Electroosmotic pump‐supported molecularly imprinted monolithic column for capillary chromatographic separation of nitrophenol isomers

In this work, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) monolithic column with integrated in‐column electroosmotic pump (EOP) was designed and successfully prepared to facilitate the capillary chromatography with MIP column. A silica‐based EOP was synthesized at the detection end of the MIP monolithic capillary column by so‐gel to provide the hydrodynamic driven force for the capillary chromatography. Because of large surface area and low fluidic resistance of the silica monolith,a strong and steady EOF was generated by silica‐based EOP, indicating that the EOP was quite compatible with MIP capillary column. With the sufficient EOF provided by EOP, the electro‐driven based capillary chromatographic separation of nitrophenol isomers was achieved in 4‐vinylpyridine‐based MIP monolithic capillary, which was originally proved infeasible because of the EOF shortage. No significant influence upon the specific recognition of the MIP was found due to the setting of EOP after the detection window of the column. The influence of experimental parameters on the EOF such as voltage and pH value of running buffer was investigated. The column was also evaluated by capillary liquid chromatographic mode to compare with EOP‐driven capillary chromatography. Higher column efficiency was obtained by EOP‐driven separation with improved peak shape. The results suggested that EOP‐supported technique would be a good way to solve the problem of weak EOF generation in electro‐driven capillary chromatography.     

Open tubular layer of S‐ofloxacin imprinted polymer fabricated in silica capillary for chiral CEC separation

An open tubular molecule imprinted polymer (OT‐MIP) capillary column has been prepared for chiral separation of ofloxacin enantiomers in CEC. The S‐ofloxacin imprinted OT column was fabricated by thermally initiated non‐covalent polymerization procedure inside a pretreated and silanized fused silica capillary. The template molecule was incorporated with methacrylic acid (MAA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) and 4‐styrenesulfonic acid (4‐SSA) and dissolved in a porogen mixture of ACN/2‐propanol (9:1). The separation efficiency of the 4‐SSA MIP column was found quite better than that of the MIP column without 4‐SSA. It has been demonstrated that our OT‐MIP column can separate ofloxacin enantiomers with excellent chiral separation efficiency after tuning the various chromatographic conditions. The optimized chromatographic eluent was 85:15, v/v%, ACN/60 mM sodium acetate at pH 7. The separation efficiency and selectivity of chiral separation of this study were far better than those obtained by previous methods for chiral separation of R‐ and S‐ofloxacin.     

Liquid chromatography of polymers under limiting conditions of adsorption. IV. Sample recovery

The high performance liquid chromatography of polymers under limiting conditions of adsorption (LC LCA) separates macromolecules, either according to their chemical structure or physical architecture, while molar mass effect is suppressed. A polymer sample is injected into an adsorption-active column flushed with an adsorption promoting eluent. The sample solvent is a strong solvent which prevents sample adsorption. As a result, macromolecules of sample elute within the zone of their original solvent to be discriminated from other, non-adsorbing polymer species, which elute in the exclusion mode. LC LCA sample recovery has been studied in detail for poly (methyl methacrylate)s using a bare silica gel column and an eluent comprised toluene (adsorli) and tetrahydrofuran (desorli). Sample solvent was tetrahydrofuran. It was found that a large part of injected sample may be fully retained within the LC LCA columns. The amount of retained polymer increases with decreasing packing pore size and with higher sample molar masses and, likely, also with the column diameter. The extent of full retention of sample does not depend of sample volume. An additional portion of the injected desorli sample solvent (a tandem injection) does not fully eliminate full retention of the sample fraction and the reduced recovery associated with it. The injected sample is retained along the entire LC LCA column. The reduced sample recovery restricts applicability of many LC LCA systems to oligomers and to discrimination of the non-adsorbing minor macromolecular components of complex polymer mixtures from the adsorbing major component(s). The full retention of sample molecules within columns may also complicate the application of other liquid chromatographic methods, which combine entropic and enthalpic retention mechanisms for separation of macromolecules.     

Liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of desorption 6: Separation of a four‐component polymer blend

Baseline separation was achieved of a model four‐component polymer blend of polystyrene‐poly(methyl methacrylate)‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐poly(2‐vinyl pyridine) in a single chromatographic run with help of the unconventional method of liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of desorption. Narrow barriers of liquids were employed, which selectively decelerated elution of particular kinds of macromolecules. Bare silica gel was the column packing, and the eluent was a mixture of dimethylformamide/tetrahydrofuran/toluene 30:50:20 w/w/w. Barrier compositions were neat toluene, B#1, neat tetrahydrofuran, B#2, and dimethylformamide/tetrahydrofuran/toluene 15:55:30, B#3. Minor blend constituents (∼1%) could be identified, as well. The result represents a step toward the separation and molecular characterization of triblock‐copolymers, many of which are expected to contain besides both parent homopolymers also the diblock chains and thus they are in fact four‐component polymer blends.     

Study of a monolithic silica capillary column coated with poly(octadecyl methacrylate) for the reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation of some polar and non-polar compounds

The performance of a monolithic silica capillary column coated with poly(octadecyl methacrylate) (ODM column) for the reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation of some polar and non-polar compounds was studied, and the results were compared to those obtained by using a monolithic silica capillary column modified with octadecylsilyl-(N,N-diethylamino)silane (ODS column). Benzene and naphthalene derivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), steroids, alkyl phthalates, and tocopherol homologues were used as test samples. In general, compounds with aromatic character, rigid and planar structures, and lower length-to-breadth ratios (more compacted structures) seem to have more preference for the polymer coated stationary phase (ODM). Compounds with acidic character have also a higher retention on ODM columns because of the presence of ester groups in the stationary phase. The polymer coated column allowed the separation of some PAHs, alkyl phthalates, steroids, and of beta- and gamma-tocopherol isomers which cannot be separated under the same conditions on ODS columns, while keeping similar column efficiency. These results allowed to suggest ODM columns as a good alternative to conventional ODS columns for reversed-phase liquid chromatography.     

Monolithic capillary columns based on pentaerythritol acrylates for molecular‐size‐based separations of synthetic polymers

Monolithic capillary columns based on pentaerythritol triacrylate and pentaerythritol tetraacrylate were synthesized using different compositions of polymerization mixtures and different polymerization conditions. The impact of porogen type and porogen/monomer ratio on the porosity of synthesized monoliths was investigated. Porogen type appears to be the main factor influencing the separating properties of the monolithic sorbent. Using optimal polymerization conditions (porogen type, porogen/monomer ratio, reaction temperature, time etc.) monoliths with a porous structure optimized for polymer separations can be obtained. The monolithic capillary columns containing porous sorbents with optimized porosity are capable of separating 10 to 12 polystyrene standards in one chromatographic run utilizing both size exclusion chromatography and hydrodynamic chromatography separation mechanisms.     

Analysis of phospholipids using an open‐tubular capillary column with a monolithic layer of molecularly imprinted polymer in capillary electrochromatography‐electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, an open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT‐CEC) column with a monolithic layer of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based on methacrylic acid, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and 4‐styrenesulfonic acid was utilized for the simultaneous separation and characterization of phospholipid (PL) molecular structures by interfacing with electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS‐MS). Introducing an MIP‐based monolith along with charged species at the OT column made it possible to separate PL molecules based on differences in head groups and acyl chain lengths in CEC. For the interface of OT‐CEC with ESI‐MS‐MS, a simple nanospray interface utilizing a sheath flow was developed and the resulting OT‐CEC‐ESI‐MS‐MS was able to separate PL standards (phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylglycerols, phosphatidic acid, and lysophosphatidylglycerols). The developed method was applied to human urinary lipid extracts, and resulted in the separation and structural identification of 18 molecules by data‐dependent collision‐induced dissociation.     

Polymer monolith microextraction online coupled to hydrophilic interaction chromatography/mass spectrometry for analysis of β2‐agonist in human urine

An analytical method based on online combination of polymer monolith microextraction (PMME) technique with hydrophilic interaction LC (HILIC)/MS is presented. The extraction was performed with a poly(methacrylic acid‐co‐ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolithic column while the subsequent separation was carried out on a Luna silica column by HILIC. After 1:1 v/v dilution with 20 mM phosphate solution at pH 7.0 and centrifugation, urine sample was directly used for extraction. After optimization, 85% ACN (containing 0.3% formic acid v/v) was used for rapid online elution, which was also the mobile phase in HILIC to avoid band broadening during separation or carry‐over that was usually observed in PMME‐RP LC system. Online automation of extraction and separation procedures was realized under the control of a program in this study. The developed method was applied to rapid and sensitive monitoring of three β₂‐agonist traces in human urine. The LODs (S/N = 3) of the method were found to be 0.05–0.09 ng/mL of β₂‐agonists in urine. The recoveries of three β₂‐agonists spiked in five different urine samples ranged from 79.8 to 119.8%, with RSDs less than 18.0%.     

Preparation of a long‐alkyl‐chain‐based hybrid monolithic column with mixed‐mode interactions using a “one‐pot” process for pressurized capillary electrochromatography

A simple “one‐pot” approach for the preparation of a new vinyl‐functionalized organic–inorganic hybrid monolithic column is described. In this improved method, the hydrolyzed alkoxysilanes of tetramethoxysilane and triethoxyvinylsilane were used as precursors for the synthesis of a silica‐based monolith, while 1‐hexadecene and sodium ethylenesulfonate were used as vinyl functional monomers along with azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The effects of reaction temperature, urea content, and composition of organic monomers on the column properties (e.g. morphology, mechanical stability, and chromatographic performance) were investigated. The monolithic column was used for the separation of neutral solutes by reversed‐phase pressurized capillary. Furthermore, the monolith can separate various aromatic amines, which indicated its excellent cation‐exchange capability and hydrophobic interactions. The baseline separation of the aromatic amines was obtained with a column efficiency of up to 78 000 plates/m.     

Liquid chromatography techniques for characterizing poly(Vinyl Alcohol)

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) samples may contain several heterogeneities requiring the development of chromatographic techniques for characterization. Size exclusion separations have been carried out using a number of aqueous eluents, incorporating electrolyte, or electrolyte/organic modifier, or surfactant. The most favourable molecular size separation was obtained using 0.25% w/v sodium lauryl sulfate as eluent. Reasonable values for molecular weights of PVOH samples have been determined. Compositional distributions in copolymer systems can be assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography employing a reversed-phase separation mechanism. For poly(vinyl alcohol), gradient elution with water/tetrahydrofuran (THF) with a wide pore polystyrene-based packing produced separations dependent on degree of hydrolysis and sequence length distribution. The elution results were verified with a column packed with non-porous beads. Partially hydrolysed PVOH samples appeared to have a broad distribution of composition.     

Ultrasonication‐assisted spray ionization‐based micro‐reactors for online monitoring of fast chemical reactions by mass spectrometry

Microfluidics can be used to handle relatively small volumes of samples and to conduct reactions in microliter‐sized volumes. Electrospray ionization can couple microfluidics with mass spectrometry (MS) to monitor chemical reactions online. However, fabricating microfluidic chips is time‐consuming. We herein propose the use of a micro‐reactor that is sustained by two capillaries and an ultrasonicator. The inlets of the capillaries were individually immersed to two different sample vials that were subjected to the ultrasonicator. The tapered outlets of the two capillaries were placed cross with an angle of ~60° close to the inlet of the mass spectrometer to fuse the eluents. On the basis of capillary action and ultrasonication, the samples from the two capillaries can be continuously directed to the capillary outlets and fuse simultaneously to generate gas phase ions for MS analysis through ultrasonication‐assisted spray ionization (UASI). Any electric contact applied on the capillaries is not required. Nevertheless, UASI spray derived from the eluents can readily occur in front of the mass spectrometer. That is, a micro‐reactor was created from the fusing of the eluent containing different reactants from these two UASI capillaries, allowing reactions to be conducted in situ. The solvent in the fused droplets was evaporated quickly, and the product ions could be immediately observed by MS because of the extreme rise in the concentration of the reactants. For proof of concept, pyrazole synthesis reaction and cortisone derivatization by Girard T reagent were selected as the model reactions. The results demonstrated the feasibility of using UASI‐based micro‐reactor for online MS analysis to detect reaction intermediates and products.     

pCEC coupling with ESI‐MS for the analysis of β2‐agonists and narcotics using a poly‐(1‐hexadecene‐co‐TMPTMA) monolithic column

A pressure‐assisted CEC with ESI‐MS based on poly(1‐hexadecene‐co‐trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate) monolithic column for rapid analysis of two β₂‐agonists and three narcotics was established in this article. After the organic polymer‐based monolithic column was prepared by an in‐situ polymerization procedure, a systematic investigation of the pressure‐assisted CEC separation and ESI‐MS detection parameters was performed. Baseline separation of the studied analytes could be obtained using the solution containing 75% ACN v/v and 20 mmol/L ammonium acetate with pH 8.0 as running buffer, when applying separation voltage of 20 kV and assisted pressure of 5 bar. Under the optimized conditions, two β₂‐agonists and three narcotics could be completely resolved and accurately determined within 15 min. Finally, the proposed method was successfully used for real urine samples detection.     

A New Splitting Method for Both Analytical and Preparative LC/MS

This paper presents a novel splitting method for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) application, which allows fast MS detection of LC-separated analytes and subsequent online analyte collection. In this approach, a PEEK capillary tube with a micro-orifice drilled on the tube side wall is used to connect with LC column. A small portion of LC eluent emerging from the orifice can be directly ionized by desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) with negligible time delay (6~10 ms) while the remaining analytes exiting the tube outlet can be collected. The DESI-MS analysis of eluted compounds shows narrow peaks and high sensitivity because of the extremely small dead volume of the orifice used for LC eluent splitting (as low as 4 nL) and the freedom to choose favorable DESI spray solvent. In addition, online derivatization using reactive DESI is possible for supercharging proteins and for enhancing their signals without introducing extra dead volume. Unlike UV detector used in traditional preparative LC experiments, this method is applicable to compounds without chromophores (e.g., saccharides) due to the use of MS detector. Furthermore, this splitting method well suits monolithic column-based ultra-fast LC separation at a high elution flow rate of 4 mL/min.

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.     

Development of an online solid‐phase extraction with liquid chromatography method based on polymer monoliths for the determination of dopamine

Porous polymer monoliths have been used to develop an online solid‐phase extraction with liquid chromatography method for determination of dopamine in urine as well as for a continuous monitoring of dopamine in flowing system. A polymerization mixture containing 4‐vinylphenylboronic acid monomer has been used to prepare a trapping column based on specific ring formation reaction with dopamine cis‐diol functionality. Additionally, a monolithic stationary phase with zwitterion functionality has been used to prepare capillary column for the separation of dopamine. Experimental conditions including molarity, pH, and flow rate of the loading buffer together with a valve switching time have been optimized to provide the highest recovery for dopamine. Experimental setup has been used to determine dopamine in a urine. By using both calibration curve and standard addition method, the dopamine level was determined to be 1.19 and 1.28 mg/L, respectively. Further, we have used experimental design to optimize coupling of two extraction monolithic loops to separation capillary column with monolithic phase for a comprehensive monitoring of dopamine. After multivariate analysis, sample loading flow‐rate and a flow‐rate of flushing buffer were selected as the most significant variables. Optimized experimental setup was applied to continuously monitor dopamine degradation.     

Liquid chromatography of polymers under limiting conditions of desorption II. Tandem injection and quantitative molar mass determination

Liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of desorption (LC LCD) is a method which allows molar mass independent elution of various synthetic polymers. A narrow, slowly moving zone of small molecules, which promotes full adsorption of one kind of polymer species within column (an adsorli) acts as an impermeable barrier for the fast moving macromolecules. The latter accumulate on the barrier edge and elute nearly in total volume of liquid within column. At the same time, transport of less adsorptive macromolecules is not hampered so that these are eluted in the size exclusion (SEC) mode. As result, polymers differing in their polarity and adsorptivity can be easily separated without molar mass interference. Three methods of barrier creation are discussed and compared. It is shown that a fraction of sample may elute unretained if the adsorli sample solvent is used as a barrier in connection with a narrow-pore column packing. One part of excluded macromolecules likely breaks-out from the adsorli zone and this results in partial loss of sample and distortion of the LC LCD peaks. This problem can be avoided if the adsorli zone is injected immediately before sample solution. Applicability of the LC LCD method for polymer separation has been demonstrated with a model mixture of poly(methyl methacrylate) (adsorbing polymer) and polystyrene (non adsorbing polymer) using bare silica gel as a column packing with a combination of tetrahydrofuran (a desorption promoting liquid -a desorli) and toluene (adsorli). It has been shown that the LC LCD procedure with tandem injection allows simple and fast discrimination of polymer blend components with good repeatability and high sample recovery. For quantitative determination of molar masses of both LC LCD and SEC eluted polymers, an additional size exclusion chromatographic column can be applied either in a conventional way or in combination with a multi-angle light scattering detector. A single eluent is used in the latter column, which separates the mixed mobile phase, system peaks and the desorli zone from the polymer peaks so that measurements are free from disturbances caused by the changing eluent composition. The resulting LC LCD x SEC procedure has been successfully applied to poly(methyl methacrylate) samples.     

CE‐MS analysis of heroin and its basic impurities using a charged polymer‐protected gold nanoparticle‐coated capillary

The first application of charged polymer‐protected gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as semi‐permanent capillary coating in CE‐MS was presented. Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) was the only reducing and stabilizing agent for Au NPs preparation. Stable and repeatable coating with good tolerance to 0.1 M HCl, methanol, and ACN was obtained via a simple rinsing procedure. Au NPs enhanced the coating stability toward flushing by methanol, improved the run‐to‐run and capillary‐to‐capillary repeatabilities, and improved the separation efficiency of heroin and its basic impurities for tracing geographical origins of illicit samples. Baseline resolution of eight heroin‐related alkaloids was achieved on the PDDA‐protected Au NPs‐coated capillary under the optimum conditions: 120 mM ammonium acetate (pH 5.2) with addition of 13% methanol, separation temperature 20°C, applied voltage ?20 kV, and capillary effective length 60.0 cm. CE‐MS analysis with run‐to‐run RSDs (n=5) of migration time in the range of 0.43–0.62% and RSDs (n=5) of peak area in the range of 1.49–4.68% was obtained. The established CE‐MS method would offer sensitive detection and confident identification of heroin and related compounds and provide an alternative to LC‐MS and GC‐MS for illicit drug control.     

Fractionation of phosphopeptides on strong anion‐exchange capillary trap column for large‐scale phosphoproteome analysis of microgram samples

It is one of the key issues to develop powerful fractionating method to increase the identification of the low‐abundance phosphopeptides. In this study, a semi‐online 2‐D LC separation strategy based on three‐step fractionation of the enriched peptides on strong anion‐exchange trap column was developed. It was demonstrated that the sensitivity and phosphoproteome coverage obtained by this fractionating method with strong anion‐exchange trap column is much higher than those by the conventional methods based on C18 trap column. In addition, when the same amount of sample was loaded, the number of identified phosphopeptides had increased 108%. Combination of this three‐step fractionation method with RPLC‐MS/MS analysis by 300 min RP‐gradient separation was applied to phosphoproteome analysis of human liver proteins, and 853 unique phosphopeptides was positively identified from 500 μg tryptic digest of human liver proteins. After three cycles' consecutive analyses, 1554 unique phosphopeptides and 1566 phosphorylated sites were totally identified from 735 phosphorylated proteins at a false discovery rate of <1% in about 54 h of analysis time.     

Separation of intact proteins on γ‐ray‐induced polymethacrylate monolithic columns: A highly permeable stationary phase with high peak capacity for capillary high‐performance liquid chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry

Polymethacrylate‐based monolithic capillary columns, prepared by γ‐radiation‐induced polymerization, were used to optimize the experimental conditions (nature of the organic modifiers, the content of trifluoroacetic acid and the column temperature) in the separation of nine standard proteins with different hydrophobicities and a wide range of molecular weights. Because of the excellent permeability of the monolithic columns, an ion‐pair reversed‐phase capillary liquid chromatography with high‐resolution mass spectrometry method has been developed by coupling the column directly to the mass spectrometer without a flow‐split and using a standard electrospray interface. Additionally, the high working flow and concomitant high efficiency of these columns allowed us to employ a longer column (up to 50 cm) and achieve a peak capacity value superior to 1000. This work is motivated by the need to develop new materials for high‐resolution chromatographic separation that combine chemical stability at elevated temperatures (up to 75°C) and a broad pH range, with a high peak capacity value. The advantage of the γ‐ray‐induced monolithic column lies in the batch‐to‐batch reproducibility and long‐term high‐temperature stability. Their proven high loading capacity, recovery, good selectivity and high permeability, moreover, compared well with that of a commercially available poly(styrene‐divinylbenzene) monolithic column, which confirms that such monolithic supports might facilitate analysis in proteomics.     

Capillary electrochromatography and nano‐liquid chromatography coupled to nano‐electrospray ionization interface for the separation and identification of estrogenic compounds

Nano‐LC and CEC were coupled to MS through a nanospray or a pressurized liquid‐junction interface for the simultaneous separation and determination of 11 estrogenic compounds. Different stationary phases, that is, phenyl, C18, and C18 bidentate silica hydrate, were studied. For both techniques, the phenyl stationary phase was the best option, considering separation efficiency, selectivity, and resolution. Under the optimized conditions, the baseline separation of the target compounds (including estradiol and zearalanol epimers) was achieved in less than 20 min in nano‐LC‐MS and less than 13 min in CEC‐MS. Molecular imprinted polymer SPE was used for extracting the target compounds from mineral water samples with the analysis of nano‐LC‐MS. The whole molecular imprinted polymer SPE nano‐LC‐MS method was validated through a recovery study at two levels of concentration. Sensitivity was improved by on‐column focusing technique obtaining LODs in the range 1.4–55.4 ng/L.