CEC coupled

The present chapter will review instrumental aspects for successful coupling of CE with MS, regarding interfaces, ionization sources, and analyzers. Practical considerations concerning different CE modes such as CZE, NACE, MEKC, and CEC coupled with MS will also be discussed and illustrated with a focus on recent pharmaceutical applications. Additionally, quantitative CE-MS will be presented and various methodologies used to achieve sensitive and repeatable analysis will be discussed. Finally, the final section of this chapter will give an overview on new devices (i.e., microchips), hyphenated to MS, in terms of fabrication methods, microchip designs, MS interfacing, and applications. 

There have been few elemental speciation studies in the literature involving cation-exchange chromatography (CEC) coupled to ICP-MS. A cation-exchange column was used by Larsen et al. [57,69] for arsenic speciation in several seafood sample extracts. The chromatography was optimized for the separation of arsenocholine, trimethylarsinic, trimethylarsine oxide, inorganic As, and two unknown cationic arsenic compounds. A mobile phase of 20 mM pyridinium ion, at pH 2.65, was used to perform the separation (Fig. 10.10). 

As mentioned earlier, CEC couples the separating power of HPLC and the high efficiency of CE. The packed capillary can be considered the heart of the CEC system because it acts as a pump and provides chromatographic selectivity. The design of the stationary phase related parameters such as mobile phase and pH and instrumental parameters such as pressurization, injection modes, temperature, and voltage polarity play an important role in this technique. 

We recently reported an open-tubular CEC coupling with a sheathless ESI-MS for analysis of some amino acids and peptides [10]. We employed Lupamin, a high molecular weight linear polyvinylamine polymer, as stationary phase coated on the inner wall of an open-tubular capillary column. This column has several merits including easy preparation, low cost, and good reliability. Positively charged amino groups in polyvinylamine in acidic conditions play three important roles ... 

We recently reported an open-tubular CEC coupling with a sheathless ESI-MS for analysis of some amino acids and peptides [10]. We employed Lupamin, a high molecular... 

The ionspray (ISP, or pneumatically assisted electrospray) LC-MS interface offers all the benefits of electrospray ionisation with the additional advantages of accommodating a wide liquid flow range (up to 1 rnl.rnin ) and improved ion current stability [536]. In most LC-MS applications, one aims at introducing the highest possible flow-rate to the interface. While early ESI interfaces show best performance at 5-l() iLrnin, ion-spray interfaces are optimised for flow-rates between 50 and 200 xLmin 1. A gradient capillary HPLC system (320 xm i.d., 3-5 xLmin 1) is ideally suited for direct coupling to an electrospray mass spectrometer [537]. In sample-limited cases, nano-ISP interfaces are applied which can efficiently be operated at sub-p,Lmin 1 flow-rates [538,539]. These flow-rates are directly compatible with micro- and capillary HPLC systems, and with other separation techniques (CE, CEC). 

Hyphenation in capillary electrophoresis is still in its infancy. Critical aspects of CE hyphenation include the minute volumes of sample injected (typically a few nL) and small flow-rates (in the order of nLmin-1). Interfaces are not commercially available. CZE-UV can be used for the analysis of higher polyamide oligomers in HF1P solution [859]. A solvent elimination design with nebuliser has been described for CE-FTIR and CEC-FTIR coupling absolute detection limits are hundreds of pg [860]. An advantage of CE-FTIR is that analytes may be detected and identified without derivatisation. CE(C)-NMR [861-863] is advancing rapidly. 

CZE-APCI-MS [887] andCZE-CF-FAB-MSn [533] couplings have been described. CEC-MS coupling offers ... 

Robson, M.M., Bartle, K.D., Myers, R (1999). Simple interface for gradient elution CEC and coupled HPLC-CEC. Chromatographia 50, 711-715. 

CEC is a miniaturized separation technique that combines capabilities of both interactive chromatography and CE. In Chapter 17, the theory of CEC and the factors affecting separation, such as the stationary phase and mobile phase, are discussed. The chapter focuses on the preparation of various types of columns used in CEC and describes the progress made in the development of open-tubular, particle-packed, and monolithic columns. The detection techniques in CEC, such as traditional UV detection and improvements made by coupling with more sensitive detectors like mass spectrometry (MS), are also described. Furthermore, some of the applications of CEC in the analysis of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products are provided. 

The coupling of a mass spectrometer to CE and CEC provides a powerful system for the analysis of pharmaceuticals and complex biological mixtures. This can replace or complement other conventional detection methods such as UV, electrochemical, or LIE that provide less structural information. The use of mass spectrometer as a detector enhances the usefulness of the CE and CEC and allows an efficient separation and identification of complex mixtures, obtaining structure and/or molecular mass information. The choice of mass analyzers used in CE/CEC-MS depends on factors such as sensitivity, mass resolution, requirement for structural elucidation, and the type of application (Table 5). The analyzers that have been used in CEC analysis include time-of-flight (TOE), quadrupole (Q), ion-trap (IT), fourier... 

The emerging of CEC and the increased scientific work on the preparation of different phases, characterization, and applications of the CEC columns have given much credence to their future potentials in microseparations. The fabrication and availability of different phases for analysis with both particle-packed and monolithic columns give the technique a great future. This is because a variety of mechanisms can be exploited in the analysis and separation of compounds that could otherwise be difficult to analyze with HPLC or CE alone. The ease of coupling CEC to sensitive detectors such as mass spectrometers for enhanced sensitivity, structural elucidation, and characterization bestows the technique with great versatility. 

Dedicated applications of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) coupled to MS are discussed, particularly in the field of drug analysis. Development of other capillary-based electrodriven separation techniques such as non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE), micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) hyphenated with MS are also treated. The successful coupling of these electromigration schemes with MS detection provides an efficient and sensitive analytical tool for the separation, quantitation, and identification of numerous pharmaceutical, biological, therapeutic, and environmental compounds. 

Lord et al. analyzed a mixture of steroids by CEC-ESI/MS and interfaced externally tapered CEC columns in both sheathless and sheath-flow arrangement. Sensitivity was found 20-fold higher in the sheathless configuration. The same conclusion was drawn by Warriner et ah, who evaluated CEC-nanospray/MS vs. CEC-microspray/MS with an ion trap using five corticosteroids. Cahours et al. used CEC-ESI/MS for a drug metabolism study and obtained a simultaneous baseline separation of flunitrazepam and its major metabolites. For CEC-ESI/MS coupling, the commercially available packed-CEC column was connected... 

Zhu et al. coupled OT-CEC to ESI/MS for the analysis of /i-blockers and benzodiazepines. The authors described the use of a polymeric surfactant as a stationary-phase coating that enabled minimal surfactant introduction in the MS compared to MEKC—ESI/MS, thus avoiding interferences from non-voIatile micelles in ESI/MS. ... 

Although the majority of chiral CEC—MS applications still involve packed columns, few reports on chiral OT-CEC-MS are found in recent literature. The feasibility of coupling OT-CEC (using a short Chirasil-Dex-coated capillary column) to MS and MS/MS for trace analysis of hexobarbital enantiomers in biological fluids was reported by Schurig and Mayer. More recently, Kamande et al. investigated polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) coating as a new medium for the separation of chiral analytes, and PEM-coated capillaries were successfully coupled to ESI/MS for the stereoselective analysis of five /1-blockers. 

Several different analytical and ultra-micropreparative CEC approaches have been described for such peptide separations. For example, open tubular (OT-CEC) methods have been used 290-294 with etched fused silicas to increase the surface area with diols or octadecyl chains then bonded to the surface.1 With such OT-CEC systems, the peptide-ligand interactions of, for example, angiotensin I-III increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the bonded phase on the capillary wall. Porous layer open tubular (PLOT) capillaries coated with anionic polymers 295 or poly(aspartic acid) 296 have also been employed 297 to separate basic peptides on the inner wall of fused silica capillaries of 20 pm i.d. When the same eluent conditions were employed, superior performance was observed for these PLOT capillaries compared to the corresponding capillary zone electrophoresis (HP-CZE) separation. Peptide mixtures can be analyzed 298-300 with OT-CEC systems based on octyl-bonded fused silica capillaries that have been coated with (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APS), as well as with pressurized CEC (pCEC) packed with particles of similar surface chemistry, to decrease the electrostatic interactions between the solute and the surface, coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS). In the pressurized flow version of electrochromatography, a pLC pump is also employed (Figure 26) to facilitate liquid flow, reduce bubble formation, and to fine-tune the selectivity of the separation of the peptide mixture. 

In one report, a LCQ ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with a sheath flow electrospray interface was used for on-line coupling with CEC [26]. 

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