Ionic liquids as water-compatible GC stationary phases for the analysis of fragrances and essential oils: Quantitative GC-MS analysis of officially-regulated allergens in perfumes.

Qualitative and quantitative determination of volatile markers in aqueous based fragrances assumes ever-increasing importance, because of both the need for quality control and the safety-regulatory limitations introduced for several compounds. This study reports and critically discusses the results of applying new water-compatible ionic-liquid (IL) GC stationary phases, based on phosphonium and imidazolium derivative cations combined with trifluoromethanesulphonate (Watercol™) to the direct quantitative analysis of aqueous samples in the perfume field with GC-MS. Narrow-bore columns of different lengths, especially prepared for this study, were adopted to minimize the amount of water reaching the MS detector after GC separation. All GC-MS analysis steps were investigated, to achieve results compatible with quality control requirements for the volatiles of interest in this field, in terms of LODs, LOQs, and repeatability. Reliability of the GC-MS results was demonstrated by determining volatile allergens in two commercial perfumes, as per EU regulations concerning no-declaration limits for leave-on (0.001%) and rinse-off (0.01%) cosmetic products.

Methodical evaluation and improvement of matrix compatible PDMS-overcoated coating for direct immersion solid phase microextraction gas chromatography (DI-SPME-GC)-based applications.

The main quest for the implementation of direct SPME to complex matrices has been the development of matrix compatible coatings that provide sufficient sensitivity towards the target analytes. In this context, we present here a thorough evaluation of PDMS-overcoated fibers suitable for simultaneous extraction of different polarities analytes, while maintaining adequate matrix compatibility. For this, eleven analytes were selected, from various application classes (pesticides, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals) and with a wide range of log P values (ranging from 1.43 to 6). The model matrix chosen was commercial Concord grape juice, which is rich in pigments such as anthocyanins, and contains approximately 20% of sugar (w/w). Two types of PDMS, as well as other intrinsic factors associated with the PDMS-overcoated fiber fabrication are studied. The evaluation showed that the PDMS-overcoated fibers considerably slowed down the coating fouling process during direct immersion in complex matrices of high sugar content. Longevity differences could be seen between the two types of PDMS tested, with a proprietary Sylgard(®) giving superior performance because of lesser amount of reactive groups and enhanced hydrophobicity. Conversely, the thickness of the outer layer did not seem to have a significant effect on the fiber lifetime. We also demonstrate that the uniformity of the overcoated PDMS layer is paramount to the achievement of reliable data and extended fiber lifetime. Employing the optimum overcoated fiber, limits of detection (LOD) in the range of 0.2-1.3 ng/g could be achieved. Additional improvement is attainable by introducing washing of the coatings after desorption, so that any carbon build-up (fouling) left on the coating surface after thermal desorption can be removed.

Ionic liquid-based solid phase microextraction necklaces for the environmental monitoring of ketamine.

Wearable solid phase microextraction (SPME) devices consisting in necklaces and pins were developed for the environmental monitoring of ketamine in recreational places using ionic liquid as coating. SPME fibers obtained using both monocationic and dicationic polymeric ionic liquids were characterized in terms of morphology, film thickness, thermal stability and pH resistance. An average thickness of 30±5µm, an excellent thermal stability until 350°C and a very good fiber-to-fiber and batch-to-batch repeatability with RSD lower than 4% were some of the features of the developed coatings. A quantitation limit (LOQ) of 0.05mg/m(3) with a sampling time of 1min proved the feasibility of the developed method for the quantitation of ketamine in air at low concentration levels. Finally, the capabilities of the fibers for the rapid SPME sampling of ketamine in recreational places were proved obtaining extraction efficiencies at least two-fold higher than those obtained using commercial devices and extraction recoveries ranging from 84.2±3.3% to 93.6±2.6% (n=3).

Evaluation of highly polar ionic liquid gas chromatographic column for the determination of the fatty acids in milk fat.

The SLB-IL111, a new ionic liquid capillary column for gas chromatography available from Supelco Inc., was recently shown to provide enhanced separation of unsaturated geometric and positional isomers of fatty acid (FAs) when it was compared to cyanopropylsiloxane (CPS) columns currently recommended for the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). A 200 m SLB-IL111 capillary column, operated under a combined temperature and eluent flow gradient, was successfully used to resolve most of the FAs contained in milk fat in a single 80 min chromatographic separation. The selected chromatographic conditions provided a balanced, simultaneous separation of short-chain (from 4:0), long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and most of the unsaturated FA positional/geometric isomers contained in milk fat. Among the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), these conditions separated t11-18:1 and t10-18:1 FAs, the two most abundant trans fatty acids (t-FA) contained in most dairy products. These t-FAs reportedly have different biological activities. The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers commonly found in dairy products were separated from each other, including t7,c9-18:2 from c9,t11-18:2, which eliminated the need for their complementary silver ion HPLC analysis. The application of the SLB-IL111 column provided a complementary elution profile of FAMEs to those obtained by CPS columns, allowing for a more comprehensive FA analysis of total milk fat. The FAMEs were identified by the use of available reference materials, previously synthesized and characterized reference mixtures, and prior separations of the milk fat FAMEs by silver ion chromatography based on the number/geometry of double bonds.

Separation characteristics of fatty acid methyl esters using SLB-IL111, a new ionic liquid coated capillary gas chromatographic column.

The ionic liquid SLB-IL111 column, available from Supelco Inc., is a novel fused capillary gas chromatography (GC) column capable of providing enhanced separations of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) compared to the highly polar cyanopropyl siloxane columns currently recommended for the separation of cis- and trans isomers of fatty acids (FAs), and marketed as SP-2560 and CP-Sil 88. The SLB-IL111 column was operated isothermal at 168°C, with hydrogen as carrier gas at 1.0 mL/min, and the elution profile was characterized using authentic GC standards and synthetic mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers as test mixtures. The SLB-IL111 column provided an improved separation of cis- and trans-18:1 and cis/trans CLA isomers. This is the first direct GC separation of c9,t11- from t7,c9-CLA, and t15-18:1 from c9-18:1, both of which previously required complimentary techniques for their analysis using cyanopropyl siloxane columns. The SLB-IL111 column also provided partial resolution of t13/t14-18:1, c8- from c6/c7-18:1, and for several t,t-CLA isomer pairs. This column also provided elution profiles of the geometric and positional isomers of the 16:1, 20:1 and 18:3 FAMEs that were complementary to those obtained using the cyanopropyl siloxane columns. However, on the SLB-IL111 column the saturated FAs eluted between the cis- and trans MUFAs unlike cyanopropyl siloxane columns that gave a clear separation of most saturated FAs. These differences in elution pattern can be exploited to obtain a more complete analysis of complex lipid mixtures present in ruminant fats.

In vitro evaluation of new biocompatible coatings for solid-phase microextraction: implications for drug analysis and in vivo sampling applications.

A new line of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coatings suitable for use with liquid chromatography applications was recently developed to address the limitations of the currently available coatings. The proposed coatings were immobilized on the metal fiber core and consisted of a mixture of proprietary biocompatible binder and various types of coated silica (octadecyl, polar embedded and cyano) particles. The aim of this research was to perform in vitro assessment of these new SPME fibers in order to evaluate their suitability for drug analysis and in vivo SPME applications. The main parameters examined were extraction efficiency, solvent resistance, preconditioning, dependence of extraction kinetics on coating thickness, carryover, linear range and inter-fiber reproducibility. The performance of the proposed coatings was compared against commercial Carbowax-TPR (CW-TPR) coating, when applicable. The fibers were evaluated for the extraction of drugs of different classes (carbamazepine, propranolol, pseudoephedrine, ranitidine and diazepam) from plasma and urine. The analyses were performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The results show that the fibers perform very well for the extraction of biological fluids with no sample pre-treatment required and can also be used for in vivo sampling applications of flowing blood. A coating thickness of 45 microm was found to be a good compromise between extraction capacity and extraction kinetics. Due to the high extraction efficiency of these coatings, pre-equilibrium SPME with very short extraction times (2 min) can be employed to increase sample throughput. Inter-fiber reproducibility was < or = 11% R.S.D. (n=10) for model drugs examined in plasma, which is a significant improvement over polypyrrole coatings reported in literature, and permits single fiber use for in vivo applications.