title: Inkjet application, chromatography, and mass spectrometry of sugars on nanostructured thin films.
abstract: Ultrathin-layer chromatography (UTLC) potentially offers faster analysis, reduced solvent and sample volumes, and lower costs. One novel technique for producing UTLC plates has been glancing angle deposition (GLAD), a physical vapor deposition technique capable of aligning macropores to produce interesting separation properties. To date, however, GLAD-UTLC plates have been restricted to model dye systems, rather than realistic analytes. This study demonstrates the transfer of high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) sugar analysis methods to GLAD-UTLC plates using the office chromatography framework. A consumer inkjet printer was used to apply very sharp low volume (3-30 nL) bands of water-soluble analytes (lactose, sucrose, and fructose). Analytic performance measurements extrapolated the limits of detection to be 3-5 ng/zone, which was experimentally proven down to 60-70 ng/band, depending on the sugar. This qualitative analysis of sugars in a commercially available chocolate sample is the first reported application of GLAD-UTLC to food samples. The potential utility of GLAD-UTLC is further exemplified by successful coupling with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the first time to characterize underivatized sugars.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Chemistry, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 28, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kirchert
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Taschuk
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Jim
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Brett
authors.forename: Gertrud E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Morlock
mesh_terms: D002099:Cacao / Q000737:chemistry*; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer / Q000379:methods*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005632:Fructose / Q000032:analysis*; D007281:Ink; D007785:Lactose / Q000032:analysis*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D011327:Printing; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013395:Sucrose / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005632:Fructose; D013395:Sucrose; D007785:Lactose