Calibration of chromatographic systems for quantitative prediction of chromatography of homopolymers

A method is proposed for obtaining from the experimental data the main parameters, which determine the chromatographic behavior of homopolymers: a dependence of the adsorption interaction parameter on the mobile phase composition, and the pore volume and pore size values. The interaction parameter can be determined by this method in both adsorption, critical, and SEC-type regimes of chromatography. The method is tested in ‘mathematical experiments’ with theoretical data that mimic experiments, and is applied to calibrate real chromatographic systems. With the obtained calibrations quantitative modeling of chromatograms of PEG samples on two typical ODS columns with different pore size in methanol/water and acetone/water mixed solvents is performed; the simulation results are compared with real chromatograms.     

Determination and removal of impurities in 2-D LC-MS of peptides

Problems occurring during operation of a 2-D LC-MS system for separation and identification of neuropeptides, such as contamination of the used salts and column bleed, are described. When using polysulfoethyl aspartamide, which is widely used as a strong cation exchange stationary phase in the first dimension, interfering peaks were observed in the second-dimension reversed-phase chromatograms. The observed peaks, found to be caused by column bleeding, had abundance above the threshold value and influenced the quality of the analyses. The origin of the peaks was verified and appropriate measures are proposed. Additionally, peaks caused by polyethylene glycols (PEGs), covering approximately 5 min of feasible chromatographic time in every fraction, were observed. The commercial ammonium formate salts used to prepare the first-dimension mobile phase were found to contain PEG impurities, and in subsequent work the salt solutions were prepared from formic acid and ammonia to avoid any additional contaminations.     

System peaks observed in capillary liquid chromatography with eluents containing triethylamine

Summary Triethylamine is often added to mobile phases in reversed-phase liquid chromatography for dynamic deactivation of free silanol groups of the stationary phase. It has been observed that eluents composed of methanol and triethylamine generate two system peaks in chromatograms obtained with LiChrosorb RP-select B stationary phase, whose retention times correspond to the dead time and to the retention time of triethylamine. It has been demonstrated that the system peaks can be positive or negative depending on the experimental conditions and may be incorrectly interpreted as peaks corresponding to sample components. An approach is outlined to unambiguous identify these system peaks in chromatograms of practical samples.     

Retention of 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl derivatives of linear alcohol polyethoxylates in reversed-phase liquid chromatographic system with acetonitrile-water mobile phase

The influence of mobile phase composition (acetonitrile-water ratio) on the separation of derivatised linear alkyl polyethoxylates (LAEs) is evaluated using thermodynamic quantities (Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy). In comparison to homologue series of alcohols oligomers of LAEs show irregular chromatographic behaviour that is demonstrated in irregular changes of thermodynamic quantities. It might be explained considering an influence of some of the following processes or their combinations on the retention of LAEs. These processes are solvation of oxyethylene chains in mobile phase, their interaction with silanols on silica surface of stationary phase and possibly their conformation changes. The composition of a mobile phase affects the mentioned processes and that is why the retention of LAEs is strongly (for the reversed-phase system unusually) sensitive to this composition in the studied range (volume fraction of acetonitrile phi = 0.90, 0.96 and 0.98). The experimental data also support the idea of the active role of stationary phase in the reversed-phase system.     

溶质在两种反相色谱柱中的动力学色谱行为

研究了不同流速下4种溶质在两种不同反相色谱柱上的色谱图及它们的动力学色谱性质,进一步验证了溶质相对保留值(RRT)与流动相流速之间存在良好的双对数线性关系,并对溶质在流速改变时洗脱顺序发生改变的现象从动力学因素上进行了合理的解释;同时还发现色谱填料的孔径及拓扑学构型不同将导致溶质在其上具有不同的动力学色谱参数及动力学色谱行为。     

Criteria for judging the quality of separation in chromatograms containing solvent peaks

Summary Formal procedures used for optimizing chromatographic selectivity require objective, numerical functions to assess the quality of each chromatogram obtained during the process. Many of such optimization criteria have been suggested for chromatograms in which all or a number of well-shaped peaks need to be separated. This paper describes a method by which resolution can be measured in chromatograms in which very large, highly non-symmetrical background peaks,e.g. typical solvent peaks, are present. Using this method, various optimization criteria can be calculated. The method is evaluated using a simulation program which constructs chromatograms from the recorded profiles of individual experimental peaks. It is also demonstrated for use in an experimental optimization procedure in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of alpha-substituted glycine analogs on a quinine-based anion-exchanger chiral stationary phase under variable temperature conditions

The retention of enantiomers of chiral analytes, i.e. alpha-substituted glycine analogs, on a quinine-based anion-exchanger chiral stationary phase was studied in the temperature range of 5-70 degrees C and at different mobile phase compositions, using isocratic elution in the reversed-phase mode. By variation of both mobile phase composition and temperature, baseline separations could be achieved for these enantiomers. Separation could be optimized more quickly by adjusting the column temperature rather than the mobile phase composition. The dependence of the natural logarithms of retention and selectivity factors (lnk' and lnalpha) on the inverse of temperature, 1/T (van't Hoff plots) was used to determine thermodynamic data on the enantiomers. Calculated thermodynamic constants (Delta(DeltaH degrees ), Delta(DeltaS degrees ) and Delta(DeltaG degrees )) were applied to promote an understanding of the thermodynamic driving forces for retention in this chromatographic system. The elution sequence of the enantiomers in most cases was determined.     

Theoretical Aspects of Gradient Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Styrene – Butylacrylate Block Copolymers

Butylacrylate – styrene co-polymers prepared by atom transfer radical polymeratization were separated on an octadecyl silica column by gradient elution with tetrahydrofuran in water, up to the molar masses 10,000. In reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), the retention of macromolecules is affected very significantly even by change of a few tenths of per cent of the organic solvent in the aqueous-organic mobile phase. Therefore, gradient elution was used for the determination of the parameters of the equations describing the effects of the mobile phase on the retention behaviour of synthetic polymers. The retention parameters of homopolymers and copolymers were calculated from the gradient data using two retention models. The retention behaviour of the copolymers was described using the experimental gradient retention data for homopolymers.     

Indirect detection in reversed-phase liquid chromatography: Ion-pair retention models for anionic analytes and mobile phase components on polystyrene polymers using an alkaline mobile phase

Summary Retention models for anionic analytes and mobile phase compounds in reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic systems have been studied. The solid phase was a polystyrene-divinylbenzene copolymer. The analytes were mono- and divalent anions monitored by indirect detection technique. The mobile phase was highly alkaline and contained a detectable anion, sulfanilic acid.Expressions for the ion-pair retention of solutes and mobile phase components have been developed assuming Langmuir distribution of ion-pairs to a solid phase with one kind of binding site. The validity of the expressions and the origin of system peaks have been confirmed by determination of distribution constants using linear regression.     

Investigations of Retention Rule in Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography——Theoretical Consideration of Retention Convergence and Experimental Verification

This paper studied the effect of different chromatographic parameters in RP-HPLC (for example,composition of mobile phase, temperature, number of carbon atoms within the solute molecules, solvent molecules and alkyl ligand on bonded phase surface) on the retention convergence based on the displacement adsorption multi-interaction model,and derived a few retention convergent equations by using thermodynamic method,which have been verified by a great deal of experimental data of homologous series.Moreover,we have developed a general method, which can calculate the coordinate values of various retention convergent points by computer directly from experimental data,and the results predicted are in good agreement with that obtained by using plotting method.     

Retention behavior of basic compounds on alkylphosphonate-modified magnesia-zirconia composite stationary phase in RPHPLC

Summary The chromatographic properties of an alkylphosphonate-modified magnesia-zirconia composite stationary phase have been investigated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with basic compounds as probes. The influence of organic modifier composition and mobile phase pH was studied. The new stationary phase, similar to a silica-based reversed-phase stationary phase, has hydrophobic properties, but greater pH stability. Use of the phase results in more symmetric peaks for basic compounds. A possible mechanism of retention of basic solutes on the new stationary phase is discussed. The chromatographic behavior of the basic solutes depends mainly on hydrophobic interactions between the solutes and the hydrophobic moiety of the stationary phase. Br?nsted acidic and basic sites on the surface of the new stationary phase play an important role in the retention of ionized solutes by ion-exchange interaction. Promising separations of some basic compounds have been achieved by use of methanolic TRIS buffer, pH 10.0, as the mobile phase.     

Molecular parameters and retention characteristics of unsubstituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons in HPLC

Summary The present research studies the possibility of using the correlation dependence between molecular parameters of unsubstituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their retention in reversed-phase liquid chromatography to optimize the conditions for the separation and identification of unknown peaks on the chromatograms of multicomponent mixtures. A linear correlation equation, that takes the number and environment of the carbon atom in the PAH molecule into account as well as the differences in the specific interactions of isomeric molecules with polar eluent, has been proposed. The adequacy of the proposed PAH retention model was verified by comparing the calculated retention values with the experimental data. The possibility of identifying unsubstituted PAH according to the number of carbon atoms of various types and according to the values of the molecules lengths (calculated on the basis of the retention of these substances under different eluent compositions) was exemplified by various chromatographic systems (reversed phase-eluent-PAH molecules).     

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for simultaneous analyses of iminodipeptides containing an N-terminal or a C-terminal proline

Simultaneous analyses of synthetic iminodipeptides containing an N-terminal proline or a C-terminal proline have been demonstrated using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with an atmospheric pressure ionization interface system. The separation of iminodipeptides was carried out on a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic column using 0.1% aqueous trifluoroacetic acid-methanol (75:25, v/v, pH 2.0) as mobile phase. Very intense protonated molecular ions [M + H]+ of various synthetic iminodipeptides, Pro-Gly, Gly-Pro, Pro-Ala, Ala-Pro, Pro-Val, Val-Pro, Pro-Leu and Leu-Pro, were observed. Pro-Gly (Pro-X) and Gly-Pro (X-Pro) have the same protonated molecular ion (m/z 173), but the peaks of these compounds on the mass chromatograms were clearly distinguished by the differences of the retention times and mass spectra. The synthetic iminodipeptides containing an N-terminal proline added to urine samples from a patient with prolidase deficiency were also distinguished from iminodipeptides containing a C-terminal proline in urine samples from a patient with prolidase deficiency by scanning the [M + H]+ ion of each iminodipeptide. We established the method to measure simultaneously the various iminodipeptides containing an N-terminal or a C-terminal proline in biological samples.     

Thin-layer chromatographic fingerprinting of the nonvolatile fraction extracted from the medicinal herb Cistus incanus L.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to provide the first from-start-to-end thin-layer chromatographic method of fingerprinting the Cistus incanus L. raw herbal material, with a purpose to further use it for rapid screening, authentication, and quality control of the traded C. incanus L. herbs. To this effect, 12 different C. incanus L. samples purchased as herbal teas from a local market were extracted by means of the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) with chemometrically optimized solvent extraction mixture and temperature (methanol–water, 27:73, v/v; 130°C), to derive the polar fraction from the plant samples. Then, the extracts were developed in two thin-layer chromatographic systems, both using the commercially precoated silica gel 60 chromatographic plates, yet two different mobile phases (mobile phase 1, ethyl acetate–formic acid–acetic acid–water, 100:11:11:13, v/v/v/v, and mobile phase 2, ethyl acetate–dichloromethane–formic acid–acetic acid–water, 100:10:10:10:11, v/v/v/v/v). The chromatograms were densitometrically scanned in the reflectance mode at the wavelength λ?=?366?nm to obtain fingerprints of the extracts derived from individual C. incanus L. samples. Mobile phase 2 performed slightly better, because with its use, the maximum number of 11 peaks could be seen in the respective fingerprints, whereas with mobile phase 1, the maximum number of 10 peaks only. Then an antioxidant potential of the investigated herbal extracts was assessed, making use of mobile phase 2 and the 0.20% methanol solution of 2,2-diphenyl picrylhydrazyl as a visualizing reagent. The resulting chromatograms were densitometrically scanned in the extinction mode at the wavelength λ?=?550?nm to obtain biological fingerprints of the extracts. Finally, chromatographic and biological fingerprints underwent a semiquantitative evaluation in terms of the contents of the extracted polar fraction and an overall antioxidant potential of the individual plant species.     

Monolithic silica columns for high-efficiency chromatographic separations

A deconvolution methodology for overlapped chromatographic signals is proposed. Several single-wavelength chromatograms of binary mixtures, obtained in different runs at diverse concentration ratios of the individual components, were simultaneously processed (multi-batch approach), after being arranged as two-way data. The chromatograms were modelled as linear combinations of forced peak profiles according to a polynomially modified Gaussian equation. The fitting was performed with a previously reported hybrid genetic algorithm with local search, leaving all model parameters free. The approach yielded more accurate solutions than those found when each experimental chromatogram was fitted independently to the peak model (single-batch approach). The improvement was especially significant for those chromatograms where the peaks were severely affected by the tails of the preceding compounds. Peak shifts among chromatograms, which are a usual source of non-bilinearity, were modelled in a continuous domain instead of in a discrete way, which avoided some drawbacks associated with latent variable methods. An experimental design involving simulated chromatograms was applied to check the method performance. Five main factors affecting the deconvolution were examined: concentration pattern, chromatographic resolution, number of batches and replicates, and noise level, which were evaluated using first- and second-order figures of merit. The method was also tested on three real samples containing compounds showing different overlap. Four multi-batch deconvolution methods were considered differing in the nature of the processed information and kind of peak matching among chromatograms. In all cases, the multi-batch deconvolution yielded better performance than the single-batch approach.     

Expanding the Use of Dynamic Electrostatic Repulsion Reversed-Phase Chromatography: An Effective Elution Mode for Peptides Control and Analysis

Bioactive peptides are increasingly used in clinical practice. Reversed-phase chromatography using formic or trifluoroacetic acid in the mobile phase is the most widely used technique for their analytical control. However, sometimes it does not prove sufficient to solve challenging chromatographic problems. In the search for alternative elution modes, the dynamic electrostatic repulsion reversed-phase was evaluated to separate eight probe peptides characterised by different molecular weights and isoelectric points. This technique, which involves TBAHSO₄ in the mobile phase, provided the lowest asymmetry and peak width at half height values and the highest in peak capacity (about 200 for a gradient of 30 min) and resolution concerning the classic reversed-phase. All analyses were performed using cutting-edge columns developed for peptide separation, and the comparison of the chromatograms obtained shows how the dynamic electrostatic repulsion reversed-phase is an attractive alternative to the classic reversed-phase.     

仿刺参中皂苷类成分的高效液相色谱指纹图谱

利用高效液相色谱法建立了仿刺参皂苷类成分的指纹图谱,为仿刺参的质量控制提供了新的方法。采用固相萃取制备供试品溶液,选用Zorbox SB-C18色谱柱(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm),以乙腈-0.1%磷酸水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,检测波长为205 nm,柱温30 ℃。分析了不同产地的10批仿刺参样品,采用国家药典委员会推荐的“中药色谱指纹图谱相似度评价系统(2004 A版)”处理谱图,确定了6个共有峰。计算了10个样本间的指纹图谱相似度,所得相似度计算结果均大于0.97。该方法具有良好的稳定性和重现性,可用于仿刺参的质量控制。     

Validation of a chromatography data analysis software

The performance of chromatography data analysis software packages is of cardinal importance when the precision and the accuracy of a chromatographic system are evaluated. Users cannot rely on a procedure generating chromatographic data of known accuracy. Holistic approaches cannot always be entirely trusted. We propose a new method consisting in validating a data analysis package against computer generated chromatograms of exactly known characteristics by feeding these chromatograms into the vendor supplied software and comparing the results supplied by the software and the exact answers. We simulated symmetrical and tailing chromatograms and processed these signals with the Agilent Technologies (formerly Hewlett-Packard) ChemStation software. The noise profile (i.e. the power spectrum of the baseline) was determined for a HPLC UV detector prior to the calculations, and chromatograms of different signal-to-noise ratios were used for the analysis. For every chromatogram, we simulated 25 replicates with identical signal-to-noise ratios but different noise sequences. In this manner, both the random and the systematic errors of the retention data and peak shape characteristics can be evaluated. When analyzing tailing peaks, we simulated the effects of extra-column band broadening and those of column overload. Our calculations show that the general performance of the data analysis system studied is excellent. The contribution of the random error originating from the data analysis procedure is in most cases negligible compared to the repeatability of the chromatographic measurement itself.     

Retention mechanism of fatty alcohol ethoxylates in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEs) are widely used nonionic surfactants that have distributions in both alkyl and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chain length. Generally, two-dimensional liquid chromatography technique is required for the complete characterization of both distributions. By selecting a proper stationary and mobile phase condition, however, we can obtain fully resolved chromatograms of a FAE sample (Brij 30) with respect to both alkyl and PEO chain length by using a single reversed-phase C18 column and aqueous acetonitrile mobile phase. FAEs show a peculiar reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) retention behavior with an aqueous-organic mobile phase, the retention mechanism of which has not been fully elucidated. For a fixed alkyl chain length, FAEs with higher-molecular-mass PEO block elutes first and the van't Hoff plot of the retention factor shows a curvature. The unique retention behavior can be understood from the opposite thermodynamic characteristics associated with RPLC retention of PEO block and alkyl chain: the sorption process of PEO to the non-polar stationary phase shows deltaH(o) > 0 and deltaS(o) > 0 while the alkyl chain shows deltaH(o) < 0 and deltaS(o) < 0 in contrast. The relative magnitude of the two contributions can change the elution order of the FAE. Therefore the often found, inverted elution order of FAEs (the early elution of FAEs with longer PEO block) is due to the positive enthalpic interaction of PEO blocks, which is a characteristic of the hydrophobic interaction. And the curvature of the van't Hoff plots was analyzed assuming the temperature dependent thermodynamic variables.     

A new chromatographic response function for use in size-exclusion chromatography optimization strategies: Application to complex organic mixtures

A new chromatographic response function (CRF) is presented aiming at designing an optimal chromatographic separation protocol for assessing the molecular size distribution of complex organic mixtures, such as those of natural organic matter from different sources (atmospheric, aqueous, and terrestrial). This CRF can be applied to mixtures of unknown solutes, being well suited for describing separation processes of pair of peaks of highly unequal area, and also for overlapping and asymmetric peaks. The performance of the developed CRF was compared to that of an existing response function, using simulated chromatograms. The capability of the new function to qualify the resolution degree that it is attained under different chromatographic conditions was further assessed through a size-exclusion chromatography study of a variety of different organic compounds, via a two-level full factorial design. It was proved that this function is a reliable alternative to optimize simultaneously the composition of the mobile phase (pH, ionic strength, and organic modifier concentration) and the instrumental variables (flow rate).