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The Benefits of Ultra-High-Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in Determination of Lipophilic Vitamins in Dietary Supplements

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Abstract

Nine tocopherol derivatives including four tocopherols, four tocotrienols, and one esterified form of α-tocopherol acetate were analyzed using ultra-high-performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) with diode array detection. The separation was carried out on BEH 2-EP column using shallow gradient elution of 1–4% methanol and CO2 in 5 min. Complementary ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed using Ascentis Express F5 core–shell stationary phase and isocratic elution with 75% acetonitrile/methanol (1:1) and 25% water. This separation took 12 min that is the shortest liquid chromatography run in analysis of all tocopherol derivatives reported so far. However, our UHPSFC method resulted in more than two times faster analysis, and allowed direct injection of heptane solutions and extracts from liquid–liquid extraction. These features made UHPSFC a method of choice for subsequent analysis of dietary supplements containing different forms of vitamin E. Sample preparation methods were optimized for individual dosage forms of drops, capsules, tablets, and granulate.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Grant project SVV no. 260412/2018 and the project EFSA-CDN (no. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000841) co-funded by ERDF.

Funding

Kateřina Plachká acknowledges funding of the Grant project SVV no. 260412/2017. Lucie Nováková and František Švec acknowledge the funding of the project EFSA-CDN (no. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000841) co-funded by ERDF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Charles University, Heyrovského 1203, 500 05, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

    Lucie Nováková, Kateřina Plachká & František Švec

  2. Biskupské gymnázium, U Klafárku 1685/3, 59101, Žďár nad Sázavou, Czech Republic

    Magdaléna Sejkorová & Kateřina Smolková

Authors
  1. Lucie Nováková
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  2. Magdaléna Sejkorová
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  3. Kateřina Smolková
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  4. Kateřina Plachká
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  5. František Švec
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Correspondence to Lucie Nováková.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Published in the topical collection Rising Stars in Separation Science, as part of Chromatographia’s 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue.

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Nováková, L., Sejkorová, M., Smolková, K. et al. The Benefits of Ultra-High-Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in Determination of Lipophilic Vitamins in Dietary Supplements. Chromatographia 82, 477–487 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-018-3666-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-018-3666-2

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