Fast supercritical fluid chromatography of polymers using packed capillary columns

Summary Fast separations of perfluorinated polyethers and polymethylsiloxanes that are composed of 50–80 oligomers were demonstrated in packed capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using a carbon dioxide mobile phase. Separations were accomplished within 10 min using a 13 cm×250 μm i.d. column packed with 2 μm porous octadecyl bonded silica (ODS) particles. Effects of particle diameter of the packing material and pressure programming on separation were investigated, and packed column SFC was compared with open tubular column SFC. Results show that as the particle diameter was decreased from 5 to 3 to 2 μm and the column length was reduced from 85 to 43 to 13 cm, the separation time could be reduced from 70 to 20 to 10 min while still maintaining similar separation (resolution). Short columns packed with small porous particles are very suitable for fast SFC separations of polymers.     

Pressure drop effects on selectivity and resolution in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

The influence of pressure drop on retention, selectivity, plate height and resolution was investigated systematically in packed supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using pure carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. Numerical methods developed previously which enabled the prediction of pressure gradients, diffusivities, capacity factors, plate heights and resolutions along the length of the column were used for the model calculations. The effects of inlet pressure and supercritical fluid flow rate on selectivity and resolution are studied. In packed column SFC with pure carbon dioxide as the mobile phase, the pressure drop can have a significant effect on resolution. The flow rate is shown to have a larger effect than generally realized. The calculated data are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, the variation of the chromatographic parameters along a 5.5 meter long model SFC column is illustrated. The possibilities and limitations of using long packed columns in SFC are discussed. It is demonstrated that long columns with large plate numbers do not necessarily yield better separations.     

Kinetic behaviour in supercritical fluid chromatography with modified mobile phase for 5 μm particle size and varied flow rates

After much development of stationary phase chemistry, in recent years the focus of many studies in HPLC has shifted to increase the efficiency and analysis speed. Ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) using sub-2 μm particles, and high temperature liquid chromatography (HTLC), using temperatures above 100°C have received much attention. These new approaches allow the use of flow rates higher than those classically used in HPLC, reducing the analysis duration. Due to the low viscosity of supercritical fluids, high velocities, i.e. high flow rates, can be achieved with classical pumping systems typically used in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The effects of the flow rate increase with CO(2)/methanol mobile phase was studied on the inlet pressure, t(0), the retention factor of the compounds, and on the efficiency. Simple comparisons of efficiencies obtained at varied temperature between SFC and HPLC, with a packed column containing 5 μm particles, show the greater kinetic performances achieved with the CO(2)/methanol fluid, and underline specific behaviours of SFC, occurring for high flow rates and sub-ambient temperature. Some values (N/t(0)) are also compared to UHPLC data, showing that good performance can be achieved in SFC without applying drastic analytical conditions. Finally, simple kinetic plots (t(0) vs N) at constant column length are used to select combinations of temperature and flow rate necessary to achieve a required theoretical plate number.     

Fast supercritical fluid chromatography using capillaries packed with nonporous particles

Summary Packed columns containing microparticles provide high column efficiency per unit time and strong retention characteristics compared with open tubular columns, and they are favored for fast separations. Nonporous particles eliminate the contribution of solute mass transfer resistance in the intraparticle void volume characteristic of porous particles, and they should be more suitable for fast separations. In this paper, the evaluation of nonporous silica particles of sizes ranging from 5 to 25 μm in packed capillary columns for fast supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using neat CO₂ is reported. These particles were first deactivated using polymethyl-hydrosiloxanes and then encapsulated with a methylphenylpolysiloxane stationary phase. The retention factors, column efficiencies, column efficiencies per unit time, separation resolution, and separation resolution per unit time for fast SFC were determined for various length capillaries packed with various sizes of polymerencapsulated nonporous particles. It was found that 15 μm nonporous particles provided the highest column efficiency per unit time and resolution per unit time for fast packed capillary SFC. Under certain conditions, separations were completed in less than 1 min. Several thermally labile silylation reagent samples were separated in times less than 5 min. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

Polybutadiene-coated zirconia packing materials in solvating gas chromatography using carbon dioxide as mobile phase

Summary In this paper, practical considerations of column efficiency, separation speed, thermal stability, and column polarity of capillary columns packed with polybutadiene-coated zirconia were investigated under solvating gas chromatography (SGC) conditions using carbon dioxide as mobile phase. When compared with results obtained from conventional porous octadecyl obtained from conventional porous octadecyl bonded silica (ODS) particles, PBD-zirconia particles produced greater change in mobile phase linear velocity with pressure than conventional ODS particles under the same conditions. The maximum plate number per second (N_t) obtained with a 30 cm PBD-zirconia column was approximately 1.5 times higher than that obtained with an ODS column at 100 °C. Therefore, the PBD-zirconia phase is more suitable for fast separations than conventional ODS particles in SGC. Maximum plate numbers per meter of 76,900 and 63,300 were obtained using a 57 cm×250 μm i.d. fused silica capillary column packed with 3 μm PBD-zirconia at 50 °C and 100 °C, respectively. The PBD-zirconia phase was stable at temperatures up to 320 °C under SGC conditions using carbon dioxide as mobile phase. Polarizable aromatic compounds and low molecular weight ketones and aldehydes were eluted with symmetrical peaks from a 10 cm column packed with 3 μm PBD-zirconia. Zirconia phases with greater inertness are required for the analysis of more polar compounds by SGC.     

Effect of column diameter on efficiency in capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

Fused silica capillary columns with internal diameters from 100 to 25 μm were coated with SE-54 and evaluated under supercritical fluid chromatographic conditions using carbon dioxide as mobile phase. Experimental results compared well with theoretical predictions. At ten times the optimum mobile phase velocity and for a capacity factor, k of 3, efficiencies of 2300 to 5600 plates m^?1 were obtained for column diameters of 100 to 25 μm, respectively.     

Packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with light-scattering detection. I. Optimization of parameters with a carbon dioxide/methanol mobile phase

Summary Evaporative light scattering detectors have, in recent years, gained acceptance in chromatography with dense mobile phases i.e. liquid and supercritical fluid chromatography. In the present work an instrument of this type has been used in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with carbon dioxide/methanol mixtures. Detector response and signal-to-noise ratios have been determined using squalane as test compound. Nebulizer gas flow, evaporator temperature, photomultiplier sensitivity, and mobile phase composition were found to have an influence on instrument performance. With this type of detector the field of packed column SFC applications can be extended to include non-UV-absorbing substances even when mixed mobile phases or composition gradients are necessary for the separation.     

Direct sample injection in supercritical fluid chromatography with packed fused silica column

A direct sample injection technique was developed for supercritical fluid chromatography in a packed capillary column, with carbon dioxide as mobile phase and a flame ionization detector. The method allowed solutions, neat liquids, and even solids to be introduced as samples. Also, extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide was combined with this method to separate polymer additives.     

Fast supercritical fluid chromatography hydrocarbon group-type separations of diesel fuels using packed and monolithic columns

Two approaches for decreasing diesel hydrocarbon group-type separation times by normal phase supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) are compared. Short (10-15 cm) columns with small 3 microm diameter packing are compared with monolithic Chromolith bare silica columns under high carbon dioxide flow rates approaching 5 ml min(-1). Elution times are reduced up to 13-fold on a 10 cm Chromolith column and 7-fold on the short packed columns compared with conventional length columns run at typical flow rates. Short packed columns, with their higher surface area and retention characteristics, offer higher resolutions compared with Chromolith columns. Diesel samples are separated into saturates, mono-, di-, tri-, and polyaromatics in as little as 2 min on a 10 cm packed silica column. Diesel group-type results on a 15 cm titania-silica coupled column compare favorably with results from longer columns.     

Packed capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography of fat-soluble vitamins using liquid crystal polysiloxane coated particles

Summary Liquid crystal polysiloxane stationary phases were prepared by coating two different polymers on deactivated porous silica particles (10 m diameter, 80 Å pores). Deactivation of the silica particles before coating was necessary to prepare highly efficient and inert stationary phases for supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). Fat-soluble vitamins E, A, K₁, K₂, D₂, and D₃ were separated on these columns using neat supercritical CO₂ as mobile phase. The analyses were completed within 40 min at 70 °C. The results were compared to those obtained using a capillary column packed with less ordered liquid crystalm,m-cyanobiphenyl-substituted polysiloxane coated particles. Reduced shape selectivity was observed with this cyanobiphenyl phase. The response factors of vitamins A, E, K₁, K₂, D₂, and D₃ when using the flame ionization detector (FID) were determined to be very similar.     

Packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with light-scattering detection. II. Retention behaviour of squalane and glucose with mixed mobile phases

Summary Evaporative light scattering detectors can be used to detect organic substances without chromophoric groups in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). A detector of this type has been used to detect squalane and glucose after SFC with various packed columns and binary mobile phases. In this study, the amount of organic modifier in carbon dioxide/modifier mixtures was varied. The results give further insight into the mechanisms that influence retention behaviour in packed column separations with super- and subcritical mobile phases. Squalane is an ideal non-polar test solute which shows long retention times on non-polar columns while its elution can be accelerated by non-polar modifiers in carbon dioxide. Glucose is an extremely polar solute containing hydroxyl groups. Elution of this sugar can be improved with polar modifiers. Column packings with polar end groups lead to high capacity ratios and long retention times for glucose. Most columns used in this study contained silica-based packing materials. For purposes of comparison, a polymeric packing (HEMA RP-18) was also employed.     

填充柱超临界流体色谱系统中的溶剂效应

 考察了填充柱超临界流体色谱法 (SFC)中的样品溶剂及连续进样等因素对化合物保留行为变化的影响规律。以超临界 CO2 或含低体积分数甲醇的 CO2 为流动相时 ,氨基柱上组分的保留时间随着样品溶剂的极性增大而增大 ,而溶剂对 C1 8柱上组分的保留时间影响不大 ;在 C1 8柱上 ,溶剂对连续进样的后续效应不强 ;而在氨基柱上 ,甲醇溶液的后续效应比丙酮、氯仿溶液的后续效应强。当甲醇的体积分数大于 1 .0 %时 ,溶剂的效应明显减弱。这种变化规律对填充柱 SFC的合理进样并获得重现性良好的色谱数据具有实际意义。     

Fast Solvating Gas Chromatography of Environmentally Important Compounds Using Polymer-Encapsulated Silica Particles

Rapid separations of selected environmentally important polar compounds using polymer-encapsulated silica stationary phases and a carbon dioxide mobile phase under solvating gas chromatography (SGC) conditions are reported. Ten underivatized short chain aldehydes and ten nitrogen-containing herbicides were separated within 1 min and 5 min, respectively, using a 30 cm×250 μm i. d. column packed with diol-bonded, polyethylenimine (PEI)-coated, and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS)-end-capped silica particles (5 μm, 120 Å). Seven organophosphorus pesticides were resolved in less than 5 min using a 30 cm×250 μm i. d. column packed with polymethylhydrosiloxane-deactivated and SE-54 encapsulated silica particles. Separation numbers per unit time increased with pressure and temperature ramps. Both rapid pressure and temperature programming can be used to increase the speed of SGC. The effects of pressure and temperature on apparent retention factors of solutes with various polarities were investigated using diol-PEI-HMDS silica particles in SGC.     

Application of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography to the analysis of a middle distillate fuel

Summary The application of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) to the analysis of a middle distillate fuel is described. Small diameter (50m i.d.) fused-silica capillary columns coated with crosslinked 50% phenyl polymethylphenyl siloxane provided high separation efficiency and good compatibility with flame ionization detection. High resolution separations of the chemical class fractions obtained by adsorption chromatography on alumina were obtained using carbon dioxide as the supercritical mobile phase and simple pressure programming techniques. In addition to the less polar fuel components, supercritical carbon dioxide allowed chromatography of the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fraction and the hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic materials.     

Supercritical fluid chromatographic solvatochromic modifier polarity studies

To understand the chromatographic process as a whole, whether it be for gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), or supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), one needs to know the chemical and physical nature of the mobile and stationary phases and also the interactions that take place between analytes (solutes) and the two phases. An approach towards Investigating the ways that stationary and mobile phases contribute to chromatographic retention Involves exploring the effects of solvent polarity on the strength of the mobile phase. In SFC this could involve determining the polarity of several different modifier/carbon dioxide mobile phases. In this paper, the use of a solvatochromic indicator to learn more about the effects of SFC modifier/mobile phase polarity will be investigated and discussed using several different modifiers and a diolmodified silica column.     

Some practical experiences in the use of a solventless injection system for packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

The operating characteristics of a solventless injector for packed column supercritical fluid chromatography are described. Successful operation depends on the difference between the volatilities of the analytes and the solvent or matrix being sufficient for their separation by gas purging in a thermostatted precolumn, and also on the existence of an effective re-focusing mechanism at the head of the analytical column for the sample dissolved in liquid or supercritical fluid carbon dioxide. The latter is easily achieved in density programmed operation by stationary phase trapping at low fluid densities or phase ratio trapping by changing the temperature at low to moderate fluid densities. The solventless injector can easily accommodate sample volumes from 1–100 μl and is easily adapted for in-line derivatization using reagents which can, after reaction, be eliminated by gas purging. For general purposes the solventless injector can be used to overcome most of the problems encountered when rotary valve loop injectors are used with small bore packed columns, and will probably replace this type of injector as the injector of choice for supercritical fluid chromatography with mobile phases of low polarity.     

Effect of mobile phase density gradients on efficiency in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary The efficiency of packed columns was measured as a function of flow rate, temperature, outlet density, and the density differential across the column, unsing pure carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. Although density differentials are often blamed for a serious loss in efficiency in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography, the results show that efficiency was not a function of the density differential. Peak shapes suggest that apparent loss in efficiency is actually due to inadequate solubility of the solute in carbon dioxide.     

Peak compression in semi-preparative supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary Peak compression of a dihydropyridine drug, clevidipine, is obtained in both analytical and semi-preparative scale supercritical fluid chromatography, resulting in extremely high apparent efficiencies. The observed effect, when utilising a carbon dioxide/2-propanol mobile phase with a bare silica stationary phase, is achieved when the retention of the clevidipine peak is controlled to coalesce with a system peak, generated as a result of having water in the sample. Apparent efficiencies of 350,000 and 170,000 plates meter⁻¹ were obtained when 0.25 and 0.5 mg, respectively, are directly injected to a 200×4.6 mm ID 5 μm Hypersil silica packed column. The effect was extended to a semi-preparative system where apparent efficiencies in the region of 2,000,000 plates meter⁻¹ were observed when 0.3 mg of a clevidipine sample containing 80% water was injected to a 250×10 mm I.D. column containing 5-μm Hypersil silica particles.     

Use of specially designed columns for antioxidants and antimicrobials enrichment by preparative supercritical fluid chromatography

A new, specially designed column has been developed for fractionation of supercritical fluid extract of rosemary by using a preparative supercritical fluid chromatography system (Prep-SFC). The column evaluated in this work was prepared using a new packing method consisting of a combination of slurry and supercritical CO2 with commercial silica particles coated with a stationary phase commonly used in gas chromatography, such as SE-54 (5% phenyl-, 95% methylsilicone). The new packing procedure provided columns with reasonable efficiencies, with high stability and useful at high-pressure range. A 25 cm x 10 mm i.d. column packed with silica particles coated with 3% of SE-54 was prepared, and its separation power was tested for isolating fractions with high antioxidant and/or antimicrobial activity from a supercritical rosemary extract. The SFC conditions were selected based on a previous work done with a commercial LC-Diol packed column (130 bar, 80 degrees C), and different percentages of modifier in the mobile phase were tested (5 and 10%). Two cyclones were employed to collect the fractions which were then characterized by HPLC-diode array detection (DAD), GC, and in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial assays. The use of coated packed columns allowed the fractionation of a complex mixture of rosemary supercritical extract with a minimum amount of modifier in the mobile phase (5% ethanol). At the optimum conditions it was possible to obtain two very active fractions in terms of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, with no residual rosemary aroma and with improved activities compared to the original supercritical extract.     

黄酮醇异构体的超临界流体色谱法分离

用超临界流体色谱法进行了黄酮醇异构体的分离研究。考察了温度、压力、流动相组成、柱条件等对分离的影响。在实验的温度范围４０～６０℃和压力范围１５～３０ＭＰａ内,这组化合物都能得到很好的分离;流动相组成是影响色谱分离的最显著的因素,磷酸的加入大大改变了各物质的保留行为;考察了三种硅胶基质键合相对分离的影响,发现苯基柱用于这组异构体的分离最为合适。