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.     

Reviews on recent trends in chromatography/mass spectrometry coupling. Part IV. Reasons why supercritical fluid chromatography is not so easily coupled with mass spectrometry as originally assessed

Summary When SFC was rediscovered in the early 1980s, it was frequently estimated that a strong driving force to its development would be the ease of devising a simple SFC/MS interface. This was believed to be easily achieved if analytical conditions were limited to capillary SFC columns as a general separation tool, and to the choice of neat CO₂ as the unique supercritical fluid. The low flow rate of mobile phase delivered by capillary columns was easy to accommodate by the vacuum equipment of standard mass spectrometers, and the specific physical properties of CO₂ made possible solute ionization by different ion-molecule reactions, especially charge exchange ionization. This approach has lived up to all of its promises. The major causes of the observed mismatch are the large variations of the MS source pressure as a result of the CO₂ pressure gradient at the SFC column inlet, the low sensitivity of charge exchange ionization at these high MS source pressures, and the inability to handle polar and nonvolatile molecules. Adaptation of LC/MS interfaces, such as the thermospray interface or the particle beam interface, to SFC/MS conditions was a step forward, but these devices have their own limitations. Alternative methods to direct SFC/MS coupling have been investigated recently. They are based on the use of packed columns rather than capillaries, and on solute ionization at atmospheric pressure rather than under a vacuum, by means of either gas-phase corona discharge ionization or liquidphase electrospray ionization. These new developments may revive research into the design of reproducible and sensitive SFC/MS systems where the number of recent studies is still low compared with other chromatography/mass spectrometry coupling studies.See [1] for part III     

Advantages and drawbacks of popular supercritical fluid chromatography/mass interfacing approaches--a user's perspective

Mobile phases in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) have low viscosities and high diffusion coefficients with respect to those of traditional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). These properties allow higher mobile phase flow rates and/or longer columns in SFC, resulting in rapid analyses and high efficiency separations. In addition, chiral SFC is becoming especially popular. Mass spectrometry (MS) is arguably the most popular "informative" detector for chromatographic separations. Most SFC/MS is performed with atmospheric pressure ionization (API) sources. Unlike LC/MS, the interface between the SFC column and the API source must allow control of the downstream (post-column) pressure while also providing good chromatographic fidelity. Here we compare and contrast the popular interfacing approaches. Some are simple, such as direct effluent introduction with no active back-pressure-regulator (BPR) in high speed bioanalytical applications. The pressure-regulating-fluid interface is more versatile and provides excellent chromatographic fidelity, but is less user friendly. The pre-BPR- split interface and an interface which provides total-flow-introduction with a mechanical BPR are good compromises between user friendliness and performance, and have become the most popular among practitioners. Applications of SFC/MS using these various interfaces are also discussed.     

The application of capillary SFC,packed column SFC,and capillary SFC-MS in the analysis of controlled drugs

Multi–component mixtures of controlled drugs, drug impurities, and adulterants have been analyzed by capillary SFC-FID, packed column SFC-UV, and capillary SFC-MS. Isocratic packed column SFC has been performed with binary and ternary mobile phases using a single syringe pump. The combination of capillary SFC and double focusing MS is described with reference to MS source pressures and the spectra obtained. The use of negative temperature programming in SFC is described.     

Highly sensitive and accurate profiling of carotenoids by supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

We attempted to establish a high‐speed and high‐resolution profiling method for a carotenoid mixture as a highly selective and highly sensitive detection method; the analysis was carried out by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). When an octadecyl‐bonded silica (ODS) particle‐packed column was used for separation, seven carotenoids including structural isomers were successfully separated within 15 min. This result indicated not only improved separation but also improved throughput compared to the separation and throughput in RP‐HPLC. The use of a monolithic ODS column resulted in additional improvement in both the resolution and the throughput; the analysis time was reduced to 4 min by increasing the flow rate. Furthermore, carotenoids in biological samples containing the complex matrices were separated effectively by using several monolithic columns whose back pressure was very low. The mass spectrometer allowed us to perform a more sensitive analysis than UV detection; the detection limit of each carotenoid was 50 pg or below. This is the first report of carotenoid analysis carried out by SFC‐MS. The profiling method developed in this study will be a powerful tool for carrying out accurate profiling of biological samples.     

Development of a mass-directed preparative supercritical fluid chromatography purification system

In this paper, we report the development of a mass-directed supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) purification system. We have addressed issues on software compatibility, the interface between the preparative SFC and the mass spectrometer, and fraction collection. Good peak shape and signal were achieved in the mass spectrometry (MS) trace, allowing accurate peak detection and reliable fraction collection. Simple modifications on a commercially available fraction collector enabled fractionation at atmospheric pressure with high recovery. The SFC/MS purification system has been used in support of high-throughput library purification and has been proven to be a valuable tool in complementing our reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatograph (RP-HPLC/MS)-based technology platform.     

Two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry for the enantiomeric analysis and purification of pharmaceutical samples

A new analytical two-dimensional supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry system (2D SFC/SFC/MS) has been designed and implemented to enhance the efficiency and quality of analytical support in drug discovery. The system consists of a Berger analytical SFC pump and a modifier pump, a Waters ZQ 2000 mass spectrometer, a set of switching valves, and a custom software program. The system integrates achiral and chiral separations into a single run to perform enantiomeric analysis and separation of a racemic compound from a complex mixture without prior clean up. The achiral chromatography in the first dimension separates the racemate from all other impurities, such as un-reacted starting materials and by-products. Mass-triggered fractionation is used to selectively fractionate the targeted racemic compound based on its molecular weight. The purified racemate from the achiral chromatography in the first dimension is then transferred to the chiral column in the second dimension to conduct the enantiomeric separation and analysis. A control software program, we coined SFC2D, was developed and integrated with MassLynx to retrieve acquisition status, current sample information, and real time mass spectrometric data as they are acquired. The SFC2D program also monitors the target ion signal to carry out mass-triggered fractionation by switching the valve to fractionate the desired peak. The 2D SFC/SFC/MS system uses one CO(2) pump and one modifier pump for both first and second dimension chromatographic separations using either gradient or isocratic elution. Similarly, a preparative 2D SFC/SFC/MS system has been constructed by modifying an existing Waters preparative LC/MS system. All components except the back pressure regulator are from the original LC/MS system. Applications of the 2D SFC/SFC/MS methods to the separation and the analysis of racemic pharmaceutical samples in complex mixtures demonstrated that an achiral separation (in first dimension) and a chiral separation (in second dimension) can be successfully combined into a single, streamlined process both in analytical and preparative scale.     

Fundamental conditions in pressure-programmed supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry and some applications to vitamin analysis

Summary A combined system of pressure-programmed packed capillary supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry (SFC/MS) was constructed using a self-soupting interface assisted by vacuum nebulizing. For the optimum operation of the SFC/MS system, fundamental analytical conditions such as the flow rate of the mobile phase, the pump pressure and the composition of the mobile phase were examined. The use of large packing materials indicated that the capacity factor for a sample solute is almost constant under a given pump pressure regardless of the flow rate of the supercritical fluid. The SFC/MS system was applied to the analysis of both water- and fat-soluble vitamins. Both types vitamins were clearly separated under basically the same SFC conditions. High quality mass spectra of the vitamins were obtained; selected ion monitoring (SIM) traces of the vitamins are also reported as well as their UV traces.     

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.     

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 novel interface for variable flow nanoscale LC/MS/MS for improved proteome coverage

A variable flow "peak trapping" liquid chromatography (LC) interface has been developed for the coupling of nanoscale LC to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The presented peak trapping LC interface allows for the extended analysis time of co-eluting compounds and has been employed for the identification of proteins via tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The variable flow process can be controlled either manually or in a completely automated manner where the mass spectrometer status determines the status of the variable flow interface. When the mass spectrometer operates in MS survey mode, the interface is operated in a so-called "high-flow" mode. Alternatively, the interface is operated in a "low-flow" mode during MS/MS analysis. In the "high-flow" mode of the variable flow process the column flow rate is typically around 200 nL/min, whereas in the "low-flow" mode the column effluent is introduced into the source of the mass spectrometer at 25 nL/min. In addition to the flow reduction during MS/MS analysis, the gradient is paused to preserve the peptide separation on the analytical nanoscale LC column. The performance of the variable flow nanoscale LC/MS/MS interface is demonstrated by the automated analysis of standard peptide mixtures and protein digests utilizing variable flow, data-dependent scanning MS/MS techniques, and automated database searching.     

Supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry using a simple capillary-direct interface

Summary A simple method for interfacing capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with a commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer (SFC/MS) has been developed that yields good chromatographic peak shapes and good sensitivity. No modification of the mass spectrometer is required, and a single instrument can be used for both SFC/MS and GC/MS with conversion between modes requiring less than 20 min. SFC/MS separations and chemical ionization mass spectra of wax components, a triazine pesticide metabolite, abietic acid, and high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are reported.

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Kombination von Chromatographie mit überkritischen fluiden Phasen und Massenspektrometrie unter Verwendung eines einfachen direkten Capillar-Interface

     

FastTrack to supercritical fluid chromatographic purification: Implementation of a walk-up analytical supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry screening system in the medicinal chemistry laboratory

Medicinal chemists often depend on analytical instrumentation for reaction monitoring and product confirmation at all stages of pharmaceutical discovery and development. To obtain pure compounds for biological assays, the removal of side products and final compounds through purification is often necessary. Prior to purification, chemists often utilize open-access analytical LC/MS instruments because mass confirmation is fast and reliable, and the chromatographic separation of most sample constituents is sufficient. Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is often used as an orthogonal technique to HPLC or when isolation of the free base of a compound is desired. In laboratories where SFC is the predominant technique for analysis and purification of compounds, a reasonable approach for quickly determining suitable purification conditions is to screen the sample against different columns. This can be a bottleneck to the purification process. To commission SFC for open-access use, a walk-up analytical SFC/MS screening system was implemented in the medicinal chemistry laboratory. Each sample is automatically screened through six column/method conditions, and on-demand data processing occurs for the chromatographers after each screening method is complete. This paper highlights the “FastTrack” approach to expediting samples through purification.     

Coupling of a supercritical fluid chromatography system to a hybrid (Q-TOF 2) mass spectrometer: on-line accurate mass measurements.

This note describes a simple and economical method to couple a supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) system (Berger Instruments, US) with a high-resolution hybrid mass spectrometer (Q-TOF 2; Micromass, UK). This experimental arrangement has three distinct advantages: (1) coupling between the two systems can be effected without the need for an interface or hardware modifications of either system, (ii) this experimental arrangement provides on-line accurate mass SFC/MS measurements which are indispensable for the characterisation of new chemical entities and unknown metabolites, and (iii) the characteristically fast spectral acquisition rate of the time-of-flight (TOF) analyser renders the present arrangement an important contribution to future semipreparative fraction collection setups which use mass spectrometry as a detector.     

Analysis of phospholipids using an open‐tubular capillary column with a monolithic layer of molecularly imprinted polymer in capillary electrochromatography‐electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, an open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT‐CEC) column with a monolithic layer of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based on methacrylic acid, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and 4‐styrenesulfonic acid was utilized for the simultaneous separation and characterization of phospholipid (PL) molecular structures by interfacing with electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS‐MS). Introducing an MIP‐based monolith along with charged species at the OT column made it possible to separate PL molecules based on differences in head groups and acyl chain lengths in CEC. For the interface of OT‐CEC with ESI‐MS‐MS, a simple nanospray interface utilizing a sheath flow was developed and the resulting OT‐CEC‐ESI‐MS‐MS was able to separate PL standards (phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylglycerols, phosphatidic acid, and lysophosphatidylglycerols). The developed method was applied to human urinary lipid extracts, and resulted in the separation and structural identification of 18 molecules by data‐dependent collision‐induced dissociation.     

Liquid chromatographic separation of proteins derivatized with a fluorogenic reagent at cysteinyl residues on a non-porous column for differential proteomics analysis

A wide-pore (30 nm) reversed-phase column (Intrada WP-RP, particle size 3 μm) was recently utilized for protein separation in differential proteomics analysis with fluorogenic derivatization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (FD-LC-MS/MS), and exerted a tremendous effect on finding biomarkers (e.g., for breast cancer). Further high-performance separation is required for highly complex protein mixtures. A recently prepared non-porous small-particle reversed-phase column (Presto FF-C18, particle size: 2 μm) was expected to more effectively separate derivatized protein mixtures than the wide-pore column. A preliminary experiment demonstrated that the peak capacity of the former was threefold greater than that of the latter in gradient elution of a fluorogenic derivatized model peptide, calcitonin. The FD-LC-MS/MS method with a non-porous column was then optimized and applied to separate liver mitochondrial proteins that were not efficiently separated with the wide-pore column. As a result, high-performance separation of mitochondrial proteins was accomplished, and differential proteomics analysis of liver mitochondrial proteins in a hepatitis-infected mouse model was achieved using the FD-LC-MS/MS method with the non-porous column. This result suggests the non-porous small-particle column as a replacement for the wide-pore column for differential proteomics analysis in the FD-LC-MS/MS method.     

Parallel supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry system for high-throughput enantioselective optimization and separation

An automated parallel four-column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)/MS system to perform high-throughput enantioselective chromatographic method development and optimization is described in this paper. The initial screening was performed in parallel on four chiral SFC columns over several buffer conditions. Optimization of the separation of enantiomers was achieved on a single chiral column. The screening and optimization were accomplished in a fully automated, user-independent manner. Incorporation of column control valves in front of each chiral column allowed the system to switch from parallel four-column screening mode to single-column optimization mode. To facilitate the process, a custom software program, we termed, intelligent parallel optimization for chiral SFC separation (IPOCSS), was developed in-house. The custom software monitored each of the runs in real-time, processed each data set, and by incorporating user-defined criteria (e.g., resolution of the two enantiomer chromatographic peaks), selected the next set of experiments and automatically optimized the enantioseparation. This new approach, combining parallel SFC/MS screening and intelligent software-controlled method optimization, has resulted in a streamlined, high-throughput tool for enantioselective method development, which has been applied successfully to enantioseparations in support of drug discovery.     

Mass-directed fractionation and isolation of pharmaceutical compounds by packed-column supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

An automated packed-column semi-preparative supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry (SFC/MS) system incorporating mass-directed fraction collection has been designed and implemented as an alternative to preparative HPLC and preparative HPLC/MS (PrepLC/MS) for the purification of pharmaceutical compounds. The system incorporates a single quadrupole mass spectrometer and a supercritical fluid chromatograph. Separations were achieved using a binary solvent system consisting of carbon dioxide and methanol. Purification of SFC-separated compounds was achieved incorporating mass-directed fraction collection, enabling selective isolation of the target molecular weight compound and eliminating the collection of undesired compounds (e.g., by-products, excess starting materials, etc.). Cross contamination between fractions and recoveries of the system were investigated. Mass spectrometer ionization with basic mobile additives is discussed, and examples of preparative SFC/MS chiral separations are presented. Early experiences suggest SFC will be a powerful and complementary technique to HPLC for the purification of pharmaceutical compounds.     

Determination of molecular mass distribution of silicone oils by supercritical fluid chromatography, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and their off-line combination

Silicone oil samples were characterized by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI--TOF MS), and their off-line combination. SFC was used to separate samples of silicone oils on micropacked capillary columns. The fractions for the identification studies were obtained from SFC runs at defined time intervals, when the restrictor was pulled out from the chromatographic flame ionization detector (FID) and inserted into a glass vial with acetone. MALDI--TOF MS was used for the identification of individual oligomers in the fractions separated. The molecular mass distributions determined based on SFC and MALDI--TOF MS measurements were compared. From this comparison, it follows that the results are in good agreement. However, certain differences were observed: MALDI--TOF MS was capable of detecting somewhat larger oligomers than the SFC-FID, but the lower molecular mass oligomers were not present in the MALDI spectra. Differences in the region of lower molecular masses can be explained by evaporation of the more volatile low molecular mass oligomers resulting from heating of the sample during the MALDI--TOF MS measurements as a result of the absorption of the laser shot energy. The fact that no high mass discrimination effects of the MALDI--TOF MS measurements, compared with SFC, were observed is very promising for further applications of MALDI--TOF MS in characterizing synthetic polymers of moderate polydispersity.     

Development of supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry method for characterization of a nonionic surfactant and comparison with liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry method

The supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (SFC‐MS) method and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) method were developed for the separation and characterization of poly (ethylene oxide) methyl glucose sesquistearate (PEO‐Glu‐sesquistearate). The products of PEO‐Glu‐sesquistearate are composed of complex oligomers. The relationship between molecular structure of these oligomers and chromatographic retention behavior in both SFC and LC were discussed and compared. As compared with LC, hydrophobic moieties of compounds favor the fast elution in SFC. The different series can be better separated by LC, while the homologues compounds in same series can be better separated by SFC, and SFC‐MS provided more comprehensive structural information. Different series such as PEO‐distearate, PEO‐stearate, PEO, PEO‐Glu‐tetrastearate, PEO‐Glu‐tristearate, PEO‐Glu‐distearate, PEO‐Glu‐stearate, and PEO‐Glu were identified by MS/MS.