Development of a capillary electrophoretic method for the analysis of low‐molecular‐weight amines from metal working fluid aerosols and ambient air

Abstract

A method for the determination of low-molecular-weight amines from indoor and ambient air was developed using a concentration device followed by CE coupled with indirect spectrophotometric and mass spectrometric detection that enables a reliable, rapid-response and easy-to-operate method. In indirect detection method, the selected amines were separated from interfering metal ions and amino alcohols present in the samples with an imidazole-based buffer with ethanol and EDTA as modifier. By replacing imidazole with ammonium, the final buffer was applicable for MS detection for the analytes with m/z higher than 50. A novel monolithic polymer material based on poly(methacrylate-acrylate) copolymer was developed for sampling short-chain amines from the gaseous phase. The selected analysis conditions were applied to quantify the selected short-chain amines with detection limits for the whole procedure determined between 1 and 2 microg/filter when 40 L air was sampled with 1 L/min velocity. Improved linearity and precision were obtained when the raw, time-scaled electropherogram data were transformed into mobility-scale applied for the determination of the performance characteristics of the methods. The applicability of the process of data transformation into the mobility scale was demonstrated by studying the matrix effect of water-miscible metal working fluid (stable water-oil emulsion) and of ambient air as real samples. CE-indirect UV and CE-MS, combined with the possibility of rapid air sampling, can be useful for the estimation of short-term exposure of the selected biogenic amines.

The application of CE‐MS in the trace analysis of environmental pollutants and food contaminants

“…Their residence lifetime in the environment is short due to their highly reactive nature so they are easily oxidised under atmospheric conditions and highly carcinogenic N-nitrosamines can be formed from secondary amines. Fekete et al [21] have developed a method for the determination of these amines with m/z values higher than 50 in indoor and ambient air by CE coupled with indirect UV and MS detection. The overall method was found to be robust, be reliable, have a rapid response and be relatively easy to operate.…”

Recent advances in CE and CEC of pollutants

“…The applications of CE for the analysis of aliphatic and aromatic amines of environmental concern were the subject of several recent studies [37,44,55]. Fekete et al [55] developed a method for the determination of low-molecular weight amines in indoor and ambient air samples, using a concentration device followed by CE coupled to indirect UV and MS detection.…”

“…Fekete et al [55] developed a method for the determination of low-molecular weight amines in indoor and ambient air samples, using a concentration device followed by CE coupled to indirect UV and MS detection. A novel monolithic polymer material was used for the sampling of short-chained amines from the gaseous phase.…”

“…The coupling of MEKC with MS is still in its very early stages. In the past 2 years, new CE/MEKC/CEC-ESI-MS methods have been developed for determining pharmaceuticals [49], pesticides and triazines [50,51], organic acids [52], biodegradation products from sulfonated dyes [53], dialkylphthalates [47], PAHs [54], amines [55], nitrosamines [56], explosives [57,58], and surfactants [59,60].…”

Novos dispositivos de microextração e pré-concentração para eletroforese capilar utilizando membranas microporosas ou processos eletroquímicos e sua potencialidade na análise de aminas e metais

“…A literatura também nos apresenta grande variedade de métodos de determinação de aminas utilizando técnicas envolvendo extrações com membranas entre fases gasosa-líquida, gasosa-gasosa ou líquida-líquida. Nas determinações de aminas por eletroforese capilar registradas na literatura recente [50], empregam-se, principalmente, detecção óptica [51][52][53][54][55][56], mas também CE-UV CE-MS [57], amperométrica [58] e condutométrica com [59] ou sem contato [60,61], esta última utilizada nesta tese.…”