate (CPM) in cold tablets. Separation of both drugs, as well as other seven cold remedy ingredients, was achieved in 25.5 min using a sodium dihydrogenphosphate-sodium tetraborate buffer (10 mM, pH 9.0) containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (50 mM) and acetonitrile (26% v/v). The effective capillary length of 50 cm, the separating voltage of 15 kV and the temperature of 30 degrees C was optimized. Detection was by a diode array detector at 214 nm. Method linearity was excellent (r(2)>0.999) over the concentration tested (10-250 microg/ml) with good precision and accuracy. Recoveries were good (>99%) with limits of detection of 0.4 and 0.5 microg/ml and limits of quantitation of 2 (%R.S.D.=3.1%) and 4 (%R.S.D.=2.4%) microg/ml, for PARA and CPM, respectively. The developed method was applied to the determination of ingredients in cold tablets and was found to be simple, rapid and efficient.

Method Development for Separation of Active Ingredients in Cold Medicines by Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography

Separation of nine commonly used active ingredients in cold medicines, were demonstrated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. The ingredients included paracetamol, chlorpheniramine maleate, diphenhydramine hydrochloride, triprolidine hydrochloride, phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, loratadine, aspirin and caffeine. Effects of buffer concentrations, pH, organic modifiers and capillary length were investigated. The optimum conditions were achieved in 10 mM sodium dihydrogenphosphate-sodium tetraborate buffer, pH 9.0, containing 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 28% v/v acetonitrile using the effective length of 50 cm, the separating voltage of +15 kV and the capillary temperature of 30°C. Separation of all peaks was obtained within 28.4 min with a resolution of 1.2.

Quantitative analysis of aglycone quercetin in mulberry leaves (Morus alba L.) by capillary zone electrophoresis

A capillary zone electrophoresis method was established for analysis of aglycone quercetin in mulberry leaves (Morus alba L.). The influence of, e.g., background electrolyte concentrations and pH, surfactant concentrations, organic solvents, temperature, and voltage on the separation of aglycone quercetin, rutin, quercitrin, kaempferol, catechin, and gallic acid was systematically investigated. The optimum condition providing baseline separation of all compounds within 16.5 min was obtained in 150 mM boric acid (pH 10.0) using a fused-silica capillary with an effective length of 42.5 cm (50 microm inner diameter), temperature of 32 degrees C, and voltage of 15 kV. Method assessment was performed by standard addition method using rutin as an internal standard. Linearity of the method was excellent (r(2) > 0.999) over the concentration tested (40-160 microg/mL). The relative standard deviations (%RSDs) from injection, intraday, and interday precision were less than 2.5%. Recoveries were good (asymptotically equal to 100.0%,%RSD = 0.8%) with a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.86 and 3.16 microg/mL (%RSD = 1.8%), respectively. The aglycone quercetin found in the mulberry leaves was 0.452 g/100 g (%RSD = 0.6%) on dry weight.

Feather degradation by Bacillus sp. FK 46 in submerged cultivation

Cultivation conditions affecting feather degradation by Bacillus sp. FK 46 were investigated. The results showed that feather was almost completely degraded under the following conditions: 1% whole chicken feather as a substrate at the initial medium pH of 9 with 5% bacterial inoculum, at a temperature of 37 degrees C and a shaking speed of 250 rev/min. Glucose, methanol, Tween 80 and Triton X-100, however, had no effect on feather degradation. After feather was degraded, its residue and fermented broth would become a protein feed for animals.

Quantitation of vitamin C content in herbal juice using direct titration

Vitamin C content in fresh and freeze-dried herbal juice, such as guava (Psidium guajava Linn.) emblic myrobolan (Phyllanthus embica Linn.), lemon (Citrus aurantifollia Swing), sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum Linn.) Garcinia schomburgkiana Pierre and passion fruit (Passiflora laurifoia Linn.) was determined by direct titration with iodine. The method showed excellent linearity (r2>0.99) over the concentration ranges tested (100-500% of the amount found in the juice samples), good precision (R.S.D.<1.5%) and recovery (>97%). The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 2.2 and 7.3 mg, respectively. The amount of vitamin C found were 80.1 mg/100 g for guava, 226.0 mg/100 g for emblic myrobolan, 52.8 mg/100 g for sweet pepper, 39.1 mg/100 g for passion fruit, 10.5 mg/100 g for lemon and 4.6 mg/100 g for G. schomburgkiana. The stability of vitamin C during the first 4 weeks was remarkably improved after freeze-dried process. The percent reductions of vitamin C after freeze-dried process were 41.4 and 20.4% for guava and emblic myrobolan, respectively. After 8 weeks, the freeze-dried samples contained only traces amount of vitamin C tested by thin layer chromatography.

Capillary electrophoresis of phytochemical substances

Applications of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for analysis of phytochemical substances (e.g. flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolic acid, quinones and coumarins) are reviewed. For example, CE analysis of sixteen tea ingredients were achieved within 10 min with the good precision (RSDs% <1% for intra-day and 2% for inter-day) and linearity (R(2)>0.990). Quantitation of sanguinarine and chelerythrine, alkaloids from Sanguinaria canadensis L. or Macleaya cordata (Wild) Br. R. by CE showed excellent linearity (R(2)>0.998), precision (RSD%=1.8%) and detection limit (2.4-3.0 microM). Determination of antraquinone-1-sulphonate was also obtained by this technique with good linearity (R(2)>0.9999), precision (RSD%=2%) and detection limit (0.7 microg/ml). Results of CE analysis from several studies are comparable to those of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), but the former is more useful for complex mixture samples where the analysis demands higher resolving power. Advantages of CE are high efficiency, low cost, short analysis time and simplicity, whereas disadvantages include low sensitivity comparing to HPLC and limitation of the preparative scale.

Direct determination of s-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine in syrups by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for the determination of s-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine in syrup preparations. The experiments were performed without specific sample pre-treatment. The LC conditions used were acetonitrile-10 mM sodium dihydrogenphosphate buffer, pH 2.0 (1:99, v/v) on a C(18) Inersil column with a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min. Ultraviolet detection was carried out at 240 nm. The method showed excellent linearity (r(2)>0.9998) over the concentration range tested (0.8-25.6 mg/ml) with good precision and accuracy (%R.S.D. 0.7%). Recoveries were good (>99%) with a limit of detection and limit of quantitation of 0.1 and 0.8 mg/ml. Other compositions in the syrup vehicle did not interfere the analysis of s-carboxymethyl-l-cysteine.

Separation of cold medicine ingredients by capillary electrophoresis

This study demonstrates the separation of cold medicine ingredients (e.g., phenylpropanolamine, dextromethorphan, chlorpheniramine maleate, and paracetamol) by capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Factors affecting their separations were the buffer pH and the concentrations of buffer, surfactant and organic modifiers. Optimum results were obtained with a 10 mM sodium dihydrogen-phosphate-sodium tetraborate buffer containing 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 5% methanol (MeOH), pH 9.0. The carrier electrolyte gave a baseline separation of phenylpropanolamine, dextromethorphan, chlorpheniramine maleate, and paracetamol with a resolution of 1.2, and the total migration time was 11.38 min.