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Coupling of capillary zone electrophoresis to mass spectrometry (MS and MS/MS) via a nanoelectrospray interface for the characterisation of some β‐agonists
Author(s) -
Guček Marjan,
Vreeken Rob J.,
Verheij Elwin R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0231(19990415)13:7<612::aid-rcm531>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - chemistry , chromatography , capillary electrophoresis , mass spectrometry , electrospray , analyte , capillary electrophoresis–mass spectrometry , analytical chemistry (journal) , ammonium acetate , capillary action , detection limit , electrokinetic phenomena , capillary electrochromatography , linearity , electrospray mass spectrometry , electrospray ionization , high performance liquid chromatography , materials science , physics , quantum mechanics , composite material
Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) via a nanoelectrospray interface (nESI), using conductively coated tips (8 µm orifice) butted to the end of a fused‐silica capillary. The CZE/nESI‐MS system was carefully optimised to achieve a stable operation of the arrangement in order to run also MS/MS experiments. Mixtures of β‐agonists were successfully separated using 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate in 80% MeOH as a buffer. The limit of detection was 500 attomole of a substance injected. The system was also investigated from the point of view of quantification of the substances. Careful measures were taken to avoid any systematic errors (evaporative loss during the electrokinetic injection and reduction of migration times due to the electrospray pull during the CE run). The data show that the response of a mass spectrometric detector in the low‐femtomole range not only depends on the concentration of the analyte but also on the properties of the nanoelectrospray process itself, that is why the linearity of the response can be compromised. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.