Pressurized nano-liquid–junction interface for coupling capillary electrochromatography and nano-liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry

• A new nano-liquid–junction interface was studied for CEC and nano-LC-MS coupling.
• The interface was easily connected to the capillary column and to the tip.
• Organophosphorus pesticides or acidic drug compounds were separated.
• Comparable efficiencies obtained with previously used interfaces were obtained.

A new nano-liquid–junction interface for coupling both capillary electrochromatography (CEC) or nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) with mass spectrometry (MS) was studied. The interface was a small T piece of polymeric material where capillary column and tip capillary were positioned at 180° while the third exit (at 90°) was occupied by a capillary delivering a liquid-assisting spray ionization for CEC experiments or by the electrode for the high voltage spray for nano-LC. Experiments were carried out analyzing mixtures of some organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) or anti-inflammatory and related acidic drugs with MS detection in positive or negative ion mode, respectively. Analyzed OPPs compounds were baseline resolved utilizing the novel interface in both nano-LC and CEC obtaining good sensitivity and repeatability. For CEC-MS, the limits of detection ranged between 0.03 and 6.80 μg/mL and the intra-day repeatability was RSD <3.8% and <13% for the retention times and peak areas, respectively. The interface was easy to handle and good reproducibility, between 2.5 and 3.5% for the retention time and <10% for the efficiencies, was obtained when the interface was installed by two different analysts. Furthermore, it could be used for both CEC and nano-LC.