A comparison of eight commercial reverse-phase (ODS) columns for the separation of hydroxylated derivatives of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene

This paper presents an evaluation of a number of commercially available octadecylsilane columns. The separation of four 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) derivatives namelycis- andtrans-5,6-dihydroxy DMBA,trans-8,9-dihydro-8,9-dihydroxy DMBA, and 7,12-dihydroxymethyl benz(a)anthracene (BA) was compared under identical conditions comprising of a concave gradient (No. 4) from 20 to 70% acetonitrile/water for 75 minutes at flow rate of 1ml/min. A direct correlation between percent carbon loading and retention behavior was observed for bonded phases prepared from silica particles with similar surface areas. Other column performance parameters, such as capacity factors, separation ratios and resolution between peaks for the solutes examined were also calculated and are discussed.