Recent advances and trends in miniaturized sample preparation techniques.

Advances in the area of sample preparation are significant and have been growing significantly in recent years. This initial step of the analysis is essential and must be carried out properly, consisting of a complicated procedure with multiple stages. Consequently, it corresponds to a potential source of errors and will determine, at the end of the process, either a satisfactory result or a fail. One of the advances in this field includes the miniaturization of extraction techniques based on the conventional sample preparation procedures such as liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction. These modern techniques have gained prominence in the face of traditional methods since they minimize the consumption of organic solvents and the sample volume. As another feature, it is possible to reuse the sorbents, and its coupling to chromatographic systems might be automated. The review will emphasize the main techniques based on liquid-phase microextraction, as well as those based upon the use of sorbents. The first group includes currently popular techniques such as single drop microextraction, hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction, and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. In the second group, solid-phase microextraction techniques such as in-tube solid-phase microextraction, stir bar sorptive extraction, dispersive solid-phase extraction, dispersive micro solid-phase microextraction, and microextraction by packed sorbent are highlighted. These approaches, in common, aim the determination of analytes at low concentrations in complex matrices. This article describes some characteristics, recent advances, and trends on miniaturized sample preparation techniques, as well as their current applications in food, environmental, and bioanalysis fields.

La incorporación de reglas automatizadas asociadas a la calidad preanalítica de la muestra mejora la seguridad del paciente / The incorporation of automated rules associated with the pre-analytic quality of the sample improves patient safety

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Determinación de Levetiracetam en suero humano por cromatografía líquida con detección de arreglo de diodos / Levetiracetam determination in human serum by liquid chromatography with diode array detection / Determinação de Levetiracetam em soro humano por cromatografia líquida com detecção de arranjo de diodos

Se desarrolló y validó un nuevo método analítico para determinar Levetiracetam (LEV) en suero humano utilizando cromatografía líquida de alta resolución (HPLC) con detección de arreglo de diodos. El procedimiento es sencillo, puede ser incluido en la rutina del laboratorio y prestar servicio tanto en el monitoreo terapéutico como en la urgencia. El método incluye las siguientes etapas: extracción líquido-líquido con diclorometano y evaporación de la fase orgánica, la droga se reconstituye con fase móvil, se inyecta en el cromatógrafo y se detecta a 205 nm. El tiempo de retención de LEV es de 5 minutos y no presenta interferentes con respecto a otras drogas comúnmente prescriptas con Levetiracetam. La curva de trabajo presentó un rango de linealidad entre 5,2 y 82,9 μg/mL, un límite de detección y cuantificación de 0,8 μg/mL y 2,7 μg/mL, respectivamente. La recuperación fue del 99,8%.

A new analytical method for Levetiracetam (LEV) determination in human serum was developed and validated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode detection. It is a simple methodology that can be included in the laboratory routine and can be useful in both therapeutic drug monitoring and emergencies. The drug extraction is performed through a liquid-liquid extraction with methyl chloride. Subsequently, the organic phase is evaporated, reconstituted with the mobile phase, and injected in the chromatograph to be detected at 205 nm. LEV retention time is 5 min and it does not show interference with respect to other drugs commonly prescribed with Levetiracetam. The work curve showed linearity between 5.2 and 82.9 μg/mL and a detection and quantification limit of 0.8 μg/mL and 2.7 μg/mL, respectively, while the recovery was of 99.8%.

Foi desenvolvido e validado um novo método analítico para determinar Levetiracetam (LEV) em soro humano, utilizando cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (HPLC) com detecção de arranjo de diodos. O procedimento é simples, pode ser incluído na rotina do laboratório e prestar serviço tanto na monitorização terapêutica quanto na urgência. O método inclui as seguintes etapas: extração líquido-líquido com diclorometano, e evaporação da fase orgânica, o fármaco é reconstituído com fase móvel, é injetado no cromatógrafo e detectado a 205 nm. O tempo de retenção de LEV é de 5 minutos e não apresenta interferentes com relação a outras drogas, comumente prescritas com Levetiracetam. A curva de trabalho apresentou um intervalo de linearidade entre 5.2 a 82.9 μg/mL, um limite de detecção e quantificação de 0.8 μg/mL e 2.7 μg/mL respectivamente. A recuperação foi de 99.8%.

Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE): Principles and Applications in Food Samples.

Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) is a sample preparation method that is practised on numerous application fields due to its many advantages compared to other traditional methods. SPE was invented as an alternative to liquid/liquid extraction and eliminated multiple disadvantages, such as usage of large amount of solvent, extended operation time/procedure steps, potential sources of error, and high cost. Moreover, SPE can be plied to the samples combined with other analytical methods and sample preparation techniques optionally. SPE technique is a useful tool for many purposes through its versatility. Isolation, concentration, purification and clean-up are the main approaches in the practices of this method. Food structures represent a complicated matrix and can be formed into different physical stages, such as solid, viscous or liquid. Therefore, sample preparation step particularly has an important role for the determination of specific compounds in foods. SPE offers many opportunities not only for analysis of a large diversity of food samples but also for optimization and advances. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview on basic principles of SPE and its applications for many analytes in food matrix.

Sample handling in surface sensitive chemical and biological sensing: a practical review of basic fluidics and analyte transport.

This paper gives an overview of the advantages and associated caveats of the most common sample handling methods in surface-sensitive chemical and biological sensing. We summarize the basic theoretical and practical considerations one faces when designing and assembling the fluidic part of the sensor devices. The influence of analyte size, the use of closed and flow-through cuvettes, the importance of flow rate, tubing length and diameter, bubble traps, pressure-driven pumping, cuvette dead volumes, and sample injection systems are all discussed. Typical application areas of particular arrangements are also highlighted, such as the monitoring of cellular adhesion, biomolecule adsorption-desorption and ligand-receptor affinity binding. Our work is a practical review in the sense that for every sample handling arrangement considered we present our own experimental data and critically review our experience with the given arrangement. In the experimental part we focus on sample handling in optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) measurements, but the present study is equally applicable for other biosensing technologies in which an analyte in solution is captured at a surface and its presence is monitored. Explicit attention is given to features that are expected to play an increasingly decisive role in determining the reliability of (bio)chemical sensing measurements, such as analyte transport to the sensor surface; the distorting influence of dead volumes in the fluidic system; and the appropriate sample handling of cell suspensions (e.g. their quasi-simultaneous deposition). At the appropriate places, biological aspects closely related to fluidics (e.g. cellular mechanotransduction, competitive adsorption, blood flow in veins) are also discussed, particularly with regard to their models used in biosensing.

Molecularly imprinted polymers for sample preparation: a review.

In spite of the huge development of analytical instrumentation during last two decades, sample preparation is still nowadays considered the bottleneck of the whole analytical process. In this regard, efforts have been conducted towards the improvement of the selectivity during extraction and/or subsequent clean-up of sample extracts. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are stable polymers with molecular recognition abilities, provided by the presence of a template during their synthesis and thus are excellent materials to provide selectivity to sample preparation. In the present review, the use of MIPs in solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction as well as its recent incorporation to other extraction techniques such as matrix-solid phase dispersion and stir bar sorptive extraction, among others, is described. The advantages and drawbacks of each methodology as well as the future expected trends are discussed.

Trends in sample preparation for classical and second generation proteomics.

Sample preparation is a fundamental step in the proteomics workflow. However, it is not easy to find compiled information updating this subject. In this paper, the strategies and protocols for protein extraction and identification, following either classical or second generation proteomics methodologies, are reviewed. Procedures for: tissue disruption, cell lysis, sample pre-fractionation, protein separation by 2-DE, protein digestion, mass spectrometry analysis, multidimensional peptide separations and quantification of protein expression level are described.

Recent developments in methods and technology for analysis of biological samples by MALDI-TOF-MS.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is widely used in a variety of fields because it has the characteristics of speed, ease of use, high sensitivity, and wide detectable mass range for obtaining molecular weights and for structural characterization of macromolecules. In this article we summarize recent developments in matrix additives, new matrices, and sample-pretreatment methods using off-probe or on-probe techniques or nanomaterials for MALDI-TOF-MS analysis of biological samples.