Regularities in the retention of nonsubstituted polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in liquid chromatography on polar adsorbents

Summary The retention of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is studied in liquid chromatography, using columns packed with silica gel with a hydroxylated surface and the same silica gel with surface-bonded amine and nitrile groups. A linear relationship was found between retention and the number of π-electrons in the molecule, the size of the molecule and the different types of carbon atoms in the molecule. The different carbon atoms in a PAH molecule contribute differently to the retention and this contribution depends on the nature of the polar functional groups on the adsorbent's surface and on the nature and concentration of a polar modifier present in a non-polar eluent.     

Effect of tetraalkylammonium salts on retention of betacyanins and decarboxylated betacyanins in ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The ability of tetraalkylammonium salts to act as ion-pairing agents for betacyanins and mono- as well as bidecarboxylated betacyanins in HPLC on reversed phase is reported. The results indicate substantial and various influences of tetraalkylammonium salt addition to eluent on magnitude and direction of retention time changes of the analytes. The interactions of the tetraalkylammonium cations with the accessible positive and negative charged parts of the analysed molecules at their different level and position of decarboxylation determined the possibility of ion-pair formation. A remarkable positive influence was observed for betacyanins on the basis of strongly enhanced retention of the resulted ion-pairs. In contrast, the 2,17-bidecarboxy-betacyanin retention, in most of the applied conditions, strongly decreased under the impact of the reagents. The effect of the salt concentration on direction of 17-decarboxy-betacyanin and 2,17-bidecarboxy-betacyanin retention changes strongly varied with the eluent pH. The carboxylic group at the C-2 carbon cannot interact with tetraalkylammonium cations as strongly as does the C-17 carboxylic group, leading to different effects in the absence of carboxylic group at the C-2 or C-17 carbon in the molecules.     

Low-energy interactions in high-performance liquid chromatography

Liquid chromatographic systems with very weak excessive analyte-adsorbent interactions have been studied. These systems consisted of a homologous series of n-alkanes as both analytes and mobile phases with a C18 reversed-phase adsorbent. A linear decrease of the analyte retention volume with an increase of the number of analyte carbon atoms was found. Corresponding increases of analyte retention with an increase in the number of eluent carbon atoms was also discovered. An explanation of these two effects on the basis of adsorption theory is proposed. A good correlation of column hold-up volume calculated by interpolation of the retention dependencies for above mentioned systems with that measured by the minor disturbance method has been shown. A study of the temperature dependencies of these alkane systems has shown entropy-governed retention dependencies.     

Molecular statistical calculation of thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption of polymantane molecules on the basis face of graphite

The thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption (TCA) of polymantane molecules and their some derivatives on the basis face of graphite were calculated for the first time in terms of the atom-atomic approximation of the semiempirical molecular statistical theory of adsorption. The graphite surface exhibits high structural selectivity to isomeric polymantanes. A model for adsorption of cage molecules on the planar surface was proposed. The model is based on the idea that contributions of atoms of the adsorbate molecule to the total adsorption energy can be discriminated according to the distance of these atoms from the surface of a solid. Advantages and limitations of using the data on adsorption of molecules of isomeric alkanes, including rotamers, for the analysis of equilibrium TCA values of isomeric polymantanes on graphite are discussed. The possibility of separation of representatives of the polymantane hydrocarbon family by gas adsorption chromatography on columns with graphitized thermal carbon black was suggested on the basis of the calculated TCA values and logarithmic retention indices.     

Adsorption of aromatic compounds from solutions in <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-heptane by modified nanoporous silica

The adsorption of anisole, anthracene, benzoic acid, benzene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, phenol, and carbon tetrachloride from dilute solutions in n-heptane on the modified nanoporous silica sorbents, Silasorb C18 and Phenyl-Silasorb, at 298 K is investigated by developing liquid chromatography. The Henry law constants and Helmholtz energy of adsorption for these aromatic compounds are calculated from their retention values. The adsorption isotherms of the aromatic compounds are calculated from their chromatographic peaks with allowances made for longitudinal smearing. A correlation is made between the Henry law constants calculated from the retention values of the aromatic compounds and from their adsorption isotherms. The influences of the surface modification of the silica adsorbents and the molecular structure of the aromatic compounds on their elution from the chromatographic column with n-heptane as the eluent are discussed. Contributions of functional groups in the molecules of the aromatic compounds to the Helmholtz energy of adsorption on different surfaces are estimated.     

The theoretical basis of column chromatography in multicomponent separations. Part 2: Peak capacity. Column systems with good selectivity

The selectivity of a column system, S, defined by equation 28, includes a variation coefficient (β) of plate number with capacity ratio which has a large influence on the peak capacity, as shown in Fig. 18. Some typical chromatograms are given. In order to predict S for a column system from Kovat's Index, equations 40 and 41 are given to calculate the constant of the carbon number rule for squalane at different temperatures or for different stationary phases. The specific retention value of heptane on squalane at different temperatures can be calculated from equation 42. The nonpolarity index, defined by equation 43, was used to calculate the retention value of heptane on various stationary phases. In liquid chromatography, the order of elution may be reversed by changing the composition of the eluent on the same chemically bonded silica (manufactured in China). The linear relations between the log retention values of different kinds of solutes or of a single solute on the silicas of different surface areas when using the same eluent are given.     

A method of calculating the second dimension retention index in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A method was developed to calculate the second dimension retention index of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC/TOF-MS) data using n-alkanes as reference compounds. The retention times of the C(7)-C(31) alkanes acquired during 24 isothermal experiments cover the 0-6s retention time area in the second dimension retention time space, which makes it possible to calculate the retention indices of target compounds from the corresponding retention time values without the extension of the retention space of the reference compounds. An empirical function was proposed to show the relationship among the second dimension retention time, the temperature of the second dimension column, and the carbon number of the n-alkanes. The proposed function is able to extend the second dimension retention time beyond the reference n-alkanes by increasing the carbon number. The extension of carbon numbers in reference n-alkanes up to two more carbon atoms introduces <10 retention index units (iu) of deviation. The effectiveness of using the proposed method was demonstrated by analyzing a mixture of compound standards in temperature programmed experiments using 6 different initial column temperatures. The standard deviation of the calculated retention index values of the compound standards fluctuated from 1 to 12 iu with a mean standard deviation of 5 iu.     

Molecular statistical calculation of thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption of O-, S-, and Se-containing heteroadamantanes on graphitized thermal carbon black

The thermodynamic characteristics of adsorption (TCA) on the basal face of graphite have been calculated in terms of the semiempirical molecular statistical theory of adsorption for molecules of O-, S-, and Se-containing heteroadamantanes of different structure and isostructural cyclohexane derivatives. The influence of the nature, number, and position of heteroatoms in the adamantane framework on the TCA values was studied in detail, which made it possible to predict the retention of the compounds considered on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black under the conditions of equilibrium gas adsorption chromatography. The introduction of each subsequent heteroatom into a polyheteroadamantane molecule makes a non-additive contribution to the TCA values. The contributions of various fragments to the total adsorption energy were calculated by the TCA of isostructural heterocyclohexane molecules, and the most preferential orientations of the framework molecules of the adsorbates relative to the planar graphite surface were determined.     

Effect of nature of support and impregnating agent on lipophilicity determination for nonionic surfactants by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography

Summary The retention of 9 nonylphenyl ethylene oxide oligomers was determined in 15 reversed-phase chromatographic systems using silicone oils of various molecular mass as impregnating agents and silica, cellulose and alumina supports. The data were evaluated with principal component analysis carried out on the covariance and the correlation matrices. The R_M values did not follow the additivity rule and they did not change linearly with increasing length of the ethylene oxide chain. This is probably due to the folded state of the chain in the eluent. The molecular mass of the silicone oils had a negligible effect on the retention whereas the retention increased with increasing level of impregnation. The support considerably influenced the lipophilicity values of these nonionic surfactants and cellulose seemed to be the most appropriate support. Calculations proved that the application of a correlation matrix may cause data distortion; therefore, the use of a covariance matrix is strongly proposed.     

Study of pH dependence using molecular modeling in reversed-phase liquid chromatography of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone derivatives of aldose

A series of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) aldose was eluted on a C₁₈ column with an acetonitrile-phosphate buffer over the range of pH 2-10 in reversed phase liquid chromatography. The relationship between the retention factor, k, and the eluent pH was expressed by an equilibrium scheme representing the probable retention process. The experimental data were fitted to the correlation curve drawn according to the equation containing the formation of the hydrogen bond with a hydroxonium ion in the eluent and the ionization of the oxygen atoms in the pyrazolone rings of the solute.The conformational changes of PMP-aldose according with the eluent pH were corroborated by computer-aided molecular modeling using quantum chemical calculations. The retention behavior was elucidated as a function of the geometrical feature of the PMP-aldose.     

Retention controlling and peak shape simulation in anion chromatography using multiple equilibrium model and stochastic theory

The stochastic theory of chromatography and an equilibrium based approach were used for the prediction of peak shape and retention data of anions. This attempt incorporating the potential advantages of two different chromatographic phenomena for analytical purposes. It is an integrated method to estimate kinetic and thermodynamic properties for the same chromatographic run of ions. The stochastic parameters of eluted anions, such as the residence time of the molecule on the surface of the stationary phase, and the average number of adsorption steps were determined on the basis of a retention database of organic and inorganic anions (formate, chloride, bromide, nitrate, sulphate, oxalate, phosphate) obtained by using carbonate/bicarbonate eluent system at different pHs (9-11) and concentrations (7-13 mM). In the investigated IC system the residence times are much higher and the average number of sorption steps is somewhat smaller than in RP-HPLC. The simultaneous application of the stochastic and the multispecies eluent/analyte model was utilized to peak shape simulation and the retention controlling of various anions under elution conditions of practical importance. The similarities between the measured and the calculated chromatograms indicates the predictive and simulation power of the combined application of the stochastic theory and the multiple species eluent/analyte retention model.     

Retention behaviour of acidic, neutral and basic drugs on a CN column using phosphate buffers in the mobile phase

The retention behaviour of a set of sixteen more or less drugs on a CN column with methanol-phosphate buffer as eluent was studied. The influence of the volume percentage of methanol, pH and the ionic strength on the capacity factors (k') of the drugs was determined using an experimental design consisting of three pH values (3, 5 and 7), four ionic strengths (0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1) and three volume percentages of methanol (10, 30 and 50%). The selected drugs were basic, acidic and neutral compounds with different polarity properties. The number of carbon atoms, considered here as reflecting the hydrophobic characteristics of the solutes, varied from 7 to 25. The influence on the retention of drugs on a CN column of the different parameters studied was evaluated. The volume percentage of organic modifier and the pH are the most important factors. A change in ionic strength is important only when large molecules are chromatographed. As the interaction between pH, ionic strength and volume percentage of methanol is small, optimization of the three parameters separately is possible.     

Second order retention effects in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. 1. Influence of solute size

Summary Retention times or volumes in reversed-phase liquid chromatography are substantially influenced by partial steric exclusion of solutes from the pore space of the usual octadecyl silica column packings. Contrary to the common view that exclusion effects become appreciable only with large molecules, they are clearly observable even with solutes of a size similar to or even smaller than eluent molecules. The extent of exclusion was directly determined from elution volume versus carbon number plots of n-alkanes with n-pentane eluent. Using high precision (relative standard deviation <0,1%) retention data with methanol eluent, it was found that the effective dead volume depends on solute chain length. If such data is corrected for partial exclusion, corresponding log (capacity factors) as functions of carbon number are absolutely linear which is equivalent to perfectly constant methylene selectivity, , within the n-alkane series. Since this observation was made on various columns with thousands of data, it may be regarded as a case of experimental proof of Martin's postulate of additivity of retention increments of molecular constituents.Presented at the 19th ISC, Aix-en-Provence, France, September 13–18, 1992.     

Nonlinear function retention model in weak acid anion chromatography

A nonlinear function retention model for anion chromatography is developed, which is able to predict the retention behavior of polyvalent weak acid anions using sodium hydroxide as eluent. The relationship between the retention factors of phosphate and resorcinol and eluent concentration was studied with sodium hydroxide as the eluent. Both retention factors of the analyte anions first increase then decrease with the increase of sodium hydroxide concentration. The estimated values agree with the measured values with correlation coefficients for phosphate and resorcinol of 0.9920 and 0.9916, respectively, which shows the nonlinear function model is a useful addition to the theory of anion chromatography. The model is able to optimize the separation of polyvalent weak acid anions.     

Simplified column-switching technology for the determination of traces of anions in the presence of high concentrations of other anions

A binary eluent model was proposed to study the retention behavior of trace anions in the presence of high concentrations of co-eluent anions. According to this model, the effect of the matrix on the retention of trace anions can be suppressed by using a high-concentration eluent. Based on the model, a simplified 'heart-cut' column-switching technology was proposed, in which the column-switching time window can be determined directly by standard solution of the analyte. By using this technology, a detection limit of 50 microg/l was obtained for nitrate in the presence of 5,000 mg/l chloride and 250 mg/l sulfate. The effect of the matrix on the concentration efficiency of weak acid anions was studied according to the result of phosphate. The possibility of the determination of weak acid anion by the 'heart-cut' technology was also discussed. The technology has been applied for the determination of nitrate in high salinity sea water, the spike recovery is in the range of 89.2-101.3%.     

Simulation of chromatography of phenolic compounds with a computational chemical method

An ab initio simulation of reversed-phase liquid chromatography for phenolic compounds was achieved based on molecular interaction energy values calculated using molecular mechanics calculations (MM2) of the CAChe program. The precision of the predicted retention factors from the molecular interaction energy values was equivalent to the predicted retention factors based on octanol-water partition coefficients (log P) calculated using the molecular orbital package (MOPAC). The prediction of retention factors of phenolic compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography in a given pH eluent was possible using the predicted dissociation constant (pKa) from the atomic partial charge without a chemical experiment if the organic modifier effect was known.     

Lipophilicity study of eight cephalosporins by reversed‐phase thin‐layer chromatographic method

The lipophilicity (R_M0) and specific hydrophobic surface area for the representatives of four generation cephalosporins have been determined by reversed‐phase thin‐layer chromatography, and the effect of different mobile‐phase modifiers (such as methanol, acetonitrile, acetone, 1,4‐dioxane and 2‐propanol) on the retention has been studied. The compounds studied showed typical retention behavior; their R_M values decreased linearly with increasing concentration of the organic modifier in the eluent. The linear correlations between the volume fraction of the organic solvent and the R_M values over a limited range were established for each solute, resulting in high values of correlation coefficients (>0.95 in most cases). R_M values were determined by various concentrations of organic modifier, and the correlation obtained was extrapolated to 0% of organic modifier. Chromatographically established logP (R_M0) parameters were compared with computationally calculated partition coefficients values (AClogP, ALOGP, KOWWIN, ALOGPs, XLOGP2, MLOGP and XLOGP3) and experimental octanol–water logP values (measured by the shake flask method). The received results demonstrate that RP‐TLC may be a good alternative technique for analytics in describing the lipophilic nature of investigated cephalosporins as well as the activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of a microparticulate strong anion-exchanger in the HPLC of acidic drugs

The use of Waters Spherisorb S5SAX for the HPLC of acidic compounds, including a number of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), has been investigated. Adequate retention, separation, and peak efficiency and symmetry were obtained for most analytes on a 250 x 4.6 mm i.d. column using methanol containing ammonium perchlorate (10 mmol L(-1), pH 6.7 or pH 8.3) as eluent. The results of changes in (i) eluent pH (constant ionic strength); (ii) eluent ionic strength (constant pH); and (iii) adding water to the eluent (constant pH) were consistent with a retention mechanism dominated by ion-exchange with the bonded strong anion-exchange (SAX) moieties. However, there were some unexpected observations, including (i) a general decrease in retention at eluent pH values above 7.7; (ii) a marked increase in retention on adding 1% (v/v) water to the eluent; (iii) a subsequent marked decrease in retention on adding 5% (v/v) or more water; and (iv) decreased column activity with time. These observations may be due to (i) interaction between the charged SAX moieties and ionised surface silanols (with ionization increasing at higher eluent pH values) and (ii) influence of the solvation of silanols, analytes, SAX moiety, and counter-ion varying with both pH and water content. Nevertheless, the factors influencing separation of individual NSAIDs remain unclear especially as no relation between log k and pKa exists for these compounds. Hydrophobic interactions are unlikely to be important since basic and neutral compounds were hardly retained. Ease of accessibility of the counter-ion to the SAX moiety for analyte displacement may be a factor.     

The gas-liquid chromatographic stationary phase properties of liquid organic salts: Anomalous selectivity variation when employing the Rohrschneider/McReynolds system

The liquid organic salts studied here have wide stable liquid temperature ranges and act as efficient, highly selective gas-liquid chromatographic stationary phases. The effect of carbon number on the gas liquid chromatographic stationary phase properties of this series of tetra-n-butylammonium n-alkylsulfonate salts was evaluated by the well-known Rohrschneider/McReynolds system. Several problems arose when attempting to characterize these polar liquid organic salts employing this system. The specific retention volumes for the polar selectivity probes were generally not affected by an increase in the carbon number for the series studied here. However, the specific retention volumes for the n-alkane retention index markers increased dramatically as the anion carbon number was increased. The overall effect was a net decrease in the calculated McReynolds constants with increasing carbon number, although the true selectivity of the different stationary phases remained constant. Additionally, the specific retention volumes of the basic test probe, pyridine, showed large erratic variations and, in some cases, was not recovered from the columns. The results suggest the possibility of on-column chemical reactions occurring with some of these salts, and an alternative test probe, 2,6-dimethylpyridine (lutidine) is proposed to eliminate this problem. As McReynolds constants are presently the most commonly used parameters for predicting retention and gas chromatographic stationary phase selection, it is important that workers are aware of the inherent limitations of this scheme.     

Retention properties of the fluorinated bonded phase on liquid chromatography of aromatic hydrocarbons

The unique characteristics of a bonded-fluoroalkylsilane column, Fluofix, are described by comparison with those of a bonded octylsilane column, C8, in the reversed-phase chromatography of aromatic hydrocarbons. The selectivity of homologous aromatics on the fluorinated column varied with the methanol concentration in the eluent. At a larger proportion of methanol than 80:20 (v/v) the larger aromatics eluted faster than the smaller ones. However, with less methanol, the aromatics were eluted in order of their molecular size, as usually reported for a conventional hydrocarbonaceous column. A dependence of the retention mechanism on the composition of the eluent was suggested by the decrease in the entropy-enthalpy compensation temperature, beta, with increase of methanol concentration in the eluent. In order to explain the concentration dependence of the retention, the molecular interaction energy in the retention process was calculated by computer simulation. The interaction energy between aromatics and the stationary ligand on the Fluofix column was smaller than that on the C8 column and comparable to the interaction energy between the aromatics and methanol. At higher methanol concentrations, solute-fluorinated ligand complex formation was obstructed by the methanol molecules solvating the solute, reducing the retention of the larger aromatics.