Solid acidity sample preparation

The methyl arsenic system compromises two well-defined species, the pentamer (MeAs)5, a yellow pyrophoric oil (m.p. 12°C) and the purple black double-chain polymer, [(MeAs)2] (m.p. 204 °C). A red solid that is possibly the linear chain compound (MeAs) has also been described. The polymers are formed when samples of the pentamer are exposed to impurities like arsenic halides that are able to react with the arsenic-arsenic bond and may act as end groups. The most widely used method for the preparation of larger amounts of (MeAs)j is the reduction of methylarsonic acid, MeAsO(OH)2, or its sodium salt with hypophosphoric acid " °. Samples prepared by this method, however, may contain between 5 and 15% of impurities. A method that minimizes impurities is the reaction of MeAsHj with dibenzylmercury (equation 3) °. 

Lucock, M.D., Hartley, R., and Smithells, R.W., 1989. A rapid and specific hplc-electrochemical method for the determination of endogenous 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid in plasma using solid-phase sample preparation with internal standardization. Biomedical Chromatography. 3 58-63. 

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. 

As discussed earlier by Senthilnathan and Hurtubise (4), before a saturated ethanol solution of sodium acetate is formed, the solid-surface RTF is less than the RTF from samples prepared with solutions that are saturated with sodium acetate. It was shown by Ramasamy and Hurtubise (12) that both the RTF and RTF quantum yields of the p-aminobenzoic acid anion increased as the amount of sodium acetate increased in the solid mixtures. Figure 4 shows the quantum yield of fluorescence and the quantum yield of phosphorescence )... 

Sample preparation for the common desorption/ionisation (DI) methods varies greatly. Films of solid inorganic or organic samples may be analysed with DI mass spectrometry, but sample preparation as a solution for LSIMS and FAB is far more common. The sample molecules are dissolved in a low-vapour-pressure liquid solvent - usually glycerol or nitrobenzyl alcohol. Other solvents have also been used for more specialised applications. Key requirements for the solvent matrix are sample solubility, low solvent volatility and muted acid - base or redox reactivity. In FAB and LSIMS, the special art of sample preparation in the selection of a solvent matrix, and then manipulation of the mass spectral data afterwards to minimise its contribution, still predominates. Incident particles in FAB and LSIMS are generated in filament ionisation sources or plasma discharge sources. 

Destructive solid sample preparation methods, such as digestion and mineralisation, are well known as they have been around for some time they are relatively cheap and well documented [13-15]. Decomposition of a substance or a mixture of substances does not refer so much to the dissolution, but rather to the conversion of slightly soluble substances into acid- or water-soluble (ionogenic) compounds (chemical dissolution). 

In our laboratories, a cycle time of 90 sec can be achieved with a dilution factor of 1 25 for a given sample concentration, allowing the purity and identity control of two and a half 384-well microtiter plates per day. The online dilution eliminated an external step in the workflow and reduced the risks of decomposition of samples in the solvent mixture (weakly acidic aqueous solvent) required for analysis. Mao et al.23 described an example in which parallel sample preparation reduced steps in the workflow. They described a 2-min cycle time for the analysis of nefazodone and its metabolites for pharmacokinetic studies. The cycle time included complete solid phase extraction of neat samples, chromatographic separation, and LC/MS/MS analysis. The method was fully validated and proved rugged for high-throughput analysis of more than 5000 human plasma samples. Many papers published about this topic describe different methods of sample preparation. Hyotylainen24 has written a recent review. 

The most common (off-line) sample preparation procedures after protein precipitation are solid phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction. Multiple vendors and available chemistries utilize 96-well plates for solid phase extraction systems and liquid-liquid extraction procedures. Both extraction process can prepare samples for HPLC/MS/MS assay. Jemal et al.110 compared liquid-liquid extraction in a 96-well plate to semi-automated solid phase extraction in a 96-well plate for a carboxylic acid containing analyte in a human plasma matrix and reported that both clean-up procedures worked well. Yang et al.111 112 described two validated methods for compounds in plasma using semi-automated 96-well plate solid phase extraction procedures. Zimmer et al.113 compared solid phase extraction and liquid-liquid extraction to a turbulent flow chromatography clean-up for two test compounds in plasma all three clean-up approaches led to HPLC/MS/MS assays that met GLP requirements. 

Sample preparation is rather involved. A sample of urine or fecal matter is obtained and treated with calcium phosphate to precipitate the plutonium from solution. This mixture is then centrifuged, and the solids that separate are dissolved in 8 M nitric acid and heated to convert the plutonium to the +4 oxidation state. This nitric acid solution is passed through an anion exchange column, and the plutonium is eluted from the column with a hydrochloric-hydroiodic acid solution. The solution is evaporated to dryness, and the sample is redissolved in a sodium sulfate solution and electroplated onto a stainless steel planchette. The alpha particles emitted from this electroplated material are measured by the alpha spectroscopy system, and the quantity of radioactive plutonium ingested is calculated. Approximately 2000 samples per year are prepared for alpha spectroscopy analysis. The work is performed in a clean room environment like that described in Workplace Scene 1.2. 

For a liquid or semi-solid pharmaceutical dosage form, it is crucial to include a preservative in the formulation. Commonly used preservatives in these systems include sodium benzoate, EDTA, sorbic acid, and parabens. A generic HPLC method is also recommended for the preservatives used in liquid formulations for routine monitoring to ensure the stability of the preservative itself and it must be validated specific to its use with the dosage form. (See chapters on Sample Preparation and Method Development.)... 

A sample preparation step aimed at isolating and concentrating the analytes from the matrix is often needed prior to HPLC. Solid samples are usually homogenized with a suitable solvent. Water, acid solutions, saline solutions, or buffers are usually used for peptide extraction from food, but hydro-phobic peptides may require mixtures of chloroform or methylene chloride and methanol. 

Sample preparation for HPLC analysis of free amino acids usually involves an extraction step (for solid matrices), followed by purification to remove possible impurities. When the aim of the... 

Usually, samples are presented for analysis as liquids. Thus, solid samples must be dissolved. Analytical or ultra-high-purity grade reagents must be used for dissolution to prevent contamination at trace levels. Certain volatile metals (e.g. cadmium, lead and zinc) may be lost when dry ashing, and volatile chlorides (e.g. arsenic and chromium) lost upon wet digestion. It is particularly easy to lose mercury during sample preparation. Appropriate steps must be taken in the choice of method of dissolution, acids and conditions (e.g. whether to use reflux conditions) to prevent such losses. 

When liquid samples such as serum, plasma, milk, or honey are not to be extracted using direct liquid-liquid partitions with organic solvents but through use of solid-phase extraction or matrix solid-phase dispersion techniques, dilution with water (323, 324), phosphate buffer saline (325), or phosphoric acid (326, 327) is often the only sample preparation procedure applied. Milk analysis sometimes requires further pretreatment for fat removal (328). Centrifugation at about 7000g at 4-10 C for 20 min is the usually applied procedure for making the fat floating on top of milk readily eliminated. 

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