title: Thin layer chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for direct analysis of raw samples.
abstract: Conventional mass spectrometric analysis of raw samples commonly requires sample pretreatment and chromatographic separation using high performance liquid chromatography or gas chromatography, which could be time-consuming and laborious. In this study, thin layer chromatography (TLC) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was developed for direct analysis of raw samples. The sorbent material of the TLC plate was found to be able to retain the interfering compounds and allow interested analytes to be extracted, ionized and detected by ESI-MS with much reduced matrix interference. Our results showed that this method could be effectively applied in direct analysis of samples containing common interfering compounds, e.g., salts and detergents, and rapid detection and quantitation of target analytes in raw samples. Offline and online separation and detection of different components in mixture samples, e.g., plant extracts, using TLC-ESI-MS were also demonstrated. Overall, this study revealed that TLC-ESI-MS could be a simple, rapid and efficient method for analysis of raw samples.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chirosciences, Food Safety and Technology Research Centre and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen Research Institute of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518057, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Department of Chinese Medicines Analysis, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
authors.forename: Gui-zhong
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chirosciences, Food Safety and Technology Research Centre and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen Research Institute of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518057, China. Electronic address: bckin@polyu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Pui-Kin
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: So
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chirosciences, Food Safety and Technology Research Centre and Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; State Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine and Molecular Pharmacology (Incubation), Shenzhen Research Institute of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen 518057, China. Electronic address: zhongping.yao@polyu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Zhong-Ping
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Direct analysis; Electrospray ionization; Mass spectrometry; Matrix interference; Thin layer chromatography