Critical comparison of retention models for the optimisation of the separation of anions in ion chromatography: II. Suppressed anion chromatography using carbonate eluents

Seven theoretical retention models, namely the linear solvent strength model (using the dominant equilibrium approach and competing ion effective charge approach), the dual eluent species model, the Kuwamoto model, the extended dual eluent species model, the multiple species eluent/analyte model and the empirical end-points model, were used to describe the retention behaviour of anions in suppressed ion chromatography (IC). An extensive set of experimental retention data was gathered for 24 anions (fluoride, formate, bromate, chloride, hexanesulfonate, bromide, chlorate, nitrate, iodide, thiocyanate, perchlorate, sulfite, succinate, sulfate, tartrate, selenate, oxalate, tungstate, phthalate, molybdate, chromate, thiosulfate and phosphate) on a Dionex AS4A-SC column using carbonate eluents of varying concentration and HCO₃⁻:CO₃²⁻ ratios. Statistical comparison of the predicted and experimentally obtained retention factors showed that the performance of the theoretical models improved with the complexity of the model. However the empirical model (in which a linear relationship is assumed between the logarithm of retention factor and the logarithm of eluent strength, but the slope is determined empirically) gave the most consistent performance across the widest range of anions. The empirical end-points model was also shown to be the most satisfactory model due to its low knowledge requirements and easy solution. Compared with non-suppressed IC (see Part I), the retention behaviour in suppressed IC was found to be easier to model by all retention models.     

Anion chromatography using on-line recycled eluents

Non-suppressed anion chromatography, using on-line recycled eluents, was investigated. Cations and anions from samples were excluded from the eluents using a mixture of strongly acidic cation-exchange resins and strongly basic anion exchange resins in the eluent reservoir. This exclusion was performed after determination of the anions in the non-suppressed anion chromatography, and the eluents were then recycled on-line. The performance of consecutive determinations was evaluated from the relative standard deviation (RSD) of peak heights and retention times of chloride, bromide, nitrite, nitrate, and sulfate ions, with a concentration of 3 microg ml(-1) each, compared to that of normal anion chromatography. Over 50 consecutive determinations could be achieved with an eluent volume of only 200 ml for a 100 microl sample volume. Almost all the RSD values for retention time, and peak heights of these anions, were smaller than 3%. Over fifty consecutive determinations of chloride, nitrate, and sulfate ions in a river water sample could be achieved with an eluent volume of only 100 ml. All the RSD values for retention time and peak heights of these anions were smaller than 3%. The eluent volume could be decreased to one tenth of that used in normal anion chromatography. The performance of the anion chromatography, using on-line recycled eluents, was the same as that for normal anion chromatography under the same conditions.     

On-line pH modification of carbonate eluents using an electrolytic potassium hydroxide generator for ion chromatography

Classical gradient elution, based on the application of a gradient pump used for mixing two or more prepared eluent components in pre-determined concentrations, was replaced by a chromatography system equipped with an isocratic pump and an electrolytic KOH generator. The isocratic pump delivered a constant concentration eluent composed of pure hydrogencarbonate solution. Carbonate ions, the main component of carbonate/hydrogencarbonate-based eluents, were formed by titration of hydrogencarbonate with KOH formed on-line in the electrolytic KOH generator. By changing the concentration of electrolytically-generated KOH, the eluent composition could be changed from pure hydrogencarbonate to a carbonate/hydrogencarbonate buffer, and finally to a carbonate/hydroxide-based eluent. The described system was tested to achieve pH-based changes of retention behavior of phosphate under constant inflow eluent composition conditions.     

Gel permeation chromatography with mixed eluents: Polymer solution as mobile phase

The GPC elution behaviour of a polymer was studied when a solution of another polymer in a liquid was used as an eluent. In ternary systems containing two polymers, GPC results are influenced by the thermodynamics of polymer incompatibility. The incompatibility manifests itself both in the slope of the dependence of elution volume upon the concentration of injected polymer and in the shift of elution volumes extrapolated to zero concentration. Experimental data for systems containing poly(styrene) and poly(methyl methacrylate) have been accounted for qualitatively by theoretical views on coil shrinkage resulting from polymer incompatibility. The concentration effects of the injected polymer and the polymer in the mobile phase on elution volume are compared; further parameters affecting the separation in the systems with polymer solution as eluent are discussed.     

Simultaneous anion and cation exchange chromatography of whey proteins using a customizable mixed matrix membrane

Membrane chromatography can overcome some of the limitations of packed bed column chromatography but preparation of adsorptive membranes usually involves complex and harsh chemical modifications. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) require only the physical incorporation of an ion exchange resin into the membrane polymer solution prior to membrane casting. An advantage of MMMs not previously exploited is that resins with differing adsorptive functionalities can be conveniently embedded within a single membrane at any desired ratio. This presents the opportunity to customize an adsorptive membrane to suit the expected protein profile of a raw feed stream e.g. bovine whey or serum. In this work, a novel mixed mode interaction MMM customized to extract all major proteins from bovine whey was synthesized in a single membrane by incorporating 42.5 wt% Lewatit MP500 anionic resin and 7.5 wt% SP Sepharose cationic resin into an ethylene vinyl alcohol base polymer casting solution. The mixed mode MMM developed was able to bind both basic and acidic proteins simultaneously from whey, with binding capacities of 7.16±2.24 mg α-lactalbumin g(-1) membrane, 11.40±0.73 mg lactoferrin (LF)g(-1) membrane, 59.21±9.90 mg β-lactoglobulin g(-1) membrane and 6.79±1.11 mg immunoglobulin Gg(-1) membrane (85 mg total protein g(-1) membrane) during batch fractionation of LF-spiked whey. A 1000 m(2) spiral-wound membrane module (200 L membrane volume, 1m(3) module volume) is predicted to be able to produce approximately 25 kg total whey protein per h.     

Separation of enantiomers by high performance liquid chromatography using chiral eluents

Simple procedures are presented for separating the enantiomers of α-methyldopa, 5-hydroxytryptophan, tryptophan, triiodothyronine and thyroxine, which require neither special sorbents nor difficult-to-obtain or unstable reagents. The method for α-methyldopa, 5-hydroxytryptophan and tryptophan is based on the use of L-phenylalanine copper complex as the chiral constituent of the mobile phase; LiChrosorb® RP-18 serves as the stationary phase. The procedure for triiodothyronine and thyroxine is grounded on the L-proline copper complex as the chiral reagent and LiChrosorb® Si 60 as the stationary phase. In all observed cases, the D-enantiomer is eluted prior to the respective L-enantiomer. Chirality inversion of the mobile phase (application of the D-phenylalanine copper complex) reverses the order of elution; a racemic eluent (DL-phenylalanine copper complex) leads to no separation. In addition to the enantiomers of α-amino acids, the enantiomers of α-hydroxy acids (mandelic acid) can be separated.     

Ion chromatography of nitrite and carbonate in inorganic matrices on an octadecyl—poly(vinyl alcohol) gel column using acidic eluents

Low levels of carbonate and nitrite contained in inorganic matrices were determined by ion chromatography on an Asahipak ODP-50 poly(vinyl alcohol) gel-based reversed-phase column. With an acidic mobile phase, inorganic matrix anions and cations eluted near the void volume of the column, whereas carbonate and nitrite were retained and separated completely from the matrix ions. After the separation column, the peak response was enhanced using a cation-exchange hollow fibre and 25 mM sodium sulphate or alkaline enhancers. Sea-water samples can be applied directly for the determination of carbonate and added nitrite at ppm levels. The maximum sample volume that can be loaded on the column without peak deformation depended on the pH of the sample solution and the sulphuric acid concentration in the eluent. A 50 μl sea-water sample was applicable with a 2.5 mM acid eluent.     

Non-linear calibration functions in ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection using hydroxide eluents

The linearity of calibration curves in ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection using hydroxide eluents was investigated. Theoretical calibration curves were derived for strong electrolytes and weak monobasic acids and the results compared with experimental data. At low concentrations up to 1 micromol l(-1) the autoprotolysis of water induces left-curved calibration functions even for strong electrolytes like nitrate. The experimental data are best described by a quadratic function, the differences between linear and quadratic regression being up to 10%. At higher concentrations the calibration curves for strong electrolytes are linear. Due to incomplete dissociation, the calibration curves for weak mono- and dibasic acids show a right curvature. Thus, depending on the analyte and the concentration range of interest, analysts should carefully choose between a linear and a quadratic regression function.     

膜处理-离子色谱法测定碳酸钡中的杂质阴离子

建立了一种膜处理-离子交换色谱测定碳酸钡中痕量杂质阴离子(F^-、SO₄^2-和NO₃^-)的方法。碳酸钡是一种难溶于水的固体,因此选用酸对其进行溶解。为了减少酸根离子的影响,利用阳离子膜只能通过阳离子而阻碍阴离子交换的特点,用质量分数为7%的盐酸溶解阳离子交换膜内的碳酸钡样品,稀释100倍,过0.22 μ m滤膜,进样分析,进样体积为25 μ L。经流速为1 mL/min的20 mmol/L KOH淋洗液淋洗,目标离子经过Ion Pac AG11-HC保护柱(50 mm×4 mm)和Ion Pac AS11-HC阴离子交换色谱柱(250 mm×4 mm)进行分离,最后由抑制电导进行检测。在优化的色谱条件下,该方法在0.01~5.00 mg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数R²≥0.9996。相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.87%~2.19%,检出限(S/N=3)为1.37~9.45 μ g/L。将该方法应用于实际样品的检测中,得到样品的加标回收率为84.0%~106.2%。该方法实现了固体碳酸钡中杂质阴离子含量的测定,为水不溶性固体物质中的离子检测提供了依据,具有较好的应用前景。     

Pressure jumps due to flow interruptions as source of system peaks in liquid chromatography with mixed eluents

Summary Brief pressure changes take often place within a liquid chromatography column, e.g., during sample injection. It is shown that pressure jumps may cause local changes in the composition of a mixed effluent and the rise of system peaks in the chromatogram. This is a consequence of the dependence of sorption equilibrium on pressure.     

Fast ion chromatography using short anion exchange columns

A fast ion chromatographic system is described which uses shorter column lengths and compares various eluent profiles in order to maximise the performance without sacrificing the chromatographic resolution. Both isocratic and gradient elution profiles were considered to find the most efficient mode of separation. The separation and determination of seven target anions (chloride, chlorate, nitrate, chromate, sulfate, thiocyanate and perchlorate) was achieved using a short (4 mm ID, 50 mm long) column packed with Dionex AS20 high-capacity anion exchange material. A hydroxide eluent was used at an initial concentration of 25 mM (at a flow-rate of 1.0 mL/min) and two performance maxima were found. The maximum efficiency occurred at a normalised gradient ramp rate of 5 mM/t₀, resulting in a peak capacity of 16, while the fastest separation (<3 min) occurred at a normalised ramp rate of 30 mM/t₀. The retention time, peak width and resolution using the different eluent profiles on varying column lengths is also compared. Further investigations in this study determined that the highest peak capacity separation under gradient conditions could be approximated using an isocratic separation. The advantage of using this novel approach to approximate the maximum efficiency separation removes the need for column re-equilibration that is required for gradient elution resulting in faster analyses and enhanced sample throughput, with benefits in particular for multidimensional chromatography.     

Speciation of arsenic by ion chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry using ammonium eluents

A method based on ion chromatography (IC) and inductively coupled plasma MS (ICP-MS) was developed for the speciation of arsenic in water and soil extracts. An anion-exchange column (G3154A/101) was used to separate As(III), As(V), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) with excellent resolution. Various ammonium salts, including NH4H2PO4, (NH4)2HPO4, (NH4)2CO3, and NH4HCO3, were examined as eluents to reduce matrix interference from chloride and to solve clogging problems. The best arsenic speciation was obtained within 9 min with excellent resolution and without interference from high chloride concentrations using an eluent containing 7.5 mM (NH4)2HPO4 at pH 7.9. The detection limits for the target arsenic species ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 microg/L with direct injection of sample without matrix elimination. The proposed method was effectively demonstrated by determining arsenic species in contaminated waters and soils of Bangladesh.     

Reversed-phase affinity chromatography of ecdysteroids with boronic acid-containing eluents

Selective effects of boronic acid-containing eluents on the chromatographic behaviour of ecdysteroids are described. The use of such eluents provides a simple, rapid and sensitive means to assess the presence of certain diol groups in ecdysteroids by ordinary RP-HPLC. It is demonstrated that ecdysteroids with different sets of diols in their molecules have individual shapes of chromatographic peaks. A mechanism of the boronic acid effect is discussed.     

Separation of purines and pyrimidines by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using dimethyl sulfoxide in binary and ternary eluents

Chromatographic systems with a silica sorbent and mobile phases containing dimethyl sulfoxide have been studied. It has been established that the substitution of isopropanol by dimethyl sulfoxide in binary eluents results in a specific selectivity of the chromatographic system and shows an improvement of the peak shape for the solutes under study. When mobile phases consisting of hexane, isopropanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (solvents with a limited mutual solubility) are used, changes in retention characteristics and peak symmetry are caused by a transition from adsorption to partition sorption mechanism. The stationary liquid phase is generated dynamically in the pores of silica, even in the mobile phases not saturated with a polar component. If the phase ratio of the column reaches 0.1, partition dominates over adsorption and such mixed partition-adsorption (MPA) systems show very good peak symmetry for the solutes under study. The investigation has shown that dimethyl sulfoxide-containing MPA systems are applicable in analytical practice.     

一种混合模式反相/阴离子交换色谱固定相的制备与评价

通过在硅胶表面同时化学键合十八烷基和环氧基团,再用小分子叔胺进行环氧开环,制备得到表面带正电荷的反相模式固定相.该方法避免了反相模式固定相必要的封尾步骤,可在碱性样品分离中起到电荷屏蔽作用,消除因静电吸附而导致的峰拖尾现象,同时有利于提高固定相的耐水能力.该固定相表现出反相和亲水作用的双重保留机理,具有良好的运行稳定性...     

Flow gradient liquid chromatography using a coated anion exchange microcolumn

Ion chromatography on a 4.0-mm-long (3.0 mm ID) ion exchange column is presented. Using a 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 2.22) the separation of up to six UV-absorbing anions was obtained using the microcolumn, containing 5 microm RP support (Phenomenex Gemini) coated with the zwitterionic surfactant, (N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio) undecanoate. The short analytical column facilitated the application of a flow gradient programme over the flow range 0.3-5 mL/min resulting in optimum resolution of nitrite, nitrate, benzoate, iodide, thiocyanate and trichloroacetate in less than 10 min. The effect of both eluent concentration and pH on the retention of six selected anions was investigated, showing a strong pH capacity dependence. The microcolumn was found to exhibit no selectivity towards chloride and so was well suited to the analysis of saline samples. To illustrate this, the rapid analysis of a concentrated iodized table salt sample (20 g/L) was carried out. Following standard addition, a concentration of 3.55 +/- 0.05 microg iodide/g and 1.05 +/- 0.02 microg iodate/g in the solid salt sample was determined.     

Ion- and ligand-exchange chromatography of proteins using porous zirconium oxide supports in organic and inorganic Lewis base eluents.

The applicability of an eluotropic scale pertaining to the desorption of low molecular weight Lewis base solutes from zirconium oxide is examined for its ability to rationalize the retention of proteins on this substrate. The strongest Lewis base eluents (phosphate and fluoride) are able to bring about elution of nearly all proteins provided that their initial mobile phase concentration almost saturates the eluent's adsorption isotherm. In contrast, weaker Lewis bases such as borate, sulfate and bromide are able to elute only those proteins which are retained primarily by ionic interactions. In weak eluents, proteins that contain a large number of accessible Lewis base sites are not eluted from the support. The effect of ionic strength and a variety of Lewis base eluents were also examined.