Publications by authors named "Katarina Marakova"

The increasing awareness of environmental issues and the transition to green analytical chemistry (GAC) have gained popularity among academia and industry in recent years. One of the principles of GAC is the reduction and replacement of toxic solvents with more sustainable and environmentally friendly ones. This review gives an overview of the advances in applying green solvents as an alternative to the traditional organic solvents for peptide and protein purification and analysis by liquid chromatography (LC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods.

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Quantification of proteins is still predominantly done by the traditional bottom-up approach. Targeting of intact proteins in complex biological matrices is connected with multiple challenges during the sample pretreatment, separation, and detection step of the analytical workflow. In this work, we focused on the development of an on-line hyphenated capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectrometry method employing off-line microscale solid-phase extraction based on hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) sorbent as a sample pretreatment step for the analysis of low molecular mass intact proteins (<20 kDa) spiked in various biological fluids (human serum, plasma, urine, and saliva).

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Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a 70-amino acid single-chain polypeptide, which has found application in diagnostics as a biomarker of growth hormone disorders and as a therapy for growth failure in children and adolescents. Due to its strong anabolic effects, it is often abused by athletes for doping purposes. Here, we developed an on-line hyphenated method based on capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) detection with electrospray ionization (CZE-electrospray ionization source-MS [CZE-ESI-MS]) for the determination of IGF-1 in pharmaceutical matrices.

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Capillary electrophoresis is recognized as a valued separation technique for its high separation efficiency, low sample consumption, good economic and ecological aspects, reproducibility, and complementarity to traditional liquid chromatography techniques. Capillary electrophoresis experiments are generally performed utilizing optical detection, such as ultraviolet or fluorescence detectors. However, in order to provide structural information, capillary electrophoresis hyphenated to highly sensitive and selective mass spectrometry has been developed to overcome the limitations of optical detections.

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Targeting and quantifying intact proteins from biological samples is still a very challenging research area. Several crucial steps exist in the analytical workflow, including development of a reliable sample preparation method. Here, we developed and applied for the first time a non-immunoaffinity sample preparation method based on a generally widely available micro-elution solid phase extraction (μSPE) strategy for the extraction of multiple lower molecular weight intact proteins (<30 kDa) from various biological matrices.

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Caffeine is a widely consumed psychostimulant with several mechanisms of action and various positive and negative effects on organisms. Caffeine undergoes extensive hepatic metabolism to form main metabolites such as theobromine, theophylline, paraxanthine, and 1,3,7-trimethyluric acid. However, interspecies diversities have been observed in caffeine metabolism.

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The analysis of proteins in biological samples is highly desirable, given their connection to myriad biological functions and disease states, as well as the growing interest in the development of protein-based pharmaceuticals. The introduction and maturation of "soft" ionization methods, such as electrospray ionization and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization, have made mass spectrometry an indispensable tool for the analysis of proteins. Despite the availability of powerful instrumentation, sample preparation and fractionation remain among the most challenging aspects of protein analysis.

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Biogenic amines (BA) are a broad group of biologically active substances, the presence of which in the human body can provide important diagnostic information for many various pathologies, including chronic inflammation. In this work, a capillary electrophoresis (CE) hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of twelve BA (histamine, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, putrescine, cadaverine, spermine, spermidine, tyramine, tryptamine, phenylethylamine) in human urine as potential biomarkers of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The electrophoretic separations were carried out in an uncoated fused silica capillary (I.

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In biological systems, variable protein expression is a crucial marker for numerous diseases, including cancer. The vast majority of liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry-based quantitative protein assays use bottom-up methodologies, where proteins are subjected to proteolytic cleavage prior to analysis. Here, the effect of difluoroacetic acid and biological matrices on the developement of a multiple reaction monitoring based top-down reversed-phase liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method for analysis of cancer-related intact proteins was evaluated.

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Urine represents a convenient biofluid for metabolomic studies due to its noninvasive collection and richness in metabolites. Here, amino acids are valuable biomarkers for their ability to reflect imbalances of different biochemical pathways. An impact of amino acids on pathology, prognosis and therapy of various diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is therefore the subject of current clinical research.

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Azathioprine is the main thiopurine drug used in the treatment of immune-based inflammations of gastrointestinal tract. For the purpose of therapy control and optimization, effective and reliable analytical methods for a rapid drug monitoring in biological fluids are essential. Here, we developed a separation method based on the capillary electrophoresis (CE) hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of azathioprine and its selected metabolites (6-thioguanine, 6-mercaptopurine, and 6-methylmercaptopurine) as well as other co-medicated drugs (mesalazine, prednisone, and allopurinol).

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An advanced two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis method, based on on-line combination of capillary isotachophoresis and capillary zone electrophoresis with cyclodextrin additive in background electrolyte, was developed for effective determination of serotonin in human urine. Hydrodynamically closed separation system and large bore capillaries (300-800 µm) were chosen for the possibility to enhance the sample load capacity, and, by that, to decrease limit of detection. Isotachophoresis served for the sample preseparation, defined elimination of sample matrix constituents (sample clean up), and preconcentration of the analyte.

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Two capillary electrophoresis methods for monitoring renally excreted varenicline, a highly effective drug prescribed for smoking cessation, in human urine were developed and compared. A method combining capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry was proposed for the fast analysis of varenicline (analysis time up to 7 min). Here, mass spectrometry was a prerequisite for achieving high sensitivity and selectivity of the analysis suitable for the quantification of a 15 ng/mL level of varenicline in un-pretreated urine matrices.

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A new multidimensional analytical approach for the ultra-trace determination of target chiral compounds in unpretreated complex real samples was developed in this work. The proposed analytical system provided high orthogonality due to on-line combination of three different methods (separation mechanisms), i.e.

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The advanced two dimensional isotachophoresis (ITP)-capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS, here triple quadrupole, QqQ) was developed in this work to demonstrate analytical potentialities of this approach in the analysis of drugs in multicomponent ionic matrices. Pheniramine (PHM), phenylephrine (PHE), paracetamol (PCM) and their potential metabolic products were taken for the analysis by the ITP-CZE-ESI-QqQ technique working in hydrodynamically closed CE separation system and then a comparison with the conventional (hydrodynamically open) CZE-ESI-QqQ technique was made. The ITP-CZE-ESI-QqQ method was favorable in terms of obtainable selectivity (due to highly effective heart-cut analysis), concentration limits of detection (LOD at pgmL(-1) levels due to enhanced sample load capacity and ITP preconcentration), sample handling (on-line sample pretreatment, i.

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A new highly advanced analytical approach, based on two-dimensional column coupled CE (ITP-CZE) hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS, here triple quadrupole, QqQ) was developed, evaluated and applied in biomedical field in the present work. Capillary isotachophoresis (ITP) coupled on-line with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) used in hydrodynamically closed separation system was favorable for increasing the sample load capacity, increasing the analyte concentration, and removing the deteriorative highly conductive major matrix constituents. These factors considerably reduced the concentration limits of detection (cLOD) and external sample preparation (comparing to single column CZE), and, by that, provided favorable conditions for the mass spectrometry (enhanced signal to noise ratio, reproducibility of measurements, working life of MS).

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This paper deals with an analytical method based on two dimensional capillary electrophoresis (CITP-CZE coupling) with simple UV-detection for the determination of a highly effective drug - varenicline. The method was elaborated with the possibility of its future connection with an advanced detection ending - mass spectrometry. The electrolytes for the CITP (LE = 10 mM NH4Ac + 5 mM HAc + 0,05% m-HEC; TE = 10 mM HAc) and CZE (BGE = 20 mM HAc) separation of varenicline were selected considering such requirements.

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The present work illustrates potentialities of CE hyphenated with MS/MS for the simultaneous determination and identification of a mixture of simultaneously acting drugs in pharmaceutical and biological matrices. Here, the hyphenation was provided by ESI interface, while the MS/MS technique was based on the triple quadrupole configuration. Three drugs, namely pheniramine, phenylephrine, and paracetamol were determined and identified with high reliability due to their characterization in three different dimensions, i.

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An analytical method, based on a column coupling capillary ITP and CZE in a hydrodynamically closed separation mode hyphenated with the detection in the modular arrangement, was developed in this work. Analytical possibilities of this approach are demonstrated on the direct and ultrasensitive quantitative determination of quinine (QUI) in diluted real multicomponent ionic matrices (beverages, urine). The detection cell interface, with the rectangular arrangement of the optical channels inside, connected the separation capillary with the LIF detector via optical fibers in the on-column detection arrangement.

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Separation possibilities of three-dimensional (3D) capillary electrophoresis (CE) were studied in this work. They were demonstrated using phthalic acid as a model analyte and human urine as a complex ionic model matrix. Complexity of the selected problem ordering from several facts, such as (i) analyte present on a trace concentration levels, (ii) analyte present in multicomponent matrix and (iii) analyte migrating in the region of electropherogram in which is naturally present the majority of ionizable organic compounds (i.

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The possibilities of a column coupling two-dimensional capillary electrophoresis (2D CE) combined with fiber-based diode array detection (DAD) for the direct, highly reliable and ultrasensitive quantitative determination of quinine in real multicomponent ionic matrices (human urine) are demonstrated in this work. The capillary isotachophoresis (CITP) stage provided an on-line sample pretreatment (elimination of interfering matrix constituents, preseparation and preconcentration of the analyte) before the capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separation. Due to the large volume (30 µL) sample injection and CITP sample preconcentration, a simple absorbance photometric detection was sufficient for obtaining very low concentration limits of detection (∼8.

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The present study illustrates the possibilities of capillary isotachophoresis (CITP) online coupled with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and hyphenated with fiber-based spectrophotometric diode array detection (DAD) for the direct, highly reliable, and ultrasensitive determination of quinine (QUI) in real multicomponent ionic matrices (beverages). Here, the CITP provided an effective online sample pretreatment (preseparation and preconcentration) prior to the CZE separation. Due to the CITP sample preconcentration, a simple UV-visible absorbance spectrophotometric detection was sufficient for obtaining very low concentration limits of detection (~2.

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An analysis of recent trends indicates that CE can show real advantages over chromatographic methods in ultratrace enantioselective determination of biologically active compounds in complex biological matrices. It is due to high separation efficiency and many applicable in-capillary electromigration effects in CE (countercurrent migration, stacking effects) enhancing significantly (enantio)separability and enabling effective sample preparation (preconcentration, purification, analyte derivatization). Other possible on-line combinations of CE, such as column coupled CE-CE techniques and implementation of nonelectrophoretic techniques (extraction, membrane filtration, flow injection) into CE, offer additional approaches for highly effective sample preparation and separation.

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