A homochiral porous organic cage with large cavity and pore windows for the efficient gas chromatography separation of enantiomers and positional isomers

Porous organic cages composed of discrete cage molecules have attracted considerable recent attention as gas adsorption materials and separation media. In this study, we report a homochiral porous organic cage CC5 with a large cavity and pore windows as a novel stationary phase for high‐resolution gas chromatographic separations. The capillary column was prepared by a static coating method. A large number of racemic compounds have been resolved on the coated capillary column, including derivatized amino acids, alcohols, alcohol amines, esters, ethers, ketones, and epoxides. It is interesting that the CC5‐coated capillary column exhibits significant chiral recognition complementarity to a commercial β‐DEX 120 column and a previously reported homochiral porous organic cage CC3‐R‐coated column, which could expand the range of the analytes amenable to separation on porous organic cage‐based capillary columns. Moreover, the fabricated column also shows excellent selectivity for the separation of positional isomers, including the challenging ethylbenzene and xylene isomers. Experimental results demonstrate an excellent separation performance and stability of the CC5‐coated column, making it promising for gas chromatography applications.     

Equilibrium analysis of reactions between aromatic anions and nonionic surfactant micelles by capillary zone electrophoresis.

Separability of some positional isomers of aromatic anions by capillary zone electrophoresis was improved by adding nonionic surfactants to a migrating solution. Eleven kinds of aromatic anions, including positional isomers, were used as analytes, and Brij-35, Brij-58 and Brij-78 were investigated as nonionic surfactants to form micelles, where hydrophobicities are different from each other. Increasing the concentration of the surfactants developed the separability of the anionic isomers. The interaction between the anions and the nonionic surfactant micelles is also investigated through the change in the electrophoretic mobility, and the binding constants are determined. Apparent electrophoretic mobility of the anions decreased with increasing concentrations of the nonionic surfactants. The decrease in the mobility, as well as the binding constant, was larger in the monovalent anions than in the divalent anions, which indicates that the interaction or reactivity of the monovalent analytes is higher than that of the divalent analytes. The reactivity of each anion was almost identical even when the kinds of the surfactants were changed, suggesting that the hydrophobicity of the polyoxyethylene group in the surfactant would have the main role for binding the analytes. The reactivity tendency among the positional isomers was almost similar to that in ion association-capillary zone electrophoresis using tertabutylammonium ion as a pairing ion. The results obtained in this work suggest that the anions are bound to the micelles by the hydrophobic interaction between analyte anions and the polyoxyethylene moiety of the surfactant micelles. Changes in the fluorescence intensity of the anions were also investigated; the results can explain well the mobility changes of the analytes.     

基于金属有机骨架材料固定相的气相色谱分离应用

金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)是一类由有机配体和金属离子(或金属簇)自组装形成的新型多功能材料。MOFs具有孔隙度高、比表面积大、孔径可调、化学和热稳定性高等特点,被广泛应用于吸附、分离、催化等多个领域。近年来,MOFs作为新型气相色谱固定相用于分离异构体受到了广泛关注。与传统无机多孔材料相比,MOFs在结构和功能上展现出高度的可调性,通过合理地选择配体和金属中心,可以设计合成具有不同孔道大小和孔道环境的MOFs,从而分别从热力学和动力学角度优化色谱分离效果,有效提高分离选择性。该文结合MOFs的结构,讨论了MOFs气相色谱固定相分离不同类型分析物的分离机理。分离机理主要包括MOFs孔道的分子筛效应或形状选择性,MOFs不饱和的金属位点与分析物中不同的官能团之间产生的相互作用,分析物与MOFs孔道之间产生的不同范德华力、π-π相互作用和氢键相互作用。此外,MOFs的手性分离可能主要依赖于外消旋体与手性MOFs中手性活性位点之间的相互作用。该文也对不同分析目标物进行了归类,综述了多种MOFs气相色谱固定相对烷烃、二甲苯异构体和乙基甲苯、外消旋体、含氧有机物、环境有机污染物的气相色谱分离效果。最后,该文还对MOFs在该领域的应用进行了总结与展望,旨在为MOFs气相色谱高效分离的研究提供参考。     

Capillary GC using pyridyl β‐cyclodextrin stationary phase

A new β‐CD derivative, heptakis [2,6‐di‐O‐pentyl‐3‐O‐(4′‐chloro‐5′‐pyridylmethyl)]‐β‐CD, was synthesized by the selective introduction of a pyridyl group on the 3‐positions of β‐CD. The chromatographic properties of the pyridyl β‐CD derivative were studied by using it as the stationary phase in capillary GC. The polarity of the prepared stationary phase was moderate, and the separation results demonstrated that the prepared stationary phase possessed excellent separation ability and chiral recognition for a wide range of analytes. Not only the aromatic positional isomers, such as o‐, m‐, p‐xylene and α‐, β‐naphthol isomers, but also some compounds with multi‐stereogenic centers, such as n‐(1‐methylpropyl)‐3‐(2,2‐dichloroethenyl)‐2,2‐dimethylcyclopropanecarboxamide and n‐(1‐methylpropyl)‐3‐(2‐chloro‐3,3,3‐trifluoropropenyl)‐2,2‐dimethylcyclopropanecarboxamide with three stereogenic centers including eight configurational isomers, were successfully separated. The results also indicated that the polarity of the β‐CD derivative, and the hydrogen bonding between the β‐CD derivative, and the analytes had a very important effect on separation.     

Designed combination of chiral selectors for adjustment of enantioseparation selectivity in capillary electrophoresis.

In this study an attempt has been made to explain the reasons for changing the enantioseparation selectivity in some dual cyclodextrin (CD) systems compared to the use of single chiral selectors in capillary electrophoresis (CE). An explanation for selectivity changes is proposed based on the effect of the chiral selector on the mobility of the analyte. In order to support the proposed mechanism, several dual systems were designed on the basis of the known recognition pattern of enantiomers for individual CDs. In most cases the separation selectivity could be adjusted in a designed way. There was no experimental evidence for simultaneous binding of a given chiral analyte with both chiral selectors or of chiral recognition of an analyte complex with one CD by another CD.     

A novel in situ strategy for the preparation of a β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine‐coated capillary column for capillary electrochromatography enantioseparations

Inspired by the chiral recognition ability of β‐cyclodextrin and the natural adhesive properties of polydopamine under alkaline conditions, in this study, a rapid and in situ modification strategy was developed to fabricate β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine composite material coated‐capillary columns for open tubular capillary electrochromatography. The results of scanning electron microscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, streaming potential, and electro‐osmotic flow studies indicated that β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine was successfully fixed on the inner wall of the capillary column. This coating can be achieved within 1 h affording a greatly reduced capillary preparation time. The performance of the β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine‐coated capillary was validated by the analysis of seven pairs of chiral analytes, namely epinephrine, norepinephrine, isoprenaline, terbutaline, verapamil, tryptophane, carvedilol. Good enantioseparation efficiencies were achieved for all. For three consecutive runs, the relative standard deviations for the migration times of the analytes for intraday, interday, and column‐to‐column repeatability were in the range of 0.41–1.74, 1.03–4.18, and 1.66–8.24%, respectively. Moreover, the separation efficiency of the β‐cyclodextrin/polydopamine‐coated capillary column did not decrease obviously over 90 runs. The strategy should also be feasible to introduce and immobilize other chiral selectors on the inner walls surface of capillary columns.     

Proton NMR assignments for R,S-1,1'-binaphthol (BN) and R,S-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogen phosphate (BNDHP) interacting with bile salt micelles

We report proton chemical shifts for two model chiral analytes that are commonly used in the study of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC), R,S-1,1'-binaphthol (1, BN) and R,S-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl hydrogen phosphate (2, BNDHP), in the absence and presence of monomers and micelles of sodium cholate and sodium deoxycholate. The analytes undergo fast exchange in and out of the micelles, which perturbs the analytes' chemical shifts, and which we use to resolve some resonances that are degenerate at both 300 and 600 MHz. Although BN and BNDHP are simple molecules, the proton assignments are only unambiguously established with the aid of the exchange with micelles, an attractive alternative to other methodologies such as the use of paramagnetic shift reagents which may also cause spectral distortions. We rely also upon 2D-NOE spectra of samples in the presence of micelles to perform these assignments. Recently published assignments, which were based upon 2D-COSY spectroscopy, appear to be in error and are corrected here. Finally, we note that these shifts are information-rich reporters on the nature of the interactions of these model analytes with the micelles.     

High Electric Field Strengths in Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary Electrophoresis with Ionic Liquids as Modifiers

Abstract

In this study, a method for the separation and determination of basic analytes in aqueous capillary electrophoresis (CE) was developed based on high electric field strengths and ionic liquids (ILs). The resulting electric field strengths ranged from 500 to 1000 V/cm. Trishydroxymethylaminomethane (Tris) and sodium cholate (SC) were used as main electrolytes. The ionic liquids 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazoium tetrafluoroborate (1E‐3MI‐TFB) and 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazoium tetrafluoroborate (1B‐3MI‐TFB) were used as modifiers to improve the separation efficiency and selectivity. It was shown that increasing the applied electric field strengths not only caused short analysis time, but also did not induce excessive Joule heating in the capillary when ionic liquids were used as modifiers. The susceptibility to high electric field of separation efficiency in capillary electrophoresis, with the effect of ionic liquids, was subsequently discussed, and the developed method was used to analyze three model analytes in Sinacalia tangutica. The accurate results illustrated that high electric field strength with the ionic liquids was feasible in CE.     

Ultrashort partial-filling technique in capillary electrophoresis for infinite resolution of tramadol enantiomers and its metabolites with highly sulfated cyclodextrins

The possibility to enhance resolution to infinite value in chiral capillary electrophoresis is attained as soon as the apparent mobility of one enantiomer becomes opposite to the other. This could be achieved on the basis of the carrier ability of multiple charged chiral selectors such as highly sulfated cyclodextrin (HS-CD). With tramadol and its phase I metabolites selected as model compounds, the HS-gamma-CD was found to be the most appropriate chiral selector. The CD concentration was determined where one enantiomer still migrated as a cation while the other migrated in the opposite side. Besides the chiral selector concentration, secondary parameters such as buffer concentration appeared to be critical to reach infinite resolution. The latter was achieved with partial filling technique using ultrashort separation zones (a few mm). In order to better understand the interaction mechanism between the selected CD and the analytes, the classical affinity capillary electrophoresis method, although not fully satisfactory because of ionic strength variations within a series of mobility shift measurements, was applied to estimate complexation constants and complex mobilities. The results obtained point to the prevailing role of complex mobility differences in the enantioselectivity mechanism.     

Label‐free aptamer‐based partial filling technique for enantioseparation and determination of dl‐tryptophan with micellar electrokinetic chromatography

In this study, a simple and reproducible method for enantioseparation and determination of dl ‐tryptophan (dl ‐T rp) was developed by using a partial filling technique in combination with MEKC . The corresponding l ‐T rp specific DNA aptamer was used as a chiral selector. Sodium cholate was used to form the chiral micelles and to enhance the enantioseparation of the enantiomers. Effects of aptamer concentration, filling time, buffer composition, and separation voltage on the enantioseparation were evaluated. The M g²⁺ and Na⁺ concentration in separation buffer was found to effectively affect the separation efficiency and reproducibility. Under the optimal conditions, d ‐ and l ‐T rp were completely enantioseparated in less than 9 min. This aptamer‐based partial‐filling approach has the potential to be extended to the separation of other enantiomers after the replacement of corresponding specific aptamers.     

Graphene oxide coated capillary for chiral separation by CE

This article describes a new application of graphene oxide (GO) in CE based on the coating of fused silica capillary for chiral separation. The coated capillary was characterized by SEM, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and Raman spectra. The results indicated that the capillary was coated with GO. Chiral separations were carried out in the GO‐coated capillary for the ephedrine–pseudoephedrine (E‐PE) isomers and β‐methylphenethylamine (β‐Me‐PEA) isomers at the optimal buffer conditions without any chiral selector by CE. The precision and reproducibility of GO‐coated capillary were investigated, and the RSDs of migration time (n = 6) for the E‐PE isomers were 1.35–1.41%, and 0.97–3.50% for β‐Me‐PEA isomers, respectively. The LOD for E‐PE isomers and β‐Me‐PEA isomers was 3 μM and 18 μM, respectively.     

Preparation and evaluation of monodispersed,submicron, non‐porous silica particles functionalized with β‐CD derivatives for chiral‐pressurized capillary electrochromatography

Submicron, non‐porous, chiral silica stationary phase has been prepared by the immobilization of functionalized β‐CD derivatives to isocyanate‐modified silica via chemical reaction and applied to the pressurized capillary electrochromatography (pCEC) enantio‐separation of various chiral compounds. The submicron, non‐porous, cyclodextrin‐based chiral stationary phases (sub_μm‐CSP2) exhibited excellent chiral recognition of a wide range of analytes including clenbuterol hydrochloride, mexiletine hydrochloride, chlorpheniramine maleate, esmolol hydrochloride, and metoprolol tartrate. The synthesized submicron particles were regularly spherical and uniformly non‐porous with an average diameter of around 800 nm and a mean pore size of less than 2 nm. The synthesized chiral stationary phase was packed into 10 cm × 100 μm id capillary columns. The sub_μm‐CSP2 column used in the pCEC system showed better separation of the racemates and at a higher rate compared to those used in the capillary liquid chromatography mode (cLC) system. The sub_μm‐CSP2 possessed high mechanical strength, high stereoselectivity, and long lifespan, demonstrating rapid enantio‐separation and good resolution of samples. The column provided an efficiency of up to 170 000 plates/m for n‐propylbenzene.     

Separation of linoleic acid oxidation products by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography and nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

In this work the suitability of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) and nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (CE) to the analysis of the primary oxidation products of linoleic acid was studied with uncoated fused-silica capillaries. The primary autoxidation products of linoleic acid are the four hydroperoxide isomers 13-hydroperoxy-cis-9, trans-11-octadecadienoic acid, 13-hydroperoxy-trans-9, trans-11-octadecadienoic acid, 9-hydroperoxy-trans-10,cis-12-octadecadienoic acid, 9-hydroperoxy-trans-10, trans-12-octadecadienoic acid. Addition of a surfactant such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or sodium cholate (SC) into the running buffer (20-30 mM 3-(cyclohexylamino)-1-propanesulfonic acid (CAPS) or ammonium acetate, pH 9.5-11) was required to enhance the water solubility of the sample and selectivity of the separation. MEKC proved to be a promising new technique for the separation of the primary oxidation products of lipids giving results comparable to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Partial separation of hydroperoxide isomers was also achieved using nonaqueous CE with methanol-acetonitrile-sodium cholate as running buffer.     

Comparative study of capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography for the separation of twelve aromatic sulphonate compounds

Summary Two modes of capillary electrophoresis (CE), capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), were investigated for the separation of 12 aromatic sulphonate compounds. In CZE, although the voltage applied, the buffer concentration and the pH were optimized for effective separation of the compounds studied, under the best conditions four of the five amino compounds coeluted, as did naphthalene-1-sulphonic acid and naphthalene-2-sulphonic acid. In MEKC, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and Brij 35 were chosen as the anionic and nonionic surfactants and the effect of the concentration of micelles was examined. The effect of adding methanol as the organic modifier was also investigated with each of these micellar systems. All the analytes, including the isomers, were completely separated by use of MEKC with Brij 35 but when SDS was used only 11 compounds were separated because two amino compounds coeluted.     

MALDI coupled to modified traveling wave ion mobility mass spectrometry for fast enantiomeric determination

In this work, the use of MALDI traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry‐mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TWIMS‐MS) for stereoselective structural analysis of direct cleavage and identification of 2‐substituted piperidines obtained through solid‐phase asymmetric synthesis by using heterogeneous 8‐phenylmenthyl‐based chiral auxiliary resins. A strategy for gas‐phase chiral and structural characterization of small molecular weight molecules by using MALDI‐IMS‐MS technique is discussed. Because both MALDI and IMS do not directly offer chiral resolution, an easy methodology by adding a chiral phase is described to carry out in situ online ion/molecule complexation with different chiral analytes inside the mass spectrometer. Piperidine enantiomers were resolved, and separation obtained shows dependence of surface areas. To corroborate this assumption and elucidate the separation mechanism to accomplish an analytical technique by which fast determination of the chirality of molecules may be determined for a wide range organic compound applications, it was performed DFT calculations to determine the cross‐sectional areas of proton‐bound dimer complexes. Drift times are affected by cross‐sectional areas, correlating bigger times with bigger molecular volumes during the ion mobility experiments of proton‐bound dimer complexes.     

Fast enantiomeric separation with vancomycin as chiral additive by co-electroosmotic flow capillary electrophoresis: increase of the detection sensitivity by the partial filling technique

A fast and sensitive method is described by using vancomycin as a chiral additive for enantiomeric separation by capillary electrophoresis (CE). In order to overcome disadvantages associated with use of vancomycin as chiral additive in CE, several strategies including the dynamic coating technique, the co-electroosmotic flow technique, and the partial filling technique were employed sequentially in this method. Using the polycationic polymer hexadimethrine bromide (HDB) as a buffer additive, the capillary wall was dynamically coated with a thin film formed by the adsorbed HDB. Consequently, the adsorption of vancomycin onto the capillary wall was minimized via electrostatic repulsion between the coating of the capillary wall and the vancomycin molecule. In addition, the reversed electroosmotic flow (from cathode to anode) produced by the positively charged capillary wall migrates in the same direction of negatively charged analytes (co-electroosmotic flow electrophoresis). Thereby the electrophoretic mobility of negatively charged analytes were drastically accelerated leading to a short separation time of less than 3.4 min. The separation time was further reduced by the use of a short-end-injection technique. For example, the analysis time was achieved by as short as 55 s for a baseline separation of dansyl-alpha-amino-n-butyric acid. Concurrently, the partial filling technique was used to avoid the loss of detection sensitivity caused by the presence of vancomycin in the running buffer. The effect of several parameters, such as HDB concentration, buffer pH, plug length of the chiral selector, concentration of the chiral selector and applied voltage, on enantioselectivity were investigated toward optimization. Besides the advantage of a very short separation time, the method is characterized by high detection sensitivity, high selectivity, and high efficiency.     

Graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide as novel stationary phases via electrostatic assembly for open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography

We present here the application of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (GOOH) sheet as novel stationary phases for open‐tubular CEC (OTCEC) separation based on electrostatic assembly. The inner walls of a bare capillary column was first modified by ionic assembly of poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA), and then negatively charged GO or GOOH was easily assembled on a positively charged interior walls of the capillary by electrostatic force. Scanning Electron Microscope images showed that GO and GOOH can still maintain sheet‐layer‐like structure when coated onto the capillary via electrostatic assembly. The chromatographic properties of the GO and GOOH coated columns were evaluated via OTCEC separations of various kinds of analytes, including three acid nitrophenol isomers, three basic nitroaniline isomers, and four neutral PAHs. Efficient separations of all the analytes were achieved with optimized buffer pH and organic additive. The reproducibility and stability of the GO or GOOH coated columns were investigated. Our results indicate the capability of application GO or GOOH sheet in OTCEC separation, which can be coated on the inner wall of fused‐silica capillary via electrostatic assembly.     

Simultaneous chiral separation of triadimefon and triadimenol by sulfated beta-cyclodextrin-mediated capillary electrophoresis

Enantiomeric separation of two triazole fungicides, triadimefon and triadimenol, was investigated in sulfated beta-cyclodextrin (sulfated beta-CD)-mediated capillary electrophoresis (CE) systems. It was found that, at pH 2-4, sulfated beta-CD exhibited strong chiral recognition towards both triadimefon and triadimenol. The enantiorecognition was believed to result from the multiple interactions between sulfated beta-CD and the analytes, which included inclusion effect, electrostatic interaction, and hydrogen bonding. Under optimal conditions (phosphate buffer with 2% sulfated beta-CD, pH 2.5), simultaneous resolution of all chiral isomers of triadimefon and triadimenol was achieved in less than half an hour. In conjunction with solvent extraction and subsequent enrichment by solid-phase extraction (SPE), this new enantioseparation method was applied successfully in the study of stereoselectivity associated with the biotransformation of triadimefon to triadimenol by soil microorganisms. The present methodology was superior to the commonly adopted chiral gas chromatography (GC) approach in that a very mild procedure was involved from sample extraction to the ultimate chiral separation. Thus, the disturbance of the enantiomeric distribution patterns of the original soil samples by heat stress was an unlikely scenario. Furthermore, it was discovered that, owing to the unique selectivity of the present separation strategy, there was virtually no interference from the soil matrix, which led to improvements in both sensitivity and selectivity in real sample determination.     

Facile preparation of polysaccharide‐coated capillaries using a room temperature ionic liquid for chiral separations

In this study, the dissolution of polysaccharides into an ionic liquid was investigated and applied as a coating onto the capillary walls of a fused‐silica capillary in open‐tubular CEC. The coating was evaluated by examining the chiral separation of two analytes (thiopental, sotalol) with three cellulose derivatives (cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate phthalate, and cellulose acetate butyrate). Baseline separation of thiopental enantiomers was achieved by use of each polysaccharide coating (Rs: 7.0, 8.1, 7.1), while sotalol provided partial resolution (Rs: 0.7, 1.0, 0.9). In addition, reproducibility of the cellulose‐coated capillaries was evaluated by estimating the run‐to‐run and capillary‐to‐capillary RSD values of the EOF. Both stability and reproducibility were very good with RSD values of less than 7%.