A new method for assessing the effect of residual silanol groups on total retention in reversed-phase HPLC

A new approach is proposed to assess the effect of residual silanol groups (hydrophilicity) on the retention of polar substances in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It is shown that the numerical characteristic of the relative position of trend lines in the coordinates logk(B) vs. logk(A) of the relative retention parameters (at different mobile phase compositions) for any stationary phase relative to the stationary phase selected as a standard is preferable to the separation selectivity of the same pair of substances. Full information can be obtained by determining the retention of corresponding adsorbates with two different mobile phase compositions for each column under study. It was shown that the pair of adsorbates p-toluidine-p-cresol exhibits higher sensitivity to a change in the hydrophilicity of stationary phases as compared to the pair aniline-phenol. However, the use of a nonpolar substance as a reference compound is more informative.     

Parallel column liquid chromatography with a single multi-wavelength absorbance detector for enhanced selectivity using chemometric analysis

The selectivity of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separations is increased using a parallel column configuration. In this system, an injected sample is first split between two HPLC columns that provide complementary separations. The effluent from the two columns is recombined prior to detection with a single multiwavelength absorbance detector. Complementary stationary phases are used so that each chemical component produces a detected concentration profile consisting of two peaks. A parallel column configuration, when coupled with multivariate detection, provides increased chemical selectivity relative to a single column configuration with the same multivariate detection. This enhanced selectivity is achieved by doubling the number of peaks in the chromatographic dimension while keeping the run time constant. Unlike traditional single column separation methodology, the parallel column system sacrifices chromatographic resolution while actually increasing the chemical selectivity, thus allowing chemometric data analysis methods to mathematically resolve the multivariate chromatographic data. The parallel column system can be used to reduce analysis times for partially resolved peaks and simplify initial method development as well as provide a more robust methodology if and when subsequent changes in the sample matrix occur (such as when new interferences show up in subsequent samples). Here, a mixture of common aromatic compounds were separated with this system and analyzed using the generalized rank annihilation method (GRAM). Analytes that were significantly overlapped on both stationary phases applied, ZirChrom PBD and CARB phases, when used in traditional single column format, were successfully quantified with a R.S.D.% of typically 2% when the same stationary phases were used in the parallel column format. These results indicate that a parallel column system should substantially improve the chemical selectivity and quantitative precision of the analysis relative to a single-column instrument.     

Determination of Fleroxacin in Plasma by Direct Injection High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Column Switching

ABSTRACT

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay was developed for the determination of fleroxacin in plasma. The plasma samples were directly introduced onto a HPLC column after filtering through a MolcutII® membrane filter, which removes high molecular weight proteins. The fleroxacin in filtrate was separated from interfering substances and retained on a pre-column using an ODS stationary phase and then was introduced to an analytical column with an ODS stationary phase by column switching. Fleroxacin and lomefloxacin, as an internal standard, were detected by ultraviolet absorbance at 295 nm. Determination of fleroxacin was possible over the concentration range 50-4000 ng/ml; the limit of detection was 20 ng/ml. The recovery of fleroxacin added to plasma was 97.3-100.4% with a coefficient of variation of less than 2.2%. This method is applicable to drug level monitoring in the plasma of patients being treated with fleroxacin and of healthy volunteers participating in pharmacokinetic studies.     

Retention characteristics of chlorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in normal phase HPLC. I. Chloro-added PAHs

Summary Retention characteristics in normal phase HPLC of highly biologically active chloro-added polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied. Silica, cyanopropyldimethylsilyl- and aminopropylsilyl- modified stationary phases were investigated. Retention properties of chloroadded PAHs on these phases were shown to be strongly influenced by the number of chloro-additions. This is due to the strong polarity of the methylene carbon at the chloro-addition site. Active silica had a strongly degrading effect on the unstable chloro-added PAHs during separation. Aminopropylsilica did not exhibit sufficient selectivity towards chloro-added PAHs when compared to chlorosubstituted PAHs. Cyanopropyldimethylsilica was shown to be applicable to a group separation of chloro-added and chloro-substituted PAHs. A fast clean-up procedure for chloro-added PAHs in complex samplesis outlined. It involves an initial elimination of more polar substances on a short open column with strongly deactivated silica and a subsequent separation on a cyanopropyldimethylsilyl HPLC column in normal phase mode.     

Multi micro high performance liquid chromatography

Summary The purpose of the study was to develop a micro HPLC system with physically changeable selectivity. This was done using two series-coupled beds of chemically differing stationary phases in a packed fused silica column. The selectivity change, in fine repeatable steps, was possible by the stepwise moving of a tube oven, covering only 50% of this tandem column. Each step of selectivity started with a position change of the oven, thus heating up a fresh position of the more polar and the non-polar column bed. As the chromatogram is thus repeated under these new selectivity conditions, multiple chromatograms result. For this reason we call the technique Multi Micro HPLC. This very simple mode of operation provides an analytical tool for developing separation conditions and which allows optimizing for a given special sample and checking for one of the most critical problems in HPLC: unidentified peak overlapping. The selectivity changes are nonlinearly correlated with the oven position with regards to temperature field distribution and are greater than is possible by simple change of column temperature. Micropacked columns are ideal for quick temperature changes. Elevated temperatures in HPLC help to shorten analysis time. The concepts discussed above provide an explanation of how a normal, formerly chemically homogeneous, column can become very temperature sensitive after detoriation at the inlet. In fact the column has become an unintentional tandem column and peak positions tend to move erratically as its selectivity changes drastically by inhomogeneous temperature changes along the separation path.     

Separation of free sterols by high temperature liquid chromatography

Increasing the column temperature accelerates markedly elution in HPLC. The separation of five free sterols was studied on three packing materials that can withstand high temperatures. These stationary phases included graphitic carbon, a polymeric C18 silica, and a zirconia-based adsorbent. Measurements of retention data were made at up to 150 degrees C with mobile phases of different compositions. Since the columns tested afford different retention mechanisms, a variety of elution patterns were observed, with some being more advantageous than others for certain sterol separations. Effects observed include some selectivity improvements and some elution order reversals. The separation of free sterols in selected fruit juices is also presented. Albeit at the expense of a longer analysis time, the graphitic carbon column produced the best separation of the sterols in this study.     

Comparison of two sample clean‐up methodologies for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils

An off‐line high‐performance normal‐phase liquid chromatography procedure with a silica column followed by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in edible oils is reported. The method was validated using certified reference materials and compared with a standardized method widely used in the food industry, consisting in low pressure column chromatography with alumina as stationary phase followed by reversed phase HPLC determination. The limits of detection were lower than 1 ng/g and good selectivity was achieved for both methods. There were no significant differences in accuracies and precisions obtained for each approach. The advantages and disadvantages of the two methods are discussed.     

Ionic liquid‐bonded polysiloxane as stationary phase for capillary gas chromatography

Ionic liquid (IL) stationary phase is especially suitable for separation of complex samples, owing to the “dual nature” of IL. In this study, a synthetic method of ionic liquid‐bonded polysiloxane (PSOIL) as stationary phase of GC was proposed. Then, the PSOIL was used to prepare an 8 m capillary column by static method. The column efficiency was measured to be about 4000 plates/m (k=3.55, naphthalene) after the column had been conditioned at 210°C. The durability of PSOIL column was better than that of the mixed stationary phase of IL and OV‐1. Moreover, the Abraham solvation parameter model was employed to characterize the PSOIL. The result revealed that the PSOIL had stronger dispersion force (l) than neat IL and stronger hydrogen bond basicity (a) than DB‐1. That meant the PSOIL might offer good selectivity for both polar and non‐polar analytes. The column exhibited unique selectivity for various organic substances, such as the homologous compounds of alkanes, esters, alcohols and aromatic compounds. It was also found that some aromatic positional isomers could be separated better on the PSOIL column than on the DB‐1 column. Furthermore, the stationary phase was suitable for separation of high‐boiling point compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalic esters, etc. All of these demonstrated that the PSOIL offered good selectivity and high separation efficiency for a wide range of analytes.     

Determination of ofloxacin in human serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with column switching.

The chromatographic behaviour of ofloxacin on various sorbents, including ODS, C8, C1, nitril, phenyl and tert,-butyl, as stationary phases was investigated and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay was developed for the determination of ofloxacin in serum. The serum samples were directly introduced onto an HPLC column after filtering through a Morcut II membrane filter to remove proteins. The filtrate was concentrated on a pre-column using a phenyl stationary phase and was then introduced to an analytical column with an ODS stationary phase by column switching. Ofloxacin and enoxacin as an internal standard were detected by ultraviolet absorbance at 300 nm. Determination was possible for ofloxacin over the concentration range 50-2000 ng/ml; the limit of detection was 20 ng/ml. The recovery of ofloxacin added to serum was 88.8-101.7% with a coefficient of variation of less than 5.2%. This method is applicable to pharmacokinetic studies of patients after treatment with ofloxacin.     

Chromatographic properties of a capillary column with the Aerosil modified with nematic 4-methoxy-4′-ethoxyazoxybenzene

The chromatographic properties of a SCOT capillary column with the Aerosil modified with a nematic liquid crystal of 4-methoxy-4′-ethoxyazoxybenzene were studied. The Rohrschneider constants and retention factors were determined for substances from various classes. The microheterogeneous adsorbent SCOT(SiO₂ + MEAB) belongs to medium-polarity stationary phases by its selectivity. It was shown that, in the temperature range 95–110°C, the studied column possessed high values of para-meta selectivity, efficiency, and capacity with respect to arenes and polar substances. Examples of rapid separations of mixtures containing isomers of different types are presented.     

Chromatographic characterisation of a novel type of monolithic methylsilsesquioxane-based HPLC column

A novel monolithic methylsilsesquioxane-based material with hierarchical pore structure was prepared and tested for its applicability as stationary phase for RP-HPLC. The monolithic material is produced using sol-gel chemistry according to a proprietary protocol developed in our working group. A procedure for the production of HPLC columns from the self-contained monolithic material is described. The chromatographic performance and the reproducibility of the column production was tested using the procedures of the widely accepted Tanaka test and suitable parts of the Engelhardt test which were applied to a set of four monolithic columns produced under identical conditions. The test proved the excellent hydrophobic selectivity and silanophilic behaviour of the new stationary phase material. According to the tests on steric and shape selectivity, there are strong indications that this type of material also acts as restricted access material. This assumption is further supported by the presence of a high fraction of micropores as was evidenced by physical characterisation of the material. The novel stationary phase material showed great potential for the separation of small apolar substances and was found to be particularly useful in the separation of basic compounds due its excellent silanophilic interaction.     

毛细管电色谱和加压毛细管电色谱的进展与应用

毛细管电色谱(CEC)以内含色谱固定相的毛细管为分离柱,以电渗流为驱动力,既可以分离带电物质也可以分离中性物质。它结合了毛细管电泳和高效液相色谱两者的优点,兼具高柱效、高分辨率、高选择性和高峰容量的特点,同时具有色谱和电泳的双重分离机理。然而,“纯粹”的电色谱在实际应用中有着天然的弱点,即: 在电流通过毛细管柱中的流动相时容易产生气泡(焦耳热作用),从而使电流中断和电渗流停止,毛细管柱必须被重新用流动相润湿后方能再次使用。加压毛细管电色谱(pCEC)将液相色谱中的压力流引入CEC系统中,不仅解决了气泡、干柱等问题,而且实现了定量阀进样和二元梯度洗脱。CEC和pCEC作为微分离领域的两种前沿技术,满足了当前复杂样品分析和分析仪器微型化的需求,近年来获得了广泛的关注。本文综述了这两种技术近来的发展,包括仪器、色谱固定相的发展,总结了其在生命科学、药物分析、食品安全以及环保样品分析等方面的应用进展,评述了各方法的特点,并展望了CEC和pCEC今后的发展和应用前景。     

Development of some stationary phases for reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The availability of a variety of stable organic stationary phases for columns has been a key factor in the development of HPLC as a major scientific tool. This paper explores the history and rationale used in the development of some important stationary phases and attempts to identify some of the strengths and limitations of these materials. Some of the author's experiences in stationary phase development illustrate approaches leading to present-day columns that exhibit a broad range of selectivity coupled with a high degree of reproducibility. Suggestions also are made for additional stationary phases that may be needed to complete column selectivity potential for HPLC separations.     

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography normal-phase and reversed-phase separation of (co)oligomers

Many samples contain compounds with various numbers of two or more regular structural groups. Such "multidimensional" samples (according to the Giddings' notation) are best separated in orthogonal chromatographic systems with different selectivities for the individual repeat structural groups, described by separation factors. Correlations between the repeat group selectivities characterize the degree of orthogonality and suitability of chromatographic systems for two-dimensional (2D) separations of two-dimensional samples. The range of the structural units in that can be resolved in a given time can be predicted on the basis of a model describing the repeat group selectivity in the first- and second-dimension systems. Two-dimensional liquid chromatographic system combining reversed-phase (RP) mode in the first dimension and normal-phase (NP) mode in the second dimension were studied with respect to the possibilities of in-line fraction transfer between the two modes. Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) with an aminopropyl silica column (APS) is more resistant than classical non-aqueous NP systems against adsorbent desactivation with aqueous solvents transferred in the fractions from the first, RP dimension to the second dimension. Hence, HILIC is useful as a second-dimension separation system for comprehensive RP-NP LCxLC. A comprehensive 2D RP-NP HPLC method was developed for comprehensive 2D separation of ethylene oxide-propylene oxide (EO-PO) (co)oligomers. The first-dimension RP system employed a 120 min gradient of acetonitrile in water on a C18 microbore column at the flow-rate of 10 microL/min. In the second dimension, isocratic HILIC NP with ethanol-dichloromethane-water mobile phase on an aminopropyl silica column at 0.5 mL/min was used. Ten microliter fractions were transferred from the RP to the HILIC NP system at 1 min switching valve cycle frequency.     

High throughput screening of active pharmaceutical ingredients by UPLC

Ultra performance LC (UPLC) was evaluated as an efficient screening approach to facilitate method development for drug candidates. Three stationary phases were screened: C-18, phenyl, and Shield RP 18 with column dimensions of 150 mm x 2.1 mm, 1.7 microm, which should theoretically generate 35,000 plates or 175% of the typical column plate count of a conventional 250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm particle column. Thirteen different active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) were screened using this column set with a standardized mobile-phase gradient. The UPLC method selectivity results were compared to those obtained for these compounds via methods developed through laborious trial and error screening experiments using numerous conventional HPLC mobile and stationary phases. Peak capacity was compared for columns packed with 5 microm particles and columns packed with 1.7 microm particles. The impurities screened by UPLC were confirmed by LC/MS. The results demonstrate that simple, high efficiency UPLC gradients are a feasible and productive alternative to more conventional multiparametric chromatographic screening approaches for many compounds in the early stages of drug development.     

Novel surface modified molecularly imprinted polymer focused on the removal of interference in environmental water samples for chromatographic determination

Uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for bisphenol A (BPA) with surface modification and immobilized intervals of functional monomers afforded by utilizing 4,4'-methylenebisphenol as a pseudo component have been prepared. MIPs for BPA were prepared using 4-vinyl pyridine immobilized in the most effective interval and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a functional monomer and cross-linking agent, respectively. Prepared MIPs showed significant selectivity for BPA retention and removal performance for interference in actual samples as the HPLC stationary phase compared to those of ordinary MIPs. These MIPs were employed as pretreatment media of column switching HPLC and the HPLC system provided a detection limit of 0.36 ppt when electrochemical detection was used. Actual samples, including Suwannee River natural organic matter (NOM), were applied and BPA was detected in the NOM even if widely used UV detection was employed.     

液相色谱专家系统中柱系统推荐规则的建立和验证

把分子结构和分子、离子静电作用力作为影响溶质保留值和选择性的基本点,提出了液相色谱专家系统柱系统推荐的基本规则,由此可以从溶质所包含的基团或官能团的信息进行色谱柱系统推荐。为了验证这些规则的正确性,应用几类常用的或典型的样品从分子结构通道进行液相色谱柱系统推荐,获得满意的结果。     

HPLC Separation of Different Groups of Small Polar Compounds on a Novel Amide-Embedded Stationary Phase

Retention behaviors of an amide-embedded silica base stationary phase, which was recently developed by our group, were studied by using six different groups of small polar compounds including phenolic compounds, substituted anilines, chlorinated herbicides, Sudan dyes and some nucleotides and nucleosides in HPLC. The chromatographic behaviors of the prepared stationary phase for these analytes were compared with those of a commercially available reversed-phase column ACE C18 under same conditions. Among the six groups of analytes studied, the amide-silica stationary phase showed enhanced selectivity towards phenolic compounds, substituted anilines, Sudan dyes and herbicides under reversed-phase conditions and satisfactory selectivity towards nucleosides and nucleotides which could not be separated with ACE C18 column under HILIC conditions. Experimental data provided some evidence that functional groups on the stationary phases might have certain degrees of influence on selectivity possibly through secondary interactions with the model compounds. The retentions of the moderately polar compounds such as phenolic acids, anilines and herbicides on the stationary phase are higher than highly polar compounds such as nucleotides and nucleosides due to both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions between the stationary phase and analytes. The quantitative determination of Sudan dyes (I, II, III, and IV) in red chilli peppers was performed. Many red chilli peppers were screened and three of them contained Sudans dyes.     

Retention mechanism divergence of a mixed mode stationary phase for high performance liquid chromatography

Mixed mode stationary phases utilize secondary retention mechanisms to add a dimensionality to the surface of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) adsorbents. This approach was used by several authors to improve the separation performance of single dimension separations. We explored the magnitude of these secondary interactions by performing an off-line two-dimensional (2D)-HPLC separation with a Scherzo SM-C18 column of a β-lactoglobulin tryptic digest with a mobile phase pH of 7 in the first dimension and 2 in the second. Mechanism divergence was determined using the peak capacity and a geometric approach to factor analysis, to measure the correlation. This separation was repeated with a C18 stationary phase as a control. It was found that the C18 column had a correlation coefficient of 0.784, smaller than the mixed mode column, 0.884. This indicated that the retention mechanisms of the C18 column were more divergent under these two pH environments than the mixed mode column. However, the SM-C18 still provided alternative selectivity of the peptides to that of the C18 and could be considered as a good alternative for further 2D-HPLC separations.     

HPLC Separation of Different Groups of Small Polar Compounds on a Novel Amide-Embedded Stationary Phase

Retention behaviors of an amide-embedded silica base stationary phase, which was recently developed by our group, were studied by using six different groups of small polar compounds including phenolic compounds, substituted anilines, chlorinated herbicides, Sudan dyes and some nucleotides and nucleosides in HPLC. The chromatographic behaviors of the prepared stationary phase for these analytes were compared with those of a commercially available reversed-phase column ACE C18 under same conditions. Among the six groups of analytes studied, the amide-silica stationary phase showed enhanced selectivity towards phenolic compounds, substituted anilines, Sudan dyes and herbicides under reversed-phase conditions and satisfactory selectivity towards nucleosides and nucleotides which could not be separated with ACE C18 column under HILIC conditions. Experimental data provided some evidence that functional groups on the stationary phases might have certain degrees of influence on selectivity possibly through secondary interactions with the model compounds. The retentions of the moderately polar compounds such as phenolic acids, anilines and herbicides on the stationary phase are higher than highly polar compounds such as nucleotides and nucleosides due to both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions between the stationary phase and analytes. The quantitative determination of Sudan dyes (I, II, III, and IV) in red chilli peppers was performed. Many red chilli peppers were screened and three of them contained Sudans dyes.