Methods for comparing eluent properties in supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary Comparison of chromatographic properties of various supercritical eluents was performed in different ways. From a comparison of an empirical correlation between resolution and retention, trifluoromethane was found to combine high resolution with short analysis time for the separation of aromatic compounds. At equal density, the temperature dependence of retention with different alkane mobile phases was found to be the same. At equal free volume, a significant similarity was observed for the transport behaviour of alkanes and carbon dioxide, at least when the free volume is low.

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Methoden zum Vergleich von Eluenteneigenschaften bei der Chromatographie mit überkritischen fluiden Phasen

     

Computer-assisted retention prediction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in supercritical fluid chromatography using carbon dioxide as the mobile phase

Summary The dependence of the capacity factor of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on column temperature and on the density of the mobile phase in supercritical-fluid chromatography was investigated using carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. Logarithmic capacity factors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were obtained as a linear function of the reciprocal column temperature at a constant molar volume of carbon dioxide.The application of the Retention Prediction System to supercritical-fluid chromatography is demonstrated: one can predict the retention of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using equations including column temperature, density and the physico-chemical properties of the solutes as the parameters.     

Comparison of xenon and carbon dioxide as mobile phases in on-line SFC-FTIR: Chromatographic and spectroscopic considerations

Supercritical carbon dioxide and xenon are compared as mobile phases for SFC-FTIR. Examples are presented illustrating the use of xenon in SFC and it is compared with carbon dioxide for a range of compounds of different polarities. Investigations of the effects of mobile phase temperature and density on infrared spectra measured in supercritical solution are also presented. It has been found that carbon dioxide gives smaller shifts with temperature and density changes than had been reported previously and that carbon dioxide and xenon give rise to remarkably similar effects in almost all circumstances. A comparison of SFC-FTIR spectra with vapor- and condensedphase data is presented and it is shown that such data will require modification to model the effects of the supercritical solvent. The study shows that such modification should be relatively straightforward.     

Modified free volume theory of self-diffusion and molecular theory of shear viscosity of liquid carbon dioxide

In previous work on the density fluctuation theory of transport coefficients of liquids, it was necessary to use empirical self-diffusion coefficients to calculate the transport coefficients (e.g., shear viscosity of carbon dioxide). In this work, the necessity of empirical input of the self-diffusion coefficients in the calculation of shear viscosity is removed, and the theory is thus made a self-contained molecular theory of transport coefficients of liquids, albeit it contains an empirical parameter in the subcritical regime. The required self-diffusion coefficients of liquid carbon dioxide are calculated by using the modified free volume theory for which the generic van der Waals equation of state and Monte Carlo simulations are combined to accurately compute the mean free volume by means of statistical mechanics. They have been computed as a function of density along four different isotherms and isobars. A Lennard-Jones site-site interaction potential was used to model the molecular carbon dioxide interaction. The density and temperature dependence of the theoretical self-diffusion coefficients are shown to be in excellent agreement with experimental data when the minimum critical free volume is identified with the molecular volume. The self-diffusion coefficients thus computed are then used to compute the density and temperature dependence of the shear viscosity of liquid carbon dioxide by employing the density fluctuation theory formula for shear viscosity as reported in an earlier paper (J. Chem. Phys. 2000, 112, 7118). The theoretical shear viscosity is shown to be robust and yields excellent density and temperature dependence for carbon dioxide. The pair correlation function appearing in the theory has been computed by Monte Carlo simulations.     

Chromatographic shape selectivity with carbon dioxide-acetonitrile mobile phases. Effect of mobile phase composition and density

Trends in chromatographic shape selectivity with mobile phases consisting of mixtures of carbon dioxide and acetonitrile are investigated. Selectivity is evaluated as a function of mobile phase composition, temperature, and column bonding chemistry. SRM (standard reference material) 869a is used as a probe of shape selectivity, while the selectivity between triphenylene and o-terphenyl is used to investigate planarity selectivity. Four molecular mass 228 polyaromatic hydrocarbon isomers are used to investigate shape selectivity based on differences in length-to-breadth ratio. Shape selectivity trends as a function of temperature and column type are found to be similar to what is seen in reversed-phase liquid chromatography, while the trend seen as the amount of acetonitrile in the mobile phase increases is found to be different than in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. In addition, the effect of mobile phase density, i.e., solvent strength, on shape selectivity is investigated by examining shape selectivity as a function of density with neat carbon dioxide as the mobile phase.     

High performance liquid chromatography on the chiral stationary phase (R,R)-DACH-DNB using carbon dioxide-based eluents

Fast and efficient separations of chiral stereolabile compounds were obtained at very low temperature on a π-acid chiral stationary phase (R,R-DACH-DNB) using carbon dioxide-based mobile phases containing alcoholic polar modifiers. Furthermore, efficient separations of the newly discovered spherical carbon cluster buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) and the related higher fullerenes (C₇₀, etc.) have been performed on the same stationary phase using eluents based on either n-hexane or carbon dioxide.     

Modifier effects on packed and capillary columns in supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary The separation of polar thermally labile solutes is one of the potentially most rewarding fields of SFC application. A presupposition for such applications is, however, mobile phases having relatively high solvent strengths. A promising approach to achieve this is the use of mobile phases consisting of carbon dioxide with a polar additive. In this work, the chromatographic effects of different concentrations of an additive, isopropanol, in carbon dioxide have been studied on capillary and packed columns. A series of antibiotics was used as test substances. Best results were obtained with carbon dioxide/8% isopropanol as mobile phase on a capillary column coated with a cyanopropyl-substituted polysiloxane stationary phase.     

Void volume markers in reversed-phase and biomimetic liquid chromatography

A comparative investigation of 15 void volume marker candidates was carried out on two reversed-phase (RP), two immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) and two immobilized protein columns, namely Human Serum Albumin (HSA) and α₁-acid-glycoprotein (AGP), using different mobile phases in respect to pH and buffer composition. Pycnometric analysis of the 6 chromatographic columns was also employed for reasons of comparison. The results revealed the possible overestimation of stationary phase void volume if a general void volume marker is used under different chromatographic conditions. In particular, overestimation of the investigated columns’ void volumes was a common phenomenon when using acidic eluents or High Purity Water (HPW) as mobile phase. For this purpose, a classification of the recommended chemicals according to the column type or the pH of the mobile phase is suggested for the accurate determination of retention factors.     

A detection method for unified chromatography: Ion mobility monitoring

Ion mobility monitoring has been used for detection in gas, supercritical fluid, and liquid chromatography, illustrating its potential as a method of detection for unified chromatography. Applications presented include GC-IMD of dioxins in fly ash, SFC-IMD of vitamin E, and HPLC-IMD of alkylamines. Ion mobility spectra of several mixed supercritical fluid mobile phases are also presented. Use of methanol, acetonitrile, and dichloromethane as modifiers of supercritical carbon dioxide, and use of supercritical dichlorodifluoromethane and chlorodifluoromethane as mobile phases had little effect on the reactant ion pattern at the flow rates and concentrations used in this study. Only when acetone was used as a modifier of carbon dioxide did the positive reactant ions change significantly. No effect of modifiers or mobile phase was observed for the negative reactant ions.     

Packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with light-scattering detection. I. Optimization of parameters with a carbon dioxide/methanol mobile phase

Summary Evaporative light scattering detectors have, in recent years, gained acceptance in chromatography with dense mobile phases i.e. liquid and supercritical fluid chromatography. In the present work an instrument of this type has been used in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with carbon dioxide/methanol mixtures. Detector response and signal-to-noise ratios have been determined using squalane as test compound. Nebulizer gas flow, evaporator temperature, photomultiplier sensitivity, and mobile phase composition were found to have an influence on instrument performance. With this type of detector the field of packed column SFC applications can be extended to include non-UV-absorbing substances even when mixed mobile phases or composition gradients are necessary for the separation.     

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatography of aliphatic amines. Studies on the selectivity and symmetry with three different columns using carbon dioxide or nitrous oxide as mobile phase

The supercritical fluid chromatography of intact aliphatic amines with different columns is described. One group of amines was based on N,N-dimethyl-n-octylamine and related primary and secondary amines, and the other on the amino alcohol metoprolol and several of its analogues. Columns with three different phases were investigated, one non-polar coated with 5% phenyl methyl polysiloxane and two more polar with 25% cyanopropyl methylphenyl polysiloxane and Carbowax 20M. Generally, equal molar amounts were injected under splitless conditions and the peak symmetry was recorded. The system with the non-polar silicone phase was more inert, followed by the wax-phase column. The cyanopropyl column gave severe peak tailing although it was loaded with five times more of the amines than the other columns. The selectivity was investigated and was found higher with the two polar columns. Both showed a marked increase in the retention of amines with free hydrogens. With nitrous oxide the selectivity was almost the same as that with carbon dioxide as mobile phase. The nature of the flame ionization detector changed, however, giving a negative baseline drift on pressure programming. An interesting conclusion is that the amines are chromatographed as such with carbon dioxide as the mobile phase.     

Packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with light-scattering detection. II. Retention behaviour of squalane and glucose with mixed mobile phases

Summary Evaporative light scattering detectors can be used to detect organic substances without chromophoric groups in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). A detector of this type has been used to detect squalane and glucose after SFC with various packed columns and binary mobile phases. In this study, the amount of organic modifier in carbon dioxide/modifier mixtures was varied. The results give further insight into the mechanisms that influence retention behaviour in packed column separations with super- and subcritical mobile phases. Squalane is an ideal non-polar test solute which shows long retention times on non-polar columns while its elution can be accelerated by non-polar modifiers in carbon dioxide. Glucose is an extremely polar solute containing hydroxyl groups. Elution of this sugar can be improved with polar modifiers. Column packings with polar end groups lead to high capacity ratios and long retention times for glucose. Most columns used in this study contained silica-based packing materials. For purposes of comparison, a polymeric packing (HEMA RP-18) was also employed.     

Capacity ratios and diffusion coefficients of low-volatile organic compounds in supercritical carbon dioxide from supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)

Capacity ratios k have been determined for phenyl myristate, phenyl palmitate and phenyl stearate from supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) at 35 to 56°C and 85 to 190 bar using supercritical CO₂ as mobile phase and Perisorb A and Perisorb RP8 as stationary phases. For the esters used a rise in pressure from 90 to 190 bar produces a drop of k by about two orders of magnitude giving evidence of the rapidly increasing solvent power of supercritical CO₂ with increasing density. At a constant CO₂ density, k decreases with increasing temperature. The separation of the esters was found to be the better the lower the pressure was.

An apparatus for the chromatographic determination of binary diffusion coefficients in supercritical gases is described. D₁₂ values for some organic compounds in carbon dioxide at 40°C and in the pressure range from 80 to 160 bar are presented. With an improved electronic flow regulator an overall precision of the D₁₂ values of ±3% is obtained.     

Effect of ionic liquid additives to mobile phase on separation and system efficiency for HPLC of selected alkaloids on different stationary phases

The silica-based stationary phases with favorable physical characteristics are the most popular in liquid chromatography. However, there are several problems with silica-based materials: severe peak tailing in the chromatography of basic compounds, non-reproducibility for the same chemistry columns, and limited pH stability. Ionic liquids (ILs) as mobile phase components can reduce peak tailing by masking residual free silanol groups. The chromatographic behavior of some alkaloids from different classes was studied on C18, phenyl, and pentafluorophenyl columns with different kinds and concentrations of ionic liquids as additives to aqueous mobile phases. Ionic liquids with different alkyl substituents on different cations or with different counterions as eluent additives were investigated. The addition of ionic liquids has great effects on the separation of alkaloids: decrease in band tailing, increase in system efficiency, and improved resolution. The retention, separation selectivity, and sequence of alkaloid elution were different when using eluents containing various ILs. The increase of IL concentration caused an increase in silanol blocking, thus conducted to decrease the interaction between alkaloid cations and free silanol groups, and caused a decrease of alkaloids retention, improvement of peak symmetry, and increase of theoretical plate number in most cases. The effect of ILs on stationary phases with different properties was also examined. The different properties of stationary phases resulted in differences in analyte retention, separation selectivity, peak shape, and system efficiency. The best shape of peaks and the highest theoretical plate number for most investigated alkaloids in mobile phases containing IL was obtained on pentafluorophenyl (PFP) phase.     

Chromatographic data for pharmacological classification of imidazol(in)e drugs.

A set of eighteen imidazol(in)e derivative drugs of various pharmacological activity were analysed under different high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) conditions. Capacity factors were determined employing methanol-buffer eluents at seven volume ratios and at pH 10.9, 7.0 and 2.9. The use of an alkaline buffer was possible owing to the application of poly(butadiene)-coated alumina (PBCA) as the stationary phase. Two systems employing octadecylsilica (ODS) columns were applied, one operated at pH 7.0 and the other at pH 2.9. Capacity factors of the test solute drugs were determined in 21 chromatographic systems. All the data were subjected to chemometric analysis despite the fact that, except for the PBCA systems, only a limited range of linearity of the logarithm of capacity factor versus volume fraction of methanol in mobile phase was observed. The matrix of 21 x 18 capacity factors was statistically analysed by the principal component method. The first two principal components accounted for 80% of the variance in the capacity factors studied. The principal component object scores clearly separated the agents into groups in accordance with their pharmacological classification. It was concluded that diverse retention data can provide more information relevant to the bioactivity of solutes than just a one-dimensional hydrophobicity scale.     

Formulating Middle Phase Microemulsions Using Extended Anionic Surfactant Combined with Cationic Hydrotrope

The phase behavior of systems containing sodium alkyl polypropylene oxide sulfate with equimolar ratio of polypropylene oxide ammonium chloride was determined as a function of salt concentration and alkane carbon number at ambient temperature. Visual inspection as well as cross polarizers were used to detect anisotropy. Solubilization ratios for oil and brine in the middle phases were measured and used to calculate the interfacial tension (IFT) between the microemulsion and oil or brine. The fish diagram is presented showing a minimum amount of 0.20 wt% surfactant needed to form the middle phase. Swelling increases with decreasing the alkane carbon number of the oil. Ultra low IFT values were predicted for the systems investigated.     

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.     

Carbon dioxide versus xenon as a mobile phase for flow cell packed column SFC/FT-IR

Xenon is compared to carbon dioxide as a mobile phase for super critical fluid chromatography/Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The study showed xenon to be comparable to carbon dioxide in terms of resulting chromatography for non-polar analytes. Xenon was confirmed to be a very poor mobile phase, however, for polar analytes. It was determined that small wavenumber shifts in the infrared spectra of probe analytes occurred as either the density or temperature of the mobile phase was increased. The degree of these shifts was often similar for xenon and carbon dioxide. Analyte spectra for five different compounds were produced in both super critical xenon and carbon dioxide and compared to condensed phase and vapor phase library spectra. In all cases, carbon dioxide spectra were readily matched to their corresponding vapor phase spectra, despite having blanked portions of the spectrum due to carbon dioxide infrared absorption. Xenon produced technically superior spectra without such blanked regions, but at a much higher economical cost than carbon dioxide and with no real improvement in terms of library matching.