Simultaneous determination of nitrate and nitrite in vegetables by poly(vinylimidazole-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic capillary liquid chromatography with UV detection.

Simultaneous determination of nitrate (NO3‾) and nitrite (NO2‾) in vegetables was performed on a poly(1-vinylimidazole-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (VIM-EDMA) monolithic column by capillary liquid chromatography (LC) with UV detection. Good linearity (0.5-100 µg mL-1 i.e. 12.5 -2500 µg g-1 in vegetables) was obtained with coefficient of determination > 0.996. Limits of detection (signal-to-noise ratio: S/N= 3) were estimated at 0.06 and 0.05 µg mL-1, which corresponded to 1.50 and 1.25 µg g-1 for NO2‾ and NO3‾, respectively, in vegetables. The limits of quantification (S/N= 10) were estimated at 0.17 and 0.16 µg mL-1 (4.25 and 4.00 µg g-1 in vegetables) for NO2‾ and NO3‾, respectively. Although the detection limits were relatively higher than other LC-UV techniques, this proposed method offered satisfactory sensitivity for complying the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels set by EU to monitor the occurrence of NO2‾ and NO3‾in vegetables. The intra-day/inter-day precision (0.14-3.35%/0.06-6.93%) and accuracy (90.33-103.32%/96.00-101.26%) were also examined for method validation. No obvious carry-over and decline of separation efficiency were observed for more than 200 analyses of real samples. The occurrence of NO2‾ and NO3‾in various vegetable samples was investigated to demonstrate the potential of utilizing the developed polymeric monolith-based capillary LC-UV method for food safety application.

Separation of inorganic anions by capillary ion chromatography with UV detection using poly(vinylimidazole-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic column.

Poly(1-vinylimidazole-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (VIM-EDMA) monolithic stationary phase was applied for separation of inorganic anions by capillary ion chromatography (IC). The retention of inorganic anions on the VIM-EDMA column was investigated using various salt solutions as the eluent. Good separation of inorganic anions was obtained on VIM-EDMA monolithic column using NH4Cl as the eluent. Good mechanical stability and low swelling propensity values (0.12 and -0.02 for ACN and MeOH, respectively) were obtained. The column repeatability was also examined by determining the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of retention time and peak area of target anions. Relatively low RSDs (n = 7) of retention time (<2.3%) and peak area (<8.8%) were obtained on the VIM-EDMA column. The utilization of VIM-EDMA column for potential environmental application was also demonstrated by determining the occurrence of inorganic anions in various environmental water samples without sample preparation process.

Separation and preconcentration of actinides from concentrated nitric acid by extraction chromatography in microsystems.

An original method of monolith impregnation in microsystem for the analysis of radionuclides in nitric acid is reported. Three microcolumns made of monolith poly(AMA-co-EDMA) were impregnated in COC microsystems. The robustness of the microsystems in nitric acid media until 8 M was demonstrated. High exchange capacity and affinity for tetravalent and hexavalent actinides in concentrated nitric media were obtained. The retention characteristics of the microcolumns impregnated by TBP, TBP-CMPO and DAAP were compared with those of the equivalent commercial particulate resins TBP™, TRU™ and UTEVA™ respectively. The separation of U, Th and Eu was validated in a classical microsystem and a procedure is proposed in a centrifugal microsystem.

Preparation, characterization and application of polymethacrylate-based monolithic columns for fast and efficient separation of alkanes, alcohols, alkylbenzenes and isomeric mixtures by gas chromatography.

Application of monolithic columns in gas chromatography is still considered very limited. In this work, several polymethacrylate-based monolithic capillary columns were fabricated, characterized and used in gas chromatography. The five monomers used were: methyl methacrylate, (MMA), hexyl methacrylate (HMA), glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), 2-butoxyethyl methacrylate (BEMA) and isobornyl methacrylate (IBMA), while ethylene dimethacrylate was the crosslinker. The monoliths were synthesized in 30 cm length capillaries possessing inner diameters (i.d.) of 0.25 mm. The prepared monolithic columns were applied for separation of 3 series of homologous alkanes, alcohols and alkylbenzenes, as well as some isomeric mixtures. Van Deemter plots were used to optimize and compare the columns performance. The smaller methacrylates (MMA and GMA) exhibited higher porosity and permeability with low column backpressure values and poorer efficiency than the larger methacrylate monomers (HMA and BEMA). The columns prepared from IBMA monomer showed the highest pressure and the least separation efficiency. The fastest full separation of alkanes was achieved on HMA-co-EDMA column in about 3.0 min with resolution better than 2.73, while the fastest full separation of alcohols and alkylbenzenes was carried out using BEMA-co-EDMA column in less than 0.8 and 1.75 min with chromatographic resolution better than 1.27 and 1.85, respectively. Again, BEMA-co-EDMA column gave the best performance with the fastest and complete separation of all studied isomeric mixtures. For all tested series of solutes, the better separation efficiency was reached with tridecane, which gave 25,200 plates/m on the HMA-co-EDMA column. Another application was carried out using HMA-co-EDMA column for determination of myrcene and limonene, two monoterpenic isomers, in some fruit peels. Under the optimum GC conditions, a rapid separation of myrcene and limonene was achieved in less than 1.0 min with chromatographic resolution of 2.56. The highest contents of myrcene (0.131 mg/g) and limonene (1.225 mg/g) were measured in the hexane extracts of grapefruit and Egyptian orange, respectively. Finally, a comparison between the prepared columns and a commercial capillary column was performed. Based on the measured run time and HETP values, HMA-co-EDMA and BEMA-co-EDMA monolithic columns exhibited faster separation and higher efficiency for n-alkanes and alkylbenzenes than the TR-5 open tubular column, although they are 100 times shorter.

Dual polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes polymerization approach to mutually-mediated separation mechanisms of hybrid monolithic stationary and mobile phases towards small molecules.

Hybrid monolithic stationary phase based HPLC is a typical example of practices in separation science. In this study, we developed a dual polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) polymerization approach to the preparation of a hybrid monolithic stationary phase of tri-porous structure and various surface chemistry. N-phenylaminopropyl-POSS (PA-POSS) and glycidyl-POSS (EP-POSS) were exemplified to demonstrate effective mutually-mediated separation mechanisms of the hybrid monolithic stationary phase and mobile phase towards diverse small molecules. PA-POSS and EP-POSS can be the monomer and/or crosslinker each other. They were polymerized via the epoxy-ring opening reaction to form the poly[(PA-POSS)-(EP-POSS)] (polyPOSS) monolithic stationary phase of 110.6/164.6 Å3 micropore (as a cube/ball), 10 nm mesopore and 0.95 µm macropore with the native siloxane cage and remaining phenyl/epoxy as well as chemically generated positive-chargeable tertiary phenylamine and hydrophilic hydroxyl groups. Such pore-structure and surface chemistry allow us to perform the effective separation of targeted small molecules, such as alkylbenzenes and alkylbenzene ketones, nucleic acid bases and amino acids, as well as phenols and phenolic acids, under reversed-phase, HILIC and mixed mode (polarity, size-exclusion and hydrogen-bonding) by just changing the molar ratio of POSS-precursors, and the composition and pH of a mobile phase as well. We believe that the approach developed herein can be extended to fabricate other kinds of hybrid monolithic stationary phases that are suitable for the separation of biomacromolecules and chiral molecules when choosing the existed POSS and/or designing new POSS with the substituted pendant groups of different physicochemical properties.

Mixed-mode acrylamide-based continuous beds bearing tert-butyl groups for capillary electrochromatography synthesized via complexation of N-tert-butylacrylamide with a water-soluble cyclodextrin. Part I: Retention properties.

With the aim to improve the understanding of morphology and efficiency properties, we investigate in this series the impact of the complex formation constant of the hydrophobic monomer with respect to statistically methylated-ß-cyclodextrin (Me-ß-CD) on the electrochromatographic properties of highly crosslinked amphiphilic mixed-mode acrylamide-based monolithic stationary phases. Based on our previous work on amphiphilic mixed-mode monolithic stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) using N-(1-adamantyl)acrylamide (Ad-AAm) as hydrophobic monomer that forms an extremely strong water-soluble inclusion complex with Me-ß-CD, we now selected N-tert-butylacrylamide (NTBA) as hydrophobic monomer forming an inclusion complex with Me-ß-CD with a much lower value of the formation constant. Mixed-mode monolithic stationary phases are synthesized by in-situ free radical copolymerization of cyclodextrin-solubilized N-tert-butylacrylamide, a water soluble crosslinker (piperazinediacrylamide), a hydrophilic neutral monomer (methacrylamide), and a negatively charged monomer (vinylsulfonic acid) in aqueous medium in bind silane pre-treated fused silica capillaries. The synthesized monolithic stationary phases have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties and can be employed in the reversed-phase mode, in the normal-phase mode, in a mixed-mode or in the hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode (depending on the composition of the mobile phase and on the properties of the solute). Morphology and retention properties of this new type of stationary phase are compared to those reported in our previous series. With a homologues series of alkylphenones it is confirmed that the hydrophobicity (methylene selectivity αmeth) of the stationary phase is strongly dependent on the type of hydrophobic monomer employed. The studies reveal a significant influence of the formation constant of the involved host-guest inclusion complex on the morphology (i.e., the domain size) of the produced monoliths.

Silica-based polypeptide-monolithic stationary phase for hydrophilic chromatography and chiral separation.

Glutathione (GSH)-, somatostatin acetate (ST)- and ovomucoid (OV)-functionalized silica-monolithic stationary phases were designed and synthesized for HILIC and chiral separation using capillary electrochromatography (CEC). GSH, ST and OV were covalently incorporated into the silica skeleton via the epoxy ring-opening reaction between their amino groups and the glycidyl moiety in γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) together with polycondensation and copolymerization of tetramethyloxysilane and GPTMS. Not only could the direction and electroosmotic flow magnitude on the prepared GSH-, ST- and OV-silica hybrid monolithic stationary phases be controlled by the pH of the mobile phase, but also a typical HILIC behavior was observed so that the nucleotides and HPLC peptide standard mixture could be baseline separated using an aqueous mobile phase without any acetonitrile during CEC. Moreover, the prepared monolithic columns had a chiral separation ability to separate dl-amino acids. The OV-silica hybrid monolithic column was most effective in chiral separation and could separate dl-glutamic acid (Glu) (the resolution R=1.07), dl-tyrosine (Tyr) (1.57) and dl-histidine (His) (1.06). Importantly, the chiral separation ability of the GSH-silica hybrid monolithic column could be remarkably enhanced when using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to fabricate an AuNP-mediated GSH-AuNP-GSH-silica hybrid monolithic column. The R of dl-Glu, dl-Tyr and dl-His reached 1.19, 1.60 and 2.03. This monolithic column was thus applied to separate drug enantiomers, and quantitative separation of all four R/S drug enantiomers were achieved with R ranging from 4.36 to 5.64. These peptide- and protein-silica monolithic stationary phases with typical HILIC separation behavior and chiral separation ability implied their promise for the analysis of not only the future metabolic studies, but also drug enantiomers recognition.

Biocompatible chiral monolithic stationary phase synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization for high performance liquid chromatographic analysis.

Novel biocompatible chiral monolithic stationary phase was prepared by reverse and direct atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) methods. By taking advantages of the controlled/living property of ATRP method, the chiral monolith was prepared by reverse ATRP (RATRP) firstly. An attractive feature of RATRP is the prepared polymer containing a terminal radically transferable atom that can initiate another post-polymerization reaction by direct ATRP. Then, the biocompatible poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) was grafted on the surface of the chiral monolith by direct ATRP as a diffusion barrier for proteins. This biocompatible chiral monolith was successfully used as restricted access stationary phase for determination of enantiomers in biological samples with direct injection by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Adamantyl-group containing mixed-mode acrylamide-based continuous beds for capillary electrochromatography. Part IV: investigation of the chromatographic efficiency dependent on the retention mode.

In our previous work we have described the synthesis, characterization, and optimization of the chromatographic efficiency of a highly crosslinked macroporous mixed-mode acrylamide-based monolithic stationary phase synthesized by in situ free radical copolymerization of cyclodextrin-solubilized N-adamantyl acrylamide, piperazinediacrylamide, methacrylamide and vinylsulfonic acid in aqueous medium in pre-treated fused silica capillaries of 100µm I.D. In the present work, we study with different classes of neutral analytes (with varied hydrophobicity) the impact of the type of retention mode (influenced by the type of analyte and the mobile phase composition) and the impact of the solute functionality on the chromatographic efficiency and peak symmetry with a monolith synthesized under optimized synthesis parameters. With this monolithic capillary high separation efficiencies (up to ca. 220,000m(-1)) are obtained for the separation of different analyte classes (alkylphenones, nitrotoluenes, and phenolic compounds with k=0.2-0.55) in the reversed-phase mode, in the normal-phase mode, and in the mixed mode. For neutral alkylanilines (k<0.25) plate numbers of about 300,000m(-1) are routinely reached in the reversed-phase elution mode. For phenolic solutes separated in a mixed mode there is a solute-specific influence on peak symmetry and chromatographic efficiency. With increasing efficiency of the monolith, axial diffusion becomes an important mechanism of band broadening. For those peaks, which do not show a significant asymmetry (asymmetry factor ≤1.05), it is confirmed that plate heights gained via the tangent method are equivalent to those gained via moment analysis.

Adamantyl-group containing mixed-mode acrylamide-based continuous beds for capillary electrochromatography. Part II. Characterization of the synthesized monoliths by inverse size exclusion chromatography and scanning electron microscopy.

In our previous article we have described the synthesis of a new amphiphilic monolithic stationary phase by in situ free radical copolymerization of cyclodextrin-solubilized N-adamantyl acrylamide, piperazinediacrylamide, methacrylamide and vinylsulfonic acid in aqueous medium in pre-treated fused silica capillaries of 100µm I.D. In the present work, we study the morphology of different monolithic stationary phases synthesized under variation of the concentration of ammonium sulfate in the polymerization mixture. The pore size distribution is determined with inverse size exclusion chromatography (ISEC) using the retention data of a series of polystyrene standards with narrow molecular size distribution and known average molar mass ranging from 1560 to 2010000gmol(-1). The impact of the concentration of the lyotropic salt ammonium sulfate in the polymerization mixture on the formed morphology, the pore size distribution, and the fractional volume of mesopores and macropores is determined. The homogeneity and uniformity of the formed monolith over the length of the capillary and the covalent attachment to the confining walls are confirmed. Repetition of the synthesis procedure shows that these morphology parameters are well controlled as there is an excellent capillary-to-capillary, day-to-day, and run-to-run reproducibility reached for the electroosmotic mobility and the retention factor determined with alkylphenones in the reversed-phase mode.

Microscale immobilized enzyme reactors in proteomics: latest developments.

Enzymatic digestion of proteins is one of the key steps in proteomic analyses. There has been a steady progress in the applied digestion protocols in the past, starting from conventional time-consuming in-solution or in-gel digestion protocols to rapid and efficient methods utilizing different types of microscale enzyme reactors. Application of such microreactors has been proven beneficial due to lower sample consumption, higher sensitivity and straightforward coupling with LC-MS set-ups. Novel stationary phases, immobilization techniques and device formats are being constantly developed and tested to optimize digestion efficiency of proteolytic enzymes. This review focuses on the latest developments associated with the preparation and application of microscale enzyme reactors for proteomics applications since 2008 onwards. A special attention has been paid to the discussion of different stationary phases applied for immobilization purposes.

Adamantyl-group containing mixed-mode acrylamide-based continuous beds for capillary electrochromatography. Part III. Optimization of the chromatographic efficiency.

In a previous article we described the synthesis of amphiphilic monolithic stationary phases by in situ free radical copolymerization of cyclodextrin-solubilized N-adamantyl acrylamide, piperazinediacrylamide, methacrylamide and vinylsulfonic acid in aqueous medium in pre-treated fused silica capillaries of 100µ.m I.D. In this work, a series of N-adamantyl-group containing acrylamide-based continuous beds is synthesized under variation of different synthesis parameters. The studied synthesis parameters are (i) concentration of the lyotropic salt ammonium sulfate, (ii) concentration of the initiator ammonium persulfate, and (iii) concentration of the negatively charged monomer vinylsulfonic acid in the polymerization mixture. The influence of the synthesis parameters on the chromatographic efficiency is studied under isocratic conditions for a homologues series of alkylphenones in the reversed-phase mode at constant composition of the mobile phase via capillary electrochromatography with varied electric field strength. With varied concentration of the lyotropic salt ammonium sulfate or varied concentration of the initiator ammonium persulfate in the polymerization mixture, a strong impact on the chromatographic efficiency is observed, while there is only a minor influence when varying the molar fraction of the charged monomer VSA. The absence of a significant influence of extra-column band broadening effects on the determined efficiency is confirmed. There is a good repeatability (with respect to capillary-to-capillary variation and run-to-run variation) reached for the theoretical plate heights obtained for DMF and selected alkylphenones in the reversed-phase mode.

Centrifugal microfluidic platform for radiochemistry: potentialities for the chemical analysis of nuclear spent fuels.

The use of a centrifugal microfluidic platform is for the first time reported as an alternative to classical chromatographic procedures for radiochemistry. The original design of the microfluidic platform has been thought to fasten and simplify the prototyping process with the use of a circular platform integrating four rectangular microchips made of thermoplastic. The microchips, dedicated to anion-exchange chromatographic separations, integrate a localized monolithic stationary phase as well as injection and collection reservoirs. The results presented here were obtained with a simplified simulated nuclear spent fuel sample composed of non-radioactive isotopes of Europium and Uranium, in proportion usually found for uranium oxide nuclear spent fuel. While keeping the analytical results consistent with the conventional procedure (extraction yield for Europium of ≈97%), the use of the centrifugal microfluidic platform allowed to reduce the volume of liquid needed by a factor of ≈250. Thanks to their unique "easy-to-use" features, centrifugal microfluidic platforms are potential successful candidates for the downscaling of chromatographic separation of radioactive samples (automation, multiplexing, easy integration in glove-boxes environment and low cost of maintenance).

Automated pre-column derivatization of thiolic fruit-antibrowning agents by sequential injection coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography using a monolithic stationary phase and an in-loop stopped-flow approach.

The present study reports the very first application of ethyl propiolate (EP) as an advantageous pre-column derivatization reagent for the determination of thiols by liquid chromatography (LC). Cysteine (CYS), glutathione (GSH) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) were derivatized online under stopped-flow conditions in a sequential injection (SI) system coupled to HPLC. The formed derivatives were separated isocratically with a monolithic stationary phase (100×4.6 mm id) and UV detected at 285 nm. Critical parameters that affected the online pre-column derivatization reaction (e.g. the reaction time and the amount concentration of EP) and the separation (e.g. pH and the composition of the mobile phase) were investigated. The developed analytical scheme offers a total analysis time of less than 10 min, limits of detection in the range of 0.24-0.35 µmol/L and satisfactory linearity up to 200 µmol/L for all analytes. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of the selected thiols--that are often employed as antibrowning agents--in fresh fruit samples.