Methanol sample preparation

Since the starting point is a 10-jU.m C]8 bonded-phase column and a mobile phase of water/methanol, sample preparation consists of dissolving three standards in a mixture of 50/50 water/methanol. This is an arbitrary choice since the final mobile phase is unknown. The sample solution is dissolved in the same solvent as the standards, mixed for a short period of time, and filtered to remove insoluble material in the tablet. 

Fig. Electropherogram of a) catechin standards, b) green tea sample prepared in 50 % methanol using liquid extraction...

The mycelium (56 g dry weight) was filtered off and the steroidal material was extracted with methylene chloride, the methylene extracts evaporated to dryness, and the resulting residue chromatographed over a Florisil column. The column was packed with 200 g of Florisil and was developed with five 400-ml fractions each of methylene chloride, Skelly-solve 8-acetone mixtures of 9 1, 8 2, 7 3, 1 1, and methanol. The fraction eluted with Skellysolve 8-acetone (7 3) weighed 1.545 g and on recrystallization from acetone gave, in three crops, 928 mg of product of MP 210° to 235°C. The sample prepared for analysis melted at 245° to 247°C. 

Margarine is an example of a solid sample where the materials of interest are soluble in one solvent (in this case methanol) whereas the matrix materials, largely triglycerides, are not. As a consequence, the sample preparation procedure is relatively simple. The chromatographic separation is achieved by using the dispersive interactions between the hydrocarbon chains of the fatty acids and the hydrocarbon chains of a reversed phase. 

The analysis of a pharmaceutical tablet (6) requires sample preparation that is little more complex as most tablets contain excipients (a solid diluent) that may be starch, chalk, silica gel, cellulose or some other physiologically inert material. This sample preparation procedure depends on the insolubility of the excipient in methanol. As the components of interest are both acidic and neutral, the separation was achieved by exploiting both the ionic interactions between the organic acids and the adsorbed ion exchanger and the dispersive interactions with the remaining exposed reverse phase. 

Sample preparation Dried greater celandine was pulverized and briefly boiled in 0.05 mol sulfuric acid. After cooling to room temperature the mixture was placed in a separating funnel and adjusted to pH 10 with ammonia solution and extracted once with chloroform. The organic phase was dried with sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure. The residue was taken up in methanol and used as the sample solution for TLC. 

Sample preparation techniques vary depending on the analyte and the matrix. An advantage of immunoassays is that less sample preparation is often needed prior to analysis. Because the ELISA is conducted in an aqueous system, aqueous samples such as groundwater may be analyzed directly in the immunoassay or following dilution in a buffer solution. For soil, plant material or complex water samples (e.g., sewage effluent), the analyte must be extracted from the matrix. The extraction method must meet performance criteria such as recovery, reproducibility and ruggedness, and ultimately the analyte must be in a solution that is aqueous or in a water-miscible solvent. For chemical analytes such as pesticides, a simple extraction with methanol may be suitable. At the other extreme, multiple extractions, column cleanup and finally solvent exchange may be necessary to extract the analyte into a solution that is free of matrix interference. 

Sample preparation consists of crushing some tablets, mixing with 50 50 methanol/water, diluting to the mark in a volumetric flask and then filtering off any insoluble excipients. We are now ready to go, and Fig. 4.2b (i) shows the results of the first injection. 

Sample preparation was carried out with various solvents, depending on the solubility of the sample sometimes gentle warming was necessary. Whereas mostly tetrahydrofuran (THF) in addition to methanol, ethanol and water were used for polar substances, cyclohexane and toluene proved suitable for nonpolar waxes and free fatty acids. 

Prange et al. [809,810] carried out multielement determinations of the stated dissolved heavy metals in Baltic seawater by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry. The metals were separated by chelation adsorption of the metal complexes on lipophilised silica-gel carrier and subsequent elution of the chelates by a chloroform/methanol mixture. Trace element loss or contamination could be controlled because of the relatively simple sample preparation. Aliquots of the eluate were then dispersed in highly polished quartz sample carriers and evaporated to thin films for spectrometric measurements. Recoveries (see Table 5.10), detection limits, and reproducibilities of the method for several metals were satisfactory. 

Boylan and Tripp [76] determined hydrocarbons in seawater extracts of crude oil and crude oil fractions. Samples of polluted seawater and the aqueous phases of simulated samples (prepared by agitation of oil-kerosene mixtures and unpolluted seawater to various degrees) were extracted with pentane. Each extract was subjected to gas chromatography on a column (8 ft x 0.06 in) packed with 0.2% of Apiezon L on glass beads (80-100 mesh) and temperatures programmed from 60 °C to 220 °C at 4°C per minute. The components were identified by means of ultraviolet and mass spectra. Polar aromatic compounds in the samples were extracted with methanol-dichlorome-thane (1 3). 

Typical protein precipitation procedures use one volume of plasma plus three to six volumes of acetonitrile or methanol (or a mixture) with the internal standard at an appropriate concentration for the assay. Poison et al.102 reported that protein precipitation using acetonitrile eliminates at least 95% of the proteins after filtration or centrifugation, the supernatant can often be directly injected into the HPLC/MS/MS system. Usually this step is performed using 96-well plates that are ideal for semi-automation of sample preparation. Briem et al.103 reported on a robotic sample preparation system for plasma based on a protein precipitation step and a robotic liquid handling system that increased throughput by a factor of four compared to a manual system. 

Sample preparation requires only dissolution of the sample to a suitable concentration in a mixture of water and organic solvent, commonly methanol, isopropanol, or acetonitrile. A trace of formic acid or acetic acid is often added to aid protonation of the analyte molecules in the positive ionization mode. In negative ionization mode ammonia solution or a volatile amine is added to aid deprotonation of the analyte molecules. 

The analysis of human plasma for acetaminophen, the active ingredient in some pain relievers, involves a unique extraction procedure. Small-volume samples (approximately 200 fiL) of heparinized plasma, which is plasma that is treated with heparin, a natural anticoagulant found in biological tissue, are first placed in centrifuge tubes and treated with 1 N HC1 to adjust the pH. Ethyl acetate is then added to extract the acetaminophen from the samples. The tubes are vortexed, and after allowed to separate, the ethyl acetate layer containing the analyte is decanted. The resulting solutions are evaporated to dryness and then reconstituted with an 18% methanol solution, which is the final sample preparation step before HPLC analysis. The procedure is a challenge because the initial sample size is so small. 

Filter and degas a part of the sample. Prepare the instrument as you have done before, choosing a particular stationary and mobile phase system (such as a reverse phase system using a methanol-water mixture for the mobile phase and a nonpolar stationary phase) and flow rate that you will use as a first trial. 

Fig. 11.11 13C and 15N MAS spectra of antama-nide for different sample preparations, a Lyophi-lized powder, b and c Micro-crystalline powder obtained by evaporation of the solvent from a solution of antamanide in a 7 3 methanol/water mixture. In the 13C spectra, only the aliphatic region is shown. The sample leading to spectra b was... 

In summary, the use of RPLC is ideal for pharmaceutical analyses because of the broad range of commercially available stationary phases because the most common RPLC mobile phases (buffers with acetonitrile or methanol) have low UV cut-off wavelengths, which facilitate high sensitivity detection for quantitation of low-level impurities and because selectivity can readily be controlled via mobile phase optimization. Additionally, the samples generated for selectivity screening (as detailed above) are typically aqueous based. In subsequent phases of pharmaceutical development, aqueous-based sample solvents are ideal for sample preparation and are, under limited constraints, compatible with MS detection required to identify impurities and degradation products. 

Heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide have been measured in samples of human milk using GC/ECD and GC/MS (Mussalo-Rauhamaa et al. 1988 Polishuk et al. 1977b Ritcey et al. 1972). Sample preparation steps for milk involve homogenization with chloroform/methanol, lipid extraction with petroleum ether, hexane or acetone-hexane, clean-up by column chromatography, and elution with acetonitrile, hexane, methylene chloride, or dichloromethane-petroleum ether. Precision, accuracy, and sensitivity were not reported for most of the studies however, one study reported a sensitivity in the low-ppb range (Ritcey et al. 1972). 

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