Strategy for developing and optimizing liquid chromatography methods in pharmaceutical development using computer-assisted screening and Plackett-Burman experimental design

We describe a three-step method development/optimization strategy for HPLC assay/impurity methods for pharmaceuticals, which include multiple-column/mobile phase screening using a system equipped with a column-switching device, further optimization of separation by using multiple organic modifiers in the mobile phase, and multiple-factor method optimization using Plackett-Burman experimental designs. In the first two steps, commercially available chromatography optimization software, DryLab, was used to perform computer simulations. This allows the method developer to evaluate each condition (one column/mobile phase combination) with retention data from two scouting gradient runs. This approach significantly reduces the number of runs in method development. After a satisfactory separation was obtained, we used a method optimization step with Plackett-Burman experimental designs. The purpose of the 16-injection set experiments was to evaluate nine method factors with regard to method precision, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The results provided logical justifications in selecting method parameters such as column temperature, detection wavelength, injection volume, and sample solvent, etc. In data analysis, instead of the traditional mathematical manipulations, we used the graphical methods to examine and present data by creating the so-called main effect plots. Because replicates of design points were not run, the data did not allow the testing of statistical significance. However, it provided visual presentations in a way that is easy to understand for the method developer and end user alike.     

反相高效液相三元流动相台阶梯度分离条件的快速优化方法

 根据溶质在柱内的迁移规律 ,建立了一种利用线性梯度实验快速获得溶质保留值方程系数 ,然后以串行响应函数为优化指标进行多台阶梯度分离条件优化的方法。与利用等度实验获得保留值方程的方法相比 ,该法可以大大缩短优化时间。通过该方法对芳香胺和衍生化氨基酸样品进行了分离 ,获得了满意的分离度 ,表明该方法的预测精度很好。     

Simultaneous analysis of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide: an improved HPLC method with the aid of a chemometric protocol

Experimental design method was used for HPLC determination of irbesartan and hydrochlorothiazide in combined dosage forms. The traditional approach for optimization of experiments is time-consuming, involves a large number of runs and does not allow establishing the multiple interacting parameters. The main advantages of the experimental design method include the simultaneous screening of a larger number of factors affecting response and the estimation of possible interactions. On the basis of preliminary experiments, three factors-independent variables were selected as inputs (methanol content, pH of the mobile phase and temperature) and as dependent variables, five responses (resolution, symmetry of irbesartan peak, symmetry of hydrochlorothiazide peak, retention factor of irbesartan and retention factor of hydrochlorothiazide) were chosen. A full 23 factorial design, where factors were examined at two different levels ("low" and "high") was used to determine which factors had an effect on the studied response. Afterwards, experimental design was used to optimize these influent parameters in the previously selected experimental domain. The novelty of our method lies in the optimization step accomplished by Derringer's desirability function. After optimizing the experimental conditions a separation was conducted on a Supelcosil C(18) (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 mm particle size) column with a mobile phase consisting of methanol-tetrahydrofuran-acetate buffer 47:10:43 v/v/v, pH 6.5 and a column temperature of 25 °C. The developed method was successfully applied to the simultaneous separation of these drug-active compounds in their commercial pharmaceutical dosage forms.     

Determination of sulfonamides and trimethoprim using high temperature HPLC with simultaneous temperature and solvent gradient

A fast HPLC method for the analysis of eight selected sulfonamides (SA) and trimethoprim has been developed with the use of high temperature HPLC. The separation could be achieved in less than 1.5 min on a 50 mm sub 2 microm column with simultaneous solvent and temperature gradient programming. Due to the lower viscosity of the mobile phase and the increased mass transfer at higher temperatures, the separation could be performed on a conventional HPLC system obtaining peak widths at half height between 0.6 and 1.3 s.     

Retention modeling and simultaneous optimization of pH value and gradient steepness in RP‐HPLC using feed‐forward neural networks

A novel approach is proposed for the simultaneous optimization of mobile phase pH and gradient steepness in RP‐HPLC using artificial neural networks. By presetting the initial and final concentration of the organic solvent, a limited number of experiments with different gradient time and pH value of mobile phase are arranged in the two‐dimensional space of mobile phase parameters. The retention behavior of each solute is modeled using an individual artificial neural network. An “early stopping” strategy is adopted to ensure the predicting capability of neural networks. The trained neural networks can be used to predict the retention time of solutes under arbitrary mobile phase conditions in the optimization region. Finally, the optimal separation conditions can be found according to a global resolution function. The effectiveness of this method is validated by optimization of separation conditions for amino acids derivatised by a new fluorescent reagent.     

熊果酸与齐墩果酸高效液相色谱分离条件优化

描述了熊果酸、齐墩果酸色谱保留行为与流动相pH和有机溶剂体积分数之间的函数关系,并求解了各自模型中的9个参数,得到在流动相中熊果酸的电离常数pKa=4.8145,齐墩果酸电离常数pKa=4.9317。文章还对模型外推过程中存在的误差进行了校正,并运用校正后的模型预测熊果酸的容量因子,实验值接近预测值,误差小于5%。最后采用熊果酸和齐墩果酸的容量因子与流动相pH和有机溶剂组成之间的函数关系,进行了两者在同一流动相中分离条件的优化,获得了最佳的分离条件:流动相中甲醇体积分数为85.2%,pH为6.50。     

Separation of theophylline, caffeine and related drugs by normal-phase capillary electrochromatography.

A capillary electrochromatography (CEC) method has been developed for the separation of theophylline, caffeine and five related drugs on a normal-phase column with UV or photodiode array detection. Several binary, ternary and quaternary mobile phase compositions are evaluated for optimal resolution and elution of these drug analytes. The importance of selecting suitable organic solvents, buffer electrolyte, pH and applied voltage is demonstrated by a systematic study. Excellent separation is achieved for the eight drugs using a ternary mobile phase composition of isopropanol/hexane/1 mM Tris (52:40:8, pH 8), with an efficiency of 63000 theoretical plates per meter at room temperature. Detection limits are typically at the low microg/mL level. The developed method is simple to use and it gives acceptable day-to-day reproducibility.     

From Csaba Horváth to Quality by Design: Visualizing Design Space in Selectivity Exploration of HPLC Separations

The present paper starts by taking a look back at some of the pioneering work in high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) that went on in Csaba Horváth’s laboratory in 1970s, through the eyes of I. Molnár. It then goes on to describe a very modern approach to HPLC method development within the Quality by Design framework: the multifactorial optimization of three critical HPLC method parameters, i.e. gradient time (t _G), temperature (T), and ternary composition (B₁:B₂) based on 12 experiments. The effect of these experimental variables on critical resolution and selectivity was carried out in such a way as to systematically vary all three factors simultaneously.     

A chemometric investigation of the selectivity of multisolvent mobile phase systems in RP-HPLC

Summary The selectivity of multisolvent mobile phase systems consisting of water, methanol, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran was studied when the solvent strength decreases at a constant ratio of the modifiers. From the retention measurements of six benzene derivatives on an octylsilica column at eleven different mobile phase compositions the relation between the logarithm of the capacity factor of each solute and the mobile phase composition was modeled by a quadratic equation. From the models the capacity factors of the solutes were predicted for 3 binary, 3 ternary and 7 quaternary mobile phase systems when the fraction of water decreases and the ratio of the organic modifiers is kept constant for the tenary and quaternary solvent systems. The selectivity factors, alpha, of five pairs of solutes were calculated from the capacity factors and plotted against the solvent strength of the mobile phase systems. The selectivity remained not constant, but varied with the solvent strength: if the water fraction of a multi-solvent system is changed at a constant ratio of the modifiers, not only the solvent strength, but also the selectivity changes. The consequence of this result for optimization strategies is discussed.     

Optimization by isochronal analysis. II. Changes in mobile phase velocity and temperature, and in mobile phase composition and temperature

The theory of resolution optimization by isochronal analysis is further extended to the cases involving simultaneous changes in mobile phase velocity and column temperature, and in mobile phase composition and temperature. In each case, the resolution equation, when written in terms of isochronal conditions, shows that improvements can be obtained without sacrificing analysis time. Several subcases, which relate to the dependence of the selectivity factors on the changed parameters, are described. For each system, the contributions of the various parameters to the resolution are examined. The results of these discussions are plotted as resolution surfaces, on which lines of constant analysis time are indicated. The experimental routes that chromatographers must take in order to apply isochronal analysis are described.     

Liquid–liquid phase equilibrium of methanol + ethylbenzene + isooctane + ethanol system at 303 K

The phase equilibrium data for methanol + ethanol + isooctane systems were obtained at 303.15 K. Data for methanol + ethylbenzene + isooctane system were taken from literature. The effect of ethanol addition on the system equilibrium was investigated at the same temperature. The distribution curves for ternary and quaternary system was analyzed. The experimental results for ternary systems were correlated with UNIQUAC and NRTL equations. For the ternary systems studied here, the NRTL equation is more accurate than the UNIQUAC. The equilibrium data for the three ternary systems were used to determine interactions parameters for the UNIQUAC equation. For the quaternary system, the experimental data can be fitted more accurately to UNIQUAC equation than by the UNIFAC method.     

Gradient elution in normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic systems

Gradient elution is widely used for separation of complex samples in reversed-phase HPLC systems, but is less frequently applied in normal-phase HPLC, where it has a notoriously bad reputation for poor reproducibility and unpredictable retention. This behaviour is caused by preferential adsorption of polar solvents used in mixed mobile phases, which may cause significant deviations of the actual gradient profile from the pre-set program. Another important source of irreproducible retention behaviour is gradual deactivation of the adsorbent by adsorption of even traces of water during normal-phase gradient elution. To avoid this phenomenon, carefully dried solvents should be used. Finally, column temperature should be carefully controlled during normal-phase gradient elution if reproducible results are to be obtained. Working with dry solvents at a controlled constant temperature and using a sophisticated gradient-elution chromatograph, reproducibility of the retention data in normal-phase gradient elution better than 2% may be achieved even over several months of column use. The retention data in gradient elution can be calculated accurately if appropriate corrections are adopted for the gradient dwell volume and for the preferential adsorption of the polar solvents using experimental adsorption isotherms. The average error of prediction for the corrected calculated gradient retention data was lower than 2% for a silica gel column and lower than 3% for a bonded nitrile column, which may be suitable for the optimization of separation. Further, a simple approach is suggested for rapid estimation of changes in the retention induced by a change in the gradient profile in normal-phase HPLC. For such a rough estimation, it is not necessary to know the parameters of the dependence of the solute retention factors on the composition of the mobile phase.     

Analysis of mixtures containing free fatty acids and mono-, di- and triglycerides by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light-scattering detection

Commercial monostearates of glycerol, generally used as antistatic agents for thermoplastic polymers, consist of a complex mixture of mono-, di- and trisubstituted glycerides and the corresponding fatty acids. Thus far, the glycerides and the fatty acids have been analyzed separately by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In fact, the simultaneous analysis of glycerides and fatty acids requires esterification of the acids in order to avoid overlapping of the chromatographic peaks. This paper describes an HPLC method which allows the direct separation and identification, simultaneously and in a single run, of the variously substituted glycerides, and also the corresponding saturated fatty acids that are found as by-products in commercial glycerol monostearates. The procedure is based on the use of a ternary gradient HPLC instrument equipped with an evaporative light-scattering detector; the stationary phase was a reversed-phase RP-8 end-capped (Merck) column; the mobile phase was two consecutive binary gradients consisting of acetonitile-water plus acetic acid (0.1%, v/v) and acetonitrile-methylene chloride. The method is fast and shows high sensitivity and selectivity, being able to separate also the positional isomers of mono- and digycerides in addition to the mixed di- and triglycerides.     

Control of column influence on the wide range pH gradient in ion-exchange chromatography

Summary A method for optimization of the mobile phase composition in ion exchange chromatography with a wide range external pH gradient (approx. over 5 pH units) has been formulated. It is shown that programming of various wide range pH profiles which are not impaired by buffer interactions of the mobile phase with sorbent is possible. Utilization of the wide range external pH gradient in cation-exchange chromatography of bovine haemoglobin is also demonstrated.     

Separation mechanism exploration on metal-MBTAE-salicylic acid mixed ligand complexes by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

The separation and determination of platinum metal and co-existing metal complexes by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with 2-(6-methyl-2-benzothiazolylazo)-5-diethylamino phenol (MBTAE) as a precolumn derivatizing reagent is presented. The separation mechanism of these complexes was investigated by combining spectrophotometry with HPLC while salicylic acid was contained in the mobile phase. The results show that most platinum metal ions, Co(II) and Cu(II) can form ternary mixed ligand complexes with MBTAE and salicylic acid. The relationship of the retention behavior of complexes and the surface tension of the mobile phase (gamma), the column temperature (T), and the composition and space configuration of complexes was also investigated. Some possible configurations of complexes are also proposed. These may all be illustrated well from the viewpoint of solvophobic theory. These method allowed the prediction of the composition and structure of metal complexes by utilizing HPLC.     

Aspects of the “Design Space” in high pressure liquid chromatography method development

The present paper describes a multifactorial optimization of 4 critical HPLC method parameters, i.e. gradient time (t_G), temperature (T), pH and ternary composition (B₁:B₂) based on 36 experiments. The effect of these experimental variables on critical resolution and selectivity was carried out in such a way as to systematically vary all four factors simultaneously. The basic element is a gradient time–temperature (t_G–T) plane, which is repeated at three different pH's of the eluent A and at three different ternary compositions of eluent B between methanol and acetonitrile. The so-defined volume enables the investigation of the critical resolution for a part of the Design Space of a given sample. Further improvement of the analysis time, with conservation of the previously optimized selectivity, was possible by reducing the gradient time and increasing the flow rate. Multidimensional robust regions were successfully defined and graphically depicted.     

Improving the universal response of evaporative light scattering detection by mobile phase compensation

Mobile phase compensation, first reported for the charged aerosol detector (CAD), was used as a suitable method to overcome problems related to the mobile phase-dependent response of the evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). Mobile phase compensation was effectively performed both in the flow injection- and in gradient modes. Without compensation, the response factors of the ELSD for six sulfonamide drugs differed by a factor of two when varying the mobile phase composition between 10 and 90% acetonitrile. This change could be effectively eliminated using the technique of mobile phase compensation, where a secondary pump with a reversed gradient was used to provide the detector with a constant composition of the mobile phase. For identical experimental conditions, the ELSD showed a nearly constant, albeit somewhat reduced, response with compensation. This indicates that under such conditions, the ELSD behaved as a concentration-sensitive detector. The analysis of sulfonamides drugs at 0.05% level using gradient UPLC-ELSD separation with mobile phase compensation is demonstrated.     

The effect of stationary phase on lipophilicity determination of beta-blockers using reverse-phase chromatographic systems

Evaluation of lipophilicity parameters for basic compounds using different chromatographic stationary phases is presented. An HPLC method for determination of lipophilic molecule-stationary phase interactions was based on gradient analysis. Differences in correlation between the lipophilicity of compounds and experimental chromatographic results obtained in pseudo-membrane systems showed a strong influence of stationary phase structure and physico-chemical properties. beta-Blocker drugs with varying lipophilicity and bio-activity were chosen as test compounds. The stationary phases used for the study were monolithic rod-structure C18 and silica gel octadecyl phase SG-C18 as reference material. The second group was silica gel-based polar-embedded alkylamide and cholesterolic phases. The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile or methanol with ammonium acetate, and a linear gradient of methanol and acetonitrile in mobile phase was performed. A linear correlation of plots of log k(g) = f(log P) was observed, especially for polar-embedded phases, and this allowed log P(HPLC) to be calculated. The behavior of stationary phases in methanol and acetonitrile buffer showed differences between obtained log P(HPLC) values.     

Theoretical opportunities and actual limitations of pH gradient HPLC

In a series of reports published recently by our laboratory comprehensive theory and experimental conditions were established for reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP HPLC) employing the programmed pH gradient of mobile phase. A procedure was developed providing, rapidly and conveniently, the acidity (pK_a) of weak acids and bases and their lipophilicity (hydrophobicity) log k_w. The basis of the double-gradient RP HPLC, employing simultaneous gradients of organic modifier content and mobile phase pH, was also elaborated. The fundamentals of the approach are presented briefly and systematically and its advantages and limitations are discussed. It is demonstrated that the newly introduced pH gradient method increases the analytical versatility of RP HPLC and our understanding of its physicochemical basis.     

蛋白折叠液相色谱法中流动相对重组人干扰素-γ质量回收率的影响

蛋白折叠液相色谱法(PFLC)用于变性蛋白质复性并同时纯化时对流动相组成及其洗脱条件的要求远较通常的液相色谱法高。用端基为PEG-200的高效疏水作用色谱固定相对重组人干扰素-γ(rhIFN-γ)进行纯化并同时复性,详细研究了流动相组成、梯度洗脱模式和流速对rhIFN-γ质量回收率和活性的影响。分别以3.0 mol/L (NH4)2SO4 +0.05 mol/L KH2PO4(pH 7.0)和0.05 mol/L KH2PO4(pH 7.0)为流动相A和B,采用35 min非线性梯度洗脱时,所得rhIFN-γ的质量回收率最高。