A new ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry analytical strategy for fast analysis and improved characterization of phenolic compounds in apple products.

A new, rapid, selective and sensitive ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to electrospray ionization and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-ESI-Q-ToF-MS) strategy using automatic and simultaneous acquisition of exact mass at high and low collision energy, MS(E), has been developed to obtain polyphenolic profile of apples, apple pomace and apple juice from Asturian cider apples in a single run injection of 22 min. MS(E) spectral data acquisition overcomes chromatographic co-elution problems, performing simultaneous collection of precursor ions as well as other ions produced as a result of their fragmentation, which allows resolving complex spectra from mixtures of precursor ions in an unsupervised way and eases their interpretation. Using this technique, 52 phenolic compounds of five different classes were readily characterized in these apple extracts in both positive and negative ionization modes. The spectral data for phenolic compounds obtained using this acquisition mode are comparable to those obtained by conventional LC-MS/MS as exemplified in this work. Among the 52 phenolic compounds identified in this work, 2 dihydrochalcones and 3 flavonols have been tentatively identified for the first time in apple products. Moreover, 2 flavanols, 4 dihydrochalcones, 9 hydroxycinnamic acids and 4 flavonols had not been previously reported in apple by ToF analysis to our knowledge.

Improvement using chemometrics in ion mobility coupled to mass spectrometry as a tool for mass spectrometry fragmentation studies: flavonoid aglycone cases.

A chemometric method for the treatment of ion mobility coupled to mass spectrometry (IMS/MS) data is proposed as a complementary tool for obtaining experimental evidence for the study of MS fragmentations, which can provide a direct and automatable methodology for characterising ionic series and the hierarchy of all product ions of an MS spectrum. Two MS/MS with ion mobility experiments have been designed: in the first, the intrinsic mobility of each ion is estimated, and in the second experiment, distributions of the ionic intensity of product ions fragmented after IMS separations are recorded. These mobilograms are aligned using the coshift algorithm and mathematically fitted using Classical Least Squares (CLS) to determine the mobility contributions from their precursor ions. Despite some limitations when studying low intensity ions and ions with similar ion mobility, CLS fitting improves the usage of IMS coupled with accurate mass spectrometry as a complementary tool in the study of MS fragmentation mechanisms and more notably, it offers an automatable and efficient alternative to MS3 experiments.

Feasibility study of FT-MIR spectroscopy and PLS-R for the fast determination of anthocyanins in wine.

The feasibility of using Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-MIR) combined with Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS-R) for the determination of 12 anthocyanins (3-O-glucosides of delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin and malvidin, as well as acetic acid esters and p-coumaric acid esters of petunidin, peonidin and malvidin and caffeic acid ester of malvidin) and three sums (sum of non-acylated anthocyanins, sum of acetylated anthocyanins and sum of coumaroylated anthocyanins), in red wines has been tested. Reference values of anthocyanin concentrations by reverse-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detection (HPLC-DAD) were used to calibrate the models. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to these reference values and a differentiation of wine samples by wine type (young wines of 2005, young wines of 2004 and crianza and reserva wines) has been possible. A calibration model using PLS-R was built with 153 samples of Rioja wines and the prediction of the anthocyanin concentrations using this model was evaluated by internal and external validation sample sets. Most of the anthocyanins and their sums have been predicted with a Standard Error of Prediction (SEP) of 15-30% for young wines recently bottled. However, for young wines after one year of being bottled, and for crianza and reserva wines, these errors were unacceptable. The obtained results suggest that the model built for FT-IR instrument calibration is a useful tool for a quick determination of the anthocyanin content of young wines of the current vintage, but a careful robust external validated calibration of the technique is necessary in order to maintain the prediction errors within controlled limits.

Practical guidelines for characterization of O-diglycosyl flavonoid isomers by triple quadrupole MS and their applications for identification of some fruit juices flavonoids.

Fifteen flavonoid O-diglycosides with different interglycosidic linkage isomery and glycosylation position have been studied in order to analyze their fragmentation patterns. Initial separation was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC/DAD) coupled to an electrospray ionization (ESI) interface and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Some useful differences in their MS spectra have been found and discussed. As it has already been reported, [Y*]+/[Y0]+ ratio for flavanones and [Y1]+/[Y0]+ ratio for other flavonoids is specific for each isomeric interglycosidic linkage. In this work it has also been observed that the abundance of these ions is dependent on the position of glycosylation. On the basis of these differences, systematic guidelines for our experimental conditions have been proposed for the differentiation of not only isomeric interglycosidic linkage but also glycosylation position using collision-induced dissociation MS/MS (CID-MS/MS) spectra in positive mode. These results have been successfully applied for the characterization of three diglycosyl flavonoids found in Citrus fruit juices and these conclusions have also been extrapolated for characterizing two triglycosides in the same fruits.

Optimization and validation of a methodology based on solvent extraction and liquid chromatography for the simultaneous determination of several polyphenolic families in fruit juices.

A solvent extraction procedure of freeze-dried aliquots followed by the analysis of phenolic compounds by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with photodiode array detection (DAD) has been developed for the analysis of polyphenolic compounds in fruit juices. This methodology is focussed on the characterization of fruit juices, mainly for quality control purposes. The effects of experimental variables, such as solvent composition and volume and time and temperature on extraction, have been studied. A unique gradient program for the separation of several phenolic classes (hydroquinones, hydroxybenzoic acids, flavan-3-oles, hydroxycinnamic acids, coumarins, flavanones, flavones, dihydrochalcones and flavonols) has been optimized, using standards of 55 commercially available phenolic compounds present in fruits, as well as representative real extracts from fruit juices. All phenolic compounds showed a high repeatability within-day (n=5) and between days (n=3) in peak area (RSD<8%) and excellent stability of their retention times. High precision was also observed in calibration slopes (RSD<8%). Detection limits ranged between 0.005 and 0.03 microg/mL for the different detected polyphenols. Complete recoveries (98-100%) were obtained for the majority of the phenolic structures of all representative phenolic families present in fruits. The method was successfully employed to measure diverse phenolic families in juices from 18 different fruits and consequently could be used for evaluate the quality of fruit juices.

Chemometric characterisation of Basque and French ciders according to their polyphenolic profiles.

Polyphenolic compositions of Basque and French ciders were determined by HPLC-DAD following thiolysis, in order to characterise and differentiate these beverages and then develop a classification system capable of confirming the authenticities of both kinds of cider. A data set consisting of 165 cider samples and 27 measured features was evaluated using multivariate chemometric techniques, such as cluster analysis and principal component analysis, in order to perform a preliminary study of data structure. Supervised pattern recognition techniques such as linear discriminant analysis (LDA), K-nearest neighbours (KNN), soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA), and multilayer feed-forward artificial neural networks (MLF-ANN) attained classification rules for the two categories using the chemical data, which produced satisfactory results. Authentication systems obtained by combining two of these techniques were proposed. We found that SIMCA and LDA or KNN models achieved 100% hit-rates, since LDA and KNN permit the detection of every Basque cider and SIMCA provides a model for Basque cider that excludes all French ciders. Polyphenolic profiles of the ciders provided enough information to be able to develop classification rules for identifying ciders according to their geographical origin (Basque or French regions). Chemical and organoleptic differences between these two types of cider are probably due to the original and distinctive cidermaking technologies used for their elaboration. Using polyphenic profiles, about 80% of French ciders could be distinguished according to their region of origin (Brittany or Normandy). Although their polyphenolic profiles did not provide enough information to achieve an authentication system for Breton and Norman ciders.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content in commercial Spanish fatty foods.

The levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in different fatty foods from a Spanish market. The average concentration of the sum of total PAHs in edible vegetable oils was below 25 ng/g, whereas the sum of heavy PAHs did not surpass 5 ng/g. Olive pomace oils obtained before the summer of 2001 were an exception because they were highly contaminated. The effects of different technological processes, such as bleaching, deodorization, and hydrogenation, on PAH concentration in edible oils have been studied. The PAH profiles, as well as the influence of cooking procedures, of other fatty foods (margarine, mayonnaise, and oils from canned fishes) have been examined.

Solid-phase clean-up in the liquid chromatographic determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for sample clean-up, followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection is reported for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in edible oils. The effects of experimental variables, such as washing and elution solvents, sample solvent and drying time have been studied using C18 cartridges. Recoveries and selectivity using other sorbent materials (C8, C2, CH, PH and NH2) were also examined, with C18 being the best one. The recoveries ranged between 50 and 103% depending on the molecular mass of the PAH. The limits of quantitation were lower than 1 ng/g for most PAHs and good precision was achieved. The method was validated using certified reference materials.

Study of an accelerated solvent extraction procedure for the determination of acaricide residues in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector.

An accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) procedure has been optimized for the determination of synthetic acaricides (amitraz, bromopropylate, cymiazole, coumaphos, T-fluvalinate, and flumethrin) and their residues in honey by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The effects of experimental variables such as solvent composition, temperature, static extraction time, and solvent flush volume on the ASE efficiency have been studied. The acaricides were extracted by hexane-propanol (1/3, vol/vol) at 95 degrees C and 2.000 psi for 8 min. Recovery values of between 53 and 108% were achieved with the different substances, with coefficients of variation between 2 and 13% and limits of detection from 0.01 to 0.2 microg/g.

Study of acaricide stability in honey. Characterization of amitraz degradation products in honey and beeswax.

A study on the possible degradation of amitraz, bromopropylate, coumaphos, chlordimeform, cymiazole, flumethrin, and tau-fluvalinate during the storage of honey was carried out by HPLC. Except amitraz, the other acaricides are stable in this medium for at least 9 months. Degradation studies of amitraz in honey and beeswax were carried out; the degradation products detected in both matrices were 2,4-dimethylphenylformamide (DMF) and N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N'-methylformamidine (DPMF). The reaction rate constants and the half-lives of the amitraz degradation in honey and wax were calculated. Amitraz was nearly completely degraded within 1 day in beeswax and within 10 days in honey. When amitraz-spiked combs are recycled into new beeswax, DMF was found to be the principal degradation product left in pure wax.

Study of semi-automated solid-phase extraction for the determination of acaricide residues in honey by liquid chromatography.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method followed by a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure is reported for the assay of a wide polarity range acaricide residues in honey. After selection of suitable chromatographic and detection conditions, most steps of the SPE procedure that may affect to the recovery were investigated. Honey sample was buffered at pH 6 and then applied to the preconditioned C18 sorbent. A washing step was performed with 1 ml of a mixture of tetrahydrofuran (THF)-phosphate buffer (10:90, v/v) and finally, the analytes were eluted with 1 ml of THF. The extract was evaporated to dryness, reconstituted in mobile phase and chromatographed on a reversed-phase C18 column with diode array detection. The recoveries of the more polar acaricides were higher than 80% and 60-70% for the more apolar ones. Limits of detection obtained ranged from 1 to 200 ng/g.

Determination of polyphenolic profiles of Basque cider apple varieties using accelerated solvent extraction.

Polyphenols in the peel and pulp of 15 Basque cider apple varieties were determined by accelerated solvent extraction followed by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. It was observed that the polyphenolic composition in apple peel depended on varieties, whereas the main classes of phenolic compounds in apple pulp were flavan-3-ols and hydroxycinnamic acids in all cases, representing both together between 86 and 95% of total polyphenols assayed.

Matrix solid-phase dispersion technique for the determination of a new antiallergic drug, bilastine, in rat faeces.

A matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) procedure for the isolation and HPLC determination of a new antiallergic agent, bilastine, in rat faeces is presented. The effect on recovery of empirical variables such as nature, pH and volume of the washing and elution liquids and nature of the adsorbent has been tested. The best recoveries were attained using an octadecylsilyl sorbent, 10 ml of a 0.1 M NaHCO3-Na2CO3 aqueous buffer of pH 10.0 as washing solvent and 10 ml of methanol as elution solvent. The extracts were evaporated to dryness and reconstituted in mobile phase before their injection into a HPLC system, equipped with a Discovery RP-amide C16 column and a fluorescence detector. The method allows one to reach recoveries of 95.0% within the concentration range 0.05-10 microg/g, with within-day repeatabilities of less than 5% and between-day repeatabilities of less than 9% within this range. This method has been successfully applied to the excretion studies of bilastine in the rat.

Pressurized liquid extraction for the determination of polyphenols in apple.

Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) has been optimized for the determination of polyphenols in Golden Delicious apple peel and pulp. The effects of experimental variables, such as solvent composition, temperature, static extraction time and pressure, on PLE efficiency have been studied. Once the optimum conditions were established the recovery and the precision of the method for each analyte was tested by means of repeated analysis.

Study of the degradation products of bromopropylate, chlordimeform, coumaphos, cymiazole, flumethrin and tau-fluvalinate in aqueous media.

Degradation processes of bromopropylate, coumaphos, chlordimeform, cymiazole, flumethrin and fluvalinate in aqueous media have been studied by HPLC. Cymiazole is stable at any tested pH (1-11), while bromopropylate, flumethrin and coumaphos are unstable at basic pH and chlordimeform and fluvalinate in neutral and basic media. The main degradation products have been identified by GC-MS. The reaction rate constants and half-lives were calculated and the effect of co-solvents on the rate and product profile was studied.

Study of the solid-phase extraction of diclofenac sodium, indomethacin and phenylbutazone for their analysis in human urine by liquid chromatography.

A selective semi-automated solid-phase extraction (SPE) of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs diclofenac sodium, indomethacin and phenylbutazone from urine prior to high-performance liquid chromatography was investigated. The drugs were recovered from urine buffered at pH 5.0 using C18 Bond-Elut cartridges as solid sorbent material and mixtures of methanol-aqueous buffer or acetonitrile-aqueous buffer as washing and elution solvents. The extracts were chromatographed on a reversed-phase ODS column using 10 mM acetate buffer (pH 4.0)-acetonitrile (58:42, v/v) as the mobile phase, and the effluent from the column was monitored at 210 nm with ultraviolet detection. Absolute recoveries of the anti-inflammatory drugs within the range 0.02-1.0 microg/ml were about 85% for diclofenac and indomethacin, and 50% for phenylbutazone without any interference from endogenous compounds of the urine. The within-day and between-day repeatabilities were in all cases less than 5% and 10%, respectively. Limits of detection were 0.007 microg/ml for diclofenac sodium and indomethacin and 0.035 microg/ml for phenylbutazone, whereas limits of quantitation were 0.02 microg/ml for diclofenac and indomethacin and 0.1 microg/ml for phenylbutazone.

Semi-automated solid-phase extraction procedure for the high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of alinastine in biological fluids.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for sample clean-up followed by a reversed-phase HPLC procedure for the assay of alinastina (pINN) in biological fluids is reported. The effects of the sample pH, composition of the washing and elution solvents and the nature of the SPE cartridge on recovery were evaluated. The selectivity of SPE was examined using spiked rat urine and plasma samples and the CH and PH cartridges gave rise to the cleanest extracts. The recoveries obtained in spiked rat urine and plasma samples were 91.2+/-2.7 and 99.9+/-2.8%, respectively. The proposed SPE method coupled off-line with a reserved-phase HPLC system with fluorimetric detection was applied to the quantitation of alinastine in real rat urine samples. The analytical method was also applied and validated for the determination of alinastine in dog plasma. The recovery from spiked dog plasma samples using the PH cartridge was around 65%. The within-day and between-day precisions were 7 and 12%, respectively. The detection and quantitation limits in dog plasma were 0.024 and 0.078 microg/ml, respectively.

Kinetics and mechanism of amitraz hydrolysis in aqueous media by HPLC and GC-MS.

Degradation processes of amitraz in aqueous media have been studied by spectrophotometry, HPLC and GC-MS. Amitraz undergoes hydrolysis reactions at any pH, but towards the acidic pH range hydrolysis proceeds at a faster rate. Depending on the pH value, different products of the hydrolysis have been identified. The main degradation products are 2,4-dimethylaniline at very acidic pH values (pH<3), N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N'-methylformamidine and 2,4-dimethylphenylformamide at less acidic media (pH 3-6) and 2,4-dimethylphenylformamide at basic pH. The mechanisms of the different hydrolysis processes have been elucidated.

Solid-phase extraction with liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection for the assay of antidepressant drugs in human plasma.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for sample clean-up followed by a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure for the assay of five antidepressant drugs (trazodone, doxepin, desipramine, maprotiline and imipramine) is reported. The drugs were recovered from plasma buffered at a suitable pH using C18 Bond-Elut cartridges and mixtures of methanol-aqueous buffer as washing and elution solvents. The recoveries of the drugs using other sorbent materials (C8, C2, cyclohexyl, cyanopropyl and phenyl Bond Elut and copolymer HLB waters cartridges) were also examined. The selectivity of SPE was examined by using spiked plasma samples and the CH cartridge gave rise to the cleanest extracts. Cyclohexyl cartridges were conditioned successively with 2 ml of methanol and 1 ml of acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer (0.1 M, pH 4.0). Plasma sample was buffered at pH 4.0 and then applied to the sorbent. The washing step was performed subsequently with 1.5 ml of acetate buffer (0.1 M, pH 4.0), 100 microl of acetonitrile and 1 ml of methanol-acetate buffer (30:70, v/v). Finally, the analytes were eluted with 0.5 ml of methanol-acetate buffer (70:30, v/v). The extract was evaporated to dryness, reconstituted in mobile phase, and chromatographed on a reversed-phase C18 column with ultraviolet detection at 215 nm. The recoveries of trazodone, doxepin, desipramine, maprotiline and imipramine from spiked plasma samples using the CH cartridge were 58 2, 84 3, 83 3, 83 3 and 82 2%, respectively. The within-day and between-day repeatabilities were lower than 6% and 9%, respectively. The linearity of calibrations for the five antidepressants was between 0.005 and 2 microg/ml. The limits of detection were 1 ng/ml for trazodone, doxepin and desipramine and 2 ng/ml for maprotiline and imipramine.

Analysis of oxazepam in urine using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection by post-column derivatization.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for oxazepam in human urine samples has been developed. The sample preparation consists of an enzymatic hydrolysis with beta-glucuronidase, followed by a solid-phase extraction process using Bond-Elut C2 cartridges. The mobile phase used was a methanol-water (60:40, v/v) mixture at a flow-rate of 0.50 ml/min. The column was a 3.5 cm x 4.6 mm I.D. C18 reversed-phase column. The detection system was based on a fluorescence post-column derivatization of oxazepam in mixtures of methanol and acetic acid. A linear range from 0.01 to 1 micrograms/ml of urine and a limit of detection of 4 ng/ml of urine were attained. Within-day recoveries and reproducibilities from urine samples spiked with 0.2 and 0.02 microgram/ml oxazepam were 97.9 and 95.0 and 2.1 and 9.4%, respectively.