The use of CE-electrochemiluminescence with ionic liquid for the determination of bioactive constituents in Chinese traditional medicine

CE/tris(2,2-bipyridyl) ruthenium(ll) (Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)) electrochemiluminescence (ECL), CEECL, with an ionic liquid (IL) detection system was established for the determination of bioactive constituents in Chinese traditional medicine opium poppy which contain large amounts of coexistent substances. A minimal sample pretreatment which involves a one-step extraction approach avoids both sample loss and environmental pollution. As the nearby hydroxyl groups in some alkaloid such as morphine may react with borate to form complexes and IL, as a high-conductivity additive in running buffer, could cause an enhanced field-amplified effect of electrokinetic injection. Running buffer containing 25 mM borax-8 mM 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMImBF(4)) IL (pH 9.18) was used which resulted in significant changes in separation selectivity and obvious enhancement in ECL intensities for those alkaloids with similar structures. Sensitive detection could be achieved when the distance between the Pt working electrode and the outlet of separation capillary was set at 150 mu m and the stainless steel cannula was fixed approximately 1 cm away from the outlet of the capillary. Quantitative analysis of four alkaloids was achieved at a detection voltage of 1.2 V and a separation voltage of 15 kV in less than 7 min.

Simultaneous determination of tramadol and lidocaine in urine by end-column capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection

Tramadol and lidocaine, used as analgesic and local anesthetic in surgery, are partly excreted by kidney. For the first time, we developed a simple and sensitive method, based on capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection by end column mode without joint to monitor tramadol and lidocaine in urine. To eliminate the influence of ionic strength of urine sample, analytes were extracted by ether. Tripropylamine (TPA) was used as internal standard. ne recoveries of tramadol and lidocaine were between 94% and 97% at different levels. The method exhibited the linear range for the tramadol and lidocaine from 1.0 X 10(-7) to 1.0 X 10(-4) mol/L with correlation efficient of 0.998. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 2.9% and 2.7% (n = 8) for tramadol and lidocaine, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) was 6.0 x 10(-8) mol/L and 4.5 x 10(-8), mol/L (S/N = 3) for tramadol and lidocaine, respectively. The application for detecting tramadol and lidocaine in urine of patients showed that the method was valuable in clinical and biochemical laboratories for detecting tramadol, lidocaine and other tertiary amine pharmaceuticals for various purpose, such as metabolism investigation.

Electrochemiluminescent determination of L-cysteine with a flow-injection analysis system

A flow-injection electrochemiluminescent method for L-cysteine determination has been developed based on its enhancement of the electrochemiluminecence of luminol at a glassy carbon electrode. This method is simple and sensitive for cysteine determination. Under the selected experimental parameters, the linear range for cysteine concentration was 1.0 x 10(-6) - 5.0 x 10(-5) mol/l, and the detection limit was 0.67 mumol/l (SIN = 3). The relative standard deviation for 11 measurements of 1.0 x 10(-5) mol/l cysteine was 4.5%. The proposed method has been applied to. the detection of cysteine in pharmaceutical injections with satisfactory results.

Flow injection determination of dopamine based on inhibited electrochemiluminescence of luminol

A flow injection method has been developed for the determination of dopamine based on its inhibition of the electrochemiluminescence of luminol. This method is simple and sensitive for dopamine detection. Under the selected experimental conditions, the decreased electrochemiluminescent intensity is linear with dopamine concentration in the range of 5.0 x 10(-8)-1.0 x 10(-5) mol/L with a detection limit of 30 nmol/L. The relative standard deviation of eleven determinations is 1.9% for 1.0 x 10(-6) mol/L dopamine. The proposed method has been applied to the detection of dopamine in pharmaceutical injections with satisfactory results.

Determination of ultra-trace rare-earth elements in human plasma by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS),a highly sensitive inorgnic analytic technique,fits to determine ultra-nace rare-earth elements in human plasma. Under the optimized conditions detection limits for 15 rare-earth elements are in the range of 0.7 (for Eu)-5.4 (for Gd) ng.L-1. Indium as an internal standard element is used to compensate for matrix suppression effect and sensitivity drift. Three kinds of preparation methods, diluted with 1% HNO3, digested with HNO3-H2O2 and with HNO3-HClO4, are checked and compared,and the former is the simplest way to be measured. The samples diluted with 1% HNO3, stored in 4 degrees C, are very steady for 16 days. With the method, 11 healthy plasma samples in Changchun area of China are analysed.

Electrochemiluminescent determination of peroxydisulfate with Cr(bpy)(3)(3+) in purely aqueous solution

A novel method for the sensitive and selective determination of peroxydisulfate was proposed. It was based on an electrochemiluminescent method with Cr(bpy)(3)(3+). The applied potential was set at -0.5 V in Cr(bpy)(3)(3+) system which was much more positive than those in Ru(bpz)(3)(2+) and Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) systems. A linear calibration was obtained over the range of 7-100 mu mol l(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.993. The relative standard deviation was 2% for 10 replicate injections of 0.01 mol l(-1) S2O82- solution. The detection limit (S/N=3) was 1 mu mol l(-1). The method was successfully applied to determination of peroxydisulfate in phase transfer catalysis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of allopurinol and its active metabolite oxypurinol by capillary electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection

A simple method was proposed for the separation of allopurinol (AP) and its active metabolite oxypurinol (OP) by capillary electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection. A running buffer composed of 15 rum Na2HPO4/NaH2PO4 at a pH 9.55, electrokinetic injection 7 s at 5 kV, separation voltage at 15 kV and detection potential at 1.20 V were investigated to be the optimal condition for the separation. The method exhibited low detection Emit (S/N = 3) as 1 x 10(-8) mol/l for AP and OP, wide linearity range of 2 x 10(-7) to 1 x 10(-4) mol/l, 1 x 10(-7) to 1 x 10(-4) and high efficiency of 1.2 x 10(5) and 1.8 x 10(5) N/m for AP and OP, respectively. The potential application examined for the method was the determination of the spiked urine sample, which was proved to be sensitive and efficient. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of purity and molecular weight of calmodulin by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The purity and molecular weight of calmodulin have been determined by means of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry, and the results have been discussed. The experimental results demonstrate that this method is high sensitive and rapid as compared with other traditional methods.

Determination of sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole by capillary electrophoresis with end-column electrochemical detection

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) with end-column electrochemical detection (EC) of sulfadiazine (SDZ) and sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) is described. Under the optimum conditions, SDZ and SMZ were separated satisfactorily, and a highly sensitive and stable response was obtained at a potential of 1.1 V versus Ag/AgCl. Optimized end-column detection provides detection limits as low as 0.1 mu M for both compounds, which corresponds to 0.024 and 0.021 fmol with peak efficiencies of 394000 and 335000 theoretical plates for SDZ arid SMZ, respectively. The calibration graph was linear over three orders of magnitude. The relative standard deviations (n = 12) of peak currents and migration times were 2.3 and 2.7%, and 0.8 and 1.3%, respectively, for the two compounds. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of tablets and human urine samples with satisfactory results.

Determination of isoniazid and hydrazine by capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection at a Pt-particle modified carbon fiber microelectrode

Capillary electrophoresis (CE)/electrochemical detection (EC) for the simultaneous determination of hydrazine and isoniazid has been developed. The electrochemical method uses a novel modified electrode dispersed with ultrafine platinum particles on the surface of a 30 mu m carbon fiber microelectrode. The unique characteristic of the Pt-particles modified carbon fiber microelectrode is its excellent stability. The current measurement for hydrazine is more sensitive than that of isoniazid. Selective determination of trace amount of free hydrazine in isoniazid and its formulation can be achieved at applied potential of 0.5 V.

DETERMINATION OF AMINOPYRINE AND ITS METABOLITE IN BIOLOGICAL FLUID BY LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY ELECTROCHEMISTRY WITH A GLASSY-CARBON ELECTRODE DISPERSED WITH ALPHA-ALUMINA PARTICLES

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quantitative determination of aminopyrine (AM) and its metabolite 4-aminoantipyrine (AAN). The method utilizes reverse-phase chromatography/amperometric detection with a glassy carbon electrode dispersed with alpha-arumina particles as the working electrode, on which the oxidation of AM and AAN was greatly improved compared with that on a bare glassy carbon electrode. As a result, the detection limit was as low as 1.4 ng for AM and 0.8 ng for AAN, and the calibration plots for the above compounds have wide linear ranges from 100 ng/mL to 100 mu g/mL and 60 ng/mL to 80 mu g/mL (for AM and AAN, respectively). The above method was applied for the detection of these materials in human urine with satisfactory results.

DETERMINATION OF THE RATE-CONSTANT OF A CATALYTIC REACTION USING A PARALLEL INCIDENT SPECTROELECTROCHEMICAL CELL

The possibility of determining the rate constant of a catalytic reaction using a parallel incident spectroelectrochemical cell was investigated in this work. Various spectroelectrochemical techniques were examined, including single-potential-step chronoabsorptometry, single-potential-step open-circuit relaxation chronoabsorptometry and double-potential-step chronoabsorptometry. The values determined for the kinetics of the ferrocyanide-ascorbic acid system are in agreement with the reported values. The parallel incident method is much more sensitive than the normal transmission method and can be applied to systems which have smaller molar absorptivities, larger rate constants or lower concentrations.

Determination of fractional energy loss of waves in nearshore waters using an improved high-order Boussinesq-type model

Fractional energy losses of waves due to wave breaking when passing over a submerged bar are studied systematically using a modified numerical code that is based on the high-order Boussinesq-type equations. The model is first tested by the additional experimental data, and the model's capability of simulating the wave transformation over both gentle slope and steep slope is demonstrated. Then, the model's breaking index is replaced and tested. The new breaking index, which is optimized from the several breaking indices, is not sensitive to the spatial grid length and includes the bottom slopes. Numerical tests show that the modified model with the new breaking index is more stable and efficient for the shallow-water wave breaking. Finally, the modified model is used to study the fractional energy losses for the regular waves propagating and breaking over a submerged bar. Our results have revealed that how the nonlinearity and the dispersion of the incident waves as well as the dimensionless bar height (normalized by water depth) dominate the fractional energy losses. It is also found that the bar slope (limited to gentle slopes that less than 1:10) and the dimensionless bar length (normalized by incident wave length) have negligible effects on the fractional energy losses.

Simultaneous determination of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters in rat endbrain tissues by pre-column derivatization with high-performance liquid chromatographic fluorescence detection and mass spectrometric identification

A sensitive and efficient method for simultaneous determination of glutamic acid (Glu), gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA), dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) in rat endbrains was developed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection and on-line mass spectrometric identification following derivatization with 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC). Different parameters which influenced derivatization and separation were optimized. The complete separation of five neurotransmitter (NT) derivatives was performed on a reversed-phase Hypersil BDS-C-18 column with a gradient elution. The rapid structure identification of five neurotransmitter derivatives was carried out by on-line mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in positive ion mode, and the BCEOC-labeled derivatives were characterized by easy-to-interpret mass spectra. Stability of derivatives, repeatability, precision and accuracy were evaluated and the results were excellent for efficient HPLC analysis. The quantitative linear range of five neurotransmitters were 2.441-2 x 10(4) nM, and limits of detection were in the range of 0.398-1.258 nM (S/N = 3:1). The changes of their concentrations in endbrains of three rat groups were also studied using this HPLC fluorescence detection method. The results indicated that exhausting exercise could obviously influence the concentrations of neurotransmitters in rat endbrains. The established method exhibited excellent validity, high sensitivity and convenience, and provided a new technique for simultaneous analysis of monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitters in rat brain. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LC determination of amino acids in rat plasma with fluorescence detection: Application to exercise physiology

An LC method for the determination of 20 amino acids (AAs), using 1,2-Benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl chloroformate (BCEOC) as fluorescent labeling reagent, has been validated and applied for the analysis of AAs in rat plasma at three different states concerning exercise physiology. Identification of AA derivatives was carried out by LC-MS with electrospray ion (ESI), and the MS-MS cleavage mode of the representative tyrosine (Tyr) derivative was analyzed. Gradient elution on a Hypersil BDS C-18 column gave good separation of the derivatives. Excellent linear responses were observed and good compositional data could be obtained from as little as 50-200 mu L of plasma samples. The contents of 20 AAs in rat plasma of three groups (24 rats, group A: quiet state, group B: at exercising exhaust, group C: 12 h after exercising exhaust) exhibited evident difference corresponding to the physiological states. Facile BCEOC derivatization coupled with LC-FLD-ESI-MS analysis allowed the development of a highly sensitive method for the quantitative analysis of trace level of AAs from plasma or other biochemical samples.