Aqueous chromatographic system for separation of biomolecules using thermoresponsive polymer modified stationary phase

We have investigated a new method for HPLC using packing materials modified with a functional polymer, such as thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). PNIPAAm-modified silica exhibits temperature-controlled hydrophilic-hydrophobic surface property changes in aqueous systems. Temperature-responsive chromatography is performed with an aqueous mobile phase without using an organic solvent. We designed ternary copolymers of NIPAAm introduced 2-(dimethyl-amino) ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) as a cationic monomer and butyl methacrylate (BMA) as a hydrophobic monomer. A cationic thermoresponsive hydrogel grafted surface would produce an alterable stationary phase with both thermally regulated hydrophobicity and charge density for separation of bioactive compounds. In this study, we achieved successful separation of lysozyme without the loss of bioactivity by temperature-responsive chromatography. The electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions could be modulated simultaneously with the temperature in an aqueous mobile phase, thus the separation system would have potential applications in the separation of biomolecules.     

Temperature-responsive stationary phase utilizing a polymer of proline derivative for hydrophobic interaction chromatography using an aqueous mobile phase

A new method of chromatography is proposed, utilizing a thermo-responsive polymer carrying an amino acid ester residue for the stationary phase of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We have been investigating the new concept of chromatography, a temperature-responsive chromatography, using temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-modified surface for HPLC with a constant aqueous media as the mobile phase. In this study, we designed and synthesized thermo-responsive poly(acryloyl-L-proline methyl ester) and its copolymer with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm). Homopolymers of acryloyl-L-proline methyl ester and copolymer were prepared by the reaction of radical telomerization. These polymers underwent a reversible phase transition from water-soluble forms into aggregates by changing the temperature, similar to PNIPAAm. The surface properties and functions of stationary phases modified with poly(acryloyl-L-proline methyl ester) were controlled by the external temperature. In the chromatographic system, we separated steroids and amino acids with a variety of hydrophobicities using a sole aqueous mobile phase. In contrast to a PNIPAAm-modified surface, a poly(acryloyl-L-proline methyl ester)-modified surface showed a greater affinity for hydrophobic amino acids.     

Temperature-responsive chromatography for the separation of biomolecules

Temperature-responsive chromatography for the separation of biomolecules utilizing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and its copolymer-modified stationary phase is performed with an aqueous mobile phase without using organic solvent. The surface properties and function of the stationary phase are controlled by external temperature changes without changing the mobile-phase composition. This analytical system is based on nonspecific adsorption by the reversible transition of a hydrophilic-hydrophobic PNIPAAm-grafted surface. The driving force for retention is hydrophobic interaction between the solute molecules and the hydrophobized polymer chains on the stationary phase surface. The separation of the biomolecules, such as nucleotides and proteins was achieved by a dual temperature- and pH-responsive chromatography system. The electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions could be modulated simultaneously with the temperature in an aqueous mobile phase, thus the separation system would have potential applications in the separation of biomolecules. Additionally, chromatographic matrices prepared by a surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) exhibit a strong interaction with analytes, because the polymerization procedure forms a densely packed polymer, called a polymer brush, on the surfaces. The copolymer brush grafted surfaces prepared by ATRP was an effective tool for separating basic biomolecules by modulating the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Applications of thermally responsive columns for the separations of biomolecules are reviewed here.     

Thermally responsive chromatographic materials using functional polymers

Functional polymers that respond to small changes in environmental stimuli with large changes in their structure and properties are often called "intelligent" polymers. We have modified material surfaces with such polymers and used them in separation systems. Silica beads were modified with the temperature-responsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). PNIPAAm-grafted surfaces exhibited temperature-driven alterations of hydrophilic-hydrophobic surface-properties. Using this feature, PNIPAAm and related temperature-responsive polymers have been used to generate temperature-sensitive stationary phases for chromatographic separations. We attached several different functional polymers, including temperature- and pH-responsive polymers, to silica beads. These temperature-responsive stationary phases are useful in development of separation methods since adjusting the temperature represents an extra tool for optimizing the selectivity. Applications of thermally responsive columns for separations in the HPLC mode are demonstrated.     

Temperature-responsive chromatography using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel-modified silica.

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) has the sharpest phase transition of the class of thermo-sensitive N-alkyl acrylamide polymers. We developed a new method of HPLC using packing materials modified with cross-linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogel. A temperature-responsive surface was prepared by polymerization of NIPAAm in the presence of a cross-linker on the silica support. The surface properties and functions of the stationary phases change in response to the external temperature. Therefore it easily changes the interaction of a solute with the surface with a constant aqueous mobile phase. A temperature-responsive elution behavior was observed on the separation of steroids and PTH-amino acids. The method is expected to be applicable to separation in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields.     

Aqueous chromatography system using pH- and temperature-responsive stationary phase with ion-exchange groups

We report on the development of a novel analytical HPLC technique of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, ketoprofen and naproxen, with an isocratic aqueous mobile phase. In this study, we designed a new pH- and temperature-responsive copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), butyl methacrylate (BMA) and N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide (DMAPAAm). The copolymer was modified with cross-linked poly(NIPAAm-co-BMA-co-DMAPAAm) (IBD) hydrogel on to aminopropyl silica beads, and the products were evaluated as HPLC packing materials for an ion-exchange- and temperature-responsive chromatography. The property of the surface of the stationary phase was altered from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, and from charged to non-charged by changes in the temperature and pH. In addition, it is possible that ion-exchange groups can appear or be hidden on the polymer chain surface by temperature changes. The interactions of NSAIDs with this stationary phase were controlled by the temperature and the pH with a constant aqueous mobile phase. PH- and temperature-responsive chromatography is expected to be useful for the separation of pharmaceuticals and biomolecules.     

Study of temperature-responsibility on the surfaces of a thermo-responsive polymer modified stationary phase

We investigated a thermo-sensitive polymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), which is the basis of an HPLC stationary phase. We prepared a PNIPAAm terminally-modified surface. In this study, we investigated the effect of PNIPAAm on the surface of a stationary phase on separation based on changes of the retention time with the temperature step gradient. As the temperature changed the surface property of the stationary phase switched from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The retention on the polymer-modified stationary phase remarkably changed upon changing the temperature. Using a column packed with PNIPAAm-modified silica, the separation of steroids was carried out by changing the temperature. With increasing temperature, an increased interaction between solutes and PNIPAAm-grafted surfaces of the stationary phases was observed. A temperature-dependent resolution of steroids was achieved using only water as a mobile phase. The PNIPAAm-modified surface of the stationary phase exhibited temperature-controlled hydrophilic-hydrophobic changes. The drastic and reversible surface hydrophilic-hydrophobic property alteration for PNIPAAm terminally-grafted surfaces should be due to rapid changes in the polymer hydration state around the polymer's transition temperature. A solvent gradient elution-like effect could be achieved with a single mobile phase by programmed temperature changes during chromatographic runs. This system should be highly useful to control the function and property of the stationary phase for HPLC only by changing the temperature with an aqueous solvent.     

High-performance liquid chromatography on silica modified with temperature-responsive polymers

Summary The separation selectivity of temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-modified silica as a packing material for high performance liquid chromatography was investigated with steroids, alkaloids, and substituted anilines as solutes. The elution profiles of the solutes depended on the temperature of the column and the methanol content of the mobile phase, indicating that the separation selectivity could be controlled by the column temperature or the mobile phase composition.     

羧基甜菜碱型亲水作用色谱柱的制备及性能研究

以甲基丙烯酰氧乙基二甲基乙酸铵(CBMA)为功能单体,利用表面引发原子转移自由基聚合(Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization, SI-ATRP)技术,将CBMA接枝到硅胶表面,得到接枝聚合物CBMA的亲水作用色谱固定相(Silica-CBMA).通过改变SI-ATRP反应体系中单体的浓度,制备了3种不同接枝量的亲水作用色谱固定相.考察了Silica-CBMA固定相对有机酸类化合物的分离性能以及流动相中pH值、盐浓度、水含量等因素对溶质保留行为的影响.结果表明,在亲水作用色谱模式下,Silica-CBMA固定相对有机酸类化合物的分离是离子交换作用与亲水作用的混合色谱模式.流动相中盐浓度增大,溶质保留减弱,符合离子交换作用特征;固定相和溶质的离子化程度受流动相pH值影响较大,pH值增大,溶质保留增强;而溶质的保留时间随流动相水含量增加而降低则是典型的亲水作用色谱特征.使用自制Silica-CBMA柱,建立了芦丁片中维生素C、芦丁含量的亲水作用色谱测定方法,操作方法简单,为强极性样品的分离测定提供了新方法.     

Per Aqueous Liquid Chromatography (PALC) as a Simple Method for Native Separation of Protein A

Staphylococcal protein A (protein A) is an important protein frequently used in research studies within the fields of biomedicine and biotechnology. Due to some limitations in available protein purification methods which can hold the native structure of the protein A without changing the folding or adding histidine to structure of this protein, its separation in the native form is difficult. In this study, a new cost-effective and powerful technique was introduced for separation of the full-length and truncated forms of recombinant protein A, without any alteration in their 3D structures. Per aqueous liquid chromatography with bare silica gel stationary phase and water:acetonitrile as the mobile phase was proved to be an attractive choice among the range of separation methods. Similar to hydrophilic liquid chromatography, this method employs high percentage of water in mobile phase. The effects of mobile phase composition, pH, and salt concentration on the retention behavior of protein A on bare silica gel stationary phases were investigated. In this method, applying high amounts of aqueous solvent accompanied by a minimum percentage of organic solvent could successfully separate protein A with preservation of folding, and any affinity-tagged group such as histidine has not occurred on its structure. Purity of the fractions obtained by the proposed method was confirmed using SDS-PAGE, western blotting, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. According to the results of ELISA, separated proteins retained their ability of binding to antibody.     

Separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with aqueous short-chain alcohol solvent

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) with aqueous organic solvent has been developed to separate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Methanol, ethanol or propanol as an organic modifier was added to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micellar solution in order to increase the solubility of very hydrophobic solutes in mobile phase. Both methanol and ethanol can be used as co-solvents for the separation of PAHs. Use of ethanol resulted in a shorter analysis time than use of methanol. The separations of some PAHs were unsatisfactory using propanol although the analysis time was much shorter than with ethanol. The influence of ethanol content, SDS concentration and temperature on the separations was studied. Benzene and nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were successfully separated using 50 mM SDS-20 mM phosphate-5 mM borate, containing 40% (v/v) ethanol at 35 degrees C. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of t(R) ranged from 0.5 to 1.5% for six repeat injections.     

Influence of solvent effects on retention for a porous polymer sorbent in reversed phase liquid chromatography

Summary The influence of acetonitrile, methanol and isopropanol as retention selectivily modifiers in reversed phase liquid chromatography on a poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) macroporous polymer sorbent (PLRP-S) is evaluated using the solvation parameter model. Retention results from a combination of adsorption and partitioning and is influenced by the equilibrium absorption of organic solvent by the polymer from the mobile phase. The sorption of solutes is dominated by the ease of cavity formation in or on the solvated sorbent, with a small contribution from lone pair-lone pair electron interactions. All polar interactions, such as dipole-type and hydrogenbond formation, are more favorable in the mobile phase and reduce retention. Changes in the uptake of organic solvent from the mobile phase affect kinetic properties of the column such as band broadening and porosity as well as retention. The PLRP-S solvated sorbent is suitable for solid-phase extraction and is more retentive than typical silica-based, bonded phase sorbents for extraction from water. As a surrogate system for estimating solute lipophilicity and biological activity through retention-property correlations it provides a poor fit for hydrogen-bond acid solutes and is too dipolar/polarizable to fit some models.     

Retention modelling in liquid chromatographic separation of simvastatin and six impurities using a microemulsion as eluent

A novel and unique approach was used for retention modelling in the separation of simvastatin and six impurities by liquid chromatographic using a microemulsion as mobile phase. A microemulsion is a modification of a micellar system where a lipophilic organic solvent is dissolved in the micelles; for that reason, microemulsions are usually treated as solvent-modified micellar solutions. When microemulsions are used as eluents in HPLC separations, solutes partition between the charged oil droplets and the aqueous buffer phase. The complexity of the composition of the microemulsion permits extensive manipulations to be made during method development in order to achieve acceptable resolution of such a complex mixture of substances. In order to avoid a laborious "trial and error" procedure, a 2(3) full factorial design was applied for choosing an optimal microemulsion composition to obtain good separation in a reasonable run time. Organic solvent, sodium dodecyl sulphate, and n-butanol content were varied within defined experimental domain. Optimal conditions for the separation of simvastatin and its six impurities were obtained using an X Terra 50 x 4.6 mm, 3.5 microm particle size column at 30 degrees C. The mobile phase consisted of 0.9% w/w of diisopropyl ether, 2.2% w/w of sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS), 7.0% w/w of co-surfactant such as n-butanol, and 89.9% w/w of aqueous 25 mM disodium phosphate pH 7.0.     

Enantioselective reversed-phase and non-aqueous capillary electrochromatography using a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase

Enantiomeric separation of chiral pharmaceuticals is carried out in aqueous and non-aqueous packed capillary electrochromatography (CEC) using a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase (CSP). Capillaries were slurry packed with 5 microm 100-A porous silica particles modified with teicoplanin and initially evaluated using a non-aqueous polar organic mode system suitability test for the separation of metoprolol enantiomers (Rs = 2.3 and 53000 plates m(-1)). A number of pharmaceutical drugs were subsequently screened with enantioselectivity obtained for 25 racemic solutes including examples of neutral, acidic and basic molecules such as coumachlor (Rs = 3.0 and 86000 plates m(-1)) and alprenolol (Rs = 3.3 and 135000 plates m(-1)) in reversed-phase and polar organic mode, respectively. A statistical experimental design was used to investigate the effects of non-aqueous polar organic mobile phase parameters on the CEC electroosmotic flow, resolution and peak efficiency for two model solutes. Results primarily indicated that higher efficiency and resolution values could be attained at higher methanol contents which is similar to findings obtained on this phase in liquid chromatography.     

Synthesis and evaluation of silica hydride‐based fluorinated stationary phases

Two novel silica hydride‐based fluorinated bonded phases have been synthesized using a hydrosilation procedure to test combined fluorine and hydride selectivity. The bonded moieties were characterized by elemental and spectral analysis. Chromatographic testing was done using hydrophilic analytes in the aqueous normal phase mode. At higher amounts of the nonpolar solvent in the mobile phase, there should be increased retention for solutes such as acids, bases and other polar compounds, whereas nonpolar solutes can be retained when water is increased as in RP chromatography. The synergistic effects of the fluorinated phase selectivity and aqueous normal phase retention on a hydride surface have been explored for small polar molecules. The stability and repeatability of the hydride‐based fluorinated stationary phases were evaluated. The use of acetone as the organic component in the mobile phase was also tested.     

分子印迹手性分离过程的热力学研究

以丙烯酰胺为功能单体, 以二甲基丙烯酸乙二醇酯为交联剂, 在模板分子N-叔丁氧羰酰-L-色氨酸(N-Boc-L-Trp)和N-叔丁氧羰酰-L-酪氨酸(N-Boc-L-Tyr)的存在下, 分别采用光引发聚合和热引发聚合制备了N-Boc-L-Trp和N-Boc-L-Tyr的分子印迹聚合物(MIPs), 进行分子印迹手性分离过程的热力学研究. 测定了分离过程的熵变、焓变和自由能变化. 结果显示, 在流动相中添加异丙醇或甲醇等强氢键竞争性溶剂时, 熵变对分离起到了主要作用, 而且分离过程中的溶剂化对分离的影响也非常大. 分子印迹聚合物对印迹分子和非印迹分子进行分子识别的主要作用是印迹聚合物与印迹分子匹配的三维空间结构.     

On-line coupling of counter-current chromatography and macroporous resin chromatography for continuous isolation of arctiin from the fruit of Arctium lappa L.

In this work, we have developed a novel hybrid two-dimensional counter-current chromatography and liquid chromatography (2D CCC × LC) system for the continuous purification of arctiin from crude extract of Arctium lappa. The first dimensional CCC column has been designed to fractionalize crude complex extract into pure arctiin effluent using a one-component organic/salt-containing system, and the second dimensional LC column has been packed with macroporous resin for on-line adsorption, desalination and desorption of arctiin which was effluent purified from the first CCC dimension. Thus, the crude arctiin mixture has been purified efficiently and conveniently by on-line CCC × LC in spite of the use of a salt-containing solvent system in CCC separation. As a result, high purity (more than 97%) of arctiin has been isolated by repeated injections both using the ethyl acetate–8% sodium chloride aqueous solution and butanol–1% sodium chloride aqueous solution. By contrast with the traditional CCC processes using multi-component organic/aqueous solvent systems, the present on-line CCC × LC process only used a one-component organic solvent and thus the solvent is easier to recover and regenerate. All of used solvents such as ethyl acetate, n-butanol and NaCl aqueous solution are low toxicity and environment-friendly. Moreover, the lower phase of salt-containing aqueous solution used as mobile phase, only contained minor organic solvent, which will save much organic solvent in continuous separation. In summary, our results indicated that the on-line hybrid 2D CCC × LC system using one-component organic/salt-containing aqueous solution is very promising and powerful tool for high-throughput purification of arctiin from fruits of A. lappa.     

Detailed characterization of cationic hydroxyethylcellulose derivatives using aqueous size-exclusion chromatography with on-line triple detection

A more complete understanding of polymeric, cationic cellulose derivatives, including polyquaterium-10 (Polymer JR), has become increasingly important in the eye care industry as thorough characterization of raw materials helps promote product quality and process control. Often such detailed information requires utilization of a combination of analytical techniques. In this work three Polymer JR samples with different viscosities were characterized using aqueous size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with a light scattering detector, a differential viscometer, and a differential refractometer (triple detection). Detailed molecular information such as absolute molecular weights, molecular weight distributions, intrinsic viscosities, and molecular conformations were obtained. One major challenge of analyzing cationic polymers is abnormal size exclusion separation, which could be caused by the ionic interaction between sample molecules and the column packing material. A selection of mobile phases varying in pH, buffer, organic solvent content, and molar concentration of salts was employed to evaluate the correlation of obtained molecular weight values and mobile phase composition. Universal calibration concept was used to examine the abnormal size exclusion separation phenomenon of Polymer JR samples when using different mobile phases. It was observed that the abnormal size exclusion was dependent on both the separation conditions and molecular weights of the samples. Despite the changes in separation parameters and uncharacteristic polymeric structure compared to conventional SEC samples, the use of aqueous SEC with triple detection provided reproducible and valuable molecular information of Polymer JR samples with low to medium molecular weights. By using a combination of high buffer content and adding organic solvent, the abnormal exclusion separation of high molecular weigh Polymer JR could be considerably reduced.     

Chromatographic behavior of epirubicin and its analogues on high-purity silica in hydrophilic interaction chromatography

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography has been applied for the separation of epirubicin and its analogues using high-purity silica column with aqueous-organic mobile phase. Parameters affecting the chromatographic behavior of the solutes such as organic modifier, buffer pH, ionic strength and sample size, have been investigated. Of utmost importance for successful separation of these analogues is the choice of organic modifier, since it impacts both the solvent selectivity and the ionization of silica silanols as well as buffer solution, and consequently the retention behavior of solutes. Acetonitrile was shown to offer superior separation of these analogues to methanol, isopropanol or tetrahydrofuran. Results of the effects of organic modifier, buffer pH and ion strength indicate that the retention mechanism is a mixed-mode of adsorption and ion exchange. In addition, an irreversible adsorption of these compounds was found on silica in the weakly acidic or neutral mobile phases, and the effect of various factors on irreversible adsorption was also preliminarily discussed. More significantly, these basic compounds have exhibited peaks with a slanted front and a sharp tail, a typical overloading peak profile belonging to the behavior of competitive anti-Langmuir isotherm by increasing the sample size at the experimental conditions.     

Enantiomeric separation using temperature-responsive chiral polymers composed of L-valine diamide derivatives in aqueous liquid chromatography

This paper describes enantiomer separation by aqueous liquid chromatography using chiral stationary phases (CSPs) in which temperature-responsive polymers derived from acryloyl-L-valine N-methylamide (1) and its N,N-dimethylamide analogue (2) were bound on silica gel supports. The linear polymers composed of monomer 1 and monomer 2 are temperature-responsive in solution and their aggregation and extension states related to water solubility are reversible at particular critical temperatures. During chromatography, enantioselectivity and retentivity for solute enantiomers were controlled by column temperature, which changes the aggregation and extension states of the chiral polymers depending upon their interior hydrophobic nature. Two different types of CSPs were made: a temperature-responsive linear polymer derived from 3-mercaptopropyl silica gel, and another polymer cross-linked with ethylene dimethacrylate from 3-methacryloyloxypropyl silica gel. The former CSP could separate racemic N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl(DNB))amino acid isopropyl esters. Retention of the amino acid derivatives was prolonged with an increase in column temperature. Enantioselectivity was also enhanced with temperature increase until the particular critical temperature. The latter, cross-linked CSP could not provide enantioselectivity for the amino acid derivatives in aqueous media, although the chiral valine diamide moieties were effective for enantiomer separation in non-aqueous media. The degree of hydrophobicity and volume of the bonded phase formed by the polymers on the support surface was determined by measuring the fluorescence of pyrene.