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An interface for online coupling capillary electrophoresis to dielectric barrier discharge ionization mass spectrometry

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Abstract

The online combination of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with mass spectrometry (MS) has long been desired for the capability of direct and simultaneous separation and detection with high efficiency, accuracy, and throughput. In this work, a novel CE-MS interface was developed, using dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI). The interface employed a spray tip with a coaxial three-layer structure, into which the CE sample solution, the sheath liquid, and the nebulizing gas were introduced. The spray tip was put between the DBDI outlet and the MS inlet, thus the CE sample solution could be blended with the sheath liquid, then nebulized. The nebulized sample could be ionized by DBDI, and finally analyzed by MS. The key parameters of the interface were optimized. Then, proof-of-concept experiments separating and detecting the mixture of metronidazole and acetaminophen solutions were conducted. The results showed high separation efficiency, low time consumption, high reproducibility, and convenience in operation. In addition, the interface exhibited a high tolerance of non-volatile salts and surfactants, which would be widely used in CE analyses. All of these results demonstrated that the newly developed CE-DBDI-MS interface could be successfully used in CE-MS studies, and could be further utilized in multiple areas involving efficient separation and detection.

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Acknowledgment

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21275012 and 21527809). The authors thank Agilent Technologies for providing the mass spectrometer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Yiding Zhang, Wanpeng Ai, Yu Bai, Yinglin Zhou, Xinxiang Zhang & Huwei Liu

  2. The Research Institute of Advanced Technologies, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhèjiāng, 315211, China

    Luhong Wen

Authors
  1. Yiding Zhang
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  2. Wanpeng Ai
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  3. Yu Bai
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  4. Yinglin Zhou
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  5. Luhong Wen
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  6. Xinxiang Zhang
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  7. Huwei Liu
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Correspondence to Yu Bai or Huwei Liu.

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Published in the topical collection Fundamental Aspects of Electromigrative Separation Techniques with guest editors Carolin Huhn and Pablo A. Kler.

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Zhang, Y., Ai, W., Bai, Y. et al. An interface for online coupling capillary electrophoresis to dielectric barrier discharge ionization mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 8655–8661 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9822-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9822-3

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