High performance ion chromatography of haloacetic acids on macrocyclic cryptand anion exchanger

A new high performance ion chromatographic method has been developed for the separation of the nine chlorinated-brominated haloacetic acids (HAAs) that are the disinfection by-products of chlorination of drinking water, using a macrocycle-based adjustable-capacity anion-exchange separator column (IonPac Cryptand A1). A gradient method based on theoretical and experimental considerations has been optimized in which 10 mM NaOH-LiOH step gradient was performed at the third minute of the analysis. The optimized method allowed us to separate the nine HAAs and seven possibly interfering inorganic anions in less than 25 min with acceptable resolution. The minimum concentrations detectable for HAAs were between 8.0 (MBA) and 210 (TBA) microg L(-1), with linearity included between 0.9947 (TBA) and 0.9998 (MBA). To increase sensitivity, a 25-fold preconcentration step on a reversed phase substrate (LiChrolut EN) has been coupled. Application of this method to the analysis of haloacetic acids in real tap water samples is illustrated.     

Retention profiles and mechanism of anion separation on latex-based pellicular ion exchanger in ion chromatography

A retention model based on stoichiometric approach has been developed in order to describe analyte retention of anions on latex-based pellicular ion exchanger. The chromatographic process entails two stepwise and complex equilibria, first is ion-pair forming of analyte or eluent ion with ion-exchange sites under the effect of electrostatic forces due to the sulfonic layer behind the aminated functional groups of stationary phase. Second component is the ion-exchange between the analyte and eluent ions. As a new parameter of the fractional electrostatic coefficient of the ion exchange capacity was introduced to develop retention profiles of anions. Analysis of the dependence of the capacity factors on the eluent concentrations at different values of fractional coefficient shed light on the possible complex mechanism. Extensive experimental retention data were obtained for 14 anions (formate, acetate, propionate, pyruvate, lactate, chloride, nitrate, oxalate, malonate, succinate, tartarate, fumarate, maleate, sulphate) using hydroxide eluents of varying concentration. The ion-pair formation and ion-exchange selectivity constants for analyte and eluent species are determined using derived retention equation from experimental data by nonlinear iterative calculation. The model was utilized to predict retention data under elution conditions of practical importance. The predicted and obtained retention factors are in good agreement, which confirms the predictive power of the model.     

Oscillations of the concentration during sorption of amino acids on ion exchanger grains

Low frequency oscillations of the concentration can arise in the process of diffusion and sorption of amino acids under the stationary external conditions. This phenomenon has been observed in some experimental works. In the present paper it is studied by means of modelling. The physical factors responsible for a positive feedback between variations of solution flow and changes in the concentration are found. These factors give rise to instability of the process and oscillations of the concentration. The theoretical explanation of the phenomenon and the results of calculations are presented in this paper.     

New insights on the retention mechanism of non-polar solutes in reversed-phase liquid chromatographic columns

A clarification of the retention mechanism of non-polar solutes in octadecyl reversed-phase chromatographic columns is attempted based on a systematic comparison of the retention in C18 and C2 columns under the assumption that the retention in C2 columns is due to adsorption. The comparison involves curve fitting procedures and tests based on the properties of special functions suggested in the present paper. For the application of this approach the retention behaviour of six non-polar solutes, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, propylbenzene, isopropylbenzene and tert-butylbenzene, is studied from aqueous mobile phases modified with methanol, isopropanol, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran using C18 and C2 reversed-phase columns. It was found that the retention mechanism in C18 columns is not the same in the four modifiers. In particular, our results show that the adsorption mechanism has a significant contribution in mobile phases modified by acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran, the partition mechanism is likely to predominate in isopropanol-water mobile phases provided that the mole fraction of isopropanol is higher than 0.2, whereas the case of MeOH is rather obscure, since the various tests did not give a clear picture about the retention mechanism in methanol-water mobile phases.     

Suitability of selected chromatographic columns for analysis of fatty acids in dialyzed patients

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry is a preferred method for fatty acid (FA) analysis in biofluids from patients with metabolic diseases. Complex characteristics of FAs make their analysis particularly challenging. Selection of an appropriate chromatographic column is particularly important component of the process as it provides optimal separation and detection of possibly all FAs present in the sample. However, no accurate protocol for comparative evaluation of capillary columns for the analysis of whole serum FA profile in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been developed thus far. Therefore, in the present study four columns were examined to select the one providing optimal separation and determination of FA profiles in this group of patients. Moreover, serum FA profiles obtained with the selected column in CKD patients subjected to peritoneal dialysis and healthy controls were compared. Thirty‐seven component FAME Mix and sera from CKD patients were used to optimize chromatographic conditions and to select the most appropriate column. The ZB‐5 column turned out to be the most appropriate for the analysis of whole FA profile in CKD patients' sera. Then, this column was used to compare FA profiles in patients subjected to peritoneal dialysis and in healthy controls. The analysis demonstrated many abnormalities in the FA profile of CKD patients. Further studies involving larger groups of patients presenting with other stages of CKD are required to explain the impact of the disease progression on composition of serum FAs.     

Oscillations of the concentration and size of ion exchanger grains during sorption of amino acids

Grain size and concentration may oscillate during the sorption of amino acids from solutions onion exchangers. This phenomenon was observed experimentally in several works. We present its theoretical explanation and report mathematical modeling results.     

Aqueous normal-phase retention of nucleotides on silica hydride columns

The use of silica hydride-based stationary phases for the retention and analysis of nucleotides has been investigated. Both reversed-phase columns with a hydride surface underneath as well as those with an unmodified or a minimally modified hydride material were tested. With these systems, an aqueous normal-phase mode was used with high organic content mobile phases in combination with an additive to control pH for the retention of the hydrophilic nucleotides. Isocratic and gradient elution formats have been used to optimize separations for mixtures containing up to seven components. All conditions developed are suitable for methods that utilize mass spectrometry detection.     

Effect of the mobile phase on the retention behaviour of optical isomers of carboxylic acids and amino acids in liquid chromatography on bonded Teicoplanin columns

Conditions for separation of enantiomers of underivatized amino acids phenyl glycine and tryptophan and of mandelic acid as test compounds were studied on a Chirobiotic T column packed with amphoteric glycopeptide Teicoplanin covalently bonded to the surface of silica gel. The effects of the mobile phase composition on the retention and selectivity under analytical conditions, on the profile of the adsorption isotherms of the enantiomers and on the overloaded separation were investigated. The concentration of ethanol or of methanol in aqueous-organic mobile phases and the pH of the mobile phase affect not only the retention and selectivity, the saturation capacity and the isotherm profile, but also the solubility of the acids, which should be taken into account in development of preparative separations. A compromise between the separation selectivity and the solubility should be made in selecting the mobile phase suitable to accomplish preparative separations at acceptable production rate and throughput of the operation.     

Study of the retention mechanism of uranium on titanium oxide

We have studied the phenomenon of retention of uranium, as a carbonato complex UO₂(CO₃) ₃ ⁴⁻ on titanium oxide. We first proposed a method for preparing titanium oxide whose ion-exchange capacities (2.9 meq Na⁺/g, 0.11 meq UO ₂ ²⁺ /g) and physical properties (mechanical resistance and granulometry) make it quite suitable for liquid chromatography and particularly for the extraction process of uranium from sea-water. We prepared the sodium tricarbonatouranate, the major form of uranium in sea-water. We studied the retention of this compound on titanium oxide. From a thermodynamic study of the retention equilibrium we proposed a retention mechanism of the ligang-exchange type: uranyl is retained on titanium oxide, surrounded with two CO ₃ ²⁻ ligands and two ≥TiO⁻ ligands. We shown that 2/3 of the exchanged hydroxyl groups have pK_H1=4.9 and 1/3 of them have pK_H2=9.3.     

Separation of inorganic anions on a triazole-functionalized ion exchanger in ion chromatography

The retention behavior of inorganic anions on a triazole-based stationary phase was first examined in ion chromatography. It was initially designed for hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and was simply prepared by introducing the triazole groups onto the surface of silica gel via click chemistry. Effective separation of common inorganic anions, including iodate, chloride, bromide, nitrate and iodide, was achieved with Na(2)SO(4) eluent. The logarithm of the retention factor of analytes was observed to be linear with the logarithm of the eluent concentration, and the slopes of the plots were almost the same as those of the ideal theoretical value. The eluent pH value in the range of 3.4-7.0 had little effect on the separation. The utility of the column was demonstrated for the determination of UV-absorbing anions in saliva and tap water.     

Friction force microscopy of alkylphosphonic acid and carboxylic acids adsorbed on the native oxide of aluminum

Monolayers of alkylphosphonic acids (APA) and alkylcarboxylic acids (ACA) on magnetron-sputtered aluminum films have been investigated by friction force microscopy (FFM), contact angle measurement, and polarization-modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). Clear evidence has been provided from PM-IRRAS that friction coefficients, determined from FFM data, may be correlated directly with variations in adsorbate molecular structure. The friction coefficient increased with the length of the adsorbate molecule, but reached a limiting value when the alkyl chain of the adsorbate contained eight carbons in the case of APA or 12 carbons in the case of ACA. For a given alkyl chain length, APA monolayers yielded coefficients of friction that were similar to those of monolayers of alkylthiols of the same length, but smaller than those of ACA. These data indicate that APA monolayers are better ordered than ACA monolayers. These inferences were supported by PM-IRRAS data, which enabled the density of gauche defects to be estimated and correlated with variations in the coefficient of friction.     

微晶粘结成球的无机离子交换剂传质研究

无机离子交换剂以其选择性、耐热及抗辐照性很高一直受到重视.但由于它的交换过程缓慢,使其应用受到了限制,为了克服这一障碍,本文把十分之几微米的无机离子交换剂[Ti(HPO_4)_2·1/2H_2O]微晶粘结成球,以减低对流体阻力,同时大大增加交换表面.用这种交换剂研究了H~+-Li~+和Li~+-H~+互交换的动力学;同时,根据交换剂的几何模型,解出了相应界面条件的扩散方程.实验显示了在这种无机离子交换剂中的交换速度比在001×20的聚苯乙烯凝胶磺酸型阳离子交换树脂中的快3.5倍,它可能为提高无机离子交换剂的传质功能提供了新途径.     

三聚氰胺在双色谱柱串联模式下的色谱保留研究

研究了亲水相互作用色谱柱串联C_(18)柱上三聚氰胺的色谱保留,并应用牛奶基质中三聚氰胺的高效分离。将HILIC柱与C_(18)柱串联,研究不同色谱柱串联顺序及色谱分离条件下三聚氰胺的保留情况,结果表明:当流动相为乙腈-乙酸铵(10mmol/L)=85∶15(v/v)、柱温30℃、流速0.75mL/min、检测波长220nm、HILIC柱在前C_(18)柱在后串联时,三聚氰胺分离效果最佳。在最佳的色谱条件下,对市售牛奶进行测定,未检测出三聚氰胺,加标回收率在81.1%～119%,三聚氰胺在双柱模式下分析效果良好。