High performance liquid chromatography of raw sugars and polyols using bonded silica gels

Summary Bonded silica columns have been evaluated for their ability to separate carbohydrates and polyols. Mobile phases consisting of dichloromethane/methanol produced the best separations in comparison with the acetonitrile/water mixtures commonly used with amino columns. Of all the bonded phases tested, LiChrospher Diol silica provided the best separations, and selectivities were not very different from those obtained on the most popular system using an amino bonded phase and acetonitrile/water as eluent. In addition, diol columns with a dichloromethane/methanol eluent offer excellent stability with no Schiffs base formation of reducing sugars. Using an evaporative light scattering detector, low limit detection is obtainable (20 ng of glucose from a column) and gradient elution is quite feasible.     

HPLC of anions on coated reversed phase columns using indirect UV-detection and eluents containing nitrophthalic acids

Analysis of anions by HPLC has been optimized in the direction of reduced analysis times with standard reversed phase columns and UV detection. This was achieved by use of a new eluent containing 3-nitrophthalic acid and small proportions of acetonitrile. Resin-based and silica-based anion exchangers of varying ion-exchange capacities are prepared with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide by a rapid dynamic coating technique. Some new, strong eluents containing nitrophthalic acids are evaluated and compared with an eluent containing potassium hydrogen phthalate. Addition of acetonitrile was found to improve the retention behavior of mono- and divalent anions. An automatic system was developed for the analysis of chloride, nitrate, and sulfate in drinking water. It is shown that a water sample can be analyzed in less than two minutes on a column of 25 mm length.     

Determination of pharmaceutically related compounds by suppressed ion chromatography: I. Effects of organic solvent on suppressor performance

This overall study aims to investigate gradient elution ion-exchange chromatography of pharmaceutically relevant compounds using universal nebulisation detectors, such as evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Addition of organic solvents to the eluent is necessary to minimise hydrophobic adsorption on the polymeric stationary phase and improve solubility of analytes. It is also necessary to de-salt the eluent prior to detection, and in this work, ion chromatography suppressors were used for this step. Such suppressors have been designed for aqueous eluents, so the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of methanol and acetonitrile on suppressor performance. Chemical and electrolytic suppressors were evaluated for baseline drift, noise and efficiency of suppression using aqueous/organic eluents containing up to 40% (v/v) methanol or acetonitrile. Chemical suppression of aqueous/organic eluents showed minimal noise levels, uniform low baseline and low gradient drift. Electrolytic suppression gave good performance, but with higher baseline conductivity levels and baseline drift than chemical suppression. The elevated baseline was found not to be caused by incomplete suppression of the eluent, but was attributed to chemical reactions involving the organic solvents and facilitated by high electric currents and heat generation. It was demonstrated that suppressed ion-exchange separation using a complex KOH elution profile could be coupled with ELSD, with the suppressor effectively de-salting the eluent, producing a stable baseline. Finally, complementary separation selectivity was demonstrated using a set of pharmaceutically related organic acids separated by reversed-phase and ion-exchange methods.     

Ternary eluent compositions in supercritical fluid chromatography improved fingerprinting of therapeutic peptides

Currently, little information has been published on the application of ternary eluent compositions in supercritical fluid chromatography for separating peptides. This work investigates the benefits of adding acetonitrile to methanol as the modifier. Three cyclic antibiotic peptides (bacitracin, colistin, and daptomycin) ranging between 1000 and 2000 Da were chosen as model substances. The ternary mixture of carbon dioxide, methanol, and acetonitrile is optimized to increase the resolution of the peptide's fingerprint. In addition, varying compositions of methanol and acetonitrile were found to change the elution order of the analytes, which is a valuable tool during method development. An individual gradient method using two Torus 2-PIC columns (each 100 × 3.0 mm, 1.7 μm), carbon dioxide, and a modifier consisting of acetonitrile/methanol/water/methanesulfonic acid (60:40:2:0.1, v:v:v:v) was optimized for each of the peptides. Subsequently, a generic method development protocol applicable to polypeptides is proposed.     

The determination of lactate,acetate, chloride and phosphate in an intravenous solution by non-suppressed ion chromatography

Summary The determination of acetate, lactate, chloride and phosphate in an intravenous solution is investigated using non-suppressed ion chromatography with indirect UV absorption detection. When phthalate eluents are used with low capacity anion-exchange columns, the above solute species cannot be resolved unless acetonitrile is added to the eluent. Optimum results are obtained with 0.3 mM phthalate (pH 6.0) containing 30% acetonitrile as eluent. The improved resolution with this eluent is attributed to the existence of a partial reversed-phase retention mechanism operating on the unfunctionalised portions of the styrene-divinylbenzene polymeric ion-exchange material.     

Influence of Physicochemical Parameters of Some Ring-Substituted Phenol Derivatives on Their Retention on a Porous Graphitized Carbon Column

Abstract

The retention characteristics of 29 phenol derivatives were determined on a porous graphitized carbon column in unbuffered acetonitrile—water and methanol—water eluent mixtures at various organic phase concentrations. Each phenol derivative showed symmetric peaks in each eluent without buffers. Good linear correlations were found between the log k' value and the organic mobile phase concentration in the eluent. Principal component analysis indicated that methanol and acetonitrile expose different selectivities. Stepwise regression analysis proved that the retention of ring—substituted phenol derivatives is mainly governed by the sterical parameters, electron-withdrawing power and hydrogen donor capacity of substituents. According to the results of Free-Wilson analysis, the substituents with large steric parameters, strong electron-withdrawing power and hydrogen donor capacity have the highest impact on the retention. The lipophilicity of phenol derivatives did not affect significantly the retention, although the eluents were typical reversed-phase eluents.     

Comparison of the retention behaviour of phenol derivatives on porous graphitized and octadecylsilica columns

Summary The retention of 22 ring-substituted phenol derivatives on porous graphitized carbon (PGC) (eluents: acetonitrile — water and methanol — water mixtures) and on octadecylsilica (ODS) (eluents: methanol — 0.025 M KH₂PO₄ mixtures) was determined, and the relationship between retention and physicochemical parameters were evaluated by principal component analysis followed by two-dimensional nonlinear mapping and by cluster analysis as well as by canonical correlation analysis. Calculations proved that marked differences can be detected between the retention characteristics of PGC and ODS columns, and the electronic parameters of phenol derivatives have the highest impact on their retention. The comparison of various multivariate mathematical-statistical methods indicated that principal component analysis followed by two dimensional non-linear mapping is the most appropriate method for the evaluation of large data matrices in RP-HPLC.     

Effect of ion-exchange site and eluent modifiers on the anion-exchange of carboxylic acids

The chromatographic behavior of carboxylic acids has been investigated, on three different latex-based anion-exchange columns, in order to define the effect of the ion-exchange site structure on selectivity. The analytical columns produced are characterized by alkyl amines containing zero, one or two hydroxyl groups on the anion-exchange functional site. Divalent carboxylic acids, namely fumaric, maleic, trans-beta-hydromuconic, trans,trans-muconic, oxalic, malonic, succinic, glutaric, adipic, malic, tartaric and mucic acids, have been chosen as test solutes. The performance of the three stationary phases has been studied employing NaOH eluents and has been discussed with respect to the different hydrophilicity of the ion-exchange sites and analytes. Considering on previous results obtained using organic solvents (methanol and acetonitrile) with carbonate eluents on a highly hydrophilic column, the performance of the three exchangers has also been studied using acetonitrile, methanol and n-propanol. The chromatographic behavior was similar for the three columns studied, but the different organic solvents gave variations in selectivity. In order to characterize these differences, particle size measurements of the latices were performed both in pure water and in the presence of each organic solvent studied.     

Chromatography of amphiphilic graft copolymers

Amphiphilic comb polymers were prepared through grafting poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (MPEG 2000) onto acrylic and methacrylic copolymers. The graft copolymers were purified from unreacted MPEG by partition chromatography on methanol pretreated fibrous cellulose using ethyl acetate and methanol as eluents. The separation was found to depend on the water contents of the cellulose and the eluents. It is proposed that one parameter of importance for the chromatographic separation is the formation of hydrated inverted micelles. The amphiphilic comb polymers were shown by gel chromatography on Sepharose to form high molecular weight aggregates in water. On addition of sodium lauryl sulphate or inorganic salts to the eluent at low ionic strengths these aggregates dissociated and were fractionated by the gel. It was also shown that on GPC in THF solution on Styragel columns the polymers exhibited apparent molecular weights equal or smaller than those of the corresponding backbones. This effect may be a consequence of the graft copolymers having relatively small hydrodynamic volumes, and this idea is supported by the fact that their intrinsic viscosities generally were lower than those of the backbones. However, adsorption on the Styragel columns also may be of importance.     

Fast methods for screening of trichothecenes in fungal cultures using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The excess adsorption isotherms of acetonitrile, methanol and tetrahydrofuran from water on reversed-phase packings were studied, using 10 different columns packed with C1-C6, C8, C10, C12, and C18 monomeric phases, bonded on the same type of silica. The interpretation of isotherms on the basis of the theory of excess adsorption shows significant accumulation of the organic eluent component on the adsorbent surface on the top of "collapsed" bonded layer. The accumulated amount was shown to be practically independent of the length of alkyl chains bonded to the silica surface. A model that describes analyte retention on a reversed-phase column from a binary mobile phase is developed. The retention mechanism involves a combination of analyte distribution between the eluent and organic adsorbed layer, followed by analyte adsorption on the surface of the bonded phase. A general retention equation for the model is derived and methods for independent measurements of the involved parameters are suggested. The theory was tested by direct measurement of analyte retention from the eluents of varied composition and comparison of the values obtained with those theoretically calculated values. Experimental and theoretically calculated values are in good agreement.     

Adsorption behavior of hexafluorophosphate on selected bonded phases

The adsorption behavior of ammonium hexafluorophosphate was studied on four HPLC columns packed with adsorbents of different ability for dispersive interactions using frontal chromatography with LC/MS detection in negative ESI mode. Hexafluorophosphate (PF(6)(-)) adsorption isotherms were measured from acetonitrile/water and methanol/water mixtures. Increased PF(6)(-) adsorption with increased acetonitrile content was found between 0 and 15% of acetonitrile in the eluent. Further increase of the acetonitrile concentration leads to an exponential decrease of PF(6)(-) adsorption. Methanol, on the other hand, causes a steady decrease of PF(6)(-) adsorption with increased organic concentration in the mobile phase.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of fat-soluble vitamins. Simultaneous quantitative analysis of vitamins D2, D3 and E. Study of percentage recoveries of vitamins from cod liver oil

Vitamins D2, D3 and E were resolved and quantified by applying reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to extracts of cod liver oil. The method, using two reversed-phase C18 columns and a ternary mixture of acetonitrile, methanol and water as the eluent resolved all fat-soluble vitamins well, including the pair D2-D3. The extraction procedure was studied; the recoveries, using two different solvents (hexane and diethyl ether) for extractions were 60.6 +/- 1.0 and 77.1 +/- 1.1, 56.9 +/- 1.2 and 74.8 +/- 0.8, and 14.1 +/- 0.7 and 89.8 +/- 1.4% for vitamins D2, D3 and E, respectively.     

Evaluation of the Use of Lithium Nitrate as a Test Substance for the Determination of the Hold-Up Time of a Reversed-Phase Packing

Abstract

The use of lithium nitrate as a test substance for the determination of the hold-up time on μ Bondapak C18 columns has been evaluated by comparison with the hold-up time calculated with the homologous series of n-alcohols. The influence of charge exclusion effects on the retention time of lithium nitrate is investigated. The addition of phosphoric acid to the eluent appears to be an effective method to reduce charge exclusion effects. The existence of deviations from linearity are demonstrated for the homologous series of n-alcohols in eluents with a low methanol content.     

Organic solvent and temperature-enhanced ion chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry for the determination of low molecular weight organic and inorganic anions

There has recently been increased interest in coupling ion chromatography (IC) to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to enable highly sensitive and selective analysis. Herein, the first comprehensive study focusing on the direct coupling of suppressed IC to HRMS without the need for post-suppressor organic solvent modification is presented. Chromatographic selectivity and added HRMS sensitivity offered by organic solvent-modified IC eluents on a modern hyper-crosslinked polymeric anion-exchange resin (IonPac AS18) are shown using isocratic eluents containing 5–50 mM hydroxide with 0–80% methanol or acetonitrile for a range of low molecular weight anions (<165 Da). Comprehensive experiments on IC thermodynamics over a temperature range between 20–45 °C with the eluent containing up to 60% of acetonitrile or methanol revealed markedly different retention behaviour and selectivity for the selected analytes on the same polymer based ion-exchange resin. Optimised sensitivity with HRMS was achieved with as low as 30–40% organic eluent content. Analytical performance characteristics are presented and compared with other IC-MS based works. This study also presents the first application of IC-HRMS to forensic detection of trace low-order anionic explosive residues in latent human fingermarks.     

Study of biologically relevant physical-chemical properties of bile salts by reverse-phase liquid chromatography

Summary The study of chromatographic behaviour of bile salts with reverse-phase HPLC columns (C18 and C8) and buffered water — methanol eluent systems indicated that the octanol-water partition coefficient and the micellar cholesterol-solubilizing capacity are linearly correlated with the chromatographic mobilities if eluents with pH>7 and 0.154 M saline concentration are used (correlation coefficients 0.98 and 0.86 respectively). The critical micellar concentration was poorly correlated with the chromatographic mobility under the various conditions tested. The pKa values of bile salts were determined by the changes of mobility with the pH of eluent. Values in the range 4.92–5.06 and 4.27–4.47 were found respectively for unconjugated and glycineconjugated bile salt, in agreement with previous estimates. Values in the range 0.74–1.02 represent the first direct evaluation for taurine-conjugates.     

The Effect of Column and Eluent Fluorination on the Retention and Separation of non-Fluorinated Amino Acids and Proteins by HPLC

The effect of column and eluent fluorination on the retention and separation of non-fluorinated amino acids and proteins in HPLC is investigated. A side-by-side comparison of fluorocarbon column and eluents (F-column and F-eluents) with their hydrocarbon counterparts (H-column and H-eluents) in the separation of a group of 33 analytes, including 30 amino acids and 3 proteins, is conducted. The H-column and the F-column contain the n-C₈H₁₇ group and n-C₈F₁₇ group, respectively, in their stationary phases. The H-eluents include ethanol (EtOH) and isopropanol (ISP) while the F-eluents include trifluoroethanol (TFE) and hexafluorosopropanol (HFIP). The 2 columns and 4 eluents generated 8 (column, eluent) pairs that produce 264 retention time data points for the 33 analytes. A statistical analysis of the retention time data reveals that although the H-column is better than the F-column in analyte separation and H-eluents are better than F-eluents in analyte retention, the more critical factor is the proper pairing of column with eluent. Among the conditions explored in this project, optimal retention and separation is achieved when the fluorocarbon column is paired with ethanol, even though TFE is the most polar one among the 4 eluents. This result shows fluorocarbon columns have much potential in chromatographic analysis and separation of non-fluorinated amino acids and proteins.     

Retention and selectivity of aromatic hydrocarbons with mono-substituted polar groups in ternary RP-HPLC systems

Summary The variation in selectivity for aromatic hydrocarbons with mono-substituted polar groups is investigated in ternary mobile-phase systems on C₁₈ stationary phases. The dependence of log k′ on the proportions of two modifiers was determined for the solutes within the concentration range of ternary systems obtained by mixing two binary eluents: methanol + water and tetrahydrofuran + water or acetonitrile + water and tetrahydrofuran + water. The nature of the relationships is explained in terms of molecular shape, molecular interactions between solute and extracted modifier and the ordering of solvated ligands on the stationary phase.     

Retention prediction of a set of amino acids under gradient elution conditions in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography

The analysis of amino acids presents significant challenges to contemporary analytical separations. The present paper investigates the possibility of retention prediction in hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) gradient elution based on the analytical solution of the fundamental equation of the multilinear gradient elution derived for reversed‐phase systems. A simple linear dependence of the logarithm of the solute retention (ln k) upon the volume fraction of organic modifier (φ) in a binary aqueous‐organic mobile is adopted. Utility of the developed methodology was tested on the separation of a mixture of 21 amino acids carried out with 14 different gradient elution programs (from simple linear to multilinear and curved shaped) using ternary eluents in which a mixture of methanol and water (1:1, v/v) was the strong eluting member and acetonitrile was the weak solvent. Starting from at least two gradient runs, the prediction of solute retention obtained under all the rest gradients was excellent, even when curved gradient profiles were used. Development of such methodologies can be of great interest for a wide range of applications.