Standards, quantitation External

Quantitation by Internal Standard. Quantitation by internal standard provides the highest precision because uncertainties introduced by sample injection are avoided. In this quantitation technique, a known quantity of internal standard is introduced into each sample and standard solutions. As in the external standard quantitation, chromatograms of the standard and sample solutions are integrated to determine peak heights or peak areas. The ratio of the peak height or area of the analyte to an internal standard is determined. The ratios of the standards... 

Precision. The ability of the injector to draw the same amount of sample in replicate injections is crucial to the precision and accuracy for peak-area or peak-height comparison for external standard quantitation [10,11]. If the variability of the sample and standard being injected into the column is not controlled tightly, the basic principle of external standard quantitation is seriously compromised. No meaningful comparison between the responses of the sample and the standard can be made. The absolute accuracy of the injection volume is not critical as long as the same amount of standard and sample is injected. 

External standard quantitation involves the preparation of a classical calibration curve, as shown in Figure 4.6a. Standard samples are prepared at various concentrations over the desired range and analyzed. A calibration... 

Although internal standard calibration compensates for some errors in external standard quantitation, there are several difficulties in method development. First, choosing an appropriate internal standard can often be difficult, as this compound must be available in extremely pure form and it must never appear in the samples of interest. Second, it cannot interfere in either the extraction or the chromatography of the analytes. Finally, it must be structurally similar to the analytes, so that it undergoes similar extraction and chromatography, otherwise, the compensation will be lost. 

Internal and External Standards. Quantitative determinations require standards, either external or internal. External standardization using samples with known amounts of analyte ( standard addition ) is possible, if a reproducibility and accuracy of ca. 10% is acceptable. In pharmaceutical studies or routine environmental work such an accuracy is sufficient, since individual variations are much larger. When the required precision must be higher, internal standards must be used. As internal standard a compound with similar chromatographic and. if possible, similar mass spec-trometric properties as the analyte can be employed. This may be a homologue, an analogue with, e.g., a different heteroatom, or a positional isomer. The best choice is an isotopically labeled compound containing stable isotopes. 

External standard, quantitation by using external standardization. The analyte itself is used for quantitative calibration as a clean standard or added to a blank standard matrix. The signal height for a known concentration of the analyte is used for the calibration procedure. The calibration runs are carried out separately (externally) from the analysis of the sample. 

A quantitative determination using a single external standard was described at the beginning of this section, with k given by equation 5.3. Once standardized, the concentration of analyte, Ca, is given as... 

An external standardization allows a related series of samples to be analyzed using a single calibration curve. This is an important advantage in laboratories where many samples are to be analyzed or when the need for a rapid throughput of samples is critical. Not surprisingly, many of the most commonly encountered quantitative analytical methods are based on an external standardization. 

Standardization—External standards, standard additions, and internal standards are a common feature of many quantitative analyses. Suggested experiments using these standardization methods are found in later chapters. A good project experiment for introducing external standardization, standard additions, and the importance of the sample s matrix is to explore the effect of pH on the quantitative analysis of an acid-base indicator. Using bromothymol blue as an example, external standards can be prepared in a pH 9 buffer and used to analyze samples buffered to different pHs in the range of 6-10. Results can be compared with those obtained using a standard addition. 

When possible, a quantitative analysis is best conducted using external standards. Unfortunately, matrix interferences are a frequent problem, particularly when using electrothermal atomization. Eor this reason the method of standard additions is often used. One limitation to this method of standardization, however, is the requirement that there be a linear relationship between absorbance and concentration. 

Standardizing the Method Equations 10.32 and 10.33 show that the intensity of fluorescent or phosphorescent emission is proportional to the concentration of the photoluminescent species, provided that the absorbance of radiation from the excitation source (A = ebC) is less than approximately 0.01. Quantitative methods are usually standardized using a set of external standards. Calibration curves are linear over as much as four to six orders of magnitude for fluorescence and two to four orders of magnitude for phosphorescence. Calibration curves become nonlinear for high concentrations of the photoluminescent species at which the intensity of emission is given by equation 10.31. Nonlinearity also may be observed at low concentrations due to the presence of fluorescent or phosphorescent contaminants. As discussed earlier, the quantum efficiency for emission is sensitive to temperature and sample matrix, both of which must be controlled if external standards are to be used. In addition, emission intensity depends on the molar absorptivity of the photoluminescent species, which is sensitive to the sample matrix. 

When possible, quantitative analyses are best conducted using external standards. Emission intensity, however, is affected significantly by many parameters, including the temperature of the excitation source and the efficiency of atomization. An increase in temperature of 10 K, for example, results in a 4% change in the fraction of Na atoms present in the 3p excited state. The method of internal standards can be used when variations in source parameters are difficult to control. In this case an internal standard is selected that has an emission line close to that of the analyte to compensate for changes in the temperature of the excitation source. In addition, the internal standard should be subject to the same chemical interferences to compensate for changes in atomization efficiency. To accurately compensate for these errors, the analyte and internal standard emission lines must be monitored simultaneously. The method of standard additions also can be used. 

Quantitative Analysis Using External Standards To determine the concentration of analyte in a sample, it is necessary to standardize the electrode. If the electrode s response obeys the Nernst equation. 

Quantitative Calculations Quantitative analyses are often easier to conduct with HPLC than GC because injections are made with a fixed-volume injection loop instead of a syringe. As a result, variations in the amount of injected sample are minimized, and quantitative measurements can be made using external standards and a normal calibration curve. 

Eatty acids from commercial fats and oils, such as peanut oil, are extracted with methanolic NaOH and made volatile by derivatizing with a solution of methanol/BE3. Separations are carried out using a capillary 5% phenylmethyl silicone column with MS detection. By searching the associated spectral library students are able to identify the fatty acids present in their sample. Quantitative analysis is by external standards. 

Table 5.17 Quantitative results obtained for the determination of four diarrhetic shellfish poisons (DSPs) using external standards and the method of standard additions. Reprinted from J. Chromatogr., A, 943, Matrix effect and correction by standard addition in quantitative liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins , Ito, S. and Tsukada, K., 39-46, Copyright (2002), with permission from Elsevier Science...

Quantitation of anthocyanins has become simple and fast since many anthocy-anin standards became commercially available as external standards in the past decade. When the standards are not available, individual anthocyanins or total monomeric anthocyanins can be determined by the use of a generic external standard such as commercial cyanidin-3-glucoside or other compound structurally similar to the analytes of interest. Individual and total peak areas are measured at 520 nm or their and quantified using external standards by which values are typically slightly different from those via the pH differential method. ... 

The amounts of carfentrazone-ethyl, C-Cl-PAc, C-PAc, DM-C-Cl-PAc and HM-C-Cl-PAc were quantitated by the external standard calibration method. 

Quantitation is performed using the external standard calibration technique. The concentration of the calibration standard in solution is 1.0 qg mL . The calibration standard should be injected prior to injection of the treated samples and again after every second or third injection of treated samples. The analytical sequence should end with a calibration standard. The RSD of the calibration standards should be <10%. 

The amounts of sulfentrazone, SCA (analyzed as DMS), and HMS were quantitated by an external standard calibration method. A computer spreadsheet program (Microsoft Excel) was used for calculation and reporting. 

Internal rather than external standards are recommended for quantitative analysis. If standard additions are used for calibration all the parameters listed in this table must be held constant. 

The determination of the relationship between detector response and the sample concentration is termed the calibration of the method. There are two types of methods in use for the quantitative analysis of a sample, i.e., the external standard and the internal standard method. An external standard method is a direct comparison of the detector response of a pure compound (standard) to a sample.2 The calibration of the method is performed by preparing standards of varying concentration and analyzing them by a developed method. Method 1 (below) was developed for toluene, and standards of varying concentration were prepared and analyzed. The results obtained are summarized in Table 2 see Figure 3. 

Each reaction step was monitored qualitatively by TLC using hex-ane ethyl acetate as the developing solvent and quantitatively by GC. Impurity peaks were identified by GC/MS. An HPLC external standard method (Method 2) was developed and used to determine the purity of the final isolated product (RWJ-26240). The following rugged HPLC method was developed to optimize scheme 1, step 6 ... 

Under some conditions, it is difficult to incorporate an internal standard into a method. If the chromatogram is very complex, an internal standard may interfere with quantitation of a peak of interest. The development of highly precise sample transfer techniques, including modem autoinjectors, reduces the dependence of the experimentalist on the use of an internal standard to correct for effects of dilution and transfer losses. In many cases, external standardization can be used effectively. The weight percent purity is determined by comparing the area of each peak in a chromatogram with those generated by separately injected pure standards of known concentration. 

Quantitative analysis using FAB is not straightforward, as with all ionisation techniques that use a direct insertion probe. While the goal of the exercise is to determine the bulk concentration of the analyte in the FAB matrix, FAB is instead measuring the concentration of the analyte in the surface of the matrix. The analyte surface concentration is not only a function of bulk analyte concentration, but is also affected by such factors as temperature, pressure, ionic strength, pH, FAB matrix, and sample matrix. With FAB and FTB/LSIMS the sample signal often dies away when the matrix, rather than the sample, is consumed therefore, one cannot be sure that the ion signal obtained represents the entire sample. External standard FAB quantitation methods are of questionable accuracy, and even simple internal standard methods can be trusted only where the analyte is found in a well-controlled sample matrix or is separated from its sample matrix prior to FAB analysis. Therefore, labelled internal standards and isotope dilution methods have become the norm for FAB quantitation. 

In the analysis of seawater, isotope dilution mass spectrometry offers a more accurate and precise determination than is potentially available with other conventional techniques such as flameless AAS or ASV. Instead of using external standards measured in separate experiments, an internal standard, which is an isotopically enriched form of the same element, is added to the sample. Hence, only a ratio of the spike to the common element need be measured. The quantitative recovery necessary for the flameless atomic absorption and ASV techniques is not critical to the isotope dilution approach. This factor can become quite variable in the extraction of trace metals from the salt-laden matrix of seawater. Yield may be isotopically determined by the same experiment or by the addition of a second isotopic spike after the extraction has been completed. 

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