Separation of cardiac glycosides by micellar electrokinetic chromatography and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

The interest of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) for the resolution of four cardiac glycosides is demonstrated. First, the influence of some parameters on the resolution of the solutes in MEKC such as the concentration of the surfactant, pH, addition of organic modifiers and urea is discussed. Then, results are compared with those obtained in MEEKC using different microemulsion compositions. Results indicate that MEEKC possesses several advantages over MEKC for the separation of relatively hydrophobic compounds such as digitalic compounds. First, microemulsions allow a better manipulation of the migration time window and of the retention of the solutes. Moreover, efficiency is improved with shorter analysis time.     

Characterization of partitioning behavior of cephalosporins using microemulsion and micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) was introduced to determine the partitioning behavior of various cephalosporins (cefpim, cefpirom, cefaloridin, cefaclor, cephalexin, cefuroxim, cefotaxim) in microemulsions (ME) and micellar (MC) systems. The partitioning behavior of cephalosporins in microemulsions was characterized calculating the capacity factor. The required parameters for the determination of the capacity factor (micro(aq) and micro-me are the electrophoretic mobilities of the solutes in the aqueous phase and the microemulsion phase, micro(eff) is the effective mobility in the microemulsion solution) were measured by EKC using cationic and anionic microemulsion systems consisting of the surfactants/n-heptane/1-butanol/10 mM phosphate buffer solution, pH 7.0. Electrokinetic chromatography was shown to be a useful method to quantify the partitioning behavior of drugs in oil/water microemulsion. The logarithm of the capacity factor was correlated with the logarithm of the 1-octanol/water partitioning coefficients.     

Application of micellar electrokinetic chromatography for analyzing antiviral drugs in pharmaceutical semisolid formulations

The application of micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) to the determination of the antiviral drugs brivudin (BV) and aciclovir (AC) in pharmaceutical semisolid formulations was studied. A method was developed for separating AC and BV both from hydrophilic and from lipophilic semisolid formulations and for the rapid determination of BV and AC using MEKC. The detection limit, the effective mobility and the relative standard deviation of the migration times and of the peak areas were determined.     

Quantitative analysis of synthetic dyes in lipstick by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The separation of synthetic dyes, used as color additives in cosmetics, by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) is described in this study. The separation of seven dyes, namely eosine, erythrosine, cyanosine, rhodamine B, orange II, chromotrope FB and tartrazine has been achieved in about 3 min in an untreated fused silica capillary containing as background electrolyte a 25 mM tetraborate/phosphate buffer, pH 8.0, and 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate. The electrophoretic method exhibits precision and relatively high sensitivity. A detection limit (LOD, signal/noise = 3) in the range of 5-7.5 X 10(-7) M of standard compounds was recorded. Intra-day repeatability of all the studied dye determinations (8 runs) gave the following results (limit values), % standard deviation: 0.24-1.54% for migration time, 0.99-1.24% for corrected peak areas, 0.99-1.24% for corrected peak area ratio (analyte/internal standard) and 1.56-2.74% for peak areas. The optimized method was successfully applied to the analysis of a lipstick sample where eosine and cyanosine were present.     

Chiral surfactants in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Most biologically active molecules contain one or more chiral centres, giving rise to stereoisomeric forms which can behave differently in a chiral environment. Thus, only one of the enantiomers may show the desired physiological activity, whereas the other enantiomers may either be considerably less active or even show undesireable side effects. Establishing that a chiral drug consists of one single enantiomer is nowadays essential before it can be given to patients. Analytical tools that can discriminate between enantiomers play a very important role in determining the stereoisomeric composition of chiral molecules. Until recently chromatographic techniques were the most popular for enantiomeric separations. The increased use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) has provided complementary methodology for chiral discrimination. One mode of CE that has been used for this purpose is micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC), where natural or synthetic chiral surfactants are added to the separation buffer.     

Stacking of neutral analytes in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

On-line concentration techniques for neutral analytes by sample stacking in micellar electrokinetic chromatography are reviewed. Discussions regarding the fundamentals and practical applications are conveyed. A high gain in sensitivity of 10- to more than 100-fold using normal capillary cell dimension is provided without crucial loss of resolution by the techniques. More than 1000-fold gain in sensitivity (lowering limits of detection to the nM range) is obtained together with an extended pathlength cell.     

Application of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography to the analysis of illicit drug seizures

The application of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) to the analysis of illicit drug seizures is presented. Areas investigated include general screening and qualitative and, in some instances, quantitative analysis of various drugs, including heroin, opium, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD and anabolic steroids. Due to its high efficiency, high selectivity and general applicability, MECC is well suited for forensic drug analyses.     

Linear solvation energy relationships in micellar liquid chromatography and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs) were used to evaluate and characterize chemical interactions that influence retention behavior in micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) and micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC). High correlations were found between solutes' capacity factors in MLC and in MEKC, as well as binding constants to micelles and their solvatochromic parameters using two anionic surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium cholate (SC), and one cationic surfactant, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (C14TAB). Surprisingly, in the C14TAB MLC system capacity factor (k') vs. solvatochromic parameters gives better correlation than log k' vs. solvatochromic parameters, which is an opposite behavior to that observed in the SDS MLC system. The capacity factors in the C14TAB MLC system were characterized using LSERs with and without organic modifiers. It was found that the addition of a small amount of short-chain alcohols (e.g., 7% 2-propanol or 5% butanol) does not significantly change the high correlations between k' vs. solvatochromic parameters. The changes in the coefficients with the volume fraction of organic solvents were explained by comparing the differences in chemical natures between mobile phase and stationary phase. Stationary phase shows a significant effect on the chemical interactions in MLC through LSER study using a diphenyl column and a C8 column. LSERs were also used to characterize retention behavior in MEKC. High correlations between the logarithm of solutes' capacity factors and their solvatochromic parameters were observed for a group of 25 uncharged substituted aromatic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with SDS and SC micelles. It was found that solutes' size and basicity are the two dominant factors that influence the migration behavior in MEKC.     

The separation and determination of quinine in bitter drinks by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

OBJECTIVE: To study fetal erythroblasts (FE) from maternal peripheral blood for the diagnosis of fetal aneuploidies. METHODS: FE expressing the glycophorin A(GPA) were isolated from 13 pregnant women with male fetus (8-14 w) by fluorescence-activated cell sorting(FACS), FE were identified by oligonucleotide primed in situ labelling (PRINS) with Y centromeric satellite DNA primer. The concentration of pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) was measured by enzyme-labelled immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum samples of 41 normal pregnant women (8-14 w). In 5 pregnant women suspicious of fetal Down's syndrome (10-13 w) the serum and FE were examined by PAPP-A, GPA/FACS and PRINS with 21 chromosome centrometric primer. RESULTS: Detection of flow sorted FE from 13 pregnant women by Y primer showed 14.5% of GPA positive signal. There was no difference in serum level of PAPP-A between 5 pregnant women and 41 normal controls, and all GPA positive cell nuclei of the 5 cases displayed two signals with 21 chromosome. CONCLUSION: Measurement of fetal erythroblasts from maternal blood for the diagnosis of genetic fetal aneuploidies is a promising non-invasive, rapid and reliable technique.     

Droppers for pharmaceutical use

122 patients, suspicious for silicoses, with a history of silicogen dust exposure, radiological changes and restricted lung function values were examined by mediastinal biopsy for securing the diagnosis. In 82 patients (67,2%) a silicosis could be confirmed by histological examinations of the mediastinal lymph nodes. A close association between silicosis in the lungs and in the lymph nodes is empirically suggested. If the histological findings were in compliance with suspicious radiological changes and patients history, silicosis was acknowledged as an occupational disease. In patients with beginning silicotic changes in the peripheral two upper lung fields associated with an hilar hyperplasia, a higher proportion of positive results could be found. The most positive alterations were found in the lymph nodes of the right hilus. The mediastinoscopical findings in other parts proved not to be so yielding. Therefore, in cases with anatomical difficulties the surgical examination should not be extended to other parts.     

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography for therapeutic drug monitoring of zonisamide

The simultaneous determination of zonisamide, a new type of antiepileptic drug, and the typical antiepileptic drugs phenobarbital, phenytoin and carbamazepine in human serum was developed using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) with a diode array detector. A high correlation was revealed between the zonisamide levels in human serum obtained by MECC and those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (r=0.981). The serum levels of phenobarbital, phenytoin and carbamazepine determined by MECC were almost equal to those obtained by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. The reproducibility of separation and quantification with MECC analysis was appropriate for the intra- and inter-day assay coefficients. Therefore, the MECC method established here could provide a simple and efficient therapeutic drug monitoring method for antiepileptic drugs in patients, especially those treated with a combination of zonisamide and other antiepileptic drugs.     

Separation of five antipyretic analgesics by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The derivatives of antipyrine and phenylbutazone are important antipyretic analgesics commonly used in clinical medicine. Although high performance liquid chromatography has been the conventional method used for the analysis of these drugs, in recent years capillary electrophoresis was validated to be a useful method in the analysis of antipyretic analgesics. However, there has been no report on the separation of antipyrine (AP), 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP), aminopyrine (APY), dipyrone (DIP) and phenylbutazone (PHE) in the literature. In this paper, a micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic (MECC) separation method was described for the five antipyretic analgesics.     

On-line coupling of micellar electrokinetic chromatography to electrospray mass spectrometry

The possibility of selectivity enhancement in capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) by hyphenating micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) and electrospray mass spectrometry (MS) is described for two quaternary ammonium compounds. Direct coupling of MEKC to MS is hazardous because of the contamination of the ion source due to presence of an excess of micelle forming agent in the MEKC buffer. Therefore, a coupled-capillary setup with the possibilities of voltage switching and buffer renewal has been designed. Such a system allows on-line heartcutting of the zones of interest in the MEKC capillary with subsequent transfer via a second capillary to the mass spectrometer.     

Separation of reduced and oxidized glutathione by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

The separation of reduced and oxidized glutathione at an absolute sensitivity of about 100 pg by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography without derivatization is described. The time required for the separation is less than 10 min (the time between two following injections is about 15 min). The separation is characterized by high efficiency and good reliability. A partition mechanism is responsible for the high resolution observed. The method was utilized for the analysis of commercial preparations of glutathione and a good agreement with the expected results was obtained; the oxidation of the commercial glutathione in solution was easily analysed.     

Determination of suramin by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with direct serum injection

Visceral larva migrans (VLM) is a clinical syndrome caused by infection of man by Toxocara spp, the common roundworm of dogs and cats. Tissue migration of larval stages causes illness specially in children. Because larvae are difficult to detect in tissues, diagnosis is mostly based on serology. After the introduction of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the larval excretory-secretory antigen of T. canis (TES), the diagnosis specificity was greatly improved although cross-reactivity with other helminths are still being reported. In Brazil, diagnosis is routinely made after absorption of serum samples with Ascaris suum antigens, a nematode antigenically related with Ascaris lumbricoides which is a common intestinal nematode of children. In order to identify T. canis antigens that cross react to A. suum antigens we analyzed TES antigen by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting techniques. When we used serum samples from patients suspected of VLM and positive result by ELISA as well as a reference serum sample numerous bands were seen (molecular weight of 210-200 kDa, 116-97 kDa, 55-50 kDa and 35-29 kDa). Among these there is at least one band with molecular weight around 55-66 kDa that seem to be responsible for the cross-reactivity between T. canis and A. suum once it disappears when previous absorption of serum samples with A. suum antigens is performed.     

Rapid estimation of octanol-water partition coefficients of pesticides by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) was evaluated as a new technique for the rapid estimation of octanol-water partition coefficient (logKow). Retention measurements for more than 40 reference pesticides with varied structural characteristics and hydrophobicity were carried out in two MEKC systems, based on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium cholate (SC), respectively. To enable an accurate determination of capacity factors in the SC-MEKC system, cypermethrin (a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide) was utilized instead of Sudan III as the SC micelle tracer, since a few highly hydrophobic pesticides were found to elute after Sudan III. The linear correlation between logarithmic capacity factor (logk') and logKow in the two systems was examined. It was found that, under the typical buffer condition (10 mM sodium phosphate with 60 mM surfactant, pH 7.0), the SDS-MEKC system provided a somewhat wider dynamic range for hydrophobicity (logKow from -1.0 to 4.5). However, the correlation of logk' with logKow was not very high when all the reference pesticides were included in one single calibration set. For the SC-MEKC system, the dynamic range for logKow was in the range of 1.0-5.5, and a good linear correlation existed between logk' and logKow, even when all reference pesticides were incorporated into a single calibration group. By comparing the regression line of the reference pesticides with that of a group of simple aromatic derivatives, it was discovered that molecular size and functionality posed a less significant effect on the measurement of logKow in the SC-MEKC system than in the SDS-MEKC system. Thus, SC-MEKC shall be the system of choice for the estimation of logKow. The typical error on logKow determination using the current MEKC technique was within 0.5 units, suggesting that MEKC can be a valuable complement to reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for the indirect determination of logKow. Besides maintaining all the advantages of the HPLC approach, the MEKC technique showed some unique benefits, such as better inter-column reproducibility, higher throughput, and less handling of toxic pesticides and solvents.     

Analysis of cefadroxil by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography: development and validation

A method is developed and validated for analysis of the antibiotic cefadroxil using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography. It permits cefadroxil to be completely separated from ten of its known related substances within 15 min (including the washing procedure). The separation is performed in an acetate buffer (50 mM, pH 5.25) containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS; 110 mM). The fused-silica capillary was 44 cm long (36 cm effective length), 50 microm ID; the voltage, 18 kV; temperature, 15 degrees C; and the detection wavelength; 254 nm. The influence of the type of buffer, buffer pH and concentration, and of the SDS concentration was investigated. The robustness of the method was examined by means of a full-fraction factorial design. The parameters for validation such as linearity, precision, limit of detection and limit of quantitation are also reported.     

Detection of cyanobacterial toxins (microcystins) in cell extracts by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Recently, use of the suicide gene, cytosine deaminase (CD), has shown a selective antitumor activity of 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) on human colorectal carcinoma cells grown in vitro and in vivo. We hypothesized that the radiosensitivity of human colorectal carcinoma cells transduced with a retroviral vector encoding the bacterial CD gene would be selectively enhanced by the nontoxic prodrug 5-FC. The radiobiological rationale of using suicide gene therapy is based on the fact that a toxic metabolite of 5-FC, 5-fluorouracil, is a well-known radiation enhancer for the treatment of gastrointestinal and other tumors. 5-FC was found to enhance selectively the radiation cytotoxicity of human colorectal carcinoma cells expressing the CD gene. Colorectal carcinoma cells transduced with the CD gene (WiDr-CD) were highly sensitive to radiation compared with parental cells (WiDr) when exposed to 20 microgram/ml 5-FC for 72 h prior to irradiation. The sensitization enhancement ratio was 2.38. This magnitude of radiation enhancement is comparable to that obtained with 5-fluorouracil. These results suggest that the addition of radiation would substantially improve the therapeutic potential of CD gene therapy for the treatment of locally advanced colorectal carcinomas.     

Strategies for the monitoring of drugs in body fluids by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Electrokinetic capillary techniques can exploit numerous separation principles, making them flexible and easily applicable to a variety of separation problems. In recent publications, this emerging technology has been shown to be well suited for monitoring drugs and metabolites in body fluids, including serum, saliva and urine. Most attention has been focused on micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) because it permits the separation and determination of drugs with discrimination being largely based on differences in hydrophobicity. An overview of literature data on the MECC of drugs in body fluids and recent data obtained with antiepileptics in serum and saliva, with model mixtures of illicit drugs, and with extracts from urine specimens that tested positively for opiates and cocaine metabolites are presented. Emphasis is focused on buffer selection and simple sample preparation procedures, including direct injection of body fluids, ultrafiltration and solid-phase extraction.