Wolfgang Schwack

Photochemistry of dibenzoyl methane UVA filters Part 1

Abstract Two dibenzoyl methane derivatives, 4-isopropyldibenzoyl methane (I-DBM) and 4-t-butyl-3′-methoxydibenzoyl methand (BM-DBM), have been found to be photolabile towards UVA light in non-polar solvents, whereas in polar solvents photodegradation was very low. In each case about a dozen photoproducts were identified: their formation involves primary α bond cleavages of carbonyl groups, followed by hydrogen abstraction and/or oxidation or radical recombination. These photoproducts can be classified as substituted benzaldehydes, benzoic acids, acetophenones, phenglglyoxals, benzils, dibenzoyl methanes or dibenzoyl ethanes.

Hyphenations in planar chromatography

This review is focused on planar chromatography and especially on its most important subcategory high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). The image-giving format of the open, planar stationary phase and the post-chromatographic evaporation of the mobile phase ease the performance of various kinds of hyphenations and even super-hyphenations. Examples in the field of natural product search, food and lipid analysis are demonstrated, which point out the hyphenation with effect-directed analysis (EDA) and mass spectrometry and illustrate the efficiency gain. Depending on the task at hand, hyphenations can readily be selected as required to reach the relevant information about the sample, and at the same time, information is obtained for many samples in parallel. The flexibility and the unrivalled features through the planar format valuably assist separation scientists.

Analysis of carbendazim, benomyl, thiophanate methyl and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in fruits and vegetables after supercritical fluid extraction

Simple methods for the analysis of carbendazim, benomyl and thiophanate methyl in fruits and vegetables and of 2,4-D in citrus fruits are presented. Sample preparation involves supercritical fluid extraction with carbon dioxide and further analysis is performed without any additional clean-up by GC-MS after derivatisation or directly by HPLC-diode array detection. The SFE methods presented are clearly faster and more cost effective than traditional solvent based approaches. The recoveries, detection limits and repeatabilities achieved, meet the needs of tolerance level monitoring of these compounds in fruits and vegetables.

Rapid and nondestructive analysis of phthalic acid esters in toys made of poly(vinyl chloride) by direct analysis in real time single‐quadrupole mass spectrometry

In the European Community, selected phthalic acid esters (PAE) are restricted in their use for the manufacture of toys and childcare articles to a content of 0.1% by weight. As PAE are mainly used as plasticisers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a rapid screening method for PVC samples with direct analysis in real time ionisation and single-quadrupole mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was developed. Using the ions for the protonated molecules, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.05% was obtained for benzyl butyl phthalate, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diisononyl phthalate, while for dibutyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and diisodecyl phthalate the LOD was 0.1%. Validation of identification by the presence of ammonium adducts and characteristic fragment ions was possible to a content of >or=1% for all PAE, except for benzyl butyl phthalate (>or=5%). Based on the fragment ions, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate could clearly be distinguished from di-n-octyl phthalate, if the concentrations were >r=5% and >or=1% at measured DART helium temperatures of 130 and 310 degrees C, respectively. The complete analysis of one sample only took about 8 min. At the generally used gas temperature of 130 degrees C, most toy and childcare samples did not sustain damage if their shape fitted into the DART source.

Engineered Anisotropic Microstructures for Ultrathin-Layer Chromatography

The strong dependence of separation behavior on ultrathin-layer chromatography (UTLC) stationary phase microstructure motivates continued UTLC plate design optimization efforts. We fabricated 4.6-5.3 mum thick normal phase silica UTLC stationary phases with several types of in-plane macropore anisotropies using the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) approach to engineering nanostructured thin films. The separation behaviors of two new media, isotropic vertical posts and anisotropic bladelike films, were compared to that of anisotropic chevron media. Channel-like structures within the anisotropic media introduced preferential mobile phase flow directions that could be exploited to give separation tracks diagonal to the development direction. Extraction of chromatograms from these angled tracks required the development of a new analytical approach that involved a commercial flatbed film scanner and custom numerical image analysis software. GLAD stationary phase performance was quantified using the Dimethyl Yellow dye separated from a lipophilic dye mixture over migration distances less than approximately 10 mm. The limits of detection were 10 +/- 4 ng for the vertical posts and 11 +/- 3 ng for the bladelike media. We obtained theoretical plate heights that varied with film microstructure between 12 and 28 mum. Unoptimized separation performance was comparable to that of other planar chromatography media. Macropore anisotropies engineered by GLAD may expand the capabilities of future UTLC stationary phases.

Miniaturized Planar Chromatography Using Office Peripherals

High-performance thin-layer chromatography is a separation technique commonly used to identify and quantify components in chemical mixtures. Sophisticated analytical tools are required to extract the full analytical power from this technique and especially for miniaturized planar chromatography its utility has not been harnessed. A new approach uses an elegant, simplified system assembled from ordinary consumer printers and scanners to perform separations on monolithic and nanostructured ultrathin-layer phases. This system is shown to outperform existing planar chromatographic tools for analysis on miniaturized plates. Analysis can be completed in a manner of minutes, running numerous samples in parallel at a reduced cost, with very low sample and reagent volumes, all using a familiar computer interface with common office peripherals.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of carotenoid esters of marigold flowers (Tagetes erecta L.) and red paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) by commercial lipases and Pleurotus sapidus extracellular lipase

The carotenoids lutein and capsanthin, widely used as colorants, mainly occur as esters of fatty acids in their producer plants marigold and paprika. The enzymatic hydrolysis of these esters is reported here. Out of 26 commercial lipases, fastest ester hydrolysis under conditions was obtained using an enzyme from Candida antarctica (69% release of capsanthin, 44% of lutein from the respective oleoresins). Bile salts were essential for the activity of all commercial enzymes. A novel hydrolase was discovered in the mycelium-free supernatant of submerged cultures of the edible basidiomycete Pleurotus sapidus. The fungal enzyme cleaved several carotenoid esters almost completely and in the absence of bile salts.

Planar solid phase extraction clean-up for pesticide residue analysis in tea by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Efficient clean-up is indispensable for preventing matrix effects in multi-residue analysis of pesticides in food by liquid and gas chromatography (LC and GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). High-throughput planar solid phase extraction (HTpSPE) was recently introduced as a new clean-up concept in residue analysis of pesticides in fruit and vegetables (C. Oellig, W. Schwack, 2011 [45]). Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used to completely separate pesticides from matrix compounds and to focus them into a sharp zone, followed by extraction of the target zone by the TLC-MS interface. As rather challenging matrices, tea samples were chosen in this study. Besides chlorophylls and polyphenols, high amount of caffeine is co-extracted resulting in strong matrix effects both in LC-MS and GC-MS. The former HTpSPE procedure was adapted to initial extracts of green and black tea resulting in colorless extracts nearly free of matrix effects and interferences, as shown for seven chemically representative pesticides (acetamiprid, penconazole, azoxystrobin, chlorpyrifos, pirimicarb, fenarimol, and mepanipyrim). LC-MS/MS calibration curves obtained in the range of 0.002-0.5 mg/kg from matrix-matched standards and solvent standards were nearly identical and demonstrated the effectiveness of clean-up by HTpSPE. Mean recoveries determined by LC-MS/MS against solvent standards at spiking levels of 0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg ranged between 72 and 114% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 0.7-4.7% (n=4), while LC-MS measurements of tea samples spiked at 1 mg/kg provided recoveries of 81-104% with RSDs of 1.2-4.9% (n=6). Using LC-MS/MS, the method showed high sensitivity with signal-to-noise ratios>10 for concentrations below 0.002 mg/kg. HTpSPE of one sample was done in a few minutes, while numerous samples were cleaned in parallel at minimal costs with very low sample and solvent consumption.

Rapid identification of additives in poly(vinyl chloride) lid gaskets by direct analysis in real time ionisation and single‐quadrupole mass spectrometry

Gaskets for lids of glass jars usually consist of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) containing plasticisers and additional additives, which may migrate into packed foodstuffs. To conform to legal regulations, any such migration has to be determined analytically, which is a big challenge due to the huge chemical variety of additives in use. Therefore, a rapid screening method by means of direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS), using a single-quadrupole mass spectrometer, was developed. On introducing a plastisol sample into the DART interface, protonated molecules and ammonium adducts were obtained as the typical ionisation products of any additives present, and cleavages of ester bonds as typical fragmentation processes. Generally, additives present in the 1% range could be directly and easily identified if ion suppressive effects deriving from specific molecules did not occur. These effects could be avoided by analysing toluene extracts of plastisol samples, and this also improved the sensitivity. Using this method, it was possible to identify phthalates, fatty acid amides, tributyl O-acetylcitrate, dibutyl sebacate, bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate, 1,2-diisononyl 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylate, and even more complex additives like acetylated mono- and diacylglycerides, epoxidised soybean oil, and polyadipates, with a limit of detection of < or = 1% in PVC plastisols. Only in the case of epoxidised linseed oil were levels of > or = 5% required for identification. The detection of azodicarbonamide, used as a foaming agent within the manufacturing process, was possible in principle, but was not highly reproducible due to the very low concentrations in plastisols.

Planar solid phase extraction—A new clean-up concept in multi-residue analysis of pesticides by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

Efficient clean-up is indispensable for preventing matrix effects in multi-residue analysis of pesticides in food by liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. As a completely new approach, highly automated planar chromatographic tools were applied for powerful clean-up, called high-throughput planar solid phase extraction (HTpSPE). Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was used to completely separate pesticides from matrix compounds and to focus them into a sharp zone, followed by extraction of the target zone by the TLC-MS interface. HTpSPE resulted in extracts nearly free of interference and free of matrix effects, as shown for seven chemically representative pesticides in four different matrices (apples, cucumbers, red grapes, tomatoes). Regarding the clean-up step, quantification by LC-MS provided mean recovery (against solvent standards) of 90-104% with relative standard deviations of 0.3-4.1% (n=5) for two spiking levels of 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg. Clean-up of one sample was completed in a manner of minutes, while running numerous samples in parallel at reduced costs, with very low sample and solvent volumes.