Capillary and packed column SFC/MS

A frit restrictor interface for capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry (SFC/MS) has been constructed and used for the analysis of high boiling point alkanes. Packed column SFC/MS is described using both a moving belt liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric interface and a thermospray source in the filament-on mode.     

Quantitation in miniaturized GC and SFC systems

Separations of high efficiency and/or speed can be achieved in capillary GC by capillary columns of lower internal diameter (< 50 μm). Sampling techniques for the analytical application of narrow bore fused silica columns have been evaluated with regard to quantitation. On-column injection cannot be applied. Therefore liquid samples have to be vaporized in external devices before they enter the chromatographic system. Sample introduction by syringe with subsequent splitting must and can be applied but requires special syringes with perfect piston sealing because of the high inlet pressures needed even with hydrogen as carrier gas. For general analytical applications, valve systems should be developed to eliminate both the syringe and the septum from instrumental GC set-up's. In SFC using either narrow bore capillary or packed microbore columns, time-controlled valve sampling with partial displacement of the sample from the loop seems to be an adequate technique because of the very high inlet pressures involved. Splitting in combination with valve operation can also be applied in capillary SFC at least to samples of good solubility in the mobile phase. A disadvantage of splitting in SFC is that another restriction for the adjustment of the split flow is necessary.     

Instrumentation for SFC systems: Different sampling and restriction designs

Different designs of injection and restriction devices for capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) have been investigated with respect to their practical applicability and usefulness for reproducible and accurate qualitative and quantitative analyses. In combination with a self-made instrument a fast switching valve is preferable as an injection device compared to a split-injector, and an integral restrictor made from the end of the fused silica (FS) separation column was superior to a linear restrictor made by coupling a small diameter FS-column to the separation column.     

Pressure-programming of a binary,on-line mixed mobile phase for capillary column SFC using a packed column SFC pumping system

Summary Mixed mobile phase delivery for CSFC is served by a system previously designed for packed column SFC, where a back-pressure regulator controls pressure programming. Piston pumps deliver separate flows of carbon dioxide and modifier (2-propanol). The on-line mixed phase with the injected sample is split to the capillary column. Compared to a commercially available CSFC instrument the system shows no significant differences in resolution. Applications show the advantages of using modifiers in CSFC, such as separations of polar, ionic and high molecular weight compounds, influences on selectivity and shorter retention times.     

On-line SFC/FT-IR analysis of agriculturally-related compounds

Several agricultural compounds which are used as herbicide precursors have been analyzed by SFC and are detected on-line via a flow cell FT-IR interface. A mixture of ureas is separated on a microbore packed column; while a mixture of benzamides and anilides and a mixture of sulfonamides are separated on capillary columns. The use of 100% CO₂ as the mobile phase enables an infrared spectrum of each eluting analyte to be obtained on-line with good signal to noise ratio. The urea mixture is also separated with a conventional cyanopropyl bonded phase analytical scale packed column using a methanol-modified CO₂ mobile phase and UV detection. The separations achieved with and without modifier are compared.     

Open tubular column supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry on a benchtop mass spectrometer

A benchtop SFC/MS system is described which utilizes supercritical carbon dioxide in a 50 micron diameter open tubular column interfaced directly to an unchanged commercially available benchtop capillary GC/MS system equipped with a chemical ionization (CI) source. A small amount of methane reagent gas was admitted co-axially to a capillary restrictor at the exit of the capillary chromatographic column. This make-up gas served as the CI reagent gas and appeared to optimize the sensitivity of the system while providing abundant (M+1) ions for the analytes investigated in this study. Good chromatographic intergrity was obtained for the GC/MS test compound, decafluorotriphenylphosphine (DFTPP), but the capillary restrictor appeared to cause some tailing of the ion current profiles resulting from low nanogram levels of caffeine and some fatty acid esters. Improvements in the SFC/MS capillary restrictor interface and the pumping system of the benchtop GC/MS system should increase the capability of this system for future applications.     

Investigation of antioxidants and UV stabilizers from plastics. Part I: Comparison of HPLC and SFC; preliminary SFC/MS study

Synthetic mixtures of additives (antioxidants, UV stabilizers) used in the manufacture of food packaging materials were separated by normal phase HPLC under isocratic or gradient elution, and by capillary SFC using CO₂ as mobile phase. SFC proved to be more efficient for the separation and determination of additives with a wide range of boiling points and for substances lacking a UV chromophoric moiety. Combined SFC/MS, using a direct coupling interface, produced clear charge transfer spectra resembling EI spectra and proton exchange CI spectra when ammonia was added to the ion source.     

SFC in analysis of aromatic plants

Capillary SFC was applied to the analysis of Some plant volatile oils. The results were compared with those obtained by capillary GC. For thyme oil, SFC without derivatization gave about the same percentage composition of the main compounds as CGC with silylation, thus eliminating one working step. For a complex mixture of peppermint oil or basil oil, SFC seems to give more reliable quantification than CGC, especially for oxygenated compounds. However, the separation efficiency of CGC for monoterpene hydrocarbons was, as expected, much better than that of SFC.     

Analysis of turkish lignite tar by coupled LC/GC,GC/MS,and capillary SFC

This work describes the analysis of a pyrolysis product of a lignite sample obtained from the Turkish Goynuk reserve. The aliphatic, aromatic and polar compounds present in the tar are separated and identified by various chromatographic techniques: Capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), on-line high performance microbore liquid chromatography/capillary gas chromatography (LC/GC) and capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). The suitability of each technique for this particular application is discussed, and semi-quantitative results are presented for the major components detected.     

Rapid and high resolution capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and SFC/MS of trichothecene mycotoxins

The potential application of capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and SFC/mass spectrometry (SFC/MS) for the separation and analysis of mycotoxins of the trichothecene group was examined. Trichothecenes present significant analytical problems for both gas and liquid chromatography with a major difficulty for the latter being the lack of sufficiently sensitive and selective detectors. Supercritical carbon dioxide mobile phases at temperatures up to 100 degrees C were used with deactivated fused silica columns coated with crosslinked stationary phases. Separations were obtained under pressure ramped conditions using long (15 m) 50-micron i.d. columns for several trichothecenes (diacetoxyscirpenol, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin) and related higher molecular weight macrocyclic (roridin and verrucarin) trichothecenes. In addition, new rapid pressure programming techniques with short (less than 2m) 25- to 50-micron i.d. capillary columns were used to obtain fast separations in as little as 1 min. SFC/MS with ammonia chemical ionization provided high selectivity and sensitive detection (with approximately 1-pg detection limits) for trichothecene mixtures. The extension to complex sample matrices is discussed and the application of selective MS/MS detection is demonstrated.     

A model for quantitatively describing linear velocity programming in capillary SFC

Summary Linear velocity in capillary SFC is commonly controlled by restricting capillaries. In this paper, a model is described that quantitatively predicts the linear velocity of a supercritical fluid in SFC using tapered or ceramic frittype restrictors. In this model, the flow from the restricting capillary is assumed to be an isentropic expansion. The variation of the linear velocity as a function of pressure, temperature and cross-sectional area of the restricting aperture was predicted by this model. This predictive capability is important to the use of gradient programming in capillary SFC. Finally, the ideal variable restrictor for gradient programming was found to be one that could reversibly increase or decrease the linear velocity independent of the pressure, temperature, and/or density conditions used to create the gradient.     

An attempt to extend ordinary capillary gas chromatography to supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)

Since capillary columns with well immobilized stationary phases are expected to withstand contact with supercritical fluids, we wished to study their amenability to SFC. Simultaneously, we wished to learn how far SFC can be accomplished with the ordianary tools of capillary GC. The study demonstrates that truly supercritical, not just relatively high, pressure is required to ensure the typical effects of SFC. Results obtained with sub-and supercritical pressure are compared and discussed. A comprehenshive study of the parameters permitting SFC with capillary GC equipment showed a clear preference for CO₂ as a carrier, FID detection, and oncolumn sampling. While no additional equipment is required, a critical feature is the flow restrictor to be mounted on the end of the column. The production and properties of this restrictor are discussed in detail. It is reasonable to hope that SFC with 0.1 mm id capillary columns can be realized in the pressure range of 100–150 bar, where substances which cannot be eluted from a capillary colum under GC donditions are expected to be analyzed.     

Use of micropacked columns for quantitative SFC

The performance of a type of micropacked column for the quantitative SFC analysis of samples containing solutes at very different concentrations has been studied. The chromatographic characteristics of the column were compatible with high sample volume loadability, and at the same time adequate efficiency and low pressure drop. In order to increase both the separating power and sample capacity of the column, the percentage liquid phase loading was optimized. The accuracy, precision, and detection limit obtainable with the micropacked column are compared with the performance of a wall coated open tubular capillary column having the same phase ratio.     

SFC/FT-IR: Supercritical fluid chromatography with Fourier transform infrared detection

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been utilized in the discrimination of chromatographic eluents with success. The technique of capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) offers the possibility of highly efficient and quantitative separations which avoid problems associated with gas chromatography. The technique of SCF/FT-IR utilizing a flow-through cell is described. Approaches to solutions of several of the problems inherent in flow-through cell SFC/FT-IR are described.     

Separation of oligo- and polysaccharides by capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

Direct analysis of polar solutes by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has been somewhat limited because the mobile phases in common use are all relatively nonpolar. Derivatization is demonstrated as a viable means for facilitating the SFC separation of sugars. Oligo- and polysaccharides containing up to 18 glucose units are completely resolved by capillary SFC.     

Analysis of sterols in vegetable oils using off-line SFC/capillary GC-MS

Summary The analysis of sterols in vegetable oils by off-line SFC followed by capillary GC-MS is described. The fractionation of the sterols from the complex oil matrix is achieved by SFC on aminopropyl silicagel in less than 8 minutes. Injection and collection of the sterol fraction is fully automated and time controlled. The sterols are analysed without derivatisation by capillary GC-MS. Identification is performed by full scan electron ionisation and quantitation is carried out by extracted ion chromatography at m/e 107, with cholesterol as internal standard. The analyses of the sterols from the sunflower oil and two olive oils illustrate the possibilities of the method.     

Analysis of commercial dyes by capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography

High resolution separations of selected commercial azo, aniline, and anthraquinone dyes by capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) are demonstrated. Supercritical n-pentane was used as a mobile phase and provided efficient separations of multi-functional, polar disperse dyes with molecular weights up to approximately 700 daltons.     

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with simultaneous flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection

A simple interface between a capillary supercritical fluid chromatograph and an Extranuclear Simulscan mass spectrometer is described. The SFC column is directly inserted into the ion source through the existing GC-interface. The system is equipped with a splitting device which allows simultaneous EI/MS and flame ionization detection when CO₂ is used as the supercritical phase. The effect of source temperature and pressure on CO₂ clustering was studied for optimization of source conditions. The performance of the system was evaluated with a series of model compounds and standard mixtures.     

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with flame photometric detection using a large bore column SFC pumping system

A commercially available instrument with an SFC pumping system suitable for wide bore columns (4.6 mm i.d.) has been modified for capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (CSFC) by incorporating a double-stage flow splitter. The first flow splitter was installed in front of the sample injection valve in order to avoid a high solute split ratio. The second splitter was mounted in the column oven so that the injected sample (0.2 μL) would be split to the capillary column. In order to perform pressure programmed elution, a pressure regulating system equipped with a gradient programmer has been used. Flame photometric detection was optimized for the analysis of organosulfur compounds by CSFC. In this study, detection limits were found to be 6–14 ng and the experimentally determined exponent (n value) varied from 1.721 to 1.984 depending on the compounds tested. Sulfur- and phosphorus-containing thermally labile pesticides can be chromatographed and selectively detected by using CSFC/FPD in either sulfur- or phosphorus mode, respectively.     

Modifier effects on packed and capillary columns in supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary The separation of polar thermally labile solutes is one of the potentially most rewarding fields of SFC application. A presupposition for such applications is, however, mobile phases having relatively high solvent strengths. A promising approach to achieve this is the use of mobile phases consisting of carbon dioxide with a polar additive. In this work, the chromatographic effects of different concentrations of an additive, isopropanol, in carbon dioxide have been studied on capillary and packed columns. A series of antibiotics was used as test substances. Best results were obtained with carbon dioxide/8% isopropanol as mobile phase on a capillary column coated with a cyanopropyl-substituted polysiloxane stationary phase.