Effects of adsorption to plastics and solvent conditions in the analysis of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR by high performance liquid chromatography

Effects of adsorption to plastics and solvent conditions in the high performance liquid chromatographic analysis of the cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR were investigated. Aqueous microcystin-LR readily adsorbed to the disposable polypropylene pipette tips commonly used in laboratory manipulations. This was not affected by the pH or salinity of the solution. Furthermore, dilutions of microcystin-LR in varying concentrations of methanol and acetonitrile influenced the quantification of the microcystin-LR concentration by high performance liquid chromatography.