Optimization of the separation of polymethoxylated flavones in reversed phase liquid chromatography

Summary An optimization procedure for the chromatographic separation of polymethoxylated flavones is described. A polyhedron working volume is drawn from a truncated tetrahedron constructed from the four solvents selected. The response function is an n'th degree polynomial the coefficients of which are calculated through the least squares method by means of B=(XX)^–1XY in which XX is the information matrix (XX)^–1 the variance covariance matrix. X is the matrix of the model (polynomial built from the selected experiments) and X the transposed matrix. Y is the quality of the chromatogram defined by the resolution of each pair of solutes. An exchange algorithm matrix yields the minimum number of runs necessary to obtain a correct B. Isoresponses curves are drawn by intersection of a cubic volume which includes the polyhedron to give a better insight. An optimal zone is then determined and provides the solvent composition. An optimized chromatogram of 8 methoxylated flavones demonstrates the application of the method.