Separation of oxidized and deamidated human growth hormone variants by isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was utilized for the separation of recombinant human growth hormone (hGH) variants on a C18 silica column at 55 degrees C using an isocratic mobile phase which contained 27% 1-propanol in a 25 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 6.5. Three of the obtained peaks were characterized by tryptic mapping and mass spectrometry; two of the peaks were found to contain oxidized hGH (dioxy Met14/Met125 and Met125 sulfoxide) while the third contained a deamidated form (Asn149-->Asp149 or Asn152-->Asp152). Compared to the European Pharmacopoeia RP-HPLC method of hGH analysis, this new method gives two additional peaks and a 50% reduction in the analysis time.     

Alternative mobile phases for the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of peptides and proteins

The use of a high content of acetic acid as mobile phase additive for the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of several proteins and extracts of biological tissues was evaluated for a divinylbenzene (DVB)-based stationary phase, and the separations obtained with acetic acid gradients in acetonitrile, isopropanol or water were compared with classical polypeptide RP-HPLC on silica C4 with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)-acetonitrile. The separation patterns for recombinant derived interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) on the C4 column eluted with TFA-acetonitrile and the DVB column eluted with acetic acid-acetonitrile were similar, but only the polymeric column was able to separate the components present in an iodinated IL-1 beta preparation. Neither eluent had any harmful effect on the biological activity of IL-1 beta isolated after RP-HPLC. Several standard proteins could be separated when the polymeric column was eluted with acetic acid gradients in acetonitrile, isopropanol or water and, although the separation efficiency with acetic acid in water was lower than that in combination with classical organic modifiers, insulin, glucagon and human growth hormone (hGH) were eluted as sharp, symmetrical peaks. The recoveries of insulin and hGH were comparable for all three mobile phases (80-90%). The separation patterns obtained from a crude acetic acid extract of a normal and a diabetic, human pancreas analysed using acetic acid gradients with or without organic modifiers were found to be similar and comparable to those obtained on a silica C4 column eluted with an acetonitrile gradient in TFA. The principal differences resulted from the use of different UV wavelengths (215 nm for TFA-acetonitrile, 280 nm for acetic acid). Acetic acid extracts of recombinant derived hGH-producing Escherichia coli were separated on the DVB column eluted with an acetic acid gradient in water. Although the starting material was a highly complex mixture, the hGH isolated after this single-step purification was surprisingly pure (as judged by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). Consequently several (pure) polypeptides and complex biological samples were separated on a polymeric stationary phase eluted with acetic acid gradients in water without the use of organic modifiers.     

Comparison of monolithic and microparticulate columns for reversed-phase liquid chromatography of tryptic digests of industrial enzymes in cleaning products

Enzymes of several classes used in the formulations of cleaning products were characterized by trypsin digestion followed by HPLC with UV detection. A polymeric monolithic column (ProSwift) was used to optimize the separation of both the intact enzymes and their tryptic digests. This column was adequate for the quality control of raw industrial enzyme concentrates. Then, monolithic and microparticulate columns were compared for peptide analysis. Under optimized conditions, the analysis of tryptic digests of enzymes of different classes commonly used in the formulation of cleaning products was carried out. Number of peaks, peak capacity and global resolution were obtained in order to evaluate the chromatographic performance of each column. Particulate shell-core C18 columns (Kinetex, 2.6 μm) showed the best performance, followed by a silica monolithic column (Chromolith RP-18e) and the conventional C18 packings (Gemini, 5 μm or 3 μm). A polymeric monolithic column (ProSwift) gave the worst performances. The proposed method was satisfactorily applied to the characterization of the enzymes present in spiked detergent bases and commercial cleaners.     

Separation of oxidized human growth hormone variants by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Effect of mobile phase pH and organic modifier.

Human growth hormone (hGH), a polypeptide of 191 amino acids, contains three methionine residues, two of which are susceptible to oxidation by both chemical and photochemical means (Met14 and Met125). To date, no method has existed for resolving the various mono- and di-oxidation products. We report on the resolution of these oxidized variants and native hGH at weakly (pH 3.5) acidic pH. Although all of the oxidized species can be resolved at pH 3.5, use of low pH and neutral pH mobile phases confer some advantages. For example, the Met14 oxidized variant (MetSO-14) and native hGH are best resolved at neutral pH and the mono-oxidized variants (MetSO-125 and MetSO-14) are best resolved at low pH. The effect of organic modifier on the separation of the oxidized variants was also evaluated. 1-Propanol was more effective than acetonitrile in the separation of MetSO-14 and native hGH while acetonitrile was more effective than 1-propanol in the separation of MetSO-125 and MetSO-14. In summary, mobile phase pH and organic modifier were shown to be important parameters in the separation of oxidized hGH variants.     

Deformations of overloaded bands under pH-stable conditions in reversed phase chromatography

It has recently been demonstrated, using mathematical models, how peculiar overloaded band profiles of basic compounds are due to the local pH in the column when using low capacity buffers. In this study, overloaded peak shapes resulting after injection of carefully pH matched samples close to the pK(a) of the chosen solute are investigated primarily on two columns; one hybrid silica C18 column (Kromasil Eternity) and one purely polymeric column (PLRP-S), the latter lacking C18 ligands. It was found that distorted peaks of the basic test compound appear even though there is no difference in pH between the injected sample solution and the eluent; the previous explanation to why these effects occur is based on a pH mismatch. Thus, the unusual band shapes are not due to an initial pH difference. Furthermore, it was observed that the effect does not appear on polymeric columns without C18 ligands, but only on columns with C18 ligands, independently of the base matrix (silica, hybrid silica, polymeric).     

液相色谱–同位素稀释质谱法测定人体生长激素

建立了准确、快速测定痕量人体生长激素的同位素稀释质谱法。选取同位素标记脯氨酸、缬氨酸和苯丙氨酸为内标物,将内标物以重量法与待测样品准确混合,利用Kinetex C18色谱柱分离,以电喷雾三重串联四级杆质谱多反应监测模式测定,建立了人体生长激素的液相色谱–同位素稀释质谱联用定量方法。人体生长激素溶液标准物质的含量测定结果为(1.82±0.04)mg/g,相对标准偏差为0.43%(n=6)。该方法简易、实用、准确、可靠,可作为人体生长激素溶液标准物质的定值方法,并为人体生长激素的日常检测提供参考。     

Separation of oxidized variants of a monoclonal antibody by anion-exchange

Monoclonal antibodies are subject to a variety of degradation mechanisms, therefore orthogonal techniques are required to demonstrate product quality. In this study, the three individual antibodies comprising a multi-antibody drug product, XOMA 3AB were evaluated by both cation-exchange (CEX) and anion-exchange chromatography (AEX). In contrast to CEX analysis which showed only a single, broad peak for the force-oxidized antibodies, AEX analysis of Ab-A (pI=7.6) revealed two more basic peaks. Ab-B (pI=6.7) bound but exhibited only a single major peak while Ab-C (pI=8.6) flowed through. Peptide mapping LC/MS analysis of the isolated Ab-A fractions demonstrated that the basic peaks resulted from oxidation in a complementary determining region (CDR). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis of the oxidized Ab-A species showed a decrease in the Fab melting point for the oxidized species consistent with unfolding of the molecule. Greater/lesser surface exposure of ionic residues resulting from a conformational change provides a likely explanation for the dramatic shift in retention behavior for the Ab-A oxidized variants. Peptide mapping analysis of the Ab-B antibody showed, in contrast to Ab-A, no detectable CDR oxidation. Hence, the lack of separation of oxidized variants in Ab-B can be explained by the absence of CDR oxidation and the associated changes in secondary/tertiary structure which were observed for oxidized Ab-A. In summary, anion-exchange HPLC shows potential as an orthogonal analytical technique for assessing product quality of monoclonal antibody therapeutics. In the case of the XOMA 3AB drug product, two of the antibodies bound and one, Ab-A, exhibited separation of CDR oxidized variants.     

Evaluation of frontal chromatograms

A novel pressure-balanced injection valve was evaluated for use with ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) at pressures up to 120 MPa (1,200 bar). Fused-silica capillaries (30-33 cm x 100 microm I.D.) packed with nonporous 1.5 microm isohexylsilane-modified (C6) silica particles were employed to study maximum pressure, injection reproducibility, injection time, and sample amount consumed for an injection. The new valve was more reproducible, convenient, and required much less sample than previously used injection systems. The effect of column diameter on efficiency and sensitivity was studied. The 100 microm I.D. columns demonstrated approximately 40% lower efficiency but 10-fold higher sensitivity than the 29 microm I.D. columns. Columns packed with nonporous C6 particles produced higher efficiencies than columns packed with a 1.5 microm porous octadecylsilane-modified (C18) material.     

Critical points in the analysis of ciprofloxacin by high-performance liquid chromatography

Chromatographic analysis of the antibiotic compound ciprofloxacin on a C18 column proved to show some critical points. On a C18 column, ciprofloxacin analysis resulted in two peaks in the chromatogram. Effects of stock solution composition, mobile phase composition and type of stationary phase were investigated to understand the occurrence of both peaks. Esterification of the carboxylic group of ciprofloxacin was shown when methanol was used as stock solution solvent in acidic conditions. Secondly, a ciprofloxacin pK(a) value of 3.64 in water at position N-1 was found which could not fully explain the observation of the two peaks: mobile phase composition and type of stationary phase were also found to be important parameters with respect to the peak area ratio of both peaks.     

Separation of proteins with a molecular mass difference of 2 kDa utilizing preparative double-inverted gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions: application to the isolation of 24 kDa human growth hormone

A method for separating proteins with a molecular mass difference of 2 kDa using SDS-PAGE under nonreducing conditions is presented. A sample mixture containing several human growth hormone (hGH) isoforms was initially separated on a weak anion-exchange column. Fractions rich in 24 kDa hGH as determined by analytical SDS-PAGE were pooled and further separated by cation-exchange chromatography. The fractions pooled from the cation-exchange chromatography contained two hGH isoforms with a 2 kDa molecular mass difference according to SDS-PAGE analysis, 22 and 24 kDa hGH. The 22 and 24 kDa hGH were separated using continuous-elution preparative double-inverted gradient PAGE (PDG-PAGE) under nonreducing conditions. The preparative electrophoresis gel was composed of three stacked tubular polyacrylamide matrices, a 4% stacking gel, a 13-18% linear gradient gel, and a 15-10% linear inverted gradient gel. Fractions containing purified 24 kDa hGH were pooled and Western blot analysis displayed immunoreactivity to antihGH antibodies. PDG-PAGE provides researchers with an electrophoretic technique to preparatively purify proteins under nonreducing conditions with molecular mass differences of 2 kDa.     

Preparative isolation of arylbutanoid‐type phenol [(‐)‐rhododendrin] with peak tailing on conventional C18 column using middle chromatogram isolated gel column coupled with reversed‐phase liquid chromatography

Reversed‐phase liquid chromatography coupled with middle chromatogram isolated gel column was employed for the efficient preparative separation of the arylbutanoid‐type phenol [(‐)‐rhododendrin] from Saxifraga tangutica. Universal C18 (XTerra C18) and XCharge C18 columns were compared for (‐)‐rhododendrin fraction analysis and preparation. Although tailing and overloading occurred on the XTerra C18 column, the positively charged reversed‐phase C18 column (XCharge C18) overcame these drawbacks, allowing for favorable separation resolution, even when loading at a on a preparative scale (3.69 mg per injection). The general separation process was as follows. First, 365.0 mg of crude (‐)‐rhododendrin was enriched from 165 g Saxifraga tangutica extract via a middle chromatogram isolated gel column. Second, separation was performed on an XTerra C18 preparative column, from which 73.8 mg of the target fraction was easily obtained. Finally, the 24.0 mg tailing peak of (‐)‐rhododendrin on XTerra C18 column was selectively purified on the XCharge C18 analytical column. These results demonstrate that the tailing nonalkaloid peaks can be effectively used for preparative isolation on XCharge C18 columns.     

Evaluation of high-performance liquid chromatography column retentivity using macromolecular probes. II. Silanophilic interactivity traced by highly polar polymers

A new method of HPLC column retentivity testing utilizes polymeric probes instead of conventional sets of low molar mass substances. The procedure allows at least semiquantitative, separate and independent evaluation of adsorption and partition properties of column packings. In this present work, the method is applied for comparison of the polar interactivities of selected silica gel C18 HPLC columns. It is shown that free silanols which remained on the surface of the end-capped silica C18 column packings are accessible for interaction with highly polar macromolecules. High molar mass polymeric test probes are adsorbed on the surface silanols and their retention volumes increase. As result, deviations from regular size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) behavior are observed. The extent of retention volume changes depends on both the nature of polymer probes and on column packing type. Adsorption of macromolecules can be suppressed by addition of a highly polar substance to the mobile phase. The amount of polar additive which is needed to attain regular SEC elution of the polymer probe depends on the column packing type and can be used as a characteristic of silanophilic column interactivity. Courses of dependences of retention volumes on sizes of macromolecules indicate the presence of "U-turn" adsorption which allows two and more silanols situated among C18 groups to be occupied simultaneously with the same macromolecule.     

A comprehensive chemoselective and enantioselective 2D-HPLC set-up for fast enantiomer analysis of a multicomponent mixture of derivatized amino acids

A feasibility study on the fast enantioselective two-dimensional HPLC separation of racemic amino acid derivatives is presented. The method involves the on-line coupling of a narrow-bore C18 RP column in the first dimension to a short enantioselective column based on nonporous 1.5 μm particles modified with quinidine carbamate as chiral selector in the second dimension. Conceptually, the system was designed to enable both time-controlled repeated transfer of fractions of the eluate and detector-controlled transfer of selected fractions from column 1 to column 2. To avoid volume overloading of the second chiral column, a narrow-bore reversed phase column was installed in the first dimension. Due to the fast (less than 1.5 minutes) enantiomer separation that occurs in the second dimension, the overall analysis time for the two-dimensional separation of a mixture of nine racemic 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl amino acids was optimized at 16 minutes.     

Comparison of nonporous silica-based ion exchangers and monolithic ion exchangers in separations of inorganic anions

Low capacity anion exchangers for IC have been prepared by modification of nonporous uniformed silica MICRA microbeads and by modification of the organic polymeric monolithic matrixes prepared in situ in quarz capillary. Due to the small particle size (1.5 microm) high-performance adsorbents were prepared allowing to obtain up to 190,000 tp/m. However, the column possesses a very high back-pressure and can be used in a short length up to 50 mm only to meet the requirements of conventional chromatographic equipment. An analysis of a test mixture of seven anions was completed within 3 min with a back column pressure of about 350 bar (HETP of about 5.5 microm, where HETP is the height equivalent to the theoretical plate). Monolithic capillary columns provide lower efficiency per column unit length than MICRA columns; however, they can be used at a longer length because of their low flow resistance. Monolithic column of ca. 40 cm length has workable pressure below 10 bar and allows separation of a five anions test mixture within less than 10 min. A better efficiency of monolithic column (HETP approximately 75 microm) can be achieved at reduced flow rates when the analysis time is not a critical parameter.     

Preparative separation of isoquinoline alkaloids from Corydalis impatiens using middle chromatogram isolated gel column coupled with positively charged reversed‐phase liquid chromatography

Positively charged reversed‐phase liquid chromatography was employed for the efficient preparative separation of isoquinoline alkaloids from Corydalis impatiens. Ten commercially available columns were compared for isoquinoline alkaloids analysis. While tailing, overloading, lower resolution, and buffer salts limited the application in purification of isoquinoline compounds of many of these columns, one positively charged reversed‐phase C18 column (XCharge C18) overcame these drawbacks, allowing for favorable separation resolution, even when loading isoquinoline compounds on a larger, preparative scale. The general separation process is as follows. First, isoquinoline alkaloids are enriched with Corydalis impatiens extract via a middle chromatogram isolated gel column. After column selection, separation is performed on an XCharge C18 analytical column, from which two evident chromatographic peaks are readily obtained. Finally, two isoquinoline alkaloids (protopine and corydamine) are selectively purified on the XCharge C18 preparative column. These results demonstrate that a middle chromatogram isolated gel column coupled with positively charged reversed‐phase liquid chromatography is effective for the preparative separation of isoquinoline alkaloids from Corydalis impatiens.     

Activity of artificial mutant variants of human growth hormone deficient in a disulfide bond between Cys53 and Cys165

In order to understand the role of Cys53 and Cys165 of human growth hormone (hGH) in receptor-binding and biological activity, artificial mutant variants of hGH were prepared in Escherichia coli by in vitro mutagenesis. Variants of hGH were constructed by replacement of Cys165 with Ala ([Ala165]hGH) or Ser ([Ser165]hGH), by replacement of Cys53 with Ala ([Ala53]hGH), by replacement of Cys53 and Cys165 with Ala ([Ala53, Ala165]hGH), or by replacement of Cys53 with Ala and Cys165 with Ser ([Ala53,Ser165]hGH). All of the variants constructed as well as reduced hGH exhibited less biological activity than that of intact hGH, and the decreases in biological activity were almost equal, as measured by a sensitive biological assay for growth hormone: adipose conversion assay using 3T3-F442A cells. These variants also showed less receptor-binding activity than that of intact hGH. These results suggest that it is possible neither the residue Cys53 nor Cys165 is directly involved in the receptor binding, and that the disulfide bridge between Cys53 and Cys165 in hGH may not always be crucial for the biological activity, though necessary to express full hGH activity.     

Use of triacylglycerol profiles established by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet-visible detection to predict the botanical origin of vegetable oils

A method for the determination of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in vegetable oils from different botanical origins by HPLC with UV-vis detection has been developed. Using a core-shell particle packed column (C18, 2.6 μm), TAG separation was optimized in terms of mobile phase composition and column temperature. Using isocratic elution with acetonitrile/n-pentanol at 10 °C, excellent efficiency with good resolution between most of the TAG peak pairs, within a total analysis time of 15 min, was achieved. Using mass spectrometry detection, a total of 15 peaks, which were common to oils of six different botanical origins (corn, extra virgin olive, grapeseed, hazelnut, peanut and soybean) were identified. These peaks were used to construct linear discriminant analysis (LDA) models for botanical origin prediction. Ratios of the peak areas selected by pairs were used as predictors. All the oils were correctly classified with assignment probabilities higher than 95%.     

HPLC separation of triacylglycerol positional isomers on a polymeric ODS column

A polymeric ODS column was applied to the resolution of triacylglycerol positional isomers (TAG-PI), i.e. 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl-glycerol (OPO) and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl-rac-glycerol (OOP), with a recycle HPLC system. To investigate the ODS column species and the column temperatures for the resolution of a TAG-PI pair, a mixture of OPO and OOP was subjected to an HPLC system equipped with a non-endcapped polymeric, endcapped monomeric, endcapped intermediate, or non-endcapped monomeric ODS column at three different column temperatures (40, 25, or 10 degrees C). Only the non-endcapped polymeric ODS column achieved the separation of OPO and OOP, and the lowest column temperature (10 degrees C) showed the best resolution for them. The other pair of TAG-PI, a mixture of 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-oleoyl-rac-glycerol (PPO) was also subjected to the system equipped with a non-endcapped polymeric or monomeric ODS column at five different column temperatures (40, 32, 25, 17, and 10 degrees C). Thus, POP and PPO were also separated on only the non-endcapped polymeric ODS column at 25 degrees C. However, no clear peak appeared at 10 degrees C. These results would indicate that the polymeric ODS stationary phase has an ability to recognize the structural differences between TAG-PI pairs. Also, the column temperature is a very important factor for separating the TAG-PI pair, and the optimal temperature would relate to the solubility of TAG-PI in the mobile phase. Furthermore, the recycle HPLC system provided measurements for the separation and analysis of TAG-PI pairs.     

Synchronous analysis method for detection of citrinin and the lactone and acid forms of monacolin K in red mold rice

The Monascus product known as red mold rice (RMR) has been found to contain the cholesterol-lowering agent monacolin K (MK), including the lactone form (MKL) and the acid form (MKA) and mycotoxin citrinin (CT). In current studies, CT and MK are usually detected by different analysis methods, which have a high level of error, and are inconvenient, expensive, and time-consuming. The goal of this study is to establish a rapid synchronous analysis method for the detection of CT, MKL, and MKA levels in RMR. In this study, CT, MKL, and MKA are extracted by the same extraction method and are then separated in a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) C18 column. The elution from the C18 column is then passed through an ultraviolet detector and introduced directly into the fluorescence detector. The results show that higher recovery rates of CT, MKL, and MLK are yielded from RMR powder by extracting with 95% ethanol (10 mL) at 60 degrees C for 30 min. Regarding the optimal conditions of HPLC, the peaks of CT, MKL, and MKA can be clearly separated from any noise peaks by isocratic elution with optimum mobile phase, acetonitrile-water-trifluoroacetate (55 + 45 + 0.05, v/v).     

Effect of column temperature on the retention of peropyrene-type polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on various chemically bonded stationary phases in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

The effect of column temperature on the reversed-phase retention of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has been investigated using various chemically bonded phases. Four solutes, coronene, tetrabenzo[a,cd,j,lm]perylene, tetrabenzo[a,cd,f,lm]perylene and benzo[lm]phenanthro[4,5,6-abcd]perylene, were used as the test probes. The temperature dependences of the retention are almost linear (the logarithm of capacity factor is proportional to the reciprocal of the column absolute temperature) with monomeric C18, monomeric C18 with endcapping and diphenyl bonded phases, while non-linear behaviour was observed with polymeric C18 phases. These differences in behaviour of the stationary phases are interpreted in terms of their structural differences.