Evaluation of an ODS column modified with zwitterionic/nonionic mixed surfactants and its application to direct injection determination of inorganic anions.

An octadecylsilica (ODS) column modified with zwitterionic/nonionic mixed surfactants was evaluated for the direct injection determination of inorganic anions in biological fluids by ion chromatography. A zwitterionic surfactant (sulfobetaine-type) and a nonionic surfactant (polyoxyethylene-type) were used for a stationary-phase modification. When aqueous electrolyte solutions with concentrations of sub-mM to several mM were used as a mobile phase, the zwitterionic surfactant coated on the ODS surface exhibited unique separation selectivity for ionic species, while the nonionic surfactant coated on the ODS might have formed a hydrophilic network over the ODS surface and restricted matrix proteins from adsorbing on the stationary phase. Consequently, the mixed surfactant-modified column system allowed an efficient ion chromatographic separation of inorganic anions as well as a size-exclusive removal of column-fouling proteins. This separation system was applied to the direct injection determination of UV-absorbing anions in human saliva. The detection limits for nitrite, nitrate, iodide and thiocyanate were 3.1, 2.7, 4.5 and 25 microM, respectively, with UV detection at 210 nm (injection volume; 20 microl), and their relative standard deviations for 5 replicate measurements of saliva samples spiked with 100 microM each of those anions were 1.4, 0.9, 2.2 and 5.5%, respectively.     

Separation of -amino acids using a series of zwitterionic sulfobetaine exchangers

A set of five new covalently bond sulfobetaine exchangers with inner quaternary amines and outer sulfonic acids have been prepared by attachment of a series of zwitterionic precursors to hyperporous divinylbenzene polymers using a grafting reaction. The series of zwitterionic exchangers have the same backbone and identical spacers to the polymeric backbone, as well as comparable capacities. The only difference is the chain length for one to five methylene groups between the charged functional groups. Chromatographic properties are examined by separation of α-amino acids using sodium acetate and nitric acid eluents. The separation mechanism is explored by varying eluent ionic strength and eluent pH, resulting in the conclusion that amino acids are separated due to cation exchange interactions. This is a behavior never before observed using zwitterionic exchangers. It contradicts the fact that sulfobetaine-type materials used in zwitterionic ion chromatography (ZIC) usually are well suited for anion separation and only poorly for cation separation. Contrary to anion separations using the identical set of exchangers, the materials with three and four methylene groups between the charges give the highest retention factors. Materials showing the high potential in ZIC separations of inorganic anions give low retention factors for amino acids and vice versa.     

Anion-exchange chromatography on short reversed-phase columns modified with amphoteric (N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)alcanoates

Short reversed-phase columns (50 mm x 4.6 mm Gemini C(18)) were dynamically coated with carboxybetaines of the general structure, C(12)H(25)N(+)(CH(3))(2)(CH(2))(n)COOH, namely (N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)undecanoate, DDMAU (n=10) and (N-dodecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)butyrate, DDMAB (n=3), and investigated for the separation of inorganic anions in ion chromatography. The role of the ionic strength of coating surfactant solutions on their adsorption and resultant column capacity was studied. The retention of inorganic anions was investigated with different eluents at various concentrations and pH. Interestingly, no retention for anions was found with pure water as the eluent, but the addition of small amounts of electrolytes, up to 0.1 mM, caused a sharp increase in the retention of analytes. The effect of increasing anion retention with an increase in eluent cation charge was also observed. Based on this effect a new cation charge gradient concept was proposed and applied to the separation of a standard mixture of anions.     

Zwitterionic ion chromatography with carboxybetaine surfactant-coated particle packed and monolithic type columns

Both particle packed (25 cm x 0.46 cm I.D. SUPELCOSIL 5 microm C18) and monolithic type (10 cm x 0.46 cm I.D. Merck Chromolith Performance C18) reversed-phase substrates were dynamically coated with a carboxybetaine type zwitterionic surfactant ((dodecyldimethyl-amino) acetic acid) and investigated as stationary phases for use in zwitterionic ion chromatography (ZIC). Investigations into eluent concentration and pH were carried out using KCl eluents containing 0.2 mM of the carboxybetaine surfactant to stabilise the column coatings. It was found that eluent concentration decreased anion retention whilst simultaneously increasing peak efficiencies, which may be due to the dissociation of intra- and inter-molecular salts of the carboxybetaine surfactant under higher ionic strength conditions. The Effect of eluent pH was an increase in anion retention with decreased eluent pH due to the increased protonation of the weak acid terminal group of the carboxybetaine, causing both a relative increase in the positive charge of the stationary phase and less repulsion of the anions by the dissociated weak acid group. The carboxybetaine-coated monolithic phase was applied to rapid anion separations using elevated flow rates and flow rate gradients.     

Simultaneous separation of inorganic anions and metal-citrate complexes on a zwitterionic stationary phase with on-column complexation

The retention and separation selectivity of inorganic anions and on-column derivatised negatively charged citrate or oxalate metal complexes on reversed-phase stationary phases dynamically coated with N-(dodecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)undecanoate (DDMAU) has been investigated. The retention mechanism for the metal-citrate complexes was predominantly anion exchange, although the amphoteric/zwitterionic nature of the stationary phase coating undoubtedly also contributed to the unusual separation selectivity shown. A mixture of 10 inorganic anions and metal cations was achieved using a 20 cm monolithic DDMAU modified column and a 1 mM citrate eluent, pH 4.0, flow rate equal to 0.8 mL/min. Selectivity was found to be strongly pH dependent, allowing additional scope for manipulation of solute retention, and thus application to complex samples. This is illustrated with the analysis of an acidic mine drainage sample with a range of inorganic anions and transition metal cations, varying significantly in their concentrations levels.     

阴离子和阳离子的同时离子色谱分析法

本文就单独阴离子或阳离子交换柱，阴阳离子交换柱共用，包覆固定相和混合床固定相离子色谱法同时分析阴阳离子的特点及发展前景作了综述和简要评价。     

Double gradient ion chromatography using short monolithic columns modified with a long chained zwitterionic carboxybetaine surfactant

The rapid separation of inorganic anions on short monolithic columns permanently coated with a long chained zwitterionic carboxybetaine-type surfactant is shown. The surfactant, N-dodecyl-N,N-(dimethylammonio)undecanoate (DDMAU), was used to coat 2.5, 5.0 and 10 cm long reversed-phase silica monoliths, resulting in a permanent zwitterionic exchange surface when used with aqueous based eluents. The unique structure of the surfactant results in a charge double layer structure on the surface of the stationary phase, with strong internal anionic and weak external cationic exchange groups. The dissociation of the weak external carboxylic acid group acts to shield the inner anionic exchange site, resulting in substantial effective capacity changes with eluent pH. Utilising this effect with the application of an eluent pH gradient, simultaneously combined with eluent flow-rate gradients, very rapid simultaneous separations of both weakly retained anions and strongly retained polarisable anions was possible, with up to 10-fold decreases in overall run times. Coating stability and retention times under isocratic and isofluentic eluent conditions were shown to be reproducible over >450 repeat injections, with peak efficiency values averaging 29,000 N/m for the 2.5 cm column and 42,000 N/m for the 10 cm monolithic column, again under isocratic elution conditions.     

Identification of ionic liquid components by RP‐HPLC with diode array detector using chaotropic effect and perturbation technique

Sodium hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate and tetrafluoroborate were applied as the ion‐pair reagents in reversed‐phase chromatography of several imidazolium‐based ionic liquids. The optimization of the retention was performed by changing the kind of organic modifier (methanol, acetonitrile), concentration and the kind of the ion‐pair reagents in the mobile phase and the column kind (Zorbax SB‐C18, Zorbax SB‐Phenyl, Zorbax SB‐CN, Zorbax SB‐NH₂ and Supelcosil LC‐F). The selectivity of the proposed chromatographic systems according to the cation kind was compared on the basis of the resolution of ionic liquid mixture. The perturbation method was applied to identify the anion kind. The formation of ion‐associated complexes between promethazine as counter‐cation and chaotropic anions controlling their retention was confirmed.     

离子色谱法分离弱酸阴离子保留值规律的研究

 研究了离子色谱弱酸阴离子分析中以氢氧化钠作淋洗液时 ,弱酸阴离子的调整保留时间随淋洗液中氢氧化钠浓度变化的规律 ,建立了二者关系的非线性函数模型。将一元非线性问题转化为多元线性问题求解 ,磷酸根的调整保留值与淋洗液中氢氧化钠浓度关系回归方程的相关系数在 0 99以上。用该数学模型预测磷酸根阴离子的保留值 ,相对误差小于 5 % 。     

Successive non-suppressed ion chromatography of common cations and anions using dual columns with single eluent

A successive non-suppressed ion chromatography (IC) system for the determination of common cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) and anions (Cl-, Br-, NO3-, SO4(2-)) was developed, using two separation columns and a single eluent. 5-Sulfoisophthalic acid eluent was very suitable for such separations with a commercially available cation-exchange column for the mono- and di-valent cations and with an ODS column coated with cetyltrimethylammonium for the anions. Both cations and anions were detected with conductimetrically high sensitivity without any suppressor. After injecting an aliquot of sample solution, the solvent front from the cation-exchange column, including most of the anionic species, was firstly accumulated into the additional 2 ml accumulation loop for 60 s, while the cation IC was performed. Subsequently, the accumulated fraction was introduced into the anion-exchange column and chromatographed. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) of retention times and conductimetric area responses for common cations were within 6% and within 4%, respectively. The linear relationships between molar concentration and detector response ranged from 0.01 to 1.00 mM with r2 of 0.9994 for Na+, 0.9992 for K+, 0.9993 for Mg2+, and 0.9988 for Ca2+. The successive anion IC through the accumulating process was also quantitative, with 95% recovery or over for each analyte. The linear ranges were between 0.01 and 1.00 mM with r2 of 0.9996 for Cl-, 0.9997 for Br-, 0.9993 for NO3-, and 0.9984 for SO4(2-). The method was applied to the determination of common cations and anions in several mineral waters and a hot spring water.     

Performance of ion chromatography in the determination of anions and cations in various natural waters with elevated mineralization

The performance of ion chromatography in the determination of anions and cations in natural mineral waters of different composition and different total mineralization was evaluated. Up to 12 ions of the 20 usually included in extended chemical analysis of natural waters were successfully determined by ion chromatography alone. At least 98.60% and up to 99.96% of total cation composition of mineral waters was determined by ion chromatography. Hydrogen carbonate predominated in anion composition of mineral waters and was determined titrimetrically. The percentage of anions determined by ion chromatography in the remaining anion composition of mineral waters was between 98.90% and 99.96%. The agreement between total concentrations of anions and cations in individual mineral waters determined predominantly by ion chromatography is very good and the performance of ion chromatography for the basic and for the extended chemical analysis of highly mineralized water samples is very high. Method development was assisted by previously developed algorithms and appropriate experimental conditions are also discussed.     

Charge-Segregated Stacking Structure with Anisotropic Electric Conductivity in NIR-Absorbing and Emitting Positively Charged π-Electronic Systems

Squarylium-based π-electronic cation with an augmented dipole was synthesized by methylation of zwitterionic squarylium. The cation formed various ion pairs in combination with anions, and the ion pairs exhibited distinct photophysical properties in the dispersed state, ascribed to the formation of J- and H-aggregates. The ion pairs provided solid-state assemblies based on cation stacking. It is noteworthy that complete segregation of cations and anions was observed in a pseudo-polymorph of the ion pair with pentacyanocyclopentadienide as a π-electronic anion. In the crystalline state, the ion pairs exhibited photophysical properties and electric conductivity derived from cation stacking. In particular, the charge-segregated ion-pairing assembly induces an electric conductive pathway along the stacking axis. The charge-segregated mode and fascinating properties were derived from the reduced electrostatic repulsion between adjacent π-electronic cations via dipole–dipole interactions.     

Ion chromatographic determination of some anions and alkaline cations in liquid crystal materials after ultraviolet irradiation

A method was developed for the quantitative determination of inorganic cations and anions present in liquid crystal materials pretreated with ultraviolet irradiation by ion chromatography. The samples were irradiated at less than 20±2 °C and then pretreated with OnGuard RP and P cartridges to remove the interferential organic compounds prior to ion chromatographic analysis for both cations and anions. With a high capacity and very hydrophilic anion exchange column, four anions (fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide) were determined in 20 min with gradient of sodium hydroxide. By employing a cation exchange column, five cations (sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium, calcium) could be determined in 12 min. The spiked recoveries for the cations and anions were 84.0–108.1% and 86.1–108.2%, respectively.     

Polyoxyethylene as the stationary phase in ion chromatography

The present article reviews the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polyoxyethylene (POE) as the stationary phase for the separation of inorganic anions in ion chromatography and discusses about the retention mechanisms involved in the separation of anions on the novel stationary phases. PEG permanently coated on a hydrophobic stationary phase retained anions in the partition mode and allowed us to use high-concentration eluents because the retention of anions increased with increasing eluent concentration for most of the eluents. This situation was convenient to determine trace anions contained in seawater samples without any disturbance due to matrices. Chemically bonded POE stationary phases retained not only anions but also cations. Anions were retained in the ion-exchange mode, although POE chains possess no ion exchange sites. The retention behavior suggested that eluent cations could be trapped among multiple POE chains via ion-dipole interaction, and that the trapped cations worked as the anion-exchange sites. Anions could be separated using crown ether, i.e., cyclic POE, as the eluent additive with a hydrophobic stationary phase, where analyte anions were retained via electrostatic interaction with the eluent cation trapped on the crown ether.     

Separation of inorganic anions by liquid chromatography with crown ether as eluent additive

Inorganic anions were separated on a reversed-phase stationary phase dynamically modified with crown ether as a selector in capillary ion chromatography. The eluent contained crown ether, acetonitrile and a salt. Free and cation-trapped crown ether molecules in the eluent were adsorbed on a hydrophobic stationary phase such as triacontyl-functionalized silica (C30). The eluent cations trapped on crown ether worked as the ion-exchange sites, where the eluent anions and the analyte anions were competing for electrostatic interaction. The sizes of crown ether and the salt cation affected the retention of analyte anions. The concentrations of acetonitrile and crown ether as well as the eluent anion also affected the retention of analyte anions. An aqueous solution containing 18-crown-6-ether, potassium salt and acetonitrile achieved larger retention for analyte anions. Effects of the eluent conditions on the retention of analyte anions were examined in detail.     

Simultaneous separation of inorganic anions and cations by using anion-exchange and cation-exchange columns connected in tandem in ion chromatography

Inorganic anions and cations in environmental waters were determined by ion chromatography. Stationary and mobile phases were examined for the simultaneous separation of both anions and cations. Cations detection by UV detection requires a mobile phase with a UV absorbing additive, which indirectly visualizes cations as negative peaks. Simultaneous separation of anions and cations were achieved when using an eluent that consists of inorganic acid with weak basic amino acid as additives. It was convenient to separate both anions and cations by coupling anion-exchange and cation-exchange columns in tandem. The order of the separation columns connected affected the elution profiles. When the eluent comprises of multiple anions and a single cation, the anion-exchange column should be connected in the upper stream, whereas when the eluent comprises multiple cations and a single anion, the cation-exchange column should be connected in the upper stream. Use of switching valves also allowed simultaneous separation of anions and cations in a single chromatographic run. In the present work, operating conditions were optimized for the simultaneous separation of anions and cations.     

Factors affecting selectivity in ion chromatography

Methods for separation of ions by ion-exchange, ion-pair, and zwitterion ion chromatography share at least one common thread--the induced formation of a cation-anion pair in the stationary phase. Selectivity can be defined as the relative ability of sample ions to form such a pair. Examples are given in anion-exchange chromatography to show the effect of variations in the geometry, bulkiness and polarity of the resin cation on selectivity. The type of resin matrix, the hydrophobic nature of the resin surface and the degree of solvation also affect chromatographic behavior. The selectivity series observed in ion chromatography seems to be best explained by the interplay of two components: electrostatic attraction (ES) and the enforced-pairing (EP) that is brought about by hydrophobic attraction and by water-enforced ion pairing. Selectivity in ion-pair chromatography (IPC) and in zwitterion ion chromatography (ZIC) is affected by both the mobile phase cation and anion. This leads to elution orders for anions that are different from conventional ion-exchange chromatography (IC) of anions where cations are excluded from the stationary phase and have little effect on a separation. The elution order of anions in ZIC is similar to that in IC except for small anions of 2-charge, which are retained more weakly in ZIC. A unique advantage of ZIC is that sample ions can be eluted as ion pairs with pure water as the eluent and a conductivity detector. The mechanism for separation of anions on a zwitterionic stationary phase has been a subject for considerable debate. The available facts point strongly to a partitioning mechanism or a mixed mechanism in which partitioning is dominant with a weaker ion-exchange component.     

Gas-phase ion/ion reactions of transition metal complex cations with multiply charged oligodeoxynucleotide anions

Multiply deprotonated hexadeoxyadenylate anions, (A6-nH)(n-), where n = 3-5, have been subjected to reaction with a range of divalent transition-metal complex cations in the gas phase. The cations studied included the bis- and tris-1,10-phenanthroline complexes of CuII, FeII, and CoII, as well as the tris-1,10-phenanthroline complex of RuII. In addition, the hexadeoxyadenylate anions were subjected to reaction with the singly charged FeIII and CoIIIN,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneiminato) complexes. The major competing reaction channels are electron-transfer from the oligodeoxynucleotide anion to the cation, the formation of a complex between the anion and cation, and the incorporation of the transition-metal into the oligodeoxynucleotide. The latter process proceeds via the anion/cation complex and involves displacement of the ligand(s) in the transition-metal complex by the oligodeoxynucleotide. Competition between the various reaction channels is governed by the identity of the transition-metal cation, the coordination environment of the metal complex, and the oligodeoxynucleotide charge state. In the case of the divalent metal phenanthroline complexes, competition between electron-transfer and metal ion incorporation is particularly sensitive to the coordination number of the reagent metal complexes. Both electron-transfer and metal ion incorporation occur to significant extents with the bis-phenanthroline ions, whereas the tris-phenanthroline ions react predominantly by metal ion incorporation. To our knowledge this work reports the first observations of the gas-phase incorporation of multivalent transition-metal cations into oligodeoxynucleotide anions and represents a means for the selective incorporation of transition-metal counter-ions into gaseous oligodeoxynucleotides.     

Fluidity modulation of phospholipid bilayers by electrolyte ions: insights from fluorescence microscopy and microslit electrokinetic experiments

Fluidity and charging of supported bilayer lipid membranes (sBLMs) prepared from 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) were studied by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and microslit electrokinetic measurements at varying pH and ionic composition of the electrolyte. Measurements in neutral electrolytes (KCl, NaCl) revealed a strong correlation between the membrane fluidity and the membrane charging due to unsymmetrical water ion adsorption (OH(-) ? H(3)O(+)). The membrane fluidity significantly decreased below the isoelectric point of 3.9, suggesting a phase transition in the bilayer. The interactions of both chaotropic anions and strongly kosmotropic cations with the zwitterionic lipids were found to be related with nearly unhindered lipid mobility in the acidic pH range. While for the chaotropic anions the observed effect correlates with the increased negative net charge at low pH, no correlation was found between the changes in the membrane fluidity and charge in the presence of kosmotropic cations. We discuss the observed phenomena with respect to the interaction of the electrolyte ions with the lipid headgroup and the influence of this process on the headgroup orientation and hydration as well as on the lipid packaging.     

Charge inversion via concurrent cation and anion transfer: application to corticosteroids

A novel charge inversion process that involves the removal of an excess cation from an analyte ion and the transfer of an anion to the neutral analyte in a single ion/ion encounter is described. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) half-generation dendrimer anions that contain small anions, such as the chloride ion, were used as charge inversion reagents. Several competing processes can occur that include removal of the cation to neutralize the analyte, the removal of the excess cation and an additional proton to yield the deprotonated molecule, or removal of the excess cation and transfer of a small anion to the analyte. For the latter process to dominate, several requirements for both the reagent anion and the analyte cation must be met. The reagent anion must form multiply charged anions and must be able to incorporate one or more small anions for transfer. The analyte must have no strongly acidic sites as well as a relatively high affinity for small anion attachment. The PAMAM dendrimer anions must meet the conditions for the reagent anions and the cations of the corticosteroids meet the conditions for the analyte. The estrogenic steroid estrone, on the other hand, does not meet the requirements and, as a result, is largely neutralized when reacted with the reagent anions. This reaction, therefore, is highly selective and might serve as a useful reaction for the screening of appropriate analytes.