Characterization of polymer-based monolithic capillary columns by inverse size-exclusion chromatography and mercury-intrusion porosimetry

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GCxGC) offers favourable resolution and sensitivity compared with conventional one-dimensional gas chromatography (1D-GC), as reported in many studies. These characteristics are of major interest when analytes are in trace concentration, and are present in complex mixtures, as is the case of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric particulate samples. Whilst GCxGC has been widely applied to identification of different types of analytes in several matrices, less seldom has it been used for quantification of these analytes. Although several quantitative methods have been proposed, they may be tedious and/or require considerable user development. Whereas quantification in 1D-GC is a routine and well-established procedure, in GCxGC, it is not so straightforward, especially where novel or untested procedures have yet to be incorporated into software packages. In the present study, it is proposed that a subset of the modulated peaks generated for each solute may be summed, based on the specific target ion mass of each compound present in a certified standard reference material (SRM) 1649a (urban dust). The ratio between a PAH and its corresponding deuterated (PAH-d) form showed that there is no statistical loss of sensitivity when this ratio is calculated based on whether the total sum of modulated peaks, or if only the two or the three most intense modulated peaks, are employed. Manual integration may be required, and here was found to give more acceptable values than automatic integration. Automated integration has been shown here to underestimate the modulated peak responses when low concentrations of PAHs were analyzed. Although for most PAHs good agreement with the certified values were observed, the analytical method needs to be further optimized for some of the other PAH, as can be see with those PAH with high variability in the range of urban dust analyzed.     

Porosity of monolithic macroporous sorbents: Inverse hydrodynamic and size-exclusion chromatography study

Macroporous monolithic sorbents based on divinylbenzene are prepared in capillary tubes with the use of poor porogens of various sizes and molecular masses. The porosity of sorbents is studied via gravimetry and inverse hydrodynamic and size-exclusion chromatography methods. It is shown that all sorbents possess the biporous structure. Macropores with sizes on the order of a micrometer form an interconnected structure through which a solvent flows (flow-through pores). The diameter of impermeable pores is 30–40-molecular-mass solutes solely. As the molecular mass of the poor porogen decreases, the sizes of flow-through pores and the permeability of the monolith decline. At the same time, the fraction of free volume within the monolith accessible for the separation of polymer molecules is the highest for the sorbent prepared with the use of nonanol as a poor porogen.     

Electrically assisted capillary liquid chromatography using a silica monolithic column

A silica monolithic capillary column was linked to an open capillary of the same internal diameter via a Teflon sleeve to form a duplex column to investigate the combination of chromatography and electrophoresis in the mode of electrically assisted capillary liquid chromatography (eCLC). Using a commercial CE instrument with an 8.5 cm long, 100 μm i.d. reversed phase silica monolithic section and a window 1.5 cm beyond the end of this in a 21.5 cm open section, a minimum plate height of 9 μm was obtained in capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) mode at a low driving pressure of 50 psi. In eCLC mode, high speed and high resolution separations of acidic and basic compounds were achieved with selectivity tuning based on the flexible combination of pressure (0–100 psi) and voltage. Taking advantage of the excellent permeability of silica monolithic columns, use of a step flow gradient enabled elution of compounds with different charge state.     

Analysis of microcystins by capillary high performance liquid chromatography using a polymethacrylate-based monolithic column

A polymethacrylate-based monolithic column was prepared and its application to the separation of three kinds of similar microcystins (MCs) in capillary high performance liquid chromatography (capillary-HPLC) with ultraviolet detection was studied. The monolithic matrix contains both hydrophobic and cation-exchange interaction sites. Factors influencing the separation performance have been investigated. A baseline separation could be achieved by means of Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer of mildly alkaline pH and acetonitrile as the mobile phases in less than 5 min. The calibration curves were linear with a correlation coefficient r>0.9990 over a range of 0.25-18.00 mg/L. This method was successfully applied to the separation of microcystins from other compounds in spiked uncontaminated lake water after performing solid-phase extraction. The whole procedure provided low LODs, e. g. the LODs for MC-LR, MC-YR, and MC-RR were found to be 0.49, 0.67, 0.30 microg/L, respectively. The LODs, precision, efficiency, and the results obtained for the real samples demonstrate the potential of polymethacrylate-based monolithic columns as fast separation tools for routine use in the monitoring of microcystins in real water samples.     

Polydimethylsiloxane-functionalized monolithic silica column for reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography

A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-modified monolithic silica column was prepared for performing reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography. The prepared PDMS column has a permeability of 6.4×10(-14) m(2) with a plate height <9.2 μm. Alkylbenzenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were well separated with the PDMS stationary phase, which exhibited similar selectivity and separation mechanism to that of octadecyl stationary phase. The hydrophobic interactions between the analytes and the PDMS stationary phase mainly play the roles for the separation of alkylbenzenes and PAHs. The characteristics of the PDMS column for the separation of alkylbenzenes and PAHs demonstrated that it would be a promising alternative to the octadecyl column.     

Study of triacontyl-functionalized monolithic silica capillary column for reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography

A novel stationary phase triacontyl-functionalized monolithic silica capillary column was successfully prepared for reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography. The performance of the monolithic silica capillary column coated with triacontyl chain for the separation of alkylbenzenes, xylene isomers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and mixture of α- and β-carotenes was studied, which was compared to that using the monolithic silica capillary column coated with octadecyl chain. The comparison results showed that triacontyl-functionalized monolithic silica capillary column would be a promising media to be used for the separation of isomeric solutes with long chain in reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography.     

Determination of the porosities of monolithic columns by inverse size-exclusion chromatography

Retention data of polystyrene samples of narrow molecular size distribution and known average molecular mass were measured on several monolithic columns (Chromolith Performance, Merck) and one conventional packed column (Luna C18, Phenomenex) by size-exclusion chromatography. These data were used to determine the external, the internal, and the total porosities of these columns. These data provided also information on the pore-size distribution of the adsorbent medium. The external and the total porosities of these columns are much higher than those of conventional packed columns. The results illustrate the profound changes brought by monolithic columns to the balance of the hydrodynamic and the mass transfer kinetic properties of chromatographic columns. Classical methods of comparison between column performance must be re-evaluated.     

Separation of gold nanoparticles with a monolithic silica capillary column in liquid chromatography

A separation system for gold nanoparticles was developed using monolithic silica capillary columns with 50 μm i.d., which were prepared via in-situ sol-gel processes. Gold nanoparticles with five different average sizes were synthesized via reduction of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl(4)) under different synthesis conditions, and were evaluated by UV-visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering as well as transmission electron microscopy before they were separated using the developed system. The results showed that all of the gold nanoparticles had a certain size distribution, and the mean sizes obtained were 13, 17, 33, 43 and 61 nm, with σ = 2.5, 2.7, 5.2, 5.1 and 5.6 nm, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the samples with mean sizes of 13 and 17 nm were almost spherical, while larger samples were slightly non-uniform. The agglomeration of gold nanoparticles as the sample could be prevented by using a sodium dodecyl sulfate aqueous solution as the mobile phase, and gold nanoparticles were retained by adsorption on the silica surface. Separation with 8 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate as the eluent and a 1000-mm column was successful, and the separation of gold nanoparticles with 61 and 17 nm or 61 and 13 nm was demonstrated. The separation results obtained using a nonporous silica packed column as well as monolithic silica columns with or without mesopore growth were compared. It was found that separation using the mesopore-less monolithic column achieved better resolution. Through the use of a 2000-mm separation column, the mixtures of 61, 43, 17 nm and 61, 33, 13 nm could be separated.     

新型有机-无机杂化整体柱的制备及其在毛细管液相色谱及加压毛细管电色谱中的应用

以丙烯酰胺(AM)为单体,八乙烯基倍半硅氧烷(POSS)为交联剂,偶氮二异丁腈(AIBN)为引发剂,四氢呋喃(THF)为致孔剂,通过原位聚合法制备了poly(POSS-co-AM)有机-无机杂化整体柱,并对各反应物的配比进行了优化。结果表明,当功能单体与致孔剂、POSS与AM的质量比均为1.0: 5.0, AIBN的质量分数为0.1%时,杂化整体柱的柱效最高。无机材料的引入使整体柱结构均匀并具有良好的渗透性,该整体柱既能用于亲水色谱模式,也能用于反相色谱模式。将制备的整体柱用于毛细管液相色谱和加压毛细管电色谱分离核苷类、胺类、硝基苯胺类等化合物,获得了良好的效果。     

Pore structural characterization of monolithic silica columns by inverse size-exclusion chromatography

In this work, a parallel pore model (PPM) and a pore network model (PNM) are developed to provide a state-of-art method for the calculation of several characteristic pore structural parameters from inverse size-exclusion chromatography (ISEC) experiments. The proposed PPM and PNM could be applicable to both monoliths and columns packed with porous particles. The PPM and PNM proposed in this work are able to predict the existence of the second inflection point in the experimental exclusion curve that has been observed for monolithic materials by accounting for volume partitioning of the polymer standards in the macropores of the column. The appearance and prominence of the second inflection point in the exclusion curve is determined to depend strongly on the void fraction of the macropores (flow-through pores), (b) the nominal diameter of the macropores, and (c) the radius of gyration of the largest polymer standard employed in the determination of the experimental ISEC exclusion curve. The conditions that dictate the appearance and prominence of the second inflection point in the exclusion curve are presented. The proposed models are applied to experimentally measured ISEC exclusion curves of six silica monoliths having different macropore and mesopore diameters. The PPM and PNM proposed in this work are able to determine the void fractions of the macropores and silica skeleton, the pore connectivity of the mesopores, as well as the pore number distribution (PND) and pore volume distribution (PVD) of the mesopores. The results indicate that the mesoporous structure of all materials studied is well connected as evidenced by the similarities between the PVDs calculated with the PPM and the PNM, and by the high pore connectivity values obtained from the PNM. Due to the fact that the proposed models can predict the existence of the second inflection point in the exclusion curves, the proposed models could be more applicable than other models for ISEC characterization of chromatographic columns with small diameter macropores (interstitial pores) and/or large macropore (interstitial pore) void fractions. It should be noted that the PNM can always be applied without the use of the PPM, since the PPM is an idealization that considers an infinitely connected porous medium and for materials having a low (<6) pore connectivity the PPM would force the PVD to a lower average diameter and larger distribution width as opposed to properly accounting for the network effects present in the real porous medium.     

Analysis of pyridylaminated oligosaccharides using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with a monolithic capillary column

We examined the utility of a monolithic capillary column in the analysis of pyridylaminated oligosaccharides. Fluorescence detection and mass spectrometry were used to monitor a series of oligosaccharides. Although the total-ion chromatogram appeared similar to that obtained with fluorescence detection, the sensitivity of this technique was limited, especially in the case of smaller oligosaccharides. This limitation was overcome by applying selected ion current monitoring. Further, the capillary column also exhibited good reproducibility. We showed that the retention times obtained by using the monolithic capillary column could be converted into the standard data to enable comparison of the experimental data with the existing data. Furthermore, our studies revealed an important difference in the separation profile, i.e., the monolithic capillary column could resolve smaller oligosaccharides to a greater extent.     

Hydrothermal preparation of hybrid carbon/silica monolithic capillary column for liquid chromatography

A simple, easy and economical approach for the preparation of a hybrid carbon/silica monolithic capillary column was described for the first time by using silica monolith as framework in combination with hydrothermal carbonization at 180°C. During the preparation process, formamide was introduced to the reaction solutions to reduce the dissolution rate of monolithic silica skeleton and its optimal concentration was 1.5 M. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectrometry, and inverse size exclusion chromatography were carried out to characterize the as‐prepared column. The results demonstrated that carbon spheres ranging from 150 to 1000 nm were successfully attached to the surface of silica skeleton. The prepared hybrid carbon/silica column had a permeability of 4.4 × 10^?14 m². Chromatographic performance of the column was evaluated by separation of various compounds including alkylbenzenes, nucleosides and bases, and aromatic acids. The column exhibited an efficiency of 75 000 plates/m for butylbenzene at the optimal linear velocity of 0.23 mm/s. The successful separation of these compounds and the study on mechanism indicated that the column can be applied in mixed‐mode chromatography.     

毛细管整体柱的制备技术及其应用进展

毛细管整体柱是以其制备相对简单无需烧结塞子,渗透性好,柱效高,低柱压等优点,成为目前备受关注的液相色谱固定相.它具有较好的重现性,可进行快速分离,已被应用于毛细管电色谱(CEC)和微柱高效液相色谱(μ-HPLC).本文主要介绍近几年毛细管整体柱的制备技术及其应用概况.     

Porous structure of the monolithic sorbent and separation properties of monolithic capillary columns in gas and liquid chromatography

Macroporous polymer based on polydivinylbenzene was used for the preparation of monolithic capillary columns with the diameter from 0.01 to 0.53 mm for separations by gas and liquid chromatography. The separation properties of the columns were studied by analysis of model systems of aromatic (in liquid chromatography) and light (in gas chromatography) hydrocarbons. The permeability was determined and the C parameter of the Van-Deemter equation was found for each column. The permeability of the majority of columns determined by gas chromatography is independent of the column diameter. The permeability of the same columns in liquid chromatography is also almost constant for the columns 0.53–0.1 mm in diameter; however, the permeability decreases sharply on going to columns of smaller diameter. In gas chromatography the value of the C parameter reflecting the effect of the mass transfer of the sorbate between the mobile and stationary phases on the smearing of a chromatographic peak in the column approximately the same for all columns. In liquid chromatography the value of the C coefficient in the Van-Deemter equation for the same capillary columns changes with a change in the column diameter and reaches a minimum for the columns 0.1 mm in diameter. The differences observed for the characteristics of the columns in gas and liquid chromatography are due to different structures of the macroporous monolith formed in columns of different diameter and to the effect of solvation of the monolith by the mobile phase under the conditions of liquid chromatography.     

Physically adsorbed chiral stationary phase of avidin on monolithic silica column for capillary electrochromatography and capillary liquid chromatography

The physical adsorption method proposed previously has been successfully applied to a monolithic silica column. By virtue of the physical adsorption, a chiral stationary phase of avidin was prepared onto the silica monolith. The phase ratio of resulting stationary phase was evaluated with frontal analysis. The method proved to be comparable in phase ratio to the chemical bonding methods used in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Enantiomer separations were carried out in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) modes. Due to its larger phase ratio, the resulting column showed more powerful separation capability as compared to open-tubular CEC (OTCEC). Twelve chiral compounds were baseline-resolved. The resulting column showed high separation efficiency, with average theoretical plate numbers of 66 000/m for CLC and 122 000/m for CEC. Good reproducibility was observed, with RSD value less than 1.3% for retention time, retention factor and separation factor, and less than 6.6% for plate counts and resolution (n = 40). Fast separations were achieved with a short column. The test enantiomers were baseline-resolved within 4 min under CLC and CEC modes. In addition, field-enhanced sample injection (FESI) was coupled to CLC as well as CEC to improve the detection sensitivity.     

High-performance liquid chromatography with contactless conductivity detection for the determination of peptides and proteins using a monolithic capillary column

Gradient programs were applied to the determination of peptides and proteins in HPLC with contactless conductivity detection. A monolithic capillary column was used for the fast and sensitive determination of the biochemical species in acidic mobile phases consisting of acetic acid or trifluoroacetic acid in various concentrations of acetonitrile in water. The drift in baseline, which is caused by conductivity changes during the elution program, was minimized by careful optimization of the composition of the mobile phase and remaining drift was removed by computational baseline normalization. The flow rate from a conventional HPLC pump was reduced to a flow rate suitable for capillary systems using a pre-column flow splitter and a final total flow rate of 1.65 microl/min was used for all capillary HPLC separations. The contactless conductivity detector was positioned directly on the outlet capillary of the separation column and positively charged peptides and proteins were determined as sharp and symmetrical peaks. Detection limits in a concentration range from 3.7 x 10(-8) to 5.1 x 10(-7)M and a reproducibility of peak areas and peak heights between 2.3% and 7.3% were achieved for all biochemical species tested.     

Fast determination of tetrafluoroborate by high-performance liquid chromatography using a monolithic column

Fast determination of tetrafluoroborate by high-performance liquid chromatography using a silica-based monolithic column and direct conductivity detection was carried out. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Chromolith Speed ROD RP-18e column (50 mm x 4.6 mm i.d.) with tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBA-OH)+ phthalic acid as eluent. The effects of eluent concentration, eluent pH, column temperature and flow rate on retention time of tetrafluoroborate were investigated. The optimized chromatographic conditions for determination of tetrafluoroborate were using 0.5mM TBA-OH + 0.31 mM phthalic acid (pH 5.5) as eluent, column temperature of 30 degrees C and flow rate of 6.0 mL/min. Retention time of tetrafluoroborate was less than 1min under the conditions. Common anions (Cl(-), Br(-), NO3(-) and SO4(2-)) did not interfere with the determination of tetrafluoroborate. Detection limit (S/N = 2) for tetrafluoroborate was 1.4 mg/L. The linear range of calibration curve between peak area and the concentration of tetrafluoroborate was from 1.4 to 100.0 mg/L. The reproducibility was 0.09% and 1.8% (n = 5) relative standard deviation (RSD) for retention time and peak area, respectively. The method has been applied to the determination of tetrafluoroborate in ionic liquids. Recoveries of tetrafluoroborate after spiking were 98.2-101.5%.     

硅胶整体柱离子对色谱快速分析碘离子

建立了用硅胶整体柱和直接电导检测的离子对色谱快速分析碘离子的方法。采用Chromolith Speed ROD RP-18e色谱柱,以氢氧化四丁铵(离子对试剂)-邻苯二甲酸+乙腈(有机改进剂)为淋洗液,讨论了离子对试剂浓度、有机改进剂浓度、pH、流速和色谱柱温度对碘离子保留的影响。确定最佳色谱条件为:0.25 mmol/L氢氧化四丁铵-0.18 mmol/L邻苯二甲酸+体积分数7%乙腈(pH5.5)作为淋洗液,流速6.0 mL/min,色谱柱温30℃。在此条件下,碘离子的保留时间在0.5 min之内,其它常见阴离子(Cl-、NO3-、SO42-)及SCN-、ClO4-不干扰测定。方法的检出限为0.86 mg/L,标准曲线的线性范围为1.6～85.0 mg/L,峰面积的相对标准偏差为2.3%。将方法应用于测定地下水和果汁中的碘离子,加标回收率为98.5%～104.2%。     

Investigation of the tetramer-dimer equilibrium in haemoglobin solutions by high-performance size-exclusion chromatography on a diol column

High-performance size-exclusion chromatography on a diol grafted column was applied to study the tetramer-dimer equilibrium in haemoglobin solution. Human haemoglobin A, isolated alpha A and beta A subunits and haemoglobin variants with structural modifications located at the interface between subunits were used as models. The elution volume of the subunits was found to deviate strongly from that expected from only a gel permeation mechanism and therefore ionic interactions are likely to participate in the protein retention. Experimental results and computer simulation indicate that the individual elution bands corresponding to the discrete components (tetramer, dimer, monomer) can be resolved under certain conditions. In general both the equilibrium and kinetic interconversion parameters must be considered. Single tetramer elution bands were observed from haemoglobin in the concentration range measurable, although the influence of dimers could be seen in the shape and shift of the profile. beta Chains showed resolved peaks for the tetramer-dimer forms.