Hsi-Ya Huang

Determining eight colorants in milk beverages by capillary electrophoresis.

Milk beverages are popular because of their high nutritional value, and milk products that are enhanced with various fruit flavors are especially in high demand in Asia. Colorants are usually added to fruit flavored milk in order to increase its attraction and appearance, therefore, the detection and measurement of colorants in this type of beverage are relatively important for health issue reasons. Carminic acid, a natural colorant, along with tartrazine, Fast green FCF, Brilliant blue FCF, Allura Red AC, Indigo carmine, Sunset yellow FCF, and New coccine, which are seven different synthetic food colorants, are commonly used as food additives, therefore, this study would focus on the development of an analytical method for the detection of these common colorants in milk beverages. A high efficiency capillary electrophoresis separation method was finished by a pH 10.0 running buffer containing 7.0 mM beta-cyclodextrin, and the eight colorants were separated with baseline resolution within 9 min. In order to reduce the matrix interference resulting from the constituents of milk, a suitable polyamide column solid-phase extraction (SPE) was also investigated for milk sample pretreatment. The combination of the simple SPE pretreatment and the fast separation method of capillary electrophoresis, was able to determine successfully without matrix interference the content of these colorant additives in commercial milk beverages. The recoveries of the eight food colorants in milk beverages were better than 85% and the detection limits were also lower than 0.5 microg/ml by the developed method.

Metal organic framework-organic polymer monolith stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography and nano-liquid chromatography.

In this study, metal organic framework (MOF)-organic polymer monoliths prepared via a 5-min microwave-assisted polymerization of ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) with the addition of various weight percentages (30-60%) of porous MOF (MIL-101(Cr)) were developed as stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns and nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms of these MOF-organic polymer monoliths showed the presence of the inherent characteristic peaks and the nano-sized pores of MIL-101(Cr), which confirmed an unaltered crystalline MIL-101(Cr) skeleton after synthesis; while energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and micro-FT-IR spectra suggested homogenous distribution of MIL-101(Cr) in the MIL-101(Cr)-poly(BMA-EDMA) monoliths. This hybrid MOF-polymer column demonstrated high permeability, with almost 800-fold increase compared to MOF packed column, and efficient separation of various analytes (xylene, chlorotoluene, cymene, aromatic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and trypsin digested BSA peptides) either in CEC or nano-LC. This work demonstrated high potentials for MOF-organic polymer monolith as stationary phase in miniaturized chromatography for the first time.

Comparing micellar electrokinetic chromatography and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography for the analysis of preservatives in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products

In this study, separation and determination of nine preservatives ranging from hydrophilic to hydrophobic properties, which are commonly used as additives in various pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, by micellar electrokinetic chromatograpy (MEKC) and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) were compared. The effect of temperature, buffer pH, and concentration of surfactant on separation were examined. In MEKC, the separation resolution of preservatives improved markedly by changing the sodium dodecyl sulfate concentration. Temperature and pH of running buffers were used mainly to shorten the magnitude of separation time. However, in order to detect all preservatives in a single run in a MEEKC system, a microemulsion of higher pH was needed. The separation resolution was improved dramatically by changing temperature, and a higher concentration of SDS was necessary for maintaining a stable microemulsion solution, therefore the separation of the nine preservatives in MEEKC took longer than in MEKC. An optimum MEKC method for separation of the nine preservatives was obtained within 9.0 min with a running buffer of pH 9.0 containing 20 mM SDS at 25 degrees C. A separation with baseline resolution was also obtained within 16 min using a microemulsion of pH 9.5 which composed of SDS, 1-butanol, and octane, and a shorter capillary column at 34 degrees C. Finally, the developed MEKC and MEEKC methods determined successfully preservatives in various cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.

Analysis of food colorants by capillary electrophoresis with large-volume sample stacking

A technique combining an on-capillary concentration method known as large-volume sample stacking and high-efficiency CE separation has been developed to analyze and detect colorants in several food samples, such as soft drinks, jellies and milk beverages. Following optimization, this technique significantly reduced the limits of detection of eight food colorants commonly used in food products by up to two orders of magnitude when compared with the conventional capillary electrophoresis method. The developed technique was able to successfully determine colorants in food samples that had concentrations as low as 0.1-0.5 microg/ml.

A Novel Hybrid Metal–Organic Framework–Polymeric Monolith for Solid‐Phase Microextraction

This study describes the fabrication of a novel hybrid metal-organic framework- organic polymer (MOF-polymer) for use as a stationary phase in fritless solid-phase microextraction (SPME) for validating analytical methods. The MOF-polymer was prepared by using ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), and an imidazolium-based ionic liquid as porogenic solvent followed by microwave-assisted polymerization with the addition of 25 % MOF. This novel hybrid MOF-polymer was used to extract penicillin (penicillin G, penicillin V, oxacillin, cloxacillin, nafcillin, dicloxacillin) under different conditions. Quantitative analysis of the extracted penicillin samples using the MOF-organic polymer for SPME was conducted by using capillary electrochromatography (CEC) coupled with UV analysis. The penicillin recovery was 63-96.2 % with high reproducibility, sensitivity, and reusability. The extraction time with the proposed fabricated SPME was only 34 min.

Aluminum based metal-organic framework-polymer monolith in solid-phase microextraction of penicillins in river water and milk samples

In this study, aluminum based metal-organic framework (Al-MOF)-organic polymer monoliths were prepared via microwave-assisted polymerization of ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA) with different weight percentages of Al-MOF (MIL-53; 37.5-62.5%) and subsequently utilized as sorbent in solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of penicillins (penicillin G, penicillin V, oxacillin, cloxacillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin). The Al-MOF-polymer was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to clarify the retained crystalline structure well as the homogeneous dispersion of Al-MOF (MIL-53) in polymer monolith. The developed Al-MOF-polymer (MIL-53) monolithic column was evaluated according to its extraction recovery of penicillins. Several parameters affecting the extraction recoveries of penicillins using fabricated Al-MOF-polymer (MIL-53) monolithic column including different MIL-53 weight percentages, column length, pH, desorption solvent, and mobile phase flow rate were investigated. For comparison, different Al-based MOFs (MIL-68, CYCU-4 and DUT-5) were fabricated using the optimized condition for MIL-53-polymer (sample matrix at pH 3, 200μL desorption volume using methanol, 37.5% of MOF, 4-cm column length at 0.100mLmin(-1) flow rate). Among all the Al-MOF-polymers, MIL-53(Al)-polymer still afforded the best extraction recovery for penicillins ranging from 90.5 to 95.7% for intra-day with less than 3.5% relative standard deviations (RSDs) and inter-day precision were in the range of 90.7-97.6% with less than 4.2% RSDs. Meanwhile, the recoveries for column-to-column were in the range of 89.5-93.5% (<3.4% RSDs) while 88.5-90.5% (<5.8% RSDs) for batch-to-batch (n=3). Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detections were in the range of 0.06-0.26μgL(-1) and limit of quantifications between 0.20 and 0.87μgL(-1). Finally, the MIL-53-polymer was applied for the extraction of penicillin in river water and milk by spiking trace-level penicillin for as low as 50μgL(-1) and 100μgL(-1) with recoveries ranging from 80.8% to 90.9% (<6.7% RSDs) in river water and 81.1% to 100.7% (<7.1% RSDs) in milk sample, respectively.

A rapid synthetic method for organic polymer-based monoliths in a room temperature ionic liquid medium via microwave-assisted vinylization and polymerization

In this communication, we report a very efficient method of manufacturing polymer-based monolith in an ionic liquid reaction medium via microwave-assisted vinylization and polymerization. This novel approach took only 10 min to complete the whole process.

Analyses of sulfonamide antibiotics in meat samples by on-line concentration capillary electrochromatography-mass spectrometry.

In this work, a series of poly(divinylbenzene-alkyl methacrylate) monolithic stationary phases, which were prepared by single step in situ polymerization of divinylbenzene and various alkyl methacrylates (butyl-, octyl-, lauryl- or stearyl methacrylate), were developed as separation columns of nine common sulfonamide antibiotics for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). Results indicated that the sulfonamides retention became weak with increased carbon chain length of alkyl methacrylate monomer (for example, t(R)=68 min and 21 min for butyl- and lauryl methacrylate, respectively). Among them, the poly(divinylbenzene-octyl methacrylate) (poly(DVB-OMA)) monolith was regarded as the optimal separation column as this provided better resolution within the shortest retention time. Moreover, the cross-sectional roughness of the monolithic column-end, that was used to couple to the ESI interface, strongly influenced the electrospray stability in the CEC-MS. Before the column was connected to the ESI-MS, a simple polishing was done to reduce the roughness of the column end that resulted to a great improvement in the signal stability. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the peak areas for the unpolished and polished ends of the poly(DVB-OMA) columns (n=5) were in the range of 46.1-60.2% and 8.9-16.4%, respectively. Furthermore, optimization of the mobile phase composition and the gradient elution strategy successfully determined the sulfonamide antibiotics in meat samples with as low as 10 μg/L level.

Metal–organic frameworks: new matrices for surface-assisted laser desorption–ionization mass spectrometry

The cage-type MIL-100(Fe) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) were used as matrices for surface assisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry. The unique 3D cage frameworks and the iron-center feature good reproducibility of MS intensity and a high signal-to-noise ratio compared to organic or other nanoparticle matrices.

Capillary electrochromatography–mass spectrometry determination of melamine and related triazine by-products using poly(divinyl benzene-alkene-vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) monolithic stationary phases

In this study, a capillary electrochromatography (CEC) method coupled either with UV or mass spectrometric detection was developed for the detection of trace-amounts of melamine and its related by-products (ammeline, ammelide, and cyanuric acid). A series of poly(divinyl benzene-alkene-vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) monolithic columns, which were prepared by a simple in situ polymerization with divinyl benzene (DVB), vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride (VBTA) and different types of alkene monomers such as 1-octene, 1-dodecene or 1-octadecene were used as separation columns, with the poly(DVB-1-dodecene-VBTA) monolith as the optimal chromatographic material because it provided a better separation. The detection limits of four melamine derivatives were in the ranged of 0.6-2.18 mg L(-1) by the optimal CEC-UV mode, and were reduced from 2.2 to 19.4 μg L(-1) by the optimal CEC-MS mode. Finally, the proposed CEC methods successfully determined melamine contaminations (0.1 mg L(-1) per analyte) in several dairy products as test samples with analyte recovery range of 69-85% (intra-day) and 68-75% (inter-day), and with peak area reproducibility range of 4.3-8.6% and 8.7-15.6% for intra-day and inter-day, respectively. This is the first report for CEC separation coupled with MS detection applied in trace melamine residue analyses with a faster separation and comparable or even better detection ability than previous GC-MS, CE-MS, as well as LC-MS methods.