Sample preparation using a miniaturized supported liquid membrane device connected on-line to packed capillary liquid chromatography

A miniaturized supported liquid membrane device has been developed for sample preparation and connected on-line to a packed capillary liquid chromatograph. The device consists of hydrophobic polypropylene hollow fiber, inserted and fastened in a cylindrical channel in a Kel-F piece. The pores of the fiber are filled with an organic solvent, in this study 6-undecanone, thus forming a liquid membrane. The sample is pumped on the outside of the hollow fiber (donor), and the analytes are selectively enriched and trapped in the fiber lumen (acceptor). With this approach, the volume of the acceptor solution can be kept as low as 1-2 μL. This stagnant acceptor solution is then transferred through capillaries attached to the fiber ends to the LC system. The system was tested with a secondary amine (bambuterol), as a model substance in aqueous standard solutions as well as in plasma. The best extraction efficiency in aqueous solution, with an acceptor volume of 1.9 μL, was 32.5% at a donor flow rate of 2.5 μL/min. At flow rates above 20 μL/min, the concentration enrichment per time unit was approximately constant, at 0.9 times/min, i.e., 9 times enrichment in about 10 min. The overall repeatability (RSD) for spiked plasma samples was ～4% (n = 12). Linear calibration curves of peak area versus bambuterol concentration were obtained for both aqueous standard solutions and spiked plasma samples. The detection limit for bambuterol in plasma, after 10 min of extraction at a flow rate of 24 μL/min, was 80 nM.