Sample extraction approaches

Again, given the rapid response of microreactors to parameter changes, it becomes even more important, for sample extraction approaches, to insure that the sample that reaches the analyzer represents the process at the time the sample was taken. 

For the purpose of the identification and quantification of additives (broadly defined) in polymeric materials extraction and dissolution methods are favoured (Sections 3.3-3.7). However, additives are also made accessible analytically by digestion of the sample matrix (cf. Section 8.2). Such wet chemical techniques, that remove the sample matrix first, are often limited to mg amounts because of pressure build-up in destruction vessels. Another reactive extraction approach to facilitate additive analysis is depolymerisation by acid hydrolysis or saponification, sometimes under pressure. This is then frequently followed by chemical methods such as titrimetry or photometry for final identification and quantification. 

The heat-induced retrieval protocol for extraction of formaldehyde-modified DNA from FFPE tissue sections provides a simple and effective method of DNA extraction from archival tissue samples.25,45 Based on PCR using three primer pairs ranging from 152-541 bp and a real time KTC-PCR analysis, the heat-induced retrieval protocol yields a better quality and quantity of DNA samples extracted from FFPE tissue sections than conventional methods of extraction.24 In addition, this heating protocol may provide an alternative approach for DNA extraction in some cases such as a recent publication by Ferrari et al. mentioned above.34... 

Use of immobilised chelating agents for sequestering trace metals from aqueous and saline media presents several significant advantages over chelation-solvent extraction approaches to this problem [193,194], With little sample manipulation, large preconcentration factors can generally be realised in relatively short times with low analytical blanks. 

One of the requirements of this approach is that the analytes must be stable at the boiling point of the solvent, since the analytes collect in the flask. The solvent must show high solubility for the analyte and none for the sample matrix. Since this is one of the oldest methods of sample preparation, there are hundreds of published methods for all kinds of analytes in as many matrices. For example, XAD-2 resin (sty-rene-divinylbenzene) that was used to collect air samples to monitor current usage of pesticides in Iowa was Soxhlet-extracted for 24 h with hexane/acetone [22], This is common in environmental sample analysis, and one will see rows and rows of these systems in environmental laboratories. One disadvantage of Soxhlet extraction is the amount of solvent consumed, though modern approaches to solid sample extraction have tried to reduce the amount of solvent used. 

Liquid samples, other than those that are inherently liquid, can arise from the solid sample extraction techniques described above. As mentioned previously, sometimes a simple dilute-and-shoot approach can be utilized, i.e., add solvent to the sample and then inject directly into the instrument. Other times, evaporation of residual liquid can be utilized—then the sample is either directly injected, or if the sample is evaporated to dryness, a new solvent can be added. Often, however, the residual matrix causes interference and the following techniques can be employed for further sample cleanup. 

Tandem mass spectrometry (i.e., MS-MS) is another technique that has recently become popular for the direct analysis of individual molecular markers in complex organic mixtures [87,505,509,578 - 583]. This technique provides a rapid method for the direct analysis of specific classes of molecular markers in whole sample extracts. In this approach the system is set up to monitor the parent ions responsible for a specific daughter ion as described above and the distribution of parent ions obtained under these conditions should provide the same information as previously obtained by GC-MS [505, 582]. Even greater specificity can be achieved by a combination of GC-MS-MS [516,584]. In view of the complexity of COM samples and the need to detect the presence of individual organic compounds or classes of compounds, it would seem that MS-MS, especially coupled with GC, would be extremely valuable in future environmental organic geochemistry studies. 

Sonication using ultrasonic cleaner baths remains a popular extraction approach particularly for controlled-release products. In sonication, an ultrasonic wave of 20-40 kHz generated by a piezoelectric transducer is used to produce the formation and collapse of thousands of microscopic bubbles (cavitations) in the water bath to facilitate the break up of the solid particles and the subsequent dissolution of the API. Note that parameters such as the wattage power of the sonicator, presence of the perforated tray, depth of the water level, bath temperature and the number of sample flasks sonicated might all affect the extraction rate. For... 

Ylinen et al. [53] developed an ion-pair extraction procedure employing tetrabutylamonium (TBA) counter ions for determination of PFOA in plasma and urine in combination with gas chromatography (GC) and flame ionisation detection (FID). Later on, Hansen et al. [35] improved the sensitivity of the ion-pair extraction approach using methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and by the inclusion of a filtration step to remove solids from the extract making it amenable to liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) determination. Ion-pair extraction procedure has been the basis of several procedures for biota [49,54-58] and food samples [50,59,60]. However, this method has shown to have some limitations, such as (1) co-extraction of lipids and other matrix constituents and the absence of a clean-up step to overcome the effects of matrix compounds and (2) the wide variety of recoveries observed, typically ranging. 

A systematical approach of sample preparation methods and optimisation of the quality aspects of sample preparation may enhance the efficiency of total analytical methods. This approach may also enhance the quality and knowledge of the methods developed, which actually enhances the quality of individual sample analyses. Unfortunately, in bioanalysis, systematical optimisation of sample preparation procedures is not common practice. Attention to systematical optimisation of assay methods has always been mainly on instrumental analyses problems, such as minimising detection limits and maximising resolution in HPLC. Optimisation of sample extraction has often been performed intuitively by trial and error. Only a few publications deal with systematical optimisation of liquid-liquid extraction of drugs from biological fluids [3,4,5]. 

Liquid-liquid partitioning constitutes the most popular cleanup approach used for purification of residues of monobasic -lactam antibiotics. Such residues are generally extracted from the primary aqueous sample extracts by dichloromethane or chloroform under acidic conditions in which the ionization of their carboxylate moiety is suppressed, and then back-extracted into pH 7 phosphate buffers (84, 85, 89, 92, 95, 97, 99). In these instances, however, all analytical steps involving contact of the analytes with acids should be performed in a highly reproducible fashion and for a minimum length of time due to the instability of these compounds, especially penicillin G, in the acidic media employed. 

Alternative sample extraction techniques include an approach that combines the deproteinizing efficiency of dichloromethane with the ion-pairing ability of phenylbutazone for isolating tetracyclines from eggs (308). Another approach that was employed for extracting oxytetracycline from milk (285) or swine tissues (309), and tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and chlortetracycline from milk (284), was based on ultrafiltration. With ultrafiltration, however, not all low molecular-mass proteins are retained in the cut-off filters while interfering substances pass through the filter. 

Polyether antibiotics are hydrophobic compounds that are characterized chemically by their low polarities and their instability under acidic conditions. These antibiotics can be quantitatively extracted from the primary organic extract into carbon tetrachloride (393-395). When partitioning from a sodium chloride solution into an organic solvent, high yields have been achieved using dichloromethane (396, 397), carbon tetrachloride (391, 399), and chloroform (14, 398) as extraction solvents. In a different approach, water extracts containing lasalocid residues have been purified by partitioning into the mobile phase, which was a complex mixture of tetrahydrofuran, methanol, n-hexane, and ammonia (387, 389, 390, 392). To remove lipids, sample extracts have often been partitioned with n-hexane. 

The primary sample extract is subsequently subjected to cleanup using several different approaches including conventional liquid-liquid partitioning, solid-phase extraction, liquid chromatography, immunoaffinity chromatography, and supercritical fluid extraction cleanup. In some instances, more than one of these purification procedures can be applied in combination for better results. 

In this approach, residues from a sample extract were concentrated on a column in pure phosphate buffer and then eluted with a MeCN gradient. Fractions corresponding to each analyte of interest (1.5-ml fraction centered on the retention time) were collected and analyzed under different chromatographic conditions. 

An alternative and relatively simple approach to the same analytical problem is to carry out the large volume sample extraction with a commercial SPE disk, e.g., Cl8 disk, and then elute the analyte from the Cl8 disk with a smaller volume of suitably selected solvent onto an MISPE column [39]. 

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