A simple optimization strategy based on Rs-minimum and information theory of chromatography

Summary A simple optimization method based on the well-known Rs-minimum method and on the information theory of FUMI Φ is proposed. Resolution (Rs), peak area and height (or width) are the only parameters necessary for the calculation of the information Φ and information flow ϑ. The most precise analysis can be selected as the chromatogram having maximal ϑ. Mobile phase composition, column length, flow rate, detection wavelength, amount of internal standard, etc. can be optimized by this method.     

Total chromatographic optimization (TOCO) II. Precision and efficiency of analysis

Summary A chromatographic system set at an operating condition takes its own precision and efficiency which are numerically described by the information called FUMI and the information flow , respectively. Optimization for a variable such as mobile phase composition draws a line in the - space. This paper demonstrates that optimization of different variables displays different patterns of lines in the - space. The variables examined here are mobile phase composition, column length, flow rate (velocity) and detection wavelength (or the amount of internal standard). Clear difference in the analytical roles of the variables can be known from the - plots.     

Total chromatographic optimization (TOCO) I. Simultaneous optimization of many variables in liquid chromatography

Summary The following chromatographic variables are totally optimized based on the recently developed information theory of optimization: mobile phase composition, column length, flow rate, wavelength, and the amount of internal standard. The optimal internal standard is selected from among six candidates. Two types of optimal conditions (- and -optimals) are proposed: the -optimal is defined as the most precise analysis (the maximal ) while the -optimal is the most efficient (rapid) analysis (the maximal ). The observation times for the determination of an antipyretics mixture (three components) in liquid chromatography are ca. 50 s for the -optimal and ca. 8 min for the -optimal. The reliability of the - and -optimals is verified by experiments.     

Optimization Based on Retention Prediction and Information Theory for Liquid-Chromatographic Analysis of Alkylbenzenes

Abstract

The mobile phase composition and column length are optimized for analyses of six alkylbenzenes in reversed-phase liquid chromatography with the aid of retention prediction and information theory. Optimal conditions selected according to the resolution Rs and information theory are evaluated from the viewpoint of the precision and analytical efficiency (rapidity) of chromatography. The combination of the information-theoretical optimization with the retention prediction will accelerate the development in the automation of liquid-chromatographic analysis.     

Mathematical structure of chromatographic optimization based on information theory: II. Analytical role of chromatographic variables

Summary The influence of variables Z (mobile phase composition X, column length L, etc.) on chromatographic analysis is studied in terms of the two separate stages of the whole optimization process. In the first stage, peak separation is the central concern and the resolution R_s can be related to Shannon information _j of peak where C is a coefficient (>0). In the second stage, only chromatograms with no peak overlap are considered and R_s is not connected with _j. The analytical role of Z is evaluated by comparing the signs and magnitudes of the derivatives of the information, _j, and its transmission rate, _j, with respect to Z in both stages.     

The optimization of capacity and efficiency when coupling fused silica open tubular columns in gas chromatography

Summary There are a number of parameters which have to be chosen depending on the analysis being done in gas chromatography. While the choice of stationary phase material is based on the solutes to be separated, the thickness is dependent on the concentration and the volatility of the components to be analyzed. This study undertakes a coupled column phase ratio optimization by connecting a short piece of a particular column prior to a normal length of an analytical column. Various columns of different dimensions (phase ratio), but of the same stationary phase material (methyl silicone), are coupled together by a deactivated glass press-fit connector, and the efficiency and capacity are measured. The coupling of fused silica open tubular columns is optimized in efficiency by matching or decreasing the phase ratio of successive columns. Capacity optimization is accomplished by increasing the phase ratio of consecutive columns. Capacity and efficiency optimization are opposing each other; therefore, if some efficiency can be sacrificed a substantial increase in capacity is possible.     

A simplex optimization of the experimental parameters in preparative liquid chromatography

Summary A study of the optimization of the experimental conditions for the purification or extraction of pure compounds by liquid chromatography is presented. Optimum values of the parameters of overloaded elution are derived for maximum production rate, using a Simplex algorithm and the procedure previously described for the simulation of the elution profiles of binary mixtures. The mobile phase flow velocity and the sample size have been optimized together in a first step, simulating the procedure followed in practice, when a column is available. In a second part, the influence of the column length and the average particle size of the packing material on the column performance as well as the trade-offs between the production rate and the yield are discussed.There are three major conclusions in this work. First, the optimum experimental conditions are often very different, depending whether one is primarily interested in the first or in the second eluted component of a mixture. Second, the column efficiency under analytical conditions is very important: it is traded-off for high flow rates, hence short cycle time and increased production rate. Third, the production rate depends strongly on the maximum pressure at which the equipment can be operated. Finally, the optimum production rate varies rather smoothly with the mobile phase velocity and the sample size, so a high yield (70% or more) can usually be obtained with a limited loss in production rate (30 to 60%).     

Simultaneous Determination of Palladium, Platinum and Rhodium by On-Line Column Enrichment and HPLC with 4-Hydroxy-1-Naphthalthiorhodanine as Pre-Column Derivatization Reagents

In this paper, 4-hydroxy-1-naphthalthiorhodanine (HNTR) was synthesized, and a new method for the simultaneous determination of palladium, platinum and rhodium ions as metal-HNTR chelates was developed using rapid column high-performance liquid chromatography combined with on-line enrichment. The palladium, platinum and rhodium ions were pre-column derivatized with HNTR to form colored chelates. The Pb-HNTR, Pt-HNTR and Rh-HNTR chelates could be absorbed onto the front of the enrichment column when they were injected into the injector and sent to the enrichment column [ZORBAX Stable Bound, 4.6 × 10 mm, 1.8 μm] with a buffer solution of 0.05 mol L⁻¹ sodium acetate-acetic acid (pH 4.0) as mobile phase. After enrichment, and by switching the six-ports switching valve, the retained chelates were back-flushed by mobile phase and traveling towards the analytical column. Separation of these chelates on the analytical column [ZORBAX Stable Bound, 4.6 × 50 mm, 1.8 μm] was satisfactory with 68% acetonitrile (containing 0.05 mol L⁻¹ of pH 4.0 sodium acetate-acetic acid buffer salt and 0.1% of tritonX-100) as mobile phase. Palladium, platinum and rhodium were separated completely within 2 min. The detection limits (S/N = 3) of palladium, platinum and rhodium are 1.2 ng L⁻¹, 1.5 ng L⁻¹ and 1.8 ng L⁻¹, respectively. This method was applied to the determination of palladium, platinum and rhodium in water, urine and soil samples with good results.     

Simultaneous micellar liquid chromatographic analysis of seven water-soluble vitamins: optimization using super-modified simplex

A super-modified simplex (SMS) method has been used to optimize the mobile phase used for separation of seven water-soluble vitamins in multivitamin tablets by gradient micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection at 254, 295, and 361 nm. Effect of column temperature and addition of organic modifier to the mobile phase on separation efficiency were investigated: the appropriate conditions used were a temperature of 35 degrees C and 1-butanol modifier. The sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, pH, and 1-butanol% in the mobile phase were chosen for simultaneous optimization using the SMS method. The optimum mobile phase was found to be 16 mmol L(-1) (mM) SDS, 0.02 M phosphate buffer, pH 3.6, and a gradient of 3.5-10% (v/v) butanol. The total analysis time for vitamins was 75 min. The analytical parameters including linearity ( r>0.9970), limit of detection (0.12-50 micro g mL(-1)), precision of method (relative standard deviation (RSD) <8.90%), and accuracy obtained by the recovery assay (88-103%) support the usefulness of the proposed method for the determination of the water-soluble vitamins.     

A reversed-phase ion-interaction chromatographic method for in-vitro estimation of the percutaneous absorption of water-soluble UV filters

An analytical method based on ion-interaction chromatography with UV detection for simultaneous in-vitro estimation of the percutaneous absorption of the most used water-soluble UV filters in sunscreen cosmetics is proposed. These UV filters were phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, disodium phenyl dibenzimidazole tetrasulfonate, benzophenone-4, and terephthalylidene dicamphor sulfonic acid. The methodology is based on applying the sunscreen containing the target UV filters to human epidermis in a diffusion cell. Analytes are determined in the receptor solution. To ensure skin integrity, screening of the cells was carried out by analytical determination of a marker. Analytical variables such as percentage ethanol, concentration of ion-pairing agent, pH of the mobile phase, and temperature were studied in order to achieve high resolution of the chromatographic peaks in the lowest possible time of analysis. The conditions selected consisted of a mobile phase composed of 35:65 (v/v) ethanol–ammonium acetate buffer solution (pH 4, containing 50 mmol L⁻¹ tetra-n-butylammonium bromide). The chromatographic determination was carried out with the analytical column at 50 °C. UV detection was carried out at the maximum absorption wavelength for each analyte. The limit of detection (3s _y/x /b) ranged from 16 to 65 ng mL⁻¹, depending on the analyte.     

Enantiomeric resolution of some imidazole antifungal agents on chiralpak WH chiral stationary phase using HPLC

Summary The enantiomeric resolution of (±)-econazole, (±)-miconazole and (±)-sulconazole was achieved on a Chiralpak WH column. The mobile phase used was hexane-2-propanol-diethylamine (400:99:1,v/v/v). The flow rates of the mobile phase used were 0.50 and 1.00 mL min⁻¹. The values of α of the resolved enantiomers of econazole, miconazole and sulconazole were in the range of 1.68 to 1.23 while the values of Rs varied from 2.42 to 1.10. The resolution of these antifungal agents on Chiralpak WH column is governed by ligand exchange mechanism. Hydrophobic interactions also play an important role for the enantiomeric resoltuion of antifungal agents on the reported CSP.     

Determination of palladium,platinum, and rhodium by HPLC with online column enrichment using 4-carboxylphenyl-thiorhodanine as a precolumn derivatization reagent

In the present work, 4-carboxylphenyl-thiorhodanine (CPTR) was synthesized. A new method for the simultaneous determination of palladium, platinum, and rhodium ions as metal-CPTR chelates was developed using rapid column high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with an online enrichment capability. Palladium, platinum, and rhodium ions were precolumn-derivatized with CPTR to form colored chelates. The Pd-CPTR, Pt-CPTR, and Rh-CPTR chelates can absorbed onto the front of the enrichment column (ZORBAX Stable Bound, 4.6 × 10 mm, 1.8 μm) when they are injected with a buffer solution of 0.05 M sodium acetate-acetic acid (pH 3.5) as mobile phase. After the enrichment had finished, by switching the six-port switching valve, the retained chelates were back-flushed by mobile phase and moved towards the analytical column. The chelate separation on the analytical column (ZORBAX Stable Bound, 4.6 × 50 mm, 1.8 μm) was achieved with 46% acetonitrile (containing 0.05 M of pH 3.5 sodium acetate-acetic acid buffer and 0.01 M tritonX-100) as mobile phase. The palladium, platinum, and rhodium were separated completely within 2 min. The detection limits (S/N = 3) of palladium, platinum, and rhodium are 1.4, 1.6, and 2.0 ng/L, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of palladium, platinum, and rhodium in water, urine, and soil samples with good results. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Optimization of a high-performance liquid chromatography method to quantify bilirubin and separate it from its photoproducts

A rapid reversed-phase (RP) high-performance liquid chromatography method for the isolation of bilirubin from its photoproducts (e.g., biliverdin) is reported. The method is based on isocratic elution using methanol:water as the mobile phase. A 2⁴ full-factorial experimental design approach was adopted. For the optimization, the best separation was obtained using a flow rate of 1.50 mL/min, a mobile phase of 99∶1 methanol:water (v/v) at pH 3.60, and a 150×4.6 mm id RP (C₁₈) column containing 5-μm particles. These conditions produced the fastest total retention time of 3.38±0.055 min, and other chromatographic parameters were acceptable. Under the optimum conditions, a linear calibration curve for bilirubin was obtained over the 1.0–40.0 μg/L concentration range studied. The limit of quantification was 0.79 g/L and the limit of detection was 0.24 μg/L. Bilirubin in solution was monitored by ultraviolet detection at 450 nm.     

Sensitive determination of phloroglucinol in human plasma by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Summary A sensitive and selective liquid chromatographic method coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) was developed for the quantification of phloroglucinol in human plasma. Resorcinol was used as internal standard, with plasma samples extracted using ethyl acetate. A centrifuged upper layer was then evaporated and reconstituted with mobile phase. The reconsituted samples were injected into a C₁₈ XTerra MS column (2.1×100 mm) with 3.5 μm particle size. The analytical column lasted for at least 500 injections. The mobile phase was 15% acetonitrile (pH 3.0), with a flow rate at 100 μL min¹. The mass spectrometer was operated in positive ion mode using electrospray ionization. Using MS-MS in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, phloroglucinol was detected without severe interferences from the plasma matrix. Phloroglucinol produced a parent molecule ([M+H]⁺) atm/z 127 and a corresponding product ion atm/z 8l. Detection of phloroglucinol in human plasma was accurate and precise, with quantification on limit at 0.5 ng mL¹. The method has been successfully applied to a study of phloroglucinol in human specimens.     

Phase Transitions and Critical Behaviour of Binary Liquid Mixtures

Summary.  Compared to the simple one-component case, the phase behaviour of binary liquid mixtures shows an incredibly rich variety of phenomena. In this contribution we restrict ourselves to so-called binary symmetric mixtures, i.e. where like-particle interactions are equal (Φ₁₁(r) = Φ₂₂(r)), whereas the interactions between unlike fluid particles differ from those of likes ones (Φ₁₁(r) ≠ Φ₁₂(r)). Using both the simple mean spherical approximation and the more sophisticated self-consistent Ornstein-Zernike approximation, we have calculated the structural and thermodynamic properties of such a system and determine phase diagrams, paying particular attention to the critical behaviour (critical and tricritical points, critical end points). We then study the thermodynamic properties of the same binary mixture when it is in thermal equilibrium with a disordered porous matrix which we have realized by a frozen configuration of equally sized particles. We observe – in qualitative agreement with experiment – that already a minute matrix density is able to lead to drastic changes in the phase behaviour of the fluid. We systematically investigate the influence of the external system parameters (due to the matrix properties and the fluid–matrix interactions) and of the internal system parameters (due to the fluid properties) on the phase diagram. Received June 27, 2001. Accepted July 2, 2001     

Analysis of Terbumeton and its Major Metabolites by SPE and DAD-HPLC in Soil Bulk Water

A rapid and inexpensive method for simultaneous quantification of terbumeton (TER), and its major potential metabolites (TED; terbumeton-desethyl, TOH; terbumeton-2-hydroxy and TID; terbumeton-deisopropyl) in soil bulk water (SBW) samples is proposed. The analytical method involves extraction–concentration from SBW samples using a graphitized carbon black (GCB) cartridge followed by their separation–detection by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis using a C₁₈ column and a diode array detector. A mobile phase of acetonitrile−0.005 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) (35:65, v/v) at a flow rate of 0.8 mL min⁻¹ in isocratic elution mode has been used. After optimization of the extraction and separation conditions, this method can be used for the simultaneous determination of investigated compounds in the range of the international limits of 0.1 μg L⁻¹. For TER the detection limit was 0.009 μg L⁻¹ and it was 0.100, 0.550, and 0.480 μg L⁻¹ for TED, TOH, and TID, respectively. The recoveries of TER, TED, TOH, and TID from SBW samples, measured at three levels of concentration range, were found to be between 48.0 and 102.0%. The intra-day precision measured by relative standard deviation (RSD) was always lower than 9.0%.     

Liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of sulphasalazine and its main metabolites in biological fluids

Summary An HPLC procedure was developed for the simultaneous determination of salicylazosulphapyridine, and its main metabolites 5-aminosalicylic acid and sulphapyridine, in human serum and synovial fluid. The analytical procedure consisted of a single ion-pair extraction step for an Extrelut column with methylene chloride. The investigated compounds and the added sulphadimidine internal standard were eluated from a Hypersil-MOS reversed-phase column by stepwise gradient; mobile phase was methanol-0.01 M potassium dihydrogenphosphate (3:7, 0.0–2.0 min and 8:2, 2.1–6.5 min).     

Polybutadiene-coated zirconia packing materials in solvating gas chromatography using carbon dioxide as mobile phase

Summary In this paper, practical considerations of column efficiency, separation speed, thermal stability, and column polarity of capillary columns packed with polybutadiene-coated zirconia were investigated under solvating gas chromatography (SGC) conditions using carbon dioxide as mobile phase. When compared with results obtained from conventional porous octadecyl obtained from conventional porous octadecyl bonded silica (ODS) particles, PBD-zirconia particles produced greater change in mobile phase linear velocity with pressure than conventional ODS particles under the same conditions. The maximum plate number per second (N_t) obtained with a 30 cm PBD-zirconia column was approximately 1.5 times higher than that obtained with an ODS column at 100 °C. Therefore, the PBD-zirconia phase is more suitable for fast separations than conventional ODS particles in SGC. Maximum plate numbers per meter of 76,900 and 63,300 were obtained using a 57 cm×250 μm i.d. fused silica capillary column packed with 3 μm PBD-zirconia at 50 °C and 100 °C, respectively. The PBD-zirconia phase was stable at temperatures up to 320 °C under SGC conditions using carbon dioxide as mobile phase. Polarizable aromatic compounds and low molecular weight ketones and aldehydes were eluted with symmetrical peaks from a 10 cm column packed with 3 μm PBD-zirconia. Zirconia phases with greater inertness are required for the analysis of more polar compounds by SGC.     

Comparison of Optimization Based on Information Theory with Optimization of Rs in Column Chromatography

Abstract

Optimization based on the function of mutual information (FUMI) is reviewed by comparison with optimization of Rs in column chromatography. The following variables are considered: mobile phase composition; pH; column length; the amount of internal standard; detection wavelength. FUMI is equivalent to the precision of measurements and takes a maximum at the optimal condition. However, Rs neither takes a maximum nor corresponds to the precision. This paper demonstrates that FUMI is a superior measure of chromatographic performance.     

Characterization of a mixed-mode reversed-phase/cation-exchange stationary phase prepared by thermal immobilization of poly(dimethylsiloxane) onto the surface of silica

A novel stationary phase prepared by the thermal immobilization of poly(dimethylsiloxane) onto the surface of silica (PDMS–SiO₂) has been described, evaluated and compared with 229 commercially available RP-LC stationary phases using the Tanaka column classification protocol. The phase exhibited many unique chromatographic properties and, based on the phases in the database, was most similar to the fluoroalkylated phases (aside from the obvious lack of fluoro selectivity imposed by the C–F dipole). The phase exhibited classic reversed-phase behaviour in acid mobile phase conditions and mixed-mode reversed-phase/cation-exchange retention behaviour in neutral mobile phase conditions. The phase exhibited acceptable stability at both low and intermediate pH, conditions which should impart optimum chromatographic selectivity to the phase. Retention of basic analytes was shown to occur by a “three site model” as proposed by Neue. This new PDMS–SiO₂ stationary phase is extremely interesting in that the dominancy of its hydrophobic and ion-exchange interactions can be controlled by the influence of mobile phase pH, buffer type and concentration. The PDMS–SiO₂ stationary phase may provide a complementary tool to reversed-phase and HILIC stationary phases. The present results highlight the fact that the type of buffer, its concentration and pH can not only affect peak shape but also retention, selectivity and hence chromatographic resolution. Therefore, in method development and optimization strategies it is suggested that more emphasis should be given to the evaluation of these mobile phase operating parameters especially when basic solutes are involved.