title: Practical aspects of suppressed ion chromatography for cations in human serum.
abstract: In spite of the good accuracy and precision of ion chromatographic methods for the determination of mono- and divalent cations in human serum, the major drawback with these methods were problems with the membrane suppressor's performance. Here, we describe experiments undertaken to solve these problems. We address in particular the use of histidine-sulfuric acid eluents, sample purification with OnGuard-A cartridges and chromatographic "front-cut" for divalent cations. The latter two adaptations, resulting in removal of the anionic species from the sample, were successful in solving the observed suppressor problems. The eluent substitution, moreover, allowed us to switch from the chemical to the electric suppression mode. We believe that these adaptations will allow secure and robust determination of cations in human serum samples with ion chromatography.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorium voor Analytische Chemie, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Van Nuwenborg
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stöckl
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Thienpont
mesh_terms: D002412:Cations / Q000097:blood*; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006639:Histidine; D006801:Humans; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D015091:beta-Alanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D015091:beta-Alanine; D006639:Histidine; C011757:2,3-diaminopropionic acid; C033158:sulfuric acid; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid