Characterization of enhanced-fluidity liquid hydrophilic interaction chromatography for the separation of nucleosides and nucleotides

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) is a liquid chromatographic separation mechanism commonly used for polar biological molecules. The use of enhanced-fluidity liquid chromatography (EFLC) with mixtures of methanol/water/carbon dioxide is compared to acetonitrile/water mobile phases for the separation of nucleosides and nucleotides under HILIC conditions. Enhanced-fluidity liquid chromatography involves using common mobile phases with the addition of substantial proportions of a dissolved gas which provides greater mobile phase diffusivity and lower viscosity. The impact of varying several experimental parameters, including temperature, addition of base, salt, and CO₂ was studied to provide optimized HILIC separations. Each of these parameters plays a key role in the retention of the analytes, which demonstrates the complexity of the retention mechanism in HILIC. The tailing of phosphorylated compounds was overcome with the use of phosphate salts and the addition of a strong base; efficiency and peak asymmetry were compared with the addition of either triethylamine (TEA), 1,4-diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane (DABCO) or 1,5-diazabicyclo [4.3.0] non-5-ene (DBN). DBN and DABCO both led to increased efficiency and lower peak asymmetry; DBN provided the best results. Sodium chloride and carbon dioxide were added to enhance the selectivity between the analytes, giving a successful isocratic separation of nucleosides and nucleotides within 8 min. The retention mechanism involved in EFL-HILIC was explored by varying the temperature and the mole fraction of CO₂. These studies showed that partitioning was the dominant mechanism. The thermodynamics study confirmed that the solvent strength is maintained in EFLC and that a change in entropy was mainly responsible for the improved selectivity. The selectivity using methanol/water/carbon dioxide varied greatly compared to that obtained with acetonitrile/water. Finally while this study highlights the optimization of EFL-HILIC for the separation of nucleosides and nucleotides under isocratic conditions, this is also an example of the broad range of polarities of compounds that EFL-HILIC can separate.     

Fluoroalcohols as novel buffer components for basic buffer solutions for liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: retention mechanisms

Two fluoroalcohols--1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methyl-2-propanol (HFTB)--were evaluated as volatile buffer acids in basic mobile phases for LC-ESI-MS determination of acidic and basic compounds. HFIP and HFTB as acidic buffer components offer interesting possibilities to adjust retention behavior of different analytes and expand the currently rather limited range of ESI-compatible buffer systems for basic mobile phases. Comparing with commonly used basic buffer components the fluoroalcohols did not suppress the ionization of the analytes, for several analytes ionization enhancement was observed. RP chromatographic retention mechanisms were evaluated and compared to traditional buffer system. All trends in retention of the acidic and basic analytes can be interpreted by the following model: the neutral fluoroalcohols are quite strongly retained by the stationary phase whereas their anions are less retained, thus their amount on the stationary phase is dependent on mobile phase pH; the anions of the fluoroalcohols form ion pairs in the mobile phase with the basic analytes; the fluoroalcohols on the stationary phase surface compete with acidic analytes thereby hindering their retention; the fluoroalcohols on the stationary phase bind basic analytes thereby favoring their retention.     

Effect of high-performance liquid chromatography mobile phase components on sensitivity in negative atmospheric pressure chemical ionization liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

We have investigated the effect of several common buffers (10-mM formic acid, 10-mM ammonium acetate, and 100-mM ammonium acetate) on the ionization of a series of model compounds that are amenable to negative atmospheric pressure chemical ionization to determine the extent of ionization quenching that can occur. In addition, we have compared the sensitivity of these standard mobile phases to a mobile phase that does not contain an acidic buffer component, but rather a base (N-methylmorpholine). The results showed that, as expected, the sensitivity for the test analytes was greatest in the mobile phase that lacked acidic components. In general, ionization of analytes that contained a single, more weakly acidic functional group was inhibited to a greater degree by more strongly acidic buffer components. In some cases, ionization was quenched completely by acidic buffer components, Ionization of compounds that were more strongly acidic was quite good in all mobile phases tested. Differences in the ionization efficiencies of the analytes in each mobile phase were correlated with the gas-phase reagent ions present. As a point of reference, each of the analytes also was analyzed in the positive ion mode and the signal intensities were compared to those obtained in the negative ion mode. In addition, the utility of mobile phases that contained N-methylmorpholine for chromatographic separations was demonstrated.     

Comparison of the performance of non-ionic and anionic surfactants as mobile phase additives in the RPLC analysis of basic drugs

Surfactants added to the mobile phases in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) give rise to a modified stationary phase, due to the adsorption of surfactant monomers. Depending on the surfactant nature (ionic or non-ionic), the coated stationary phase can exhibit a positive net charge, or just change its polarity remaining neutral. Also, micelles in the mobile phase introduce new sites for solute interaction. This affects the chromatographic behavior, especially in the case of basic compounds. Two surfactants of different nature, the non-ionic Brij-35 and the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) added to water or aqueous-organic mixtures, are here compared in the separation of basic compounds (β-blockers and tricyclic antidepressants). The reversible/irreversible adsorption of the monomers of both surfactants on the stationary phase was examined. The changes in the nature of the chromatographic system using different columns and chromatographic conditions were followed based on the changes in retention and peak shape. The study revealed that Brij-35 is suitable for analyzing basic compounds of intermediate polarity, using "green chemistry", since the addition of an organic solvent is not needed and Brij-35 is a biodegradable surfactant. In contrast, RPLC with hydro-organic mixtures or mobile phases containing SDS required high concentrations of organic solvents.     

Chromatography of substituted benzoic acids with methanol-water-carbon dioxide mixtures.

The impact of the proportion of CO2 concentration in methanol-water-CO2 mobile phases on the separation of several substituted benzoic acids was explored by studying the variation of retention with mobile phase pH in these mixtures. As the amount of CO2 in methanol-aqueous buffer-CO2 mixtures increased, a more basic buffer was needed to control the dissociation of these acids. Differences in terms of retention, separation efficiency and peak asymmetry were shown for substituted benzoic acids with methanol-water-CO2 and methanol-aqueous buffer-CO2 mixtures. Variations of these chromatographic parameters with mobile phase pH were related to the dissociation of these acids and their interaction with methanol-aqueous buffer-CO2 mobile phases and the stationary phase. The addition of a buffer into methanol-aqueous solution-CO2 was an effective means to optimize separations of acidic analytes with high fluidity liquid mobile phases. The substituted benzoic acids had baseline separation in the least amount of time using the high fluidity liquid mobile phases.     

Chromatographic evaluation using basic solutes of the silanol activity of stationary phases based on poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto silica

The chromatographic behaviors of some basic solutes were evaluated on stationary phases based on poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto silica (PMOS-SiO(2)). The test solutes present both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. Evaluations of the pH effect used 80:20 v/v methanol/buffered mobile phase over the pH range of 5-11.5 with inorganic buffers such as borate, carbonate and phosphate and with organic buffers such as citrate, tricine and triethylamine. Evaluations in acidic mobile phases used 50:50 v/v and 30:70 v/v methanol/buffer (pH 2.5; 20 mmol/L) mobile phases. The buffer concentration effect used 65:35 v/v methanol/phosphate (pH 7; 20 and 100 mmol/L) mobile phases. The results are compared with those obtained with two chemically bonded stationary phases. The immobilized phases show greater contributions from an ion-exchange mechanism than do the commercial phases. The results indicate that the silanol activity of PMOS-SiO(2) stationary phases can be adequately evaluated by using appropriate basic probes and mobile phases having different pH, using different buffers.     

The effect of stationary phase on lipophilicity determination of beta-blockers using reverse-phase chromatographic systems

Evaluation of lipophilicity parameters for basic compounds using different chromatographic stationary phases is presented. An HPLC method for determination of lipophilic molecule-stationary phase interactions was based on gradient analysis. Differences in correlation between the lipophilicity of compounds and experimental chromatographic results obtained in pseudo-membrane systems showed a strong influence of stationary phase structure and physico-chemical properties. beta-Blocker drugs with varying lipophilicity and bio-activity were chosen as test compounds. The stationary phases used for the study were monolithic rod-structure C18 and silica gel octadecyl phase SG-C18 as reference material. The second group was silica gel-based polar-embedded alkylamide and cholesterolic phases. The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile or methanol with ammonium acetate, and a linear gradient of methanol and acetonitrile in mobile phase was performed. A linear correlation of plots of log k(g) = f(log P) was observed, especially for polar-embedded phases, and this allowed log P(HPLC) to be calculated. The behavior of stationary phases in methanol and acetonitrile buffer showed differences between obtained log P(HPLC) values.     

Enantioseparation tuned by solvent polarity on a β‐cyclodextrin clicked chiral stationary phase

The efficient enantioseparation of 26 racemates has been achieved with the perphenylcarbamoylated cyclodextrin clicked chiral stationary phase by screening the optimum composition of mobile phase in high‐performance liquid chromatography. The chromatographic results indicate that both the retention and chiral resolution of racemates are closely related to the polarity of the mobile phases and the structures of analytes. The addition of alcohols can significantly tune the enantioseparation in normal‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. The addition of methanol and the ratio of ethanol/methanol or isopropanol/methanol played a key role on the resolution of flavonoids in ternary eluent systems. The chiral separation of flavonoids with pure organic solvent as mobile phase indicates the preferential order for chiral resolution is methanol>ethanol>isopropanol>n‐propanol>acetonitrile.     

Enhanced fluidity liquid chromatography for hydrophilic interaction separation of nucleosides

The application of enhanced fluidity liquid (EFL) mobile phases to improving isocratic chromatographic separation of nucleosides in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode is described. The EFL mobile phase was created by adding carbon dioxide to a methanol/buffer solution. Previous work has shown that EFL mobile phases typically increase the efficiency and the speed of the separation. Herein, an increase in resolution with the addition of carbon dioxide is also observed. This increase in resolution was achieved through increased selectivity and retention with minimal change in separation efficiency. The addition of CO₂ to the mobile phase effectively decreases its polarity, thereby promoting retention in HILIC. Conventional organic solvents of similar nonpolar nature cannot be used to achieve similar results because they are not miscible with methanol and water. The separation of nucleosides with methanol/aqueous buffer/CO₂ mobile phases was also compared to that using acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases. A marked decrease in the necessary separation time was noted for methanol/aqueous buffer/CO₂ mobile phases compared to acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases. There was also an unusual reversal in the elution order of uridine and adenosine when CO₂ was included in the mobile phase.     

Retention of ionisable compounds on high-performance liquid chromatography XVII. Estimation of the pH variation of aqueous buffers with the change of the methanol fraction of the mobile phase

The use of methanol-aqueous buffer mobile phases in HPLC is a common election when performing chromatographic separations of ionisable analytes. The addition of methanol to the aqueous buffer to prepare such a mobile phase changes the buffer capacity and the pH of the solution. In the present work, the variation of these buffer properties is studied for acetic acid-acetate, phosphoric acid-dihydrogenphosphate-hydrogenphosphate, citric acid-dihydrogencitrate-hydrogencitrate-citrate, and ammonium-ammonia buffers. It is well established that the pH change of the buffers depends on the initial concentration and aqueous pH of the buffer, on the percentage of methanol added, and on the particular buffer used. The proposed equations allow the pH estimation of methanol-water buffered mobile phases up to 80% in volume of organic modifier from initial aqueous buffer pH and buffer concentration (before adding methanol) between 0.001 and 0.01 mol L(-1). From both the estimated pH values of the mobile phase and the estimated pKa of the ionisable analytes, it is possible to predict the degree of ionisation of the analytes and therefore, the interpretation of acid-base analytes behaviour in a particular methanol-water buffered mobile phase.     

Development of acid stable, hyper-crosslinked, silica-based reversed-phase liquid chromatography supports for the separation of organic bases

A new generation of extremely acid stable "hyper-crosslinked" (HC) phases have been developed with good plate counts for basic drug separations. In our previous work, we successfully developed an approach for synthesizing HC stationary phases on silica substrates using aluminum trichloride catalyzed Friedel-Crafts (F-C) chemistry to improve the stability of silica-based RPLC stationary phases at low pH. However, the performance of basic analytes on these HC phases under acidic conditions was unusually poor compared to that of conventional silica-based C18 phases. The effects of the specific F-C catalysts used and the specific silica substrate on the chromatographic properties of HC phases have been studied. Modified synthetic strategies that give both good observed plate counts for basic analytes under acidic conditions and very good low pH stability without compromising other chromatographic properties of the hyper-crosslinked phases have been developed. Replacement of aluminum trichloride with tin tetrachloride as the catalyst for the F-C chemistry and use of a very high purity silica result in significantly improved plate counts for basic analytes. In formic acid buffered mobile phases, which are highly compatible with electrospray ionization LC-MS, basic analytes showed much better performance on the tin tetrachloride catalyzed HC phases than on any conventional commercial phase tested. The tin tetrachloride catalyzed HC phase is as stable as the original aluminum trichloride catalyzed HC phases, and much more stable than the bench mark acid stable commercial phase.     

Supercritical fluid chromatographic solvatochromic modifier polarity studies

To understand the chromatographic process as a whole, whether it be for gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), or supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), one needs to know the chemical and physical nature of the mobile and stationary phases and also the interactions that take place between analytes (solutes) and the two phases. An approach towards Investigating the ways that stationary and mobile phases contribute to chromatographic retention Involves exploring the effects of solvent polarity on the strength of the mobile phase. In SFC this could involve determining the polarity of several different modifier/carbon dioxide mobile phases. In this paper, the use of a solvatochromic indicator to learn more about the effects of SFC modifier/mobile phase polarity will be investigated and discussed using several different modifiers and a diolmodified silica column.     

Investigation of polar stationary phases for the separation of sympathomimetic drugs with nano-liquid chromatography in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography mode

In this study, the retention and selectivity of a mixture of basic polar drugs were investigated in hydrophilic interaction chromatographic conditions (HILIC) using nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC). Six sympathomimetic drugs including ephedrine, norephedrine, synephrine, epinephrine, norepinephrine and norphenylephrine were separated by changing experimental parameters such as stationary phase, acetonitrile (ACN) content, buffer pH and concentration, column temperature. Four polar stationary phases (i.e. cyano-, diol-, aminopropyl-silica and Luna HILIC, a cross-linked diol phase) were selected and packed into fused silica capillary columns of 100 μm internal diameter (i.d.). Among the four stationary phases investigated a complete separation of the all studied compounds was achieved with aminopropyl silica and Luna HILIC stationary phases only. Best chromatographic results were obtained employing a mobile phase composed by ACN/water (92/8, v/v) containing 10 mM ammonium formate buffer pH 3. The influence of the capillary temperature on the resolution of the polar basic drugs was investigated in the range between 10 and 50 °C. Linear correlation of ln k vs. 1/T was observed for all the columns; ΔH° values were negative with Luna HILIC and positive with aminopropyl- and diol-silica stationary phases, demonstrating that different mechanisms were involved in the separation.To compare the chromatographic performance of the different columns, Van Deemter curves were also investigated.     

Determination of the pH of binary mobile phases for reversed-phase liquid chromatography

The measurement of pH in chromatographic mobile phases has been a constant subject of discussion during many years. The pH of the mobile phase is an important parameter that determines the chromatographic retention of many analytes with acid-base properties. In many instances a proper pH measurement is needed to assure the accuracy of retention-pH relationships or the reproducibility of chromatographic procedures. Three different methods are common in pH measurement of mobile phases: measurement of pH in the aqueous buffer before addition of the organic modifier, measurement of pH in the mobile phase prepared by mixing aqueous buffer and organic modifier after pH calibration with standard solutions prepared in the same mobile phase solvent, and measurement of pH in the mobile phase prepared by mixing aqueous buffer and organic modifier after pH calibration with aqueous standard solutions. This review discusses the different pH measurement and calibration procedures in terms of the theoretical and operational definitions of the different pH scales that can be applied to water-organic solvent mixtures. The advantages and disadvantages of each procedure are also presented through chromatographic examples. Finally, practical recommendations to select the most appropriate pH measurement procedure for particular chromatographic problems are given.     

Chromatographic evaluation and comparison of three beta-cyclodextrin-based stationary phases by capillary liquid chromatography and pressure-assisted capillary electrochromatography

Enantiomer separations were performed on three beta-cyclodextrin-based chiral stationary phases (CSP) containing the pernaphthylcarbamoylated beta-cyclodextrin (CSP 1), peracetylated beta-cyclodextrin (CSP 2) and permethylated beta-cyclodextrin (CSP 3) as chiral selectors by capillary liquid chromatography and pressure-assisted capillary electrochromatography in this study. Triethylammonium acetate/MeOH or phosphate buffer/MeOH was used as the mobile phase. The experimental factors affecting chiral separations have been examined for each CSP, including pH of the buffers, methanol content and applied voltage. Under optimal separation conditions, a number of racemic compounds were resolved into their enantiomers on three cyclodextrin-based CSP. A comparative study on the performance of three CSP revealed the presence of carbonyl functional groups as well as aromatic rings in the cyclodextrin derivatives, enhanced the interaction between the analytes and CSP, and thus improved enantioselectivity of the CSP.     

Evaluation of the applicability and the stability of a C18 stationary phase containing embedded urea groups

Chromatographic evaluations of a new C18 urea phase in 150x3.9 mm HPLC columns, involving the separation of different test mixtures, indicate good performance for both polar and basic compounds when compared with a commercial C18 reversed phase and also show promising results for the separation of some herbicides. An aging study was performed by passing a potassium phosphate mobile phase buffered at pH 7 through 50x3.9 mm HPLC columns. The column stability was evaluated by means of the chromatographic parameters obtained for the separation of some compounds of the Neue test mixture, containing apolar, polar and highly basic analytes. The applicability of the new C18 urea phase was evaluated with a herbicide mixture.     

Prediction of chromatographic retention,pKa values and optimization of the separation of polyphenolic acids in strawberries

Polyphenolic acids are a complex group of compounds that have attracted enormous attention in the last few years because of their biological properties. In this work, the proportion of organic modifier and the pH of acetonitrile-water mixtures used as mobile phases were optimized in order to separate a series of polyphenolic compounds. The linear solvation energy relationship formalism based on the single solvent polarity parameter, E(T)N was used to predict their chromatographic behavior as a function of the percentage of acetonitrile in the eluent. Moreover, the correlation established between retention and the pH of the aqueous-organic mobile phase was used to optimize the pH of the mobile phase. The optimized mobile phase is composed of acetonitrile and formic acid buffer adjusted to pH 4.25, with 12% (v/v) acetonitrile. Also, the pKa values of polyphenolic acids in acetonitrile-water mixtures were determined using chromatographic data, and in order to validate the optimized conditions, a series of polyphenolic compounds was studied in strawberries.     

Effect of increasing concentration of ammonium acetate as an additive in supercritical fluid chromatography using CO2–methanol mobile phase

The effects of increasing concentrations of ammonium acetate additive in supercritical fluid chromatography were studied on silica, 2-ethyl-pyridine and endcapped 2-ethyl-pyridine stationary phases. The study involved the addition of increasing concentrations of the ammonium acetate either in the mobile phase modifier (methanol) or in the sample solvent. The effects of ammonium acetate on retention and peak shape of the analytes were evaluated. Compounds that exhibited satisfactory chromatographic behaviour in the absence of the additive were virtually unaffected by its presence in the mobile phase or sample solvent. Nevertheless, compounds that exhibited late elution and strongly tailing peak shapes when pure methanol was used showed dramatically improved chromatographic behaviour in the presence of the additive. Shorter retention was observed not only when the modifier was introduced in the mobile phase but also when it was in the sample solvent.     

Characterisation of reversed-phase liquid chromatography stationary phases for the analysis of basic pharmaceuticals: eluent properties and comparison of empirical test methods.

The reversed-phase liquid chromatographic analysis of basic pharmaceuticals can be problematic. Both the properties of the eluent and the stationary phase can influence the chromatographic performance. Therefore selection of suitable experimental conditions for the analysis of basic compounds can be difficult. This paper shows that the organic modifier and the nature of the buffer influence the eluent properties. Moreover, the nature and amount of modifier also influence the basicity of the analytes. Investigations showed that the nature of the buffer can have a significant influence on retention and peak shape of basic compounds. Test procedures using basic analytes as test probes provided relevant information with respect to selecting columns to analyse basic pharmaceutical compounds. Test procedures using compounds like aniline, phenol and benzene were found to be less suitable.     

Characterization of a mixed-mode reversed-phase/cation-exchange stationary phase prepared by thermal immobilization of poly(dimethylsiloxane) onto the surface of silica

A novel stationary phase prepared by the thermal immobilization of poly(dimethylsiloxane) onto the surface of silica (PDMS–SiO₂) has been described, evaluated and compared with 229 commercially available RP-LC stationary phases using the Tanaka column classification protocol. The phase exhibited many unique chromatographic properties and, based on the phases in the database, was most similar to the fluoroalkylated phases (aside from the obvious lack of fluoro selectivity imposed by the C–F dipole). The phase exhibited classic reversed-phase behaviour in acid mobile phase conditions and mixed-mode reversed-phase/cation-exchange retention behaviour in neutral mobile phase conditions. The phase exhibited acceptable stability at both low and intermediate pH, conditions which should impart optimum chromatographic selectivity to the phase. Retention of basic analytes was shown to occur by a “three site model” as proposed by Neue. This new PDMS–SiO₂ stationary phase is extremely interesting in that the dominancy of its hydrophobic and ion-exchange interactions can be controlled by the influence of mobile phase pH, buffer type and concentration. The PDMS–SiO₂ stationary phase may provide a complementary tool to reversed-phase and HILIC stationary phases. The present results highlight the fact that the type of buffer, its concentration and pH can not only affect peak shape but also retention, selectivity and hence chromatographic resolution. Therefore, in method development and optimization strategies it is suggested that more emphasis should be given to the evaluation of these mobile phase operating parameters especially when basic solutes are involved.