Determination of flavonoids in Portulaca oleracea L. by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

The simultaneous separation and determination of six flavonoids and troxerutin in rat urine and chicken plasma by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet–visible detection

The method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-vis detection was used and validated for the simultaneous determination of six flavonoids (puerarin, rutin, morin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol) and troxerutin in rat urine and chicken plasma. Chromatographic separation was performed using a VP-ODS column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5.0 microm) maintained at 35.0 degrees C. The mobile phase was a mixture of water, methanol and acetic acid (57:43:1, v/v/v, pH 3.0) at the flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Six flavonoids and troxerutin were analyzed simultaneously with good separation. On optimum conditions, calibration curves were found to be linear with the ranges of 0.10-70.00 microg/mL (puerarin, rutin, morin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol) and 0.50-350.00 microg/mL (troxerutin). The detection limits were 0.010-0.050 microg/mL. The method was validated for accuracy and precision, and it was successfully applied to determine drug concentrations in rat urine and chicken plasma samples from rat and chicken that had been orally administered with six flavonoids and troxerutin.

Capillary Electrophoresis-Amperometric Determination of Antioxidant Propyl Gallate and Butylated Hydroxyanisole in Foods

Capillary electrophoretic separation coupled with end-column amperometric detection for the simultaneous quantification of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and propyl gallate (PG) in food was developed. Important factors affecting separation and detection, such as the running buffer, separation voltage, and detection potential, were investigated in detail. An improved working electrode preparation method was used, where a carbon disk of 33 microm in diameter was sealed in a tip and positioned opposite the outlet of a capillary. The experiments indicated that the preparation method was simple, and the obtained electrode exhibited good flexibility and stability for the determination of phenolic antioxidants. The separation was carried out within 5 min using a 50 cm length capillary, with a solution containing 5 mM phosphate and 5 mM borax of pH 8.84 as a separation buffer, and a separation potential of 20 kV. Amperometric detection was achieved with an applied potential of 0.70 V versus Ag|AgCl| saturated KCl. There was excellent linearity between the peak current and the concentrations of the analytes in the range of 1.8 - 180.2 microg/mL for BHA and 10.6 - 212.2 microg/mL for PG, respectively. Relative standard deviations of 4.92% for BHA and 5.27% for PG were obtained, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of antioxidants in several commercial foods.

Electrochemical and optical detectors for capillary and chip separations

In separations in capillaries or on chips, the most predominant detectors outside of the field of proteomics are electrochemical (EC) and optical. These detectors operate in the μM to pM range on nL peak volumes with ms time resolution. The driving forces for improvement are different for the two classes of detectors.With EC detectors, there are two limitations that the field is trying to overcome. One is the ever-present surface of the electrode which, while often advantageous for its catalytic or adsorptive properties, is also frequently responsible for changes in sensitivity over time. The other is the decoupling of the electrical systems that operate electrokinetic separations from the system operating the detector.With optical detectors, there are similarly a small number of important limitations. One is the need to bring the portability (size, weight and power requirements) of the detection system into the range of EC detectors. The other is broadening and simplifying the applications of fluorescence detection, as it almost always involves derivatization.Limitations aside, the ability to make detector electrodes and focused laser beams of the order of 1 μm in size, and the rapid time response of both detectors has vaulted capillary and chip separations to the forefront of small sample, fast, low mass-detection limit analysis.