J. Hernández-Méndez

Cloud point extraction as a preconcentration step prior to capillary electrophoresis.

Cloud point extraction was applied as a preconcentration step prior to capillary electrophoresis. The behavior of a surfactant-rich micellar phase injected into a capillary electrophoresis system was studied using different separation modes:  micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). A problem that appeared on introducing a surfactant-rich phase into a bare fused silica capillary was that the surfactant was adsorbed onto the wall of the capillary, leading to a marked loss of efficiency and reproducibility both in the migration times and in the areas of the electrophoretic peaks. The use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide dynamically coated capillaries afforded reproducible results, although the half-life of the capillary was short. The most satisfactory results were obtained by using nonaqueous media in the CZE mode, thus avoiding surfactant adsorption. Other parameters related to the composition of the injection medium were also studied to optimize the electrophoretic behavior of the analytes and the sensitivity of the determination. The optimized procedure was applied to the determination of triazines in tap and river water samples.

Determination of triazine herbicides in natural waters by solid-phase extraction and non-aqueous capillary zone electrophoresis.

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in an organic medium was used to analyse triazines at sub-ppb concentration levels in natural waters after a preconcentration step using conventional C18 cartridges and new Oasis HLB devices. With both sorbents, satisfactory results were obtained on analysing deionized water. However, on analysing natural waters, both sorbents showed very different types of behaviour. The different variables affecting the elution of both sorbents were studied, resulting in the choice of Oasis HLB as the most suitable for later separation by CZE in non-aqueous medium. Combination of a preconcentration step with electrokinetic injection revealed that capillary electrophoresis with simple UV detection can also be used satisfactorily for the quantification of micropollutants in natural waters. The detection limits obtained varied between 0.01 and 0.05 microg l(-1), depending on the type of matrix analysed. The day-to-day precision varied between 0.9% and 2.3%, expressed as the relative standard deviation.

Analysis of pesticide residues in matrices with high lipid contents by membrane separation coupled on-line to a high-performance liquid chromatography system.

Separation through membranes coupled to an HPLC system was used as a technique for the analysis of pesticide multiresidues in samples with high lipid contents. As well as the usual procedure, in the proposed system it is possible to recirculate the sample through the membrane cell, which permits the extraction system to be applied to cases in which only a very small volume of sample is available. A procedure for pesticide multiresidue analysis in egg samples was developed as a representative example of the applicability of the proposed method. To accomplish this, the analytes (dichlorvos, dimethoate, propoxur, paraoxon, pirimicarb, atrazine, ametryne, terbutryne, azinphos-methyl, folpet) were subjected to prior extraction in a Soxhlet system, after which the extract was introduced into the membrane separation device coupled to the HPLC system. This procedure afforded clean chromatograms, hence considerably facilitating determination, and at the same time was efficient in removing macromolecular compounds. For egg samples, spiked at a concentration level of 0.750 mg/kg, recoveries ranged from 60 to 98%. The detection limits varied from 0.018 mg/kg for dichlorvos to 0.002 mg/kg for atrazine.

Automated analysis of vitamin E isomers in vegetable oils by continuous membrane extraction and liquid chromatography–electrochemical detection

A rapid and automated method for the analysis of alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocopherols in vegetable oils is reported. Continuous extraction of vitamin E isomers from oil samples dissolved in Triton X-114 in the presence of methanol-hexane is achieved and coupled on-line with the chromatographic system. Using an acetic acid/sodium acetate buffer in a methanol-water (97:3) solution as the mobile phase, a C18 stationary phase and electrochemical detection in the coulometric mode, alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocopherol isomers can be successfully analyzed within 17 min. Thirteen commercially available oils of olive, sunflower, corn and seed mixtures were analyzed using 2,2,5,7,8-pentamethyl-6-chromanol as internal standard. The results obtained using three methodologies, one of them including classical sample treatment for liposoluble vitamin analysis, were in good agreement. To validate the proposed method, analysis of the only BCR Reference Material available, with a certified content of alpha-tocopherol (margarine CRM 122), was carried out using the automated methodology, the results found being in agreement with the certified value.

Determination of herbicides, including thermally labile phenylureas, by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A method for the determination of 10 herbicides, including thermally unstable compounds, has been developed. The method uses solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with a polyacrylate fibre. Separation, identification and quantification were accomplished with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The herbicides chosen belong to different chemical groups and were alachlor, atrazine, chlorotoluron, diclofop, diflufenicam, ethofumesate, isoproturon, linuron, terbutryn and trifluralin. In the present work we studied the chromatographic behaviour of three phenylureas as a function of the medium and injection mode employed. The compounds generated as a function of the solvent used in direct injection of the phenylureas (ethyl acetate, methanol and methanol-water) and those obtained when injection was accomplished using the polyacrylate fibre were determined. The results allow us to propose a method for the determination of stable and thermally unstable herbicides as long as a preconcentration step involving SPME is carried out. In the proposed method, the limits of detection varied between 0.02 microg/l for ethofumesate and 0.11 microg/l for chlorotoluron. The method was applied to the determination of these herbicides in surface and ground water samples, performing quantification by standard addition calibration. The contents of chlorotoluron and atrazine found were significantly equal to those obtained using HPLC after a preconcentration stepwith styrene-divinylbenzene sorbents.

Capillary zone electrophoresis in nonaqueous solvents in the presence of ionic additives.

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in nonaqueous media and in the presence of ionic additives has been successfully applied to the determination of compounds that differ only slightly in their electrophoretic mobilities. Triazine herbicides of environmental interest were chosen as test compounds because they behave as very weak bases. CZE separation of these analytes (especially chlorotriazines) in aqueous solution is difficult due to the low pH required for their conversion into protonated cationic form (HA(+)). However, in mixed nonaqueous solvents, 50% (v/v) acetonitrile-methanol, the acid-base characteristics of these compounds are modified, yielding the protonated ionic species that is susceptible to migration when subjected to an electric field. A noteworthy increase in separation selectivity and resolution can be achieved by using ionic additives. Thus, in this mode of capillary zone electrophoresis, separation is based on ionic interactions between the charged analytes and the ionic additive present in the separation medium. These interactions contribute to enhancing mobility differences and to improving analyte separation. For the separation of chloro- and methylthiotriazines, 10 mM perchloric acid in 50% (v/v) acetonitrile-methanol and 20 mM SDS proved to be satisfactory, providing high resolution in short analysis times. The selectivity achieved was found to depend on the degree of association of the analyte with the ionic additive in the nonaqueous medium. This permits manipulation of the selectivity of the electrophoretic separations as a function of the type and concentration of the ionic additive and of the nature of the nonaqueous medium employed.

Mineral analysis (Fe, Zn, Ca, Na, K) of fresh Iberian pork loin by near infrared reflectance spectrometry: Determination of Fe, Na and K with a remote fibre-optic reflectance probe

Abstract Near infrared spectrometry (NIRS) was used for the determination of the mineral concentrations of the elements iron, calcium, zinc, sodium and potassium in fresh samples of ground Iberian pork loin and for the determination of Fe, Na and K using a remote fibre-optic reflectance probe by direct application of the probe on intact loin. The regression method employed was the modified partial least squares (MPLS). The calibration results using 42 samples of ground pork loin had a corrected standard error of prediction (SEPC) and a correlation coefficient (RSQ) for Fe of 0.085 and 0.842; for Zn, 0.0097 and 0.695; for Ca, 0.101 and 0.761; for Na, 0.710 and 0.639 and for K, 4.414 and 0.781, respectively. The calibration results using NIR interactance with direct application to the same loin samples of a remote fibre-optic reflectance probe allowed the determination of the concentrations of Fe, Na and K, with SEPC and RSQ values of 0.084 and 0.898 for Fe; 0.698 and 0.757 for Na, and 6.760 and 0.775 for K. The robustness of the method was confirmed by applying it to eight samples of loin (ground and intact) for external validation.

Analysis of vitamin E isomers in seeds and nuts with and without coupled hydrolysis by liquid chromatography and coulometric detection.

A method is described for the determination of vitamin E isomers [alpha-, (beta+gamma)- and delta-tocopherols] in seeds and nuts by reversed-phase HPLC with coulometric detection. Three methods of sample treatment were compared. The first method included alkaline hydrolysis, extraction of analytes from unsaponifiable and injection into the chromatographic system. In the second method, alkaline hydrolysis and later continuous membrane extraction of isomers were coupled with the HPLC system. The third method involved direct extraction of the analytes through a silicone membrane coupled on-line with the chromatographic system. The three methodologies used for the determination of vitamin E isomers in these samples afforded good results for alpha-tocopherol. However for (beta+gamma)- and delta-tocopherols the best results were obtained with the third method. The method without hydrolysis was the simplest one to carry out and analysis took no longer than 40 min from weighing of the samples. Accordingly, it is the method proposed.

Prediction of the behaviour of organic pollutants using cloudpoint extraction

A preconcentration study based on the cloud point phenomenon was carried out for a set of triazine herbicides, three of them chloro-substituted and three of them methylthio-substituted. Concentration factors and recoveries were calculated as function of the percentage of the non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114 employed. From these values, obtained from a cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure, the distribution coefficient between the Triton X-114 micelles and water, Kc, prior to CPE was calculated for each triazine and related to the corresponding octanol-water partition coefficient, Kow. In order to confirm the results obtained with the triazine herbicides, two sets of data from chemically different organic pollutants--organophosporous and chlorophenols--obtained from the literature were assessed, concluding that they display a similar behaviour to that of the triazine herbicides. This can be used to predict the CPE behaviour of other organic pollutants from their octanol-water partition coefficients. The Kc values were compared with the analyte concentration ratio in the surfactant-rich phase and aqueous phase (Ksa) with a view to obtaining a link between the analyte behaviour prior to and after cloud point extraction procedures.

Spectrophotometric flow-injection determination of ascorbic acid by generation of triiodide

Abstract A method is proposed for the flow-injection determination of ascorbic acid (0.1–40 μg ml−1). Iodine is generated in the flow system as triiodide ion or the triiodide/starch complex giving a steady spectrophotometric signal at 350 or 580 nm, respectively; inverse peaks caused by ascorbic acid samples are measured. The method is applied to the determination of ascorbic acid in a fruit juice, jam and vitamin C preparation.