Accessible silanol sites - beneficial for the RP-HPLC separation of constitutional and diastereomeric azaspirovesamicol isomers

Different RP-HPLC columns (phenyl, conventional ODS, cross-linked C(18) and special end-capped C(8) and C(18) phases) were used to investigate the separation of four basic ionizable isomers. Using ACN/20mM NH(4)OAc aq., a separation was observed exclusively on RP columns with higher silanol activity at unusual high ACN concentration, indicating cation-exchange as main retention mechanism. Using MeOH/20mM NH(4)OAc aq., another separation at low MeOH concentrations was observed on both, RP columns with higher as well as RP columns with lower silanol activity, which is mainly based on hydrophobic interactions. The isomers were also separated on a bare silica column at higher MeOH content using NH(4)OAc. Since cation-exchange governs this retention, the elution order was different compared to the RP phases. A strong retention on the silica column was observed in ACN, which could be attributed to partition processes as additional retention mechanism.     

Liquid chromatography analysis of monosubstituted sulfobutyl ether-beta-cyclodextrin isomers on porous graphitic carbon

The retention behaviour of the three positional isomers of monosubstituted sulfobutyl ether-beta-cyclodextrin was investigated on a porous graphitic carbon (PGC) column. The influence of the mobile phase composition (nature and concentration of organic and electronic modifiers) was studied as well as the effect of column temperature. These hydrophilic and anionic analytes were highly retained on the PGC stationary phase compared to octadecyl bonded phases. The retention is mainly governed by a reversed-phase mechanism with electronic interaction playing a secondary role. An increase in solute retention and efficiency with temperature was observed. Successful isocratic separation with satisfactory baseline resolution of the three isomers of monosubstituted sulfobutyl ether-beta-cyclodextrin was achieved at 75 degrees C on a Hypercarb column by using ammonium acetate as electronic modifier in water-acetonitrile (83:17). The chromatographic methodology developed can be easily used for relative quantification of each isomer within a mixture and can be applied for semi-preparative purification of each one. The evaporative light scattering detector allows the detection of these non UV-visible absorbing molecules.     

Effect of high-temperature on high-performance liquid chromatography column stability and performance under temperature-programmed conditions

Six commercially available analytical (4.1 or 4.6 mm i.d.) columns were evaluated under temperature-programmed high-temperature liquid chromatography (HTLC) conditions to access their stability and performance at extreme temperatures. Seven components consisting of acidic, basic and neutral compounds were analyzed under temperature-programmed conditions and solvent gradient conditions using three different mobile phase compositions (acidic, basic and neutral). Each column was checked with a two-component test mix at various stages of the evaluation to look for signs of stationary phase collapse. Three zirconia based stationary phases studied exhibited column bleed under temperature-programmed conditions. The other three columns, a polydentate silica column, a polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) polymeric column, and a graphitic carbon column performed well with no evidence of stationary phase degradation. The R.S.D. for the retention times and efficiencies were less than 10% for most conditions, and not more than 15% during the course of the evaluation for each column. The polydentate silica stationary phase was temperature programmed to 100 degrees C, the PS-DVB stationary phase was temperature programmed up to 150 degrees C, and the graphitic carbon column was used with temperature programming up to 200 degrees C. Comparable peak capacities and similar retention behaviors were observed under solvent gradient and temperature-programmed conditions. Temperature programming with dynamic mobile phase preheating can replace solvent gradient analysis without a loss of peak capacity when used with 4.1 or 4.6 mm columns.     

Determination of alcohols by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection after pre-column derivatisation with carbazole-9-N-acetic acid and chromatographic behaviour of alcoholic derivatives

Alcohols were derivatised to their carbazole-9-N-acetic acid (CRA) esters with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC.HCl) as the dehydrating agent. Studies on derivatisation conditions indicated that the coupling reaction proceeded rapidly and smoothly in the presence of a base catalyst in acetonitrile to give the corresponding sensitively fluorescent derivatives. The retention behaviour of alcohol derivatives was investigated by varying mobile phase compositions (ACN-water and MeOH-water). The parameters from the equation log k'=A-BX were evaluated by retention data of derivatives using an isocratic elution with different mobile phases. The results indicated that the parameters derived allowed computation of retention factors in good agreement with experiments. At the same time, a general equation was derived that makes possible predictions of partition coefficient in binary mobile phases with different proportions of organic solvent to water based on some simple regression analysis. The LC separation for the derivatised alcohols containing higher carbon alcohols showed good reproducibility on a reversed-phase C18 column with gradient elution. The detection limits (excitation at 335 nm, emission at 360 nm) for derivatised alcohols (signal-to-noise ratio=3:1) were in the range of 0.1-0.4 pg per injection.     

Liquid chromatographic analysis of nucleosides and their mono-, di- and triphosphates using porous graphitic carbon stationary phase coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry

Analysis of nucleosides and nucleotides is desirable in many biological studies, but the task is analytically challenging due to the high polarity of the analytes. In this study, resolution of mixtures containing nucleosides and their mono-, di- and triphosphates was achieved using a porous graphitic carbon (PGC) stationary phase, Hypercarb, under conditions suitable for liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Different organic mobile phases and modifiers were evaluated and the separation of 16 nucleosides and nucleotides was optimized using gradient elution with a water/acetonitrile mobile phase containing ammonium acetate and diethylamine as modifiers. The ammonium acetate concentration proved to be critical for retention and diethylamine was found to improve the peak shapes of di- and triphosphates for mass spectrometric detection. A variety of silica-based columns designed for polar compound separation were also tested using optimized LC conditions and compared with results obtained with the Hypercarb column. Only the Hypercarb column provided separations suitable for accurate quantitation of mixed nucleosides and their phosphates.     

Ion Chromatography of Inorganic Anions on Graphitic Carbon as the Stationary Phase

Inorganic anions could be separated on porous graphitic carbon stationary phases in ion chromatography. Ion exchange between eluent anions and sample anions on the stationary phase was confirmed by the retention behavior and the possibility of indirect photometric detection. The elution order of anions was different from that observed for commercially available anion exchangers. Chloride, nitrate, and sulfate contained in tap water could be determined in 7 min.     

Wheat digalactosyldiacylglycerol molecular species profiling using porous graphitic carbon stationary phase

The potential of porous graphitic carbon stationary phase (PGC) was assessed for the separation of molecular species of digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG). Detection was by an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). A conventional optimization strategy allowed definition of a quaternary non-aqueous mobile phase and separation of 9 wheat DGDG molecular species with isocratic elution: methanol/toluene/tetrahydrofuran/chloroform 64.3/21.5/13.7/0.5 v/v with 0.1% of triethylamine and a stoichiometric amount of formic acid. The molecular species were identified by LC/MS. The chromatographic behavior of DGDG on PGC was then compared to previous studies. The addition of a carbon double bond on the alkyl chain decreased the retention. This contribution was less important when the number of unsaturations increased in the alkyl chain. The consequence of this retention behavior with PGC was an elution order of molecular species which did not agree with the partition number as observed with C18 grafted stationary phases.     

High temperature to increase throughput in liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with a porous graphitic carbon stationary phase

High separation temperatures in liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with a porous graphitic carbon column were investigated. Separation temperature was varied up to 200 degrees C, and the effect on retention, analysis time, and sensitivity was measured. Analysis times were reduced more than six-fold, whilst baseline resolution was maintained. The impact of the separation temperature on signal-to-noise ratio with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation or electrospray mass spectrometric detection was also investigated. The potential of using superheated water for the analysis of some very polar compounds is illustrated. Monitoring of column stability detected no loss of performance, due to the highly stable nature of the 100% carbon stationary phase.     

Thermally-treated clay as a stationary phase in liquid chromatography

Spray-dried, spherical synthetic hectorite particles have been thermally-treated at 500 degrees C for 16 h and used as adsorbent materials in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The retention of a 22 mono and disubstituted aromatic compounds was evaluated to study the retention mechanisms on the clay mineral. The retention of solutes on the thermally-treated clays was markedly different than that measured on octadecylsilica (ODS) columns under identical conditions, but remarkably similar to retention characteristics of the same solutes on porous graphitic carbon columns. The clay columns exhibit an enhanced selectivity over the ODS column in separation of nitroaromatic positional isomers. Under identical mobile phase compositions, a selectivity, alpha, of 7.15 between ortho- and para-dinitrobenzene isomers was measured on the clay column compared to a alpha of 1.04 on the ODS column.     

Analysis of triacylglycerols on porous graphitic carbon by high temperature liquid chromatography

The retention behaviour of several triacylglycerols (TAGs) and fats on Hypercarb, a porous graphitic carbon column (PGC), was investigated in liquid chromatography (LC) under isocratic elution mode with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD). Mixtures of chloroform/isopropanol were selected as mobile phase for a suitable retention time to study the influence of temperature. The retention was different between PGC and non-aqueous reversed phase liquid chromatography (NARP-LC) on octadecyl phase. The retention of TAGs was investigated in the interval 30-70 degrees C. Retention was greatly affected by temperature: it decreases as the column temperature increases. Selectivity of TAGs was also slightly influenced by the temperature. Moreover, this chromatographic method is compatible with a mass spectrometer (MS) detector by using atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI): same fingerprints of cocoa butter and shea butter were obtained with LC-ELSD and LC-APCI-MS. These preliminary results showed that the PGC column could be suitable to separate quickly triacylglycerols in high temperature conditions coupled with ELSD or MS detector.     

Assessment of ionic liquid stationary phases for the GC analysis of fatty acid methyl esters

The gas chromatographic separation of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) on ionic liquid stationary phases was investigated. Seven commercially available ionic liquid columns were tested using a test mixture containing 37 fatty acid methyl esters. The influence of column temperature on the elution order was studied using five different temperature programs. Retention times were highly reproducible. Similar retention behavior was observed for the IL59, IL60, and IL61 columns. The peak pair C18:1 cis/trans was not baseline resolved on these columns, whose stationary phases are highly similar. C18:2 cis/trans, C18:3 n6/n3, and C20:3 n6/n3 were baseline separated on all columns. Baseline separation of the complete test mix was only obtained on the IL82 column using a heating rate of 5 K/min. In general, retention times decreased with increasing column polarity but unsaturated FAMEs were retained stronger compared to their saturated counterparts. Except for the IL59 column, retention crossover was observed when the temperature program was changed.     

Evaluation of porous graphitic carbon as stationary phase for the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters by liquid chromatography

Summary Polyunsaturated fatty acids have been analysed as methyl esters by liquid chromatography on porous graphitic carbon and the results compared with those obtained on octadecyl bonded phases. Chromatographic behaviour on octadecyl bonded phases arises principally as a result of hydrophobic interactions with the bonded phase. Because the retention of analytes is greater on porous graphitic carbon than on octadecyl phases, organic mobile phases are required. When the number of double bonds is low (ca 1–3), the behaviour of porous graphitic carbon is similar to that of octadecyl bonded phases, but when this number increases stronger interactions with the flat surface of the graphite appear, resulting in new selectivity. These two ‘reversed-phase’ systems are considered complementary for separation of different fatty acid methyl esters. An additional advantage of porous graphitic carbon is that it enables isolation of hexadecartrienoic and hexadecadienoic acids, which are not available commercially.     

Chiral separation of helical chromenes with chloromethyl phenylcarbamate polysaccharide‐based stationary phases

Two chloromethyl phenylcarbamate‐based chiral stationary phases, one containing an amylose‐type chiral selector (Lux Amylose 2, from Phenomenex) and the other a cellulose‐type one (Lux Cellulose‐4, from Phenomenex), were successfully used for the chiral resolution of three helical chromenes featuring a helicene‐like structure. The compound bearing a phenyl substituent on the helicene‐like structure was enantioresolved at 25°C with Lux Cellulose‐4 and a n‐hexane/1‐propanol 99:1 v/v eluent. With a n‐hexane/2‐propanol 99.8:0.2 v/v mobile phase, the same column (operated at 35°C) provided the separation of the four isomers of the compound having a hexyl residue on the helicene‐like motif and an additional asymmetric carbon. Lux Amylose‐2 was necessary for the enantioseparation of the compound having the sole hexyl residue on the helical scaffold. For the last compound a n‐hexane/2‐propanol 99.8:0.2 v/v eluent was used, and the column temperature was fixed at 5°C. The enantiomer elution order was appraised by using electronic circular dichroism and theoretical calculations. Notably, different thermodynamics of retention and enantioseparation were observed for molecules with pronounced structural similarity, that is, the enantiomer pairs of the compound containing the additional asymmetric carbon atom. Indeed, both entropically and enthalpically controlled adsorption and separation processes were observed.     

Capillary electrochromatography of sterols and related steryl esters derived from vegetable oils

Capillary electrochromatographic (CEC) separations of plant sterols and related esters were evaluated under various conditions. Stationary phases included octadecylsilica (C18) and triacontylsilica (C30). Mobile phases comprised acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, and tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane buffers in aqueous or non-aqueous systems. Apart from notable differences in component resolution, both C18 and C30 phases had dramatic influence on the elution behavior of the title compounds. Generally, C18 had greater selectivity for most components with elution patterns in consistence with the hydrophobicity of side chain structures, while no predictable trend of analyte elution was observed in CEC with C30. In the latter column systems, analyte separations appeared to be improved by conversion to benzoates or ferulates. Twenty-four-epimers of campesterol acetate and 7-campestenol acetate as well as the campesterol-stigmasterol pair were readily resolved by CEC with either phase. However, the cholesterol-stigmasterol pair was barely resolved and had an elution order opposite to that of their acetates or benzoates. Potential applicability of the CEC technique in the analysis of sterols and sterol ferulates in vegetable oil is demonstrated.     

Optimization of separation in two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography by adjusting phase system selectivity and using programmed elution techniques

The overall peak capacity in comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatographic (LC x LC) separation can be considerably increased using efficient columns and carefully optimized mobile phases providing large differences in the retention mechanisms and separation selectivity between the first and the second dimension. Gradient-elution operation and fraction-transfer modulation by matching the retention and the elution strength of the mobile phases in the two dimensions are useful means to suppress the band broadening in the second dimension and to increase the number of sample compounds separated in LC x LC. Matching parallel gradients in the first and second dimension eliminate the necessity of second-dimension column re-equilibration after the independent gradient runs for each fraction, increase the use of the available second-dimension separation time and can significantly improve the regularity of the coverage of the available retention space in LC x LC separations, especially with the first- and second-dimension systems showing partial selectivity correlations. Systematic development of an LC x LC method with parallel two-dimensional gradients was applied for separation of phenolic acids and flavone compounds. Several types of bonded C18, amide, phenyl, pentafluorophenyl and poly(ethylene glycol) columns were compared using the linear free energy relationship method to find suitable column combination with low correlation of retention of representative standards. The phase systems were optimized step-by-step to find the mobile phases and gradients providing best separation selectivity for phenolic compounds. The optimization of simultaneous parallel gradients in the first and second dimension resulted in significant improvement in the utilization of the available two-dimensional retention space.     

Comparison of eluents in supercritical fluid chromatography as based on density and free volume

A comparative study of chromatographic properties of different supercritical eluents has been performed by considering the retention at equal density or at equal free volume for different mobile phases. At equal density, the temperature dependence of the capacity ratios of aromatic hydrocarbons is the same for different alkane mobile phases, whereas significant deviations are observed when carbon dioxide is employed as the mobile phase. At equal free volume, a comparison of the capacity ratios measured in carbon dioxide and in alkane eluents showed a pronounced similarity for the different mobile phases when the free volume was low, i.e., at high densities. With increasing free volume, the chemical differences of the alkanes on the one hand and carbon dioxide on the other become more apparent in their elution behavior. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the free volume can also be used as a reference basis for the data of solvatochromic shift experiments.     

Porous graphitic carbon (PGC) high-performance liquid chromatography of diphosphine-bridged complexes with heteronuclear Au-M (M=Mn, Re) bonds

Summary The isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography of 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf), 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ruthenocene (dppr), bis(diphenylphosphino)methane (dppm) and triphenylphosphine (PPh₃)-substituted heterometallic Au-Mn or Au-Re carbonyl complexes is reported. A column packed with PGC (porous graphitic carbon) was used after preliminary experiments had shown that silica- and bonded-phase (silica-based) stationary phases were unsatisfactory for separation. The PGC column exhibited unique selectivity for the complexes studied. The mobile phases used were water-acetonitrile, dichloromethanehexane and tetrahydrofuran-hexane. The retention behaviour of the compounds was governed by the polar character and size of molecules, and influenced by metal-metal bond polarity. Separation of isomorphous structures with different metallocenyl moieties was achieved.     

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.     

Study of the selectivity of reversed-phase columns for the separation of polycarboxylic acids and polyphenol compounds

A systematic investigation was undertaken into the relative separation performance of five reversed-phase chromatography columns including some commercially new hybrid packed columns for a series of polycarboxylic acids and polyphenol compounds. Information theory (IT) and factor analysis (FA), together with a basic evaluation of retention information (band shape, retention factor and elution order) were used to compare four columns to a conventional C18 column. The results revealed very little difference in retention behaviour between the Phenomenex Aqua C18 column, the Waters XTerra RP C18 column, and the conventional Phenomenex Luna C18 column. However, there were notable differences in the retention processes between the Phenomenex Synergi polar-RP column, which is an ether-linked phenyl base with polar endcapping, and the Luna C18 column. The most significant differences were observed between the Luna C18 column and a Phenomenex Luna Cyano column. However, the limited degree of retention of the polycarboxylic acids and polyphenol compounds on the Luna Cyano column permits only limited use for the separation of these types of compounds. Overall, the Phenomenex Synergi polar-RP column exhibited the best performance for the separation of the test solutes compared to that of the conventional C18 column, with IT yielding an Informational Similarity of 0.99 and FA a moderate correlation coefficient of 0.70. The Phenomenex Synergi polar-RP column gave the best peak shape and offered substantial selectivity differences thereby providing a good alternative over the conventional C18 column for separating polycarboxylic acids and polyphenols.     

Chromatographic behaviour of selected steroids and their inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin on octadecylsilica stationary phases with different carbon loads

Retention and separation studies of selected estrogens, progestogens and their inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin were conducted using two C18 HPLC columns with different carbon loads. The difference in carbon load between investigated octadecylsilica packing materials was about 50%. The mobile phases were composed of a 30% v/v acetonitrile-water mixture without and with addition of beta-cyclodextrin at a concentration of 12 mM. The experimental data revealed that retention of the steroids was significantly reduced on the column with the lower carbon load. Moreover, it was found that this column offers better separation power and shorter analysis time at the temperatures studied. However, the calculated values of the retention factor ratios (k0(mMCD))/k(12mMCD)) of the steroids were similar for both columns investigated. This observation suggests that the stationary phase structure appears to have little effect on the formation of host-guest complexes if the complexation process is localised to the chromatographic mobile phase. From a practical point of view, when the mobile phase is modified with beta-cyclodextrin, the separation of the steroids is strongly influenced by temperature. The best chromatographic conditions were determined for the separation of multicomponent samples on the column with lower carbon load. A possible retention mechanism for components of interest in the presence of macrocyclic additives is discussed.