Capillary zone electrophoresis of basic analytes in methanol as non-aqueous solvent mobility and ionisation constant

The electrophoretically relevant properties of monoacidic 21 bases (including common drugs) containing aliphatic or aromatic amino groups were determined in methanol as solvent. These properties are the actual mobilities (that of the fully ionised weak bases), and their pKa values. Actual mobilities were measured in acidic methanolic solutions containing perchloric acid. The ionisation constants of the amines were derived from the dependence of the ionic mobilities on the pH of the background electrolyte solution. The pH scale in methanol was established from acids with known conventional pK*a values in this solvent used as buffers, avoiding thus further adjustment with a pH sensitive electrode that might bias the scale. Actual mobilities in methanol were found larger than in water, and do not correlate well with the solvent's viscosity. The pK*a values of the cation acids, HB-, the corresponding form of the base, B, are higher in methanol, whereas a less pronounced shift was found than for neutral acids of type HA. The mean increase (compared to pure aqueous solution) for aliphatic ammonium type analytes is 1.8, for substituted anilinium 1.1, and for aromatic ammonium from pyridinium type 0.5 units. The interpretation of this shift was undertaken with the concept of the medium effect on the particles involved in the acid-base equilibrium: the proton, the molecular base, B, and the cation HB+.     

Medium-throughput pKa screening pharmaceuticals by pressure-assisted capillary electrophoresis

A fast screening method for the determination of the dissociation constants (pKa) of acidic, basic, and multivalent compounds was developed by using pressure-assisted capillary electrophoresis (PACE). External air pressure was applied to shorten the analysis time. The separation efficiency decreases as air pressure increases. However, it was found that air pressure does not affect the measurement of electrophoretic mobility and pKa significantly when it is less than 2 psi. The method was evaluated in terms of accuracy, precision, and ruggedness by using a set of 48 compounds with literature pKa values ranging from 2 to 10. The difference between the measured pKa values and literature values is less than 0.2 units. The throughput is approximately 20 compounds per day with a 12-point measurement ranging from pH 2.5 to 11. It was demonstrated that this method is applicable for pKa screening of pharmaceuticals with diverse chemical structures.     

Screening of octanol-water partition coefficients for pharmaceuticals by pressure-assisted microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

A rapid screening assay for the determination of octanol-water partition coefficients (log P(OW)) of pharmaceuticals was developed by using pressure-assisted microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC). The microemulsion system contains 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate, 0.87 M l-butanol, 82 mM heptane, and 50 mM borate-phosphate (2:3) at pH 10. Ten standard compounds with known log P(OW) values from -0.26 to 4.88 were used for constructing the calibration curve of log P(OW) against the MEEKC retention factor, log k. The log P(OW) values of the compounds were calculated based on the log k values measured by MEEKC and the slope and intercept of the calibration curve. For 13 literature and 32 Roche compounds, about 90% of the log P(OW) values measured by MEEKC are within 0.5 log units of the values from the literature and potentiometric titration. The throughput is about 2 samples/h using +20 kV voltage plus 5 mbar air pressure for separation. This MEEKC method is applicable for log P(OW) screening of weakly basic, weakly acidic, and neutral pharmaceuticals with log P(OW) = 0-5 and pKa < or = 10.     

Rapid screening of pKa values of pharmaceuticals by pressure-assisted capillary electrophoresis combined with short-end injection

A method applying pressure-assisted capillary electrophoresis combined with short-end injection has been developed for the rapid screening of the pKa values of pharmaceuticals. The electrophoretic separation is performed on a short capillary length with short-end injection under an applied pressure, and the effective mobility is measured in a series of 10 different buffers with constant ionic strength (I = 0.05). The application of pressure not only reduces migration times, particularly in lower pH buffers, but also improves the repeatability of effective mobility measurements. The influence of pressure on the effective mobility was investigated at various pH values. It was observed for the first time that an increase in pressure resulted in a slight decrease in the effective mobility when the pH was above the pKa for acidic analytes, whereas an increased effective mobility with increasing pressures was observed when the pH was below the pKa. However, the observed effective mobility shift by the applied pressure did not significantly affect the determined pKa values. The determined pKa values were in good agreement with published data. Furthermore, a stacking condition was applied to increase the sensitivity, and a concentration down to 2 microM could readily be detected with UV detection using a 50 microm I.D. capillary. This technique is particularly suitable for measurement of pKa values for compounds with poor aqueous solubility. The method also omits the commonly used preconditioning steps with sodium hydroxide and water. The exclusion of excessive preconditioning steps and the use of pressure reduces the total cycling analysis time, and makes it possible to determine the pKa in less than 40 min per compound without loss of accuracy.     

The pH inside a swollen polyelectrolyte gel: poly(N-vinylimidazole)

The pH inside a dissolved polyelectrolyte coil or a swollen ionic polymer network is not accessible to direct measurement. It is here calculated through a simple model, based on Donnan equilibrium, counterion condensation (for charge density exceeding the critical value), and balance of mobile ions, without any assumption on the pKa of the ionizable groups. The data needed for the calculation with this model are polymer concentration, pH value in the initial solution, and pH value in the bath at equilibrium. All three can be determined experimentally by a batch method where the polymer is immersed in a different pot for each starting pH. The model is applied to a sample system, namely, chemically cross-linked poly(N-vinylimidazole) immersed in acidic baths of different pH values. The imidazole units are basic and become protonated by the acid, thus changing the pH of the initial bath. The model shows how the pH developed inside the swollen gel is several units higher than the pH of the bath at equilibrium, both with or without the correction for counterion condensation. Consequently, when the pKa of the polyelectrolyte is determined in the usual way (with the pH measured in the external bath), it gives an apparent value that is several units below the pKa determined from the actual pH inside the swollen gel at equilibrium. The inclusion of the counterion condensation decreases very slightly the polymer basicity. Surface effects and intramolecular association between protonated and unprotonated imidazole rings are discussed to explain the pKa behavior in the limit of low degree of ionization.     

Resolution in capillary electrophoresis with nonaqueous methanol as solvent: theoretical prediction and experimental confirmation.

The resolution of the analytes was predicted from their known pKa* values and actual mobilities in nonaqueous methanolic solutions according to theory taking longitudinal diffusion as the only cause for peak dispersion. This leads to an equation of the resolution as a function of the pH*, as both selectivity and efficiency are dependent on the pH of the buffer. The experimentally obtained resolution values were in acceptable agreement with the predicted theoretical ones in most cases. This was demonstrated for substituted benzoic acids as analytes. The pKa* values needed for the calculation of the resolution were derived from the pH* dependence of the effective mobility. The pH* scale in methanol was based on conventional pKa* values of acetic acid and chloroacetic acid taken from the literature.     

Determination of pKa values by capillary zone electrophoresis with a dynamic coating procedure

CZE allows to measure the acidic dissociation constant (pKa) of many drug substances. However, determining the EOF intensity may be time-consuming, especially at a low pH. In order to overcome this drawback, a dynamic coating procedure of the capillary was carried out to increase microEOF, and thus to reduce the analysis time. In addition, this coating procedure enhanced migration time stability. The effective mobilities of 15 compounds were measured at different pH, producing pK'a values dependent on BGE ionic strength. The latter values were corrected with the activity coefficient to obtain a "true" pKa value. The 15 investigated compounds were (i) five acids: namely, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, ketoprofen, phenobarbital, and phenol, (ii) four bases: lidocaine, propafenone, propranolol, and quinine, (iii), five ampholytes: sulfanilamide, sulfabenzamide, sulfadimethoxine, sulfadoxine, and sulfisoxazole, and (iv) one zwitterion: cetirizine. The range of determined pKa values was between 1.2 and 11.2, and close to the pKa values available from the literature.     

Capillary electrophoresis in N,N-dimethylformamide

N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is a dipolar protophilic solvent with physicochemical properties that makes it suitable as solvent for capillary electrophoresis (CE). It is prerequisite for the proper application of CE to adjust and to change the pH of the background electrolyte (BGE) in a defined manner. This was done in the present work using benzoic acid-benzoate by selecting different concentration ratios of acid and salt, and calculating the theoretical pH from the activity-corrected Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. The mobilities of the analytes (chloro- and nitro-substituted phenolates) were found to follow reasonably well the typical sigmoid mobility versus pH curve as predicted by theory. The actual mobilities and pK(a) values (at 25 degrees C) of the analytes were derived from these curves. pK(a) values were in the range of 11.1-11.7, being thus 3-4.4 units higher than in water. This pK(a) shift is caused by the destabilization of the analyte anion and the better stability (solubility) of the molecular analyte acid in DMF, which overcome the higher basicity of DMF compared to water. Absolute mobilities were calculated from the actual mobilities; they were between 32x10(-9) and 42x10(-9) m(2)/Vxs. Slight deviations of the measured mobilities from the theoretical mobility versus pH curve were discussed on the bases of ion pairing and heteroconjugation and homoconjugation of either buffer components or buffer components and analytes. Heteroconjugation was used as a mechanism for the electrically driven separation of neutral analyte molecules in a BGE where salicylate acted as complex forming ion. Rough estimation of the complexation constants for the phenolic analytes gave values in the range of 100-200 L/mol. Addition of water to the solvent decreased the effect of heteroconjugation, but it was still present up to the surprisingly high concentration of 20% water. Electrophoretically relevant parameters like ionic mobilities and pK(a) values, and conjugation and ion pairing are dependent on the water content of the solvent. The water uptake of DMF was measured when exposed to humidity of ambient air. The resulted behavior of the water uptake was found rather similar to that for acetonitrile and methanol.     

Determination of dissociation constants of amino acids by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A method is proposed for the determination of dissociation constants of amino acids by capillary zone electrophoresis. According to the dissociation equilibrium of amino acids and the basic theory of electrophoresis, the nonlinear relationship between the pH value of the buffer and the effective electrophoretic mobilities of the analyte was obtained. The dissociation constants can be calculated from the pH values and the corresponding effective electrophoretic mobilities using the program written in C++. The dissociation constants, pKa1 and pKa2, of 11 kinds of amino acids were determined successfully by the proposed method. The determined dissociation constants were compared with values in the literature; the differences between them are in the range of -0.03 to 0.06. No significant differences were observed between the determined dissociation constants and the corresponding literature values.     

Assessment of two theoretical methods to estimate potentiometric titration curves of peptides: comparison with experiment

We compared the ability of two theoretical methods of pH-dependent conformational calculations to reproduce experimental potentiometric titration curves of two models of peptides: Ac-K5-NHMe in 95% methanol (MeOH)/5% water mixture and Ac-XX(A)7OO-NH2 (XAO) (where X is diaminobutyric acid, A is alanine, and O is ornithine) in water, methanol (MeOH), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), respectively. The titration curve of the former was taken from the literature, and the curve of the latter was determined in this work. The first theoretical method involves a conformational search using the electrostatically driven Monte Carlo (EDMC) method with a low-cost energy function (ECEPP/3 plus the SRFOPT surface-solvation model, assumming that all titratable groups are uncharged) and subsequent reevaluation of the free energy at a given pH with the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, considering variable protonation states. In the second procedure, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are run with the AMBER force field and the generalized Born model of electrostatic solvation, and the protonation states are sampled during constant-pH MD runs. In all three solvents, the first pKa of XAO is strongly downshifted compared to the value for the reference compounds (ethylamine and propylamine, respectively); the water and methanol curves have one, and the DMSO curve has two jumps characteristic of remarkable differences in the dissociation constants of acidic groups. The predicted titration curves of Ac-K5-NHMe are in good agreement with the experimental ones; better agreement is achieved with the MD-based method. The titration curves of XAO in methanol and DMSO, calculated using the MD-based approach, trace the shape of the experimental curves, reproducing the pH jump, while those calculated with the EDMC-based approach and the titration curve in water calculated using the MD-based approach have smooth shapes characteristic of the titration of weak multifunctional acids with small differences between the dissociation constants. Nevertheless, quantitative agreement between theoretically predicted and experimental titration curves is not achieved in all three solvents even with the MD-based approach, which is manifested by a smaller pH range of the calculated titration curves with respect to the experimental curves. The poorer agreement obtained for water than for the nonaqueous solvents suggests a significant role of specific solvation in water, which cannot be accounted for by the mean-field solvation models.     

pKa shift-associated effects in enantioseparations by cyclodextrin-mediated capillary zone electrophoresis.

Enantioselective migration of dansylated (Dns) amino acids in the presence of hydroxypropylated-beta-cyclodextrin under acidic conditions near the pI value of the analytes was investigated by means of capillary zone electrophoresis. Based on the migration data, the pH dependence of the complexation constants was evaluated, as well as the variation of the complex mobilities with pH. As a result of these data, the migration behavior in the pH region near the pI could be understood, which, in some instances, includes the reversal of migration order upon variation of selector concentration. The enantioselective pKa shifts upon complexation could be quantitated for the carboxylic and the amino group separately. pKa shifts were found in the order of 0.8 pI units, the differences between the enantiomers being up to 0.25 pH units. These data were in agreement with the pI shifts reported from isoelectric focusing experiments. The accurate determination of the pI values of the Dns amino acids makes it possible to calibrate the pI scale in isoelectric focusing in the presence of chiral selectors.     

Determination of acid-base dissociation constants of azahelicenes by capillary zone electrophoresis

CZE was employed to determine acid-base dissociation constants (pK(a)) of ionogenic groups of azahelicenes in methanol (MeOH). Azahelicenes are unique 3-D aromatic systems, which consist of ortho-fused benzene/pyridine units and exhibit helical chirality. The pK(a) values of pyridinium groups of the studied azahelicenes were determined from the dependence of their effective electrophoretic mobility on pH by a nonlinear regression analysis. The effective mobilities of azahelicenes were determined by CZE at pH range between 2.1 and 10.5. Thermodynamic pK(a) values of monobasic 1-aza[6]helicene and 2-aza[6]helicene in MeOH were determined to be 4.94 +/- 0.05 and 5.68 +/- 0.05, respectively, and pK(a) values of dibasic 1,14-diaza[5]helicene were found to be equal to 7.56 +/- 0.38 and 8.85 +/- 0.26. From these values, the aqueous pK(a) of these compounds was estimated.     

Background electrolytes in 50% methanol/water for the determination of acidity constants of basic drugs by capillary zone electrophoresis

The acidic dissociation constants of several hydrophobic drugs, amiodarone and a series of antidepressants that show a secondary or tertiary amino group, were determined in a 50% methanol/water mixture by capillary zone electrophoresis. The electrophoretic behavior of buffers prepared from sodium acetate, tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane hydrochloride, sodium hydrogenphosphate, ammonium chloride, ethanolamine, butilammonium chloride, and sodium borate in the hydroalcoholic solution was tested. Thus, all of them follow the Ohm's law until about 25 kV and, therefore, they can be used without significant Joule heat dissipation at 20 kV. For the studied drugs, buffers prepared with phosphate or borate give effective mobility measurements lower than those from other buffers. The wide pKa range of the studied drugs provides a wide pH range where the protonated forms of the amino compounds coexist with hydrogenphosphate ions and where the neutral amines coexist with boric acid. The decrease of the experimental effective mobilities in these instances can be explained through the interactions between coexisting species. Therefore, phosphate and borate buffers should be avoided to determine the mobility of amines with aqueous pKa higher than 8, at least in solutions with high methanol content. Independent measurements of acidic dissociation constants of drugs validate this statement.     

Pharmaceutical analysis by supercritical fluid chromatography: Optimization of the mobile phase composition on a 2-ethylpyridine column

The separation of neutral, acidic, and basic pharmaceuticals with diverse physicochemical properties by packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (pSFC) on a 2-ethylpyridine column (25 cmx4.6 mm id, 3 mum particles) is presented. The optimization strategy involved separations at 100% methanol (MeOH) and at 50% MeOH/50% ACN while keeping the peak symmetry additives formic acid (FA) and isopropylamine (IPA) at constant levels of 0.25% v/v. By plotting the adjusted retention times as a function of the MeOH/ACN ratio, an optimal modifier ratio composition of 65% MeOH/35% ACN was found. The total set of 26 neutral, acidic, and basic pharmaceuticals was analyzed and the optimal composition experimentally verified. This mobile phase composition is currently used in pharmaceutical method development and open-access generic screening environments.     

Ion-pair association and acid-base equilibria in nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis of weakly basic compounds

CE in nonaqueous media was used to study the migrating behavior of two weakly basic s-triazine pesticides and one of their metabolites. The target pesticides were selected to be representative for each of the two main groups: propazine and deethylatrazine for the chloro-s-triazines group and ametryn for the methylthio-s-triazines group. To elucidate the phenomena involved, systematic studies were carried out in the different organic media studied. Absolute mobilities were determined in 50% v/v methanol (MeOH)/ACN by extrapolation of the effective mobilities to zero ionic strength in the presence of different concentrations of perchloric acid. Conductivity measurements performed in MeOH and 50 and 20% v/v methanol/ACN permitted the evaluation of the associations of the components of the BGE. The effects of ionic strength on the actual mobilities of the compounds were determined in the presence of perchloric acid and SDS in different organic media. Two different ion-pair equilibria were considered: one due to the presence of perchlorate anions present in the BGE and second that from the added dodecyl sulfate anions. Bearing in mind that these weakly basic compounds can exhibit ion-pair and acid-base equilibria, the acid-base and ion-pair parasite reaction coefficients were determined. Finally, the effects of ionic strength, ion-pair interactions and acid-base properties on the effective electrophoretic mobilities of the analytes are discussed.     

Critical validation of a new simpler approach to estimate aqueous pKa of drugs sparingly soluble in water

A simple linear approach to estimate the aqueous pK_a of compounds sparingly soluble in water, mainly drugs, from solely one pK_a value determined in any methanol/water mixture is evaluated. The parameters (slope and intercept) of the linear relationships are related to the solvent composition and can be easily calculated according to the acidic or basic functional group of the compound. The method has been tested using the available literature data for phenols, aliphatic carboxylic acids, benzoic acid derivatives, both ortho and non-ortho substituted, amines and imidazole derivatives. The study involves the whole range of solvent composition and about one hundred compounds which show a wide variety of aqueous pK_a, from 1.3 to 12.4. The differences between calculated and previously published aqueous pK_a values are less of 0.2 pK units. Consistent values are obtained whatever the composition of methanol/water mixture employed in the experimental measurements. The results support the usefulness of the tested method as a very simple approach to get reliable aqueous pK_a values for sparingly soluble drugs.     

Determination of acid-base dissociation constants of amino- and guanidinopurine nucleotide analogs and related compounds by capillary zone electrophoresis

CZE has been applied for determination of acid-base dissociation constants (pKa) of ionogenic groups of newly synthesized amino- and (amino)guanidinopurine nucleotide analogs, such as acyclic nucleoside phosphonate, acyclic nucleoside phosphonate diesters and other related compounds. These compounds bear characteristic pharmacophores contained in various important biologically active substances, such as cytostatics and antivirals. The pKa values of ionogenic groups of the above compounds were determined by nonlinear regression analysis of the experimentally measured pH dependence of their effective electrophoretic mobilities. The effective mobilities were measured by CZE performed in series of BGEs in a broad pH range (3.50-11.25), at constant ionic strength (25 mM) and temperature (25 degrees C). pKa values were determined for the protonated guanidinyl group in (amino)guanidino 9-alkylpurines and in (amino)guanidinopurine nucleotide analogs, such as acyclic nucleoside phosphonates and acyclic nucleoside phosphonate diesters, for phosphonic acid to the second dissociation degree (-2) in acyclic nucleoside phosphonates of amino and (amino)guanidino 9-alkylpurines, and for protonated nitrogen in position 1 (N1) of purine moiety in acyclic nucleoside phosphonates of amino 9-alkylpurines. Thermodynamic pKa of protonated guanidinyl group was estimated to be in the range of 7.75-10.32, pKa of phosphonic acid to the second dissociation degree achieved values of 6.64-7.46, and pKa of protonated nitrogen in position 1 of purine was in the range of 4.13-4.89, depending on the structure of the analyzed compounds.     

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoretic separation of basic enantiomers using heptakis(2,3-dimethyl-6-sulfato)-beta-cyclodextrin.

The enantiomers of 40 basic analytes, mostly pharmaceuticals, were separated by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis in acidic methanol background electrolytes using the sodium salt of heptakis(2,3-dimethyl-6-sulfato)-beta-cyclodextrin (HDMS-beta-CD). The effective mobilities, separation selectivities, and peak resolution values were determined as a function of the HDMS-beta-CD concentration in the 0-40 mM range and were found to follow the theoretical predictions of the charged resolving agent migration model (CHARM model). Fast, efficient enantiomer separations were achieved for a large number of both very hydrophobic and hydrophilic weak bases.     

Determination of pKa values of anthraquinone compounds by capillary electrophoresis

In this paper, the dissociation constants (pKa1, pKa2) of five anthraquinones were determined from the relation between the effective mobility at different pH values and the buffer pH value, which was derived from the basic electrophoresis theory and the dissociation equilibrium of a binary acid. In addition, the changes of pKa values of the five compounds were also investigated when organic modifiers were added to the buffer system.     

Electronic absorption study on acid-base equilibria for some keto and thioketo pyrimidine derivatives. Experimental and theoretical evidence of enolization and solute-solvent interactions

The UV-vis spectra of recently synthesized 1-amino-5-benzoyl-4-phenyl-1H-pyrimidine-2-one, (I), and 1-amino-5-benzoyl-4-phenyl-1H-pyrimidine-2-thione (II), were studied in aqueous methanol (5%, v/v, methanol) and pure methanol. The nature of the electronic transitions and the role of carbonyl oxygen of I and thiocarbonyl sulfur of II in the behavior of the observed UV-vis spectra were discussed. The carbonyl group at position 2 of I and the thiocarbonyl group of II were found to be enolized instead of protonation. Quantum chemical calculations showed agreement with the experimental evidence. However, the carbonyl group of the benzoyl moiety at position 5 of both compounds underwent neither enolization nor protonation. Acid-base equilibria of the compounds against varying pH have been examined in detail. The pKa values of all related equilibria were determined at room temperature and an ionic strength of 0.10 M from the pH-dependence of the absorbance values using the Henderson-Haselbalch equation and graphical logarithmic analysis. The mean acidity constants for the protonated forms of the compounds were determined as pKa1=4.214 and pKa2=6.678 for I and pKa1=3.739 and pKa2=6.258 for II. The mean acidity constants (pKa3) for the enol form of I and the thioenol form of II were determined as 11.278 and 11.063, respectively. The preferred dissociation mechanisms were discussed based on the data of UV-vis spectroscopy and a mechanism was proposed for each compound. The formation of intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding were found with I but not with II. The intramolecular bonding stabilizing the enol form was favoured at pH values corresponding to pKa1 and above. On the other hand, the intermolecular hydrogen bonding stabilizing the free form of the carbonyl group was favoured at all pH values.