Optimisation technique for stepwise gradient elution in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

An optimisation technique of reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separations based on gradient elution with a stepwise variation pattern of the volume fraction phi of the organic modifier in the water-organic mobile phase is presented. It uses a non-linear least-squares programme with a Monte-Carlo search for initial estimates in order to determine the best variation pattern that leads to the optimum separation of a mixture of solutes. The validity of the above methodology was tested by separating eight catechol-related solutes with mobile phases modified by methanol or acetonitrile and variation patterns of two, three or four steps in the psi values. It was found in all cases a very satisfactory accuracy of the predicted gradient elution times, which is of the same order with the accuracy of the retention times predicted under isocratic or linear gradient conditions. In addition, it was shown that the proposed optimisation technique is both effective and flexible but well-shaped chromatograms are obtained under electrochemical detection only if steps with increasing psi are used and the change in psi is programmed to occur at the intermediate of the predicted peaks.     

Overloaded gradient elution chromatography on heterogeneous adsorbents in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Overloaded band profiles of phenol were measured on a C18-Kromasil column in gradient elution conditions. The mobile phase used was a mixture of methanol and water. The volume fraction of methanol was allowed to vary between 0 and 0.5. A general adsorption model, which expresses the amount of phenol adsorbed q* as a function of both its concentration C and the composition phi of the organic modifier (methanol) in the mobile phase, was empirically derived from previous independent adsorption experiments based on frontal analysis (FA) and frontal analysis by the characteristic point (FACP). Accordingly, the general model was an extension of the simplest heterogeneous model, the Bilangmuir model, to non-isocratic conditions. The low-energy sites followed the classical linear solvent strength model (LSSM), but not the high-energy sites whose saturation capacity linearly decreased with phi. The general model was validated by comparing the experimental and simulated band profiles in gradient elution conditions, in linear and non-linear conditions, as well. The band profiles were calculated by means of the equilibrium-dispersive model of chromatography with a finite difference algorithm. A very good agreement was observed using steps gradient (delta phi) from 0 to 50% methanol and gradient times t(g) of 20, 25, 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100 min. The agreement was still excellent for steps gradient from 5 to 45% (t(g) = 25 min), 5 to 35% (t(g) = 50 min), 5 to 25% (t(g) = 50 min) and 5 to 15% (t(g) = 50 min). Significative differences appeared between experience and simulation when the slope of the gradient (delta phi/t(g)) became too strong beyond 3.3% methanol per minute. This threshold value probably mirrored the kinetic of arrangement of the G18-bonded chains when the methanol content increased in the mobile phase. It suggested that the chromatographic system was not in a full thermodynamic equilibrium state when very steep mobile phase gradients were applied.     

利用HCI程序确定儿茶酚化合物的反相高效液相色谱最佳分离条件

有效地确定了反相高效液相色谱分离儿茶酚化合物的最佳条件。在水和甲醇的二元流动相里分别加入乙酸缓冲液,利用基于ln k=ln kw +SF, k=A+B/F, ln k=L+MF+NF2 (F是流动相中有机物甲醇的体积分数)等保留因子的一次或二次方程式的塔板理论得到色谱分离结果;利用保留原理得到等度和梯度洗脱的最佳条件。得出最佳初始流动相是含0.1%乙酸的水和含0.1%乙酸的甲醇(体积比为75∶25)的混合溶液;梯度洗脱条件：初始流动相保持15 min,然后用10 min的时间将上述二元流动相的体积比线性变换成50∶50,直到完成全部分离。通过实验证实该计算结果与实验值相近。     

Liquid chromatographic retention behavior and separation of chlorophenols on a beta-cyclodextrin bonded-phase column, Part II. Monoaromatic chlorophenols: separation

The liquid chromatographic separation of 19 monoaromatic chlorophenols on a beta-cyclodextrin bonded-phase column is investigated in both an isocratic and a gradient elution mode. Even though the isocratic mode can be employed for the separation of the member components of each category of chlorophenols (e.g., mono-, di-, etc.), significant overlaps between the retention times of the various categories prevent the separation of all chlorophenols on a single chromatogram. Gradient elution can be used, however, for the separation of 15 of the 19 chlorophenol isomers. The unique features of gradient elution as applied to beta-cyclodextrin bonded-phase columns are discussed. The detection of chlorophenols with UV and electrochemical methods is also discussed and the two are compared.     

Application of Multilinear Gradient Elution for Optimization of Separation of Chlorophenols Using Derringer’s Desirability Function

Multilinear gradient elution was applied for the simultaneous optimization of resolution and analysis times of nine chlorophenols separated by HPLC. The first relationship of ln k versus φ was determined using the isocratic retention time for each analyte. For prediction of gradient retention times of analytes, the fundamental equation of gradient elution was numerically solved. Then a grid search program was used to simulate chromatograms under each new condition. Two different chromatographic goals, analysis time and minimum distance between adjacent peaks, were evaluated simultaneously using Derringer’s desirability function for each chromatogram. The sigmoid function was used to transform the optimization criteria to desirability values. Under optimal conditions, a good agreement was observed between predicted and experimental values of the chromatographic response function when analysis time was less than 40 min.     

New approach to linear gradient elution used for optimisation in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

A new mathematical treatment concerning the gradient elution in reversed-phase liquid chromatography when the volume fraction psi of an organic modifier in the water-organic mobile phase varies linearly with time is presented. The experimental ln k versus psi curve, where k is the retention factor under isocratic conditions in a binary mobile phase, is subdivided into a finite number of linear portions and the solute gradient retention time tR is calculated by means of an analytical expression arising from the fundamental equation of gradient elution. The validity of the proposed analytical expression and the methodology followed for the calculation of tR was tested using eight catechol-related solutes with mobile phases modified by methanol or acetonitrile. It was found that in all cases the accuracy of the predicted gradient retention times is very satisfactory because it is the same with the accuracy of the retention times predicted under isocratic conditions. Finally, the above method for estimating gradient retention times was used in an optimisation algorithm, which determines the best variation pattern of psi that leads to the optimum separation of a mixture of solutes at different values of the total elution time.     

反相高效液相三元流动相台阶梯度分离条件的快速优化方法

 根据溶质在柱内的迁移规律 ,建立了一种利用线性梯度实验快速获得溶质保留值方程系数 ,然后以串行响应函数为优化指标进行多台阶梯度分离条件优化的方法。与利用等度实验获得保留值方程的方法相比 ,该法可以大大缩短优化时间。通过该方法对芳香胺和衍生化氨基酸样品进行了分离 ,获得了满意的分离度 ,表明该方法的预测精度很好。     

Characteristics of electroosmotic flow and migration of neutral solutes under stepwise gradient elution of capillary electrochromatography

A theoretical study on the velocity of electroosmotic flow (EOF) and the retention times of neutral solutes under multiple-step gradient of capillary electrochromatography (CEC) was carried out, focusing on that with three kinds of mobile phases. Through the model computations, the detaining time of the second kind of mobile phase in the column was proved to play an important role in affecting EOF. The variation speed of EOF was shown to be determined by the differences among dead times in different steps. In addition, the prediction of the retention times of 13 aromatic compounds under gradient mode was performed with the deduced equations. A relative error below 3.3% between the calculated and experimental values was obtained, which demonstrated the rationality of the theoretical deduction. Our study could not only improve the comprehension of stepwise gradient elution, but also be of significance for the further optimization of separation conditions in the analysis of complex samples.     

Study of peak profiles in nonlinear gas chromatography: Application to the peak distortions observed with overloaded capillary columns

The elution profiles observed with overloaded capillary columns are well described by a four-parameter theoretical model derived from the basic mass balance equations which relies on an expansion of the partition isotherm to the second term and takes the sorption effect into account. The reliability of the model is demonstrated by the fact that the peak leaning coefficient obtained from a least squares fit of the model to the experimental peak is in good agreement with that obtained from the variation of peak height with retention time at peak maximum. The coefficeint of apparent axial dispersion is independent of sample size and can be used to characterize the plate height at zero concentration of an overloaded capillary column.     

Peak capacity in gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography of biopolymers. Theoretical and practical implications for the separation of oligonucleotides

Reversed-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography was used for biopolymer separations in isocratic and gradient mode. The gradient elution mode was employed to estimate the optimal mobile phase flow rate to obtain the best column efficiency and the peak capacity for three classes of analytes: peptides, oligonucleotides and proteins. The results indicate that the flow rate of the Van Deemter optimum for 2.1 mm I.D. columns packed with a porous 1.7 microm C18 sorbent is below 0.2 mL/min for our analytes. However, the maximum peak capacity is achieved at flow rates between 0.15 and 1.0 mL/min, depending on the molecular weight of the analyte. The isocratic separation mode was utilized to measure the dependence of the retention factor on the mobile phase composition. Constants derived from isocratic experiments were utilized in a mathematical model based on gradient theory. Column peak capacity was predicted as a function of flow rate, gradient slope and column length. Predicted peak capacity trends were compared to experimental results.     

Analyses of sulfonamide antibiotics in meat samples by on-line concentration capillary electrochromatography-mass spectrometry

In this work, a series of poly(divinylbenzene-alkyl methacrylate) monolithic stationary phases, which were prepared by single step in situ polymerization of divinylbenzene and various alkyl methacrylates (butyl-, octyl-, lauryl- or stearyl methacrylate), were developed as separation columns of nine common sulfonamide antibiotics for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). Results indicated that the sulfonamide's retention became weak with increased carbon chain length of alkyl methacrylate monomer (for example, t(R)=68 min and 21 min for butyl- and lauryl methacrylate, respectively). Among them, the poly(divinylbenzene-octyl methacrylate) (poly(DVB-OMA)) monolith was regarded as the optimal separation column as this provided better resolution within the shortest retention time. Moreover, the cross-sectional roughness of the monolithic column-end, that was used to couple to the ESI interface, strongly influenced the electrospray stability in the CEC-MS. Before the column was connected to the ESI-MS, a simple polishing was done to reduce the roughness of the column end that resulted to a great improvement in the signal stability. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the peak areas for the unpolished and polished ends of the poly(DVB-OMA) columns (n=5) were in the range of 46.1-60.2% and 8.9-16.4%, respectively. Furthermore, optimization of the mobile phase composition and the gradient elution strategy successfully determined the sulfonamide antibiotics in meat samples with as low as 10 μg/L level.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of amino acids, peptides and proteins. LXXXV. Evaluation of the use of hydrophobicity coefficients for the prediction of peptide elution profiles

The gradient elution behaviour of five synthetic decapeptide analogues has been investigated using an octadecylsilica stationary phase and trifluoroacetic acid-water-acetonitrile mobile phases. The influence of gradient time and flow-rate on the relative retentions and bandwidths of these peptides was assessed using quantitative expressions derived from linear solvent strength theory and general plate height theory. Linear relationships between logarithmic median capacity factors, log k, and the mole fraction of organic solvent modifier, phi, were observed over the experimental range of conditions used. The slopes of these plots were different for all peptides, which indicates that divergences will occur in the prediction of peptide retention times due to conformation dependent changes in hydrophobic contact area occupancy at the stationary phase surface. However, the differences in S values (tangent to the curve obtained in a plot of log k versus phi) for these peptides were not substantial enough to seriously affect the prediction of peptide retention times at one gradient slope from those observed at another. In addition, significant differences existed between experimental and theoretical peak capacity data of these peptide analogues of similar molecular weight and overall polarity, particularly at lower flow-rates or longer residence times. These results once again demonstrate that additional diffusional and interactive processes occur during the reversed-phase separation of peptides and proteins which are not yet adequately formalized by current chromatographic theory.     

UPLC a Powerful Tool for the Separation of Imidazolium Ionic Liquid Cations

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) in reversed-phase (RP), ion pair (IP) and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) has been investigated for the separation of imidazolium-based ionic liquid (IL) cations. Among the three stationary phases (i.e., C18, C8 and phenyl) studied under RP conditions the phenyl phase provided much stronger retention for the IL cations. Four acids (hydrochloric, methanesulfonic, perchloric and trifluoroacetic) as mobile phase additives were compared in light of their effects on the retention of IL cations. It was shown that the retention of all IL cations decreased upon acidification of the mobile phase, possibly due to suppression of residual silanol ionization. Very fast (~3 min) and efficient RP-UPLC separation of six cations was achieved by gradient elution with acetonitrile?Cwater mobile phase containing 2.5 mmol L^?1 perchloric acid. In IP-UPLC all solutes were well resolved in about 4 min by gradient elution with acetonitrile?Cwater mobile phase containing 1 mmol L^?1 sodium 1-octanesulfonate as ion pairing reagent. Finally, under HILIC conditions by using isocratic elution with acetonitrile?Cwater (85:15, v/v) mobile phase containing 5 mmol L^?1 ammonium formate (pH 3.2) the separation time was reduced to less than 2 min while maintaining excellent peak shapes and sufficient resolution. Compared to current LC systems UPLC allowed considerably faster separations with better peak shapes.     

Computerized optimization of gradient elution conditions with ternary solvent mobile phases in RPLC

Summary In this work, an optimization procedure for gradient RPLC separation, using ternary mobile phases, is described. This procedure requires eight preliminary experiments in gradient elution mode to predict the retention surface for each solute over the whole triangular space. This is followed by computerized calculations to determine the best ternary gradient elution profile with respect to both selectivity and analysis time. The efficiency of this procedure from the point of view of rapidity and of accuracy, is illustrated for the specific separation of twelve phenyl urea herbicides.     

Separation of chlorophenols on a cation-exchanger in Ce(III) form

Summary The separation of chlorophenols on Dowex 50 WX 8 200/400 mesh resin in the H⁺ form and in the M³⁺ form has been investigated using a mixture of aqueous sulphuric acid and organic modifiers (e.g. acetonitrile or isopropanol) as the eluent. It was shown that formation of Ce³⁺ complexes with chlorophenols is a more specific interaction than physical adsorption or phase partition. Full separation of the compounds examined was achieved by elution from a column with the resin in the Ce³⁺ form.     

Study of flow rate in pressurized gradient capillary electrochromatography using splitter and separation of peptides using an Amide stationary phase

A pressurized gradient capillary electrochromatograph using a splitter was constructed. The variation in flow rate during gradient elution was investigated and separations of peptides using an Amide stationary phase were demonstrated. The flow rate, which is one of the important factors to control chromatographic behavior, was increased during the gradient elution, and the mismatching of mobile phase between the column and the resistance tubing derived three variation patterns in the flow rate. The electrophoretic migration in electrochromatography could enhance in separation of peptides. The separated peak number of tryptic digest of bovine serum albumin was increased from 30 to 40 by the application of +5 kV.     

Improvement of extraction procedure for biogenic amines in foods and their high-performance liquid chromatographic determination.

A high-performance liquid chromatography method is described for the simultaneous determination of the biogenic amines tryptamine, 2-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine in cheese. The optimization of the procedure for the extraction of amines from the matrix is described. The separation of dansyl derivatives of the amines was achieved by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with gradient elution, followed by UV detection at 254 nm. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 7)-water. Under these conditions, rapid elution of the amines in less than 13 min was obtained. Validation of the method included calibration experiments, addition of standard amines for the determination of amine recoveries and repeatability tests.     

反相高效液相色谱中复杂体系二元多台阶梯度分离条件快速优化方法

提出了一种反相高效液相色谱中二元多台阶梯度分离条件快速优化方法。通过数次线性梯度初始实验，求得溶质的保留方程。在此基础上，利用重叠分离区域图（OSRM）方法，快速求得复杂样品的最佳多台阶梯度分离条件。该方法只需要几个小时就可以完成对复杂样品分离条件的优化，并通过对中药川芎提取物的分离加以验证，获得了较好的预测精度和分离效果。     

无孔单分散亲水性中强阳离子交换树脂的制备及其在蛋白质快速分离中的应用研究

以3.0μm无孔单分散亲水性交联聚甲基丙烯酸环氧丙酯树脂为基质,将其表面经新的化学方法改性后制备了一种新型的无孔中强阳离子交换色谱填料。详细考察了该无孔填料对标准蛋白分离性能,有机溶剂、pH、流动相盐种类和流速等对蛋白质保留的影响。实验结果表明,在流速为4 mL/min时,线性梯度时间在2.0 min内可快速分离4种标准蛋白,蛋白质的保留符合阳离子交换色谱规律。将其应用于快速纯化鸡蛋清中的溶菌酶,取得较好效果。     

可调移动重叠分离图法用于高效液相色谱多台阶梯度分离条件优化的研究

计算机辅助高效液相色谱（HPLC）分离条件优化可以低成本、快速地得到优化的分离条,因而已较为广泛地用于复杂样品的分离分析。基于移动重叠分离图方法,又发展了一种新型的多台阶梯度分离条件的优化方法可调移动重叠分离图法。该方法通过预测不同流动相条件下各组分的保留时间、峰宽和分离度,绘制出对于样品中各组分的重叠分离区域图。在对当前台阶流动相组成进行优化的同时,考虑其对后面一到两个台阶上流出组分保留的影响,实时地重新绘制对于后面台阶上流出组分的重叠分离区域图。通过观察当前台阶流动相条件对当前台阶和后面台阶上流出组分分离的影响,综合考虑样品中所有组分的分离情况,找到更接近全局最优的分离条件。通过扫描的方法对优化得到的分离条件进行微调,能够进一步提高分离效果。采用文献数据对可调移动重叠分离图法的应用加以说明,在二元流动相体系下,证明了该方法在HPLC方法建立方面的优越性。