Ahmad Makahleh

Vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of furfurals and patulin in fruit juices

A fast and simple solvent microextraction technique using salting out-vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (salting out-VALLME) was developed for the extraction of furfurals (2-furfural (2-F), 3-furfural (3-F), 5-methylfurfural (5-MF) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF)) and patulin (PAT) in fruit juice samples. The optimum extraction conditions for 5 mL sample were: extraction solvent, 1-hexanol; volume of extractant, 200 µL; vortex time, 45 s; salt addition, 20%. The simultaneous determination of the furfurals and PAT were investigated using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). The separation was performed using ODS Hypersil C18 column (4.6 mm i.d × 250 mm, 5 μm) under gradient elution. The detection wavelengths used for all compounds were 280 nm except for 3-F (210 nm). The furfurals and PAT were successfully separated in less than 9 min. Good linearities (r(2)>0.99) were obtained within the range 1-5000 μg L(-1) for all compounds except for 3-F (10-5000 µg L(-1)) and PAT (0.5-100 μg L(-1)). The limits of detection (0.28-3.2 µg L(-1)) were estimated at S/N ratio of 3. The validated salting out-VALLME-HPLC method was applied for the analysis of furfurals and PAT in fruit juice samples (apple, mango and grape).

Determination of underivatized long chain fatty acids using RP-HPLC with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector (C(4)D) has been developed for the separation and the simultaneous determination of five underivatized long chain fatty acids (FAs), namely myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids. An isocratic elution mode using methanol/1mM sodium acetate (78:22, v/v) as mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.6 mL min(-1) was used. The separation was effected by using a Hypersil ODS C(18) analytical column (250 mm x 4.6 mm x 5 microm) and was operated at 45 degrees C. Calibration curves of the five FAs were well correlated (r(2)>0.999) within the range of 5- 200 microg mL(-1) for stearic acid, and 2-200 microg mL(-1) for the other FAs. The proposed method was tested on four vegetable oils, i.e., pumpkin, soybean, rice bran and palm olein oils; good agreement was found with the standard gas chromatographic (GC) method. The proposed method offers distinct advantages over the official GC method, especially in terms of simplicity, faster separation times and sensitivity.

UPLC method for the determination of vitamin E homologues and derivatives in vegetable oils, margarines and supplement capsules using pentafluorophenyl column.

A sensitive and rapid reversed-phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic (UPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of tocopherols (α-, β-, γ-, δ-), tocotrienols (α-, β-, γ-, δ-), α-tocopherol acetate and α-tocopherol nicotinate is described. The separation was achieved using a Kinetex pentafluorophenyl (PFP) column (150 × 2.1mm, 2.6 µm) with both photodiode array (PDA) and fluorescence (FL) detectors that were connected in series. Column was thermostated at 42°C. Under a gradient system consisting of methanol and water at a constant flow rate of 0.38 mL min(-1), all the ten analytes were well separated in less than 9.5 min. The method was validated in terms of linearity, limits of detection and quantitation, precision and recoveries. Calibration curves of the ten compounds were well correlated (r(2)>0.999) within the range of 100 to 25,000 μg L(-1) for α-tocopherol acetate and α-tocopherol nicotinate, 10 to 25,000 μg L(-1) for α-tocotrienol and 5 to 25,000 μg L(-1) for the other components. The method is simple and sensitive with detection limits (S/N, 3) of 1.0 to 3.0 μg L(-1) (FL detection) and 30 to 74 μg L(-1) (PDA detection). Relative standard deviations for intra- and inter-day retention times (<1%) and peak areas (≤ 4%) were obtained. The method was successfully applied to the determination of vitamin E in vegetable oils (extra virgin olive, virgin olive, pomace olive, blended virgin and refined olive, sunflower, soybean, palm olein, carotino, crude palm, walnut, rice bran and grape seed), margarines and supplements.

In-vial liquid-liquid microextraction-capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of phenolic acids in vegetable oils.

An in-vial liquid-liquid microextraction method was developed for the selective extraction of the phenolic acids (caffeic, gallic, cinnamic, ferulic, chlorogenic, syringic, vanillic, benzoic, p-hydroxybenzoic, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic, o-coumaric, m-coumaric and p-coumaric) in vegetable oil samples. The optimised extraction conditions for 20 g sample were: volume of diluent (n-hexane), 2 mL; extractant, methanol: 5 mM sodium hydroxide (60:40; v/v); volume of extractant, 300 μL (twice); vortex, 1 min; centrifugation, 5 min. Recoveries for the studied phenolic acids were 80.1-119.5%. The simultaneous determination of the phenolic acid extracts was investigated by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Separations were carried out on a bare fused-silica capillary (50 μm i.d.× 40 cm length) involving 25 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 9.15) and 5% methanol as CE background electrolyte in the normal polarity mode, voltage of 30 kV, temperature of 25°C, injection time of 4s (50 mbar) and electropherograms were recorded at 200 nm. The phenolic acids were successfully separated in less than 10 min. The validated in-vial LLME-CE method was applied to the determination of phenolic acids in vegetable oil samples (extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, pure olive oil, walnut oil and grapeseed oil). The developed method shows significant advantages over the current methods as lengthy evaporation step is not required.

Capillary electrophoresis with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection for the determination of cis/trans isomers of octadec-9-enoic acid and other long chain fatty acids.

A capillary electrophoresis (CE)-capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C(4)D) method for the simultaneous separation of eleven underivatized fatty acids (FAs), namely, lauric, myristic, tridecanoic (internal standard), pentadecanoic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, elaidic, linoleic, linolenic and arachidic acids is described. The separation was carried out in normal polarity mode at 20 °C, 30 kV and using hydrodynamic injection (50 mbar for 1 s). The separation was achieved in a bare fused-silica capillary (70 cm × 75 μm i.d.) using a background electrolyte of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (~6 mM) and heptakis-(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin (~8 mM) dissolved in a mixture of Na2HPO4/KH2PO4 (5 mM, pH 7.4):ACN:MeOH:n-octanol (3:4:2.5:0.5, v/v/v/v). C(4)D parameters were set at fixed amplitude of 100 V and frequency of 1000 kHz. The developed method was validated. Calibration curves of the ten FAs were well correlated (r(2)>0.99) within the range of 5-250 μg mL(-1) for lauric acid, and 3-250 μg mL(-1) for the other FAs. The method was simple and sensitive with detection limits (S/N=3) of 0.9-1.9 μg mL(-1) and good relative standard deviations of intra- and inter-day for migration times and peak areas (≤9.7%) were achieved. The method was applied to the determination of FAs in margarine samples. The proposed method offers distinct advantages over the GC and HPLC methods, especially in terms of simplicity (without derivatization) and sensitivity.

Hydrazone-based ligands for micro-solid phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatographic determination of biogenic amines in orange juice.

Eight hydrazone-based ligands were synthesized, trapped in a silica sol-gel matrix, and were subsequently used in the micro-solid phase extraction (μ-SPE) of biogenic amines (BAs). The BAs investigated were tryptamine, phenylethylamine, putrescine, histamine, tyramine and spermidine. Prior to the extraction, dansyl chloride was added to the samples which were heated to 70°C for 10 min. The samples were extracted with μ-SPE, after which analytes were desorbed using acetonitrile via ultrasonication. The extracts were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet detection. Of the eight ligands investigated as sorbents, benzophenone 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone was found to be the most promising. The enhanced π-π interaction between the analytes and the ligand facilitated the adsorption process. Under the most suitable extraction conditions, the method demonstrated good linearity with correlation coefficient of more than 0.985 over a concentration range of 1-50 μg L(-1). Satisfactory repeatability with relative standard deviations of 7.43-11.30% (n=3) were obtained. Detection limits ranged from 3.8 to 31.3 ng L(-1). The μ-SPE method exhibited lower recoveries (71.5-87.4%) when compared to the solid phase extraction technique (79.7-95.0%), but enrichment factors of 94-460 were obtained. The proposed μ-SPE-HPLC method was applied to the determination of BAs in orange juice purchased from local supermarkets, with satisfactory results. The orange juices were characterized by the presence of relatively high levels of putrescine (range, 550-2210 μg L(-1)) but tryptamine and phenylethylamine were not detected in any of the tested samples.

Sequential hollow-fiber liquid phase microextraction for the determination of rosiglitazone and metformin hydrochloride (anti-diabetic drugs) in biological fluids

A new analytical method for the simultaneous determination of the antidiabetic drugs rosiglitazone (ROS) and metformin hydrochloride (MH) with marked differences in their affinity towards organic solvents (log P of 2.4 and -1.43, respectively) was developed. Prior to the HPLC separation, the drugs were subjected to a sequential hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) procedure. Two sequential HF-LPME approaches were considered, the preferred one involves the use of two vials containing solution mixtures for the extraction of ROS (vial 1) and MH (vial 2), respectively, but using the same fiber and acceptor phase. Important parameters that affect the extraction efficiency such as extracting solvent, donor phase conditions, HCl concentration, agitation, extraction time, addition of salt, etc. were studied. Under the optimum conditions, good enrichment factors (EF, 471 and 86.6 for ROS and MH, respectively) were achieved. Calibration curves were linear over the range 1-500 (r(2)=0.998) and 5-2500 ng mL(-1) (r(2)=0.999) for ROS and MH, respectively. The relative standard deviation values (RSD%) for six replicates were below 8.4%. Detection and quantitation limits based on S/N ratio of 3 and 10 were 0.12, 1.0 and 0.36, 3.0 ng mL(-1) for ROS and MH, respectively. The proposed method is simple, sensitive and opens up new opportunities for the microextraction of analytes with contrasting properties.

Hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-flame ionization detection for the profiling of fatty acids in vegetable oils

The development of a two phase hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction technique, followed by gas-chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for the profiling of the fatty acids (FAs) (lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic and arachidic) in vegetable oils is described. Heptadecanoic acid methyl ester was used as the internal standard. The FAs were transesterified to their corresponding methyl esters prior to the extraction. Extraction parameters such as type of extracting solvent, temperature, extraction time, stirring speed and salt addition were studied and optimized. Recommended conditions were extraction solvent, n-tridecane; extraction time, 35 min; extraction temperature, ambient; without addition of salt. Enrichment factors varying from 37 to 115 were achieved. Calibration curves for the nine FAs were well correlated (r(2)>0.994) within the range of 10-5000 μg L(-1). The limit of detection (signal:noise, 3) was 4.73-13.21 ng L(-1). The method was successfully applied to the profiling of the FAs in palm oils (crude, olein, kernel, and carotino cooking oil) and other vegetable oils (soybean, olive, coconut, rice bran and pumpkin). The encouraging enrichments achieved offer an interesting option for the profiling of the minor and major FAs in palm and other vegetable oils.

Vortex-assisted liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction (VALLLME) technique: A new microextraction approach for direct liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis analysis

A new, rapid and sensitive microextraction technique named vortex-assisted liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction (VALLLME) is proposed. The complete extraction process involves two steps. First, a vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (VALLME) procedure was used to extract the analytes from a relatively large volume of sample (donor phase) to a small volume of organic solvent (intermediate phase). Next, a micro-vortex-assisted liquid-liquid extraction (µ-VALLE) was used to extract the target analytes from the intermediate phase to a smaller volume of aqueous solution (acceptor phase). The final extract (acceptor phase) can be directly injected into the high performance liquid chromatography or capillary electrophoresis units without any further treatments. The selection of the intermediate phase and the manipulation of pH are key parameters that ensure good extraction efficiency of the technique. The proposed technique has been successfully applied for the determination of carvedilol (used as model analyte) in biological fluid samples. The optimum extraction conditions were: toluene as intermediate phase (150 μL); pH of the donor phase, 9.5; vortex time of the VALLME, 45 s (maximum speed, 2500 rpm); 0.1M HCl (15 μL) as acceptor phase; vortexing time of the µ-VALLME, 75 s (maximum stirring speed, 2500 rpm) and salt concentration in the donor phase, 5% (w/v). Under these conditions, enrichment factors of 51- and 418-fold for VALLME step and VALLLME procedure, respectively, were achieved.

Hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of trace mitiglinide in biological fluids

A hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) in conjunction with reversed phase HPLC-UV method was developed for the extraction and determination of trace amounts of the antidiabetic drug, mitiglinide (MIT) in biological fluids. The drug was extracted from 10 mL aqueous sample (donor phase (DP)) into an organic phase impregnated in the pores of hollow fiber, followed by the back extraction into a second aqueous solution (acceptor phase (AP)) located in the lumen of the hollow fiber. Parameters influencing the extraction efficiency including the kind of organic solvent, composition of DP and AP, extraction time, stirring rate and salt addition were investigated and optimized. Under the optimized extraction conditions, high enrichment factors (210-fold), good linearity (5-1000 ng mL(-1)) and detection limit lower than 1.38 ng mL(-1) were achieved. Recoveries of spiked samples were in the range (88.3-96.3%) and (92.0-99.3%) for urine and plasma samples, respectively. The percent relative standard deviation (n=9) for the extraction and determination of three concentration levels (100, 400 and 800 ng mL(-1)) of MIT were less than 10.6% and 13.6% for urine and plasma samples, respectively. The developed method is simple, sensitive and has been successfully applied to the analysis of MIT in biological fluids.