Considerations on the modelling and optimisation of resolution of ionisable compounds in extended pH-range columns

The problems associated to the modelling and optimisation of the chromatographic resolution of mixtures involving ionisable solutes at varying pH and acetonitrile content are discussed. Several retention models that separate the contributions of solute, column and stationary phase, were used. The retention was predicted with low errors in large pH domains (2-12), which was an essential requirement to face the optimisation of resolution. The selected mixture was particularly problematic under the viewpoint of resolution, owing to the excessively diverse acid-base behaviour of solutes. This variety led to sudden drops in retention at different pH for each solute, yielding numerous peak crossing, which made finding shared regions of high resolution especially difficult. Conventional resolution diagrams for these situations are scarcely informative, since both the overall and the worst elementary resolutions drop to zero if at least two compounds remain overlapped, even when all the others are baseline resolved. A new chromatographic objective function is proposed to address this drawback. This function, called "limiting peak count", is based on the limiting peak purity concept, and measures the success in the resolution focusing on the resolved solutes, in contrast to conventional resolution assessments that attend mainly to the least resolved solutes. Limiting peak count yields the same result as conventional assessments when full resolution is possible, but it is also able to discriminate the maximal resolving power in low-resolution situations. It offers a different perspective to that given by the complementary mobile phases approach, and the computation is far simpler.     

Net analyte signal as a deconvolution-oriented resolution criterion in the optimisation of chromatographic techniques

The performance of two multivariate calibration measurements, multivariate selectivity (SEL(s)) and scalar net analyte signal (scalar NAS), as chromatographic objective functions (COFs), was investigated. Since both assessments are straightforwardly related to the quantification of analytes in the presence of interferents, they were expected to confer new features in the optimisation of compound resolution, not present in conventional assessments. These capabilities are especially interesting in situations of low resolution, where peak deconvolution becomes an attractive alternative. For comparison purposes, chromatographic resolution (R(s)) and peak purity (p(s)) were used as reference COFs. In order to correlate COFs with the probability of deconvolution error, an artificial peak crossing was used to generate 73 different peak arrangements, which were deconvolved using three different methods. SEL(s) exhibited the best correlation, which allowed predicting properly the risk of obtaining inaccurate deconvolutions. The optimisation of a poorly resolved mixture of 16 aromatic compounds by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with methanol-water and acetonitrile-water mobile phases was examined to investigate the differences in performance among the resolution criteria. In situations like these, SEL(s) tends to consider acceptable mobile phase compositions with partial coelution, which permits however the deconvolution with low errors. In contrast, p(s) selects compositions where the resolution of some compounds is sacrificed to enhance the separation of others. Scalar NAS was not so favourable as expected, since it depends on sampling frequency and peak widening. SEL(s) was not affected by these factors.     

Stationary phase modulation in liquid chromatography through the serial coupling of columns: A review

Liquid chromatography with single columns often does not succeed in the analysis of complex samples, in terms of resolution and analysis time. A relatively simple solution to enhance chromatographic resolution is the modulation of the stationary phase through the serial coupling of columns. This can be implemented with any type of column using compatible elution conditions and conventional instruments. This review describes the key features of column coupling and published procedures, where two or more columns were coupled in series to solve separation problems. In all reports, the authors could not resolve their samples with single columns, whereas significant enhancement in chromatographic performance was obtained when the columns were combined. Particularly interesting is the reduction in the analysis time in the isocratic mode, which alleviates the “general elution problem” of liquid chromatography, and may represent a stimulus for the proposal of new procedures, especially in combination with mass spectrometric, electrochemical and refractometric detection. Developments proposed to make the serial coupling of columns useful in routine and research laboratories are outlined, including optimisation strategies that facilitate the selection of the appropriate column combination and elution conditions (solvent content, flow rate or temperature) in both isocratic and gradient modes. The availability of zero dead volume couplers, able to connect standard columns, and the commercialisation of short columns with multiple lengths, have expanded the possibilities of success.     

Combined effect of solvent content, temperature and pH on the chromatographic behaviour of ionisable compounds II: benefits of the simultaneous optimisation

A previously reported eight-parameter mechanistic model [Part I of this work, J. Chromatogr. A 1163 (2007) 49] was applied to optimise the separation of 11 ionisable compounds (nine diuretics and two beta-blockers), considering solvent content, temperature and pH as experimental factors. The data from 21 experiments, arranged in a central composite design, were used to model the retention. Local models were used to predict efficiency and peak asymmetry. The optimisation strategy, based on the use of peak purity as chromatographic objective function and derived concepts, was able to find the most suitable experimental conditions yielding full resolution in reasonable analysis times. It also allowed a detailed inspection of the separation capability of the studied factors, and of the consequences of the shifts in the protonation constants originated by changes in solvent content and temperature. The size of the resolution structures suggested that the ranked importance of the factors was pH, organic solvent and temperature, giving rise to relatively narrow domains of full resolution. The three factors were found, however, worthwhile in the optimisation of selectivity. Predicted optimal conditions corresponding to two different optimal resolution regions were verified experimentally. In spite of the difficulties associated to the use of pH as optimisation factor, satisfactory agreement was found in both cases.     

Finding the best separation in situations of extremely low chromatographic resolution

Samples with a large number of compounds or similarities in their structure and polarity may yield insufficient chromatographic resolution. In such cases, however, finding conditions where the largest number of compounds appears sufficiently resolved can be still worthwhile. A strategy is here reported that optimises the resolution level of chromatograms in cases where conventional global criteria, such as the worst resolved peak pair or the product of elementary resolutions, are not able to detect any separation, even when most peaks are baseline resolved. The strategy applies a function based on the number of "well resolved" peaks, which are those that exceed a given threshold of peak purity. It is, therefore, oriented to quantify the success in the separation, and not the failure, as the conventional criteria do. The conditions that resolve the same amount of peaks are discriminated by either quantifying the partial resolution of those peaks that exceed the established threshold, or by improving the separation of peaks below it. The proposed approach is illustrated by the reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation of a mixture of 30 ionisable and neutral compounds, using the acetonitrile content and pH as factors.     

Signal suppression/enhancement in high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

The review discusses the pitfalls of the matrix effect in mass spectrometry detection hyphenated to liquid chromatography separation. Matrix effect heavily influences both qualitative and quantitative analyses, giving rise to suppression or enhancement of the signal. As generally recognised, the predominant cause is the presence of undesired components that co-elute in the chromatographic separation and alter the ionisation process. The interfering species can be components of the sample, compounds released during the pre-treatment/extraction process or reagents added to the mobile phase to improve chromatographic resolution. The different mechanisms proposed in literature to explain the suppression or the enhancement of the signal both in electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisations are presented and the results observed in the different experimental conditions are compared and discussed. All data together lead to conclude that the chemical properties of the target analyte, the kind of matrix, the matrix to analyte concentration ratio, the extraction process, the chromatographic conditions as well as the kind of the mass spectrometry instrumentation and the ionisation conditions can play a role. Likely all these potential causes act in a synergic way and the final effect observed is hardly due to only one of them. Depending on an unpredictable combination of conditions, signal suppression or enhancement can be observed. The review discusses the matrix effects observed in HPLC–MS and HPLC–MS/MS analysis proposes hypotheses to explain the observed behaviours and proposes methods and strategies to overcome the matrix effects.     

Characteristic response of formulation ingredients revealed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-high resolution mass spectrometry-based untargeted screening of pesticides in soil

Commercial solutions of pesticides consist of two main components: The active substance and the formulation ingredients. These ingredients, mainly composed of polymeric surfactants, are considered inert vis-à-vis the targeted organisms and nature. Nonetheless, a relatively low attention is given to their analysis and fate tracking in the environment. In this context, the current paper, embedded in a large study of fate and impact of formulated pesticides in soil, focuses on the analysis of these formulation ingredients. It mainly highlights and discusses the characteristic response of these ingredients in liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry-based untargeted screening of two commercial herbicides applied on soil. This characteristic response is based on different spectral and chromatographic aspects, as their amplified adducts and double-charged ions formation, or their “wavy” chromatographic profiles and the inversion of their elution order following the polymerization degree. These patterns are briefly discussed in order to explain them, and then thanks to their understanding, 12 different series (165 compounds) of formulation ingredients were outlined and discriminated from active substance and soil metabolites. After, high-resolution and tandem mass spectrometry data were investigated for rapid interseries and intraseries identification-by-chain. In addition, recommendations for methods development and hints on postanalytical data processing for identity determination of these ingredients are given in order to help in enhancing future studies. Limitations of the applied approach are also outlined, and some innovate suggestions are provided based on the described findings.     

Alternative calibration approaches for LC-MS quantitative determination of coeluted compounds in complex environmental mixtures using multivariate curve resolution

Different calibration approaches including external calibration, standard addition and internal standard are evaluated for quantification of coeluted compounds in liquid chromatography with MS spectrometry detection in scan mode and using multivariate curve resolution. These different calibration approaches are proposed to cope with sensitivity changes and matrix effects encountered in the analysis of complex natural environmental samples. By using them, multivariate curve resolution analysis of MS data in scan mode gave similar quantitative results to those obtained by LC-MS in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode (in both cases errors were below 16% for internal standard combined with standard addition strategy), and it provided at the same time a means of analyte confirmation via their resolved pure MS spectra, and a means to gather a larger amount of information about the whole chromatographic process and to facilitate the simultaneous determination of multiple analytes in the same chromatographic run using the same experimental and instrumental conditions.     

Correction of retention time shifts for chromatographic fingerprints of herbal medicines

In this study, the combination of chemometric resolution and cubic spline data interpolation was investigated as a method to correct the retention time shifts for chromatographic fingerprints of herbal medicines obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). With the help of the resolution approaches in chemometrics, it was easy to identify the purity of chromatographic peak clusters and then resolve the two-dimensional response matrix into chromatograms and spectra of pure chemical components so as to select multiple mark compounds involved in chromatographic fingerprints. With these mark components determined, the retention time shifts of chromatographic fingerprints might be then corrected effectively. After this correction, the cubic spline interpolation technique was then used to reconstruct new chromatographic fingerprints. The results in this work showed that, the purity identification of the chromatographic peak clusters together with the resolution of overlapping peaks into pure chromatograms and spectra by means of chemometric approaches could provide the sufficient chromatographic and spectral information for selecting multiple mark compounds to correct the retention time shifts. The cubic spline data interpolation technique was user-friendly to the reconstruction of new chromatographic fingerprints with correction. The successful application to the simulated and real chromatographic fingerprints of two Cortex cinnamomi, fifty Rhizoma chuanxiong, ten Radix angelicae and seventeen Herba menthae samples from different sources demonstrated the reliability and applicability of the approach investigated in this work. Pattern recognition based on principal component analysis for identifying inhomogenity in chromatographic fingerprints from real herbal medicines could further interpret it.     

Resolution optimisation in micellar electrokinetic chromatography using empirical models

Theoretical and empirical models can be used to model the migration or separation characteristics in micellar electrokinetic chromatography in order to optimise the resolution. In this paper only empirical models were used, because it is easier and more straightforward to obtain these models. Several empirical approaches for the optimisation of the resolution were compared in order to determine which response should be modelled preferably. The use of models of the effective mobility in combination with average plate numbers proved to be the most suitable approach to optimisation of the resolution, because the relative prediction errors of the models of the effective mobility were a factor of 2-4 smaller than the relative prediction errors of the models of the apparent mobility. Moreover for the least separated peak pair the resolutions based on the models of the apparent and effective mobility showed relative prediction errors that were approximately a factor of 2 smaller than the relative prediction errors of the resolutions based on the models of the resolution and separation factor. The predictions of the separation factor based on the different models generally showed lower prediction errors than the predictions of the corresponding resolutions. Although the relative prediction errors were large, particularly for closely migrating compounds, the empirical approach will probably lead to the optimum separation buffer composition.     

Optimisation & scale-up of affinity chromatography

When affinity chromatography is used on the large scale, economics dictate that the process must be optimised to ensure high throughputs and high adsorbent utilisation. The optimisation of an affinity chromatography process starts with the selection of both the ligand and matrix components of the affinity adsorbent. The relative merits of using highly selective ligands and small particle matrices in the development of high performance chromatography systems is discussed. Once the adsorbent has been chosen the parameters that characterise its interaction with the adsorbate must be characterised from small scale experiments. The method is illustrated in a series of experiments that show the influence of a number of factors involved in the preparation of immobilised monoclonal antibodies on the subsequent performance of the immunosorbents. These parameters together with computer simulations of the chromatography process can be used to design and optimise the operation of large scale systems. Attention has to be given to the optimisation of the adsorption, washing and elution phases of the process. Apart from initial process design, it is also necessary to optimise the chromatographic separation during the run. This involves the need to be able to measure the chromatographic performance in an on-line manner and a number of approaches to achieve this are described.     

Complementary mobile-phase optimisation for resolution enhancement in high-performance liquid chromatography

An optimisation methodology in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is presented for the selection of two or more mobile phases having an optimal complementary resolution. The complementary mobile phases (CMPs) are selected in such a way that each one resolves optimally only some compounds in the mixture, while the remainder, resolved by the other mobile phase(s), can overlap among them. The methodology is based on the computation of a peak purity measurement for each solute, using an asymmetrical peak model for peak simulation. Two global resolution criteria (product of elementary resolutions and worst elementary resolution) and two methods for solving the problem (a systematic examination of all possible solute arrangements, and the use of genetic algorithms to expedite the calculation time) were used to find the optimal CMPs. The CMP optimisation methodology was applied to the resolution of a mixture of 10 diuretics and beta-blockers, which could not be resolved using a single mobile phase; virtual baseline resolution was achieved, however, with two CMPs.     

Separation of enantiomers: needs, challenges, perspectives

Chiral drugs, agrochemicals, food additives and fragrances represent classes of compounds with high economic and scientific potential. First the present implications of their chiral nature and necessity of separating enantiomers are summarised in this article. In the following a brief overview of the actual approaches to perform enantioseparations at analytical and preparative scale is given. Challenging aspects of these strategies, such as problems associated with data management, choice of suitable chiral selectors for given enantioseparations and enhanced understanding of the underlying chiral recognition principles, are discussed. Alternatives capable of meeting the requirements of industrial processes, in terms of productivity, cost-effectiveness and environmental issues (e.g., enantioselective membranes) are critically reviewed. The impact of combinatorial methodologies on faster and more effective development and optimisation of novel chiral selectors is outlined. Finally, the merits and limitations of most recent trends in discrimination of enantiomers, including advances in the fields of sensors, microanalysis systems, chiroptical methods and chemical force microscopy are evaluated.     

Robust interpretive optimisation in high-performance liquid chromatography considering uncertainties in peak position

In the context of interpretive chromatographic optimisation, robustness is usually calculated by introducing deliberated shifts in the nominal optimal conditions and evaluating their effects on the monitored objective function, mimicking thus the experimental procedures used in method validation. However, such strategy ignores a major source of error: the uncertainties associated to the modelling step, that may give rise to deceiving results when conditions that were expected to yield baseline separation are reproduced in the chromatograph. Two approaches, based on the peak purity concept, are here proposed to evaluate the robustness of the objective function under the perspective of measurement errors and modelling. The first approach implements these uncertainties as an extra band broadening for each chromatographic peak. The second one implements them as peak fluctuations in simulated replicated assays, which gives rise to a distribution of peak purities, easily computed through Monte-Carlo simulations. Both approaches predict satisfactorily a decreased separation capability, with respect to the conventional approach, for those situations where the uncertainties in peak position make the objective function critical. The first approach is less optimistic and formally less rigorous than the second one, but its computation is simpler. It can be used to map the critical resolution regions, to be comprehensively appraised further by the slower, although more rigorous, Monte-Carlo approach.     

Chiral separation strategy in polar organic solvent chromatography and performance comparison with normal-phase liquid and supercritical-fluid chromatography

A strategy, including a rapid screening and several optimisation steps, for the separation of chiral molecules of pharmaceutical interest by polar organic solvent chromatography (POSC), using four polysaccharide-based stationary phases, is proposed and compared with previously reported strategies in normal-phase (NPLC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). In a first part of this paper, different examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the POSC strategy for fast method development. Optimisation is based on the use of experimental design to map the experimental domain in an efficient way. In the second part, the best screening results, obtained after performance of earlier defined chromatographic screening strategies in NPLC and SFC, are compared to those obtained in POSC. The three techniques show complementary separation results and allowed baseline separation of 23 of 25 compounds. POSC is found to be a very interesting separation mode compared to NPLC, because of the many fast (< 10 min) baseline separations obtained.     

Similarity analyses of chromatographic herbal fingerprints: A review

Herbal medicines are becoming again more popular in the developed countries because being “natural” and people thus often assume that they are inherently safe. Herbs have also been used worldwide for many centuries in the traditional medicines. The concern of their safety and efficacy has grown since increasing western interest. Herbal materials and their extracts are very complex, often including hundreds of compounds. A thorough understanding of their chemical composition is essential for conducting a safety risk assessment. However, herbal material can show considerable variability. The chemical constituents and their amounts in a herb can be different, due to growing conditions, such as climate and soil, the drying process, the harvest season, etc. Among the analytical methods, chromatographic fingerprinting has been recommended as a potential and reliable methodology for the identification and quality control of herbal medicines. Identification is needed to avoid fraud and adulteration. Currently, analyzing chromatographic herbal fingerprint data sets has become one of the most applied tools in quality assessment of herbal materials. Mostly, the entire chromatographic profiles are used to identify or to evaluate the quality of the herbs investigated. Occasionally only a limited number of compounds are considered. One approach to the safety risk assessment is to determine whether the herbal material is substantially equivalent to that which is either readily consumed in the diet, has a history of application or has earlier been commercialized i.e. to what is considered as reference material. In order to help determining substantial equivalence using fingerprint approaches, a quantitative measurement of similarity is required. In this paper, different (dis)similarity approaches, such as (dis)similarity metrics or exploratory analysis approaches applied on herbal medicinal fingerprints, are discussed and illustrated with several case studies.     

New materials: analytical and environmental applications in ion chromatography

This review details ion chromatography developments and related applications, mainly in the field of environmental analysis, gained by the evolution in the science and technology for new stationary phases. Unconventional approaches to ion chromatographic separations are also outlined.     

Batch and simulated moving bed chromatographic resolution of a pharmaceutical racemate

The preparative chromatographic resolution of racemates has become over the past few years a standard approach for the generation of enantiomers in pharmaceutical research and development. This paper will discuss the chromatographic resolution of a racemic pharmaceutical intermediate. Initial analytical method development to determine the best preparative conditions will be presented. Batch resolution of kg quantities of racemate followed by the simulated moving bed resolution of tens and hundreds of kg of racemate will also be discussed. Finally the different approaches used for the separation will be compared.     

Simultaneous determination of reboxetine and O-desethylreboxetine enantiomers using enantioselective reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Current knowledge of stereoselective pharmacokinetics and different potencies of drug enantiomers requires the performance of stereoselective analysis during therapeutic drug monitoring in clinical practice. However, in the case of the new antidepressant drug reboxetine, no effort has been made so far to find a such a suitable system. Therefore, as a step towards developing an enantioselective bioanalytical method for reboxetine and the O-desethylreboxetine metabolite, three stereoselective chromatographic approaches have been investigated. Several chiral columns were tested, among them Chiral-AGP, ChiraGrom 2 and Chiral-CBH, which were able to simultaneously separate the two compounds into enantiomers in total running times of 28, 18 and 12 min, respectively.