Chiral silica-based monoliths in chromatography and capillary electrochromatography

Chiral-modified silica-based monoliths have become well-established stationary phases for both high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The silica-based monoliths were fabricated either in situ in the capillaries for nano-HPLC and CEC or in a mould for “conventional” HPLC. The present review summarizes the chiral modification of silica monoliths and the recent development in the field of enantioselective separations by nano-HPLC and CEC.     

Polymethacrylate-type monoliths functionalized with chiral amino phosphonic acid-derived strong cation exchange moieties for enantioselective nonaqueous capillary electrochromatography and investigation of the chemical composition of the monolithic polymer

In situ prepared monolithic poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (poly(GMA-co-EDMA)) capillary columns were activated to reactive thiol-monoliths and subsequently functionalized with (S)-N-(4-allyloxy-3,5-dichlorobenzoyl)-2-amino-3,3-dimethylbutanephosphonic acid as chiral selector by radical addition to afford enantioselective strong cation exchanger (SCX) capillary columns (100 microm inner diameter (ID)). These monolithic capillaries were devised for the enantioseparation of chiral bases by nonaqueous and aqueous capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and the results obtained for mefloquine and its tert-butylcarbamate as test compounds were compared to those obtained with particulate silica-based analogs (packed columns). Despite abolishment of nonspecific ionic interactions between the cationic solutes and residual silanols that may diminish separation factors of the silica-based chiral SCX particles, the poly(GMA-co-EDMA)-supported SCX monolith did not, as expected, show better enantioselectivities, which was assumed to be due to detrimental nonspecific interactions between the analytes and the lipophilic polymer backbone. In order to minimize these unfavorable contributions, less lipophilic monoliths were developed by copolymerization of different amounts of the hydrophilic monomer 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with GMA and EDMA, leading to GMA-co-HEMA-co-EDMA-terpolymeric monoliths. By this increase of the hydrophilicity of the monolithic support the enantioselectivity of the resultant SCX stationary phase could be enhanced and reached values comparable to the packed silica-based enantioselective SCX capillaries. Additionally, the mobile phase composition and other variables were examined and it could be shown that the separation factors are considerably affected by diverse parameters such as acetonitrile-methanol ratio and type and concentration of the counterion. Mefloquine enantiomers could be separated with alpha-values up to 1.56 and a maximum plate count of ca. 60,000 m(-1) could be achieved.     

Enantioselective capillary gas chromatography on the basis of host-guest interactions with modified cyclodextrins

The use of per-O-alkylated as well as partially alkylated/acylated derivatives of α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrins as chiral stationary phases has opened many new applications to enantioselective gas chromatography. Chiral recognition is now independent of hydrogen bonding interactions and enantiomer separations are achieved for a large variety of compounds which could not be separated before, including lactones, spiroacetals, alkyl halides, olefins, and even compounds with axial asymmetry.     

Monolithic silica-based capillary column with strong chiral cation-exchange type surface modification for enantioselective non-aqueous capillary electrochromatography

A silica-based monolithic stationary phase prepared by the sol-gel process in a 100 microm I.D. fused-silica (FS) capillary has been modified chemically with 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane followed by immobilization of a strong cation-exchange (SCX) type chiral selector, (S)-N-(4-allyloxy-3,5-dichlorobenzoyl)-2-amino-3,3-dimethylbutane phosphonic acid, by radical addition reaction onto the reactive sulfhydryl surface. After a fine-tuning of the mobile phase composition, the enantioselective capillary column was evaluated for the separation of various chiral basic drugs by enantioselective non-aqueous capillary electrochromatography (CEC), in comparison to capillary column analogs packed with 3.5 microm silica particles having attached the same selector. The performance of the monolithic silica column was further compared to corresponding polymethacrylate-based organic polymer monoliths. The study indicated that strong counter-ions such as 2-aminobutanol or N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine are needed, although they reduce the electroosmotic flow velocity and separation factors in comparison to less efficient counter-ions, in order to allow the elution of the oppositely charged solutes in the ion-exchange retention mode within reasonable run time and as sharp zones. In contrast, weak counter-ions such as N,N-diisopropylethylamine (Huenig base) provided stronger electroosmotic flow and much better separation factors, but relatively poor peak efficiencies. Overall, with the chemically functionalized monolithic silica column the high quality separations of packed column analogs could be approximated, with regards to both separation factors and peak performances. On the other hand, the monolithic capillary column certainly outperformed the packed column in terms of system robustness under capillary electrochromatography conditions and showed excellent column longevity. The enantioselective strong cation-exchange-type monolithic silica column performed also well in comparison to the organic polymer monolith.     

Epoxy-based monoliths for capillary liquid chromatography of small and large molecules

A versatile epoxy-based monolith was synthesised by polycondensation polymerisation of glycidyl ether 100 with ethylenediamine using a porogenic system consisting of polyethylene glycol, M _w?=?1000, and 1-decanol. Polymerisation was performed at 80 °C for 22 h. A simple acid hydrolysis of residual epoxides resulted in a mixed diol-amino chemistry. The modified column was used successfully for hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) of small molecule probes such as nucleic acid bases and nucleosides, benzoic acid derivatives, as well as for peptides released from a tryptic digest of cytochrome c. The mixed-mode chemistry allowed both hydrophilic partitioning and ion-exchange (IEX) interactions to contribute to the separation, providing flexibility in selectivity control. Residual epoxide groups were also exploited for incorporating a mixed IEX chemistry. Alternatively, the surface chemistry of the monolith pore surface rendered hydrophobic via grafting of a co-polymerised hydrophobic hydrogel. The inherent hydrophilicity of the monolith scaffold also enabled high performance separation of proteins under IEX and hydrophobic interaction modes and in the absence of non-specific interactions.     

Tailoring the macroporous structure of monolithic silica-based capillary columns with potential for liquid chromatography

The present work aims at the optimisation of the synthesis of methyl-silsesquioxane monolithic capillary columns using a sol-gel based protocol. The influence of reaction conditions such as temperature, reaction mixture composition and catalyst concentration has been examined. The morphology of the products was studied by scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption. Monolithic capillary columns were obtained with a skeleton-like structure with open pores. Pore diameters vary from 0.8 to 15 microm, diameters of the xerogel network vary from 0.4 to 12 microm, respectively. Specific surface areas up to 334 m2/g have been observed, however, many materials did not possess areas above few m2/g which represents the limit of detection of the nitrogen porosimetry measurements. Excellent adhesion to the capillary wall was observed in all cases, and drying was possible at ambient conditions without the formation of cracks.     

Selective separation and purification of highly polar basic compounds using a silica-based strong cation exchange stationary phase

Compared to moderately and weakly hydrophilic bases, highly polar basic compounds are even more difficult to separate due to their poor retention in reversed phase (RP) mode. This study described the successful applications of a strong cation exchange (SCX) stationary phase to achieve symmetric peak shape, adequate retention and selectivity in the separation of very polar basic compounds. Salt and acetonitrile concentrations were adjusted to optimize the separation. Good correlations (R² = 0.998–1.000) between the logarithm of the retention factor and the logarithm of salt or acetonitrile concentration were obtained. Gradients generated by changing salt or acetonitrile concentration were compared for the analysis of different highly polar bases. Although all of the analytes were eluted more quickly with an acetonitrile gradient, the effect of the gradients tested on peak width and peak shape varied with respect to analyte. In addition, the effects of different types of cation and anion additives were also investigated. After separation parameters were acquired, the SCX-based method was utilized to analyze highly hydrophilic alkaloids from Scopolia tangutica Maxim with high separation efficiency (plate numbers > 32,000 m⁻¹). Concurrently, one very polar alkaloid fraction was purified with symmetric peak shape using the current method. Our results suggest that SCX stationary phase can be used as an alternative to RP stationary phase in the analysis and purification of highly hydrophilic basic compounds.     

Uptake of hydrophobic amino acids and sodium chloride by a strong cation exchanger: Application to desalting and separation by preparative liquid chromatography

Summary The uptake of sodium chloride, leucine and phenylalanine by a strong cation-exchange resin in the sodium form have been compared. Sodium chloride was excluded from the resin, as indicated by its parabolic upwards curved isotherm, and the corresponding desorption edge was sharpened (constant pattern). Isotherms for both amino acids constructed from a single elution experiment displayed slightly downwards curvature; the corresponding desorption edges spread in contrast to the breakthrough ones. The affinities of both amino acids for the resin were higher (from 15 to 40 %) in the presence of 1 M sodium chloride, indicating that hydrophobic interactions played a significant role in the mechanism of sorption. As expected from the isotherms, a mixture of 1 M sodium chloride, leucine and phenylalanine was separated with satisfactory recovery of both amino acids for a column loading of 10 % of the bed volume. Real mother liquors have also been separated under the same conditions.     

Comparative study of capillary electroendosmotic chromatography and electrically assisted gradient nano-liquid chromatography for the separation of peptides

Capillary electroendoendosmotic chromatography (CEC), being a hybrid of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis, offers considerable changes to enhance column efficiency, speed of analysis and additional selectivity as compared to the parent methods. The analytes are driven by the electroendosmotic flow (EOF) and separated by surface-solute interactions as well as by differences in electromigration. In this paper on the separation of peptides on C18 reversed-phase and mixed-mode (sulphonic acid-n-alkyl) packings in CEC and electrically assisted reversed-phase gradient nano-LC are investigated. It is shown that mixed mode packings generate a higher EOF than reversed-phase packings that is scarcely dependent on the pH of the eluent. Applying a potential in gradient elution reversed-phase nano-LC of peptides shortens the analysis time as compared to separations without a potential. Electrically assisted reversed-phase gradient elution nano-LC is a powerful separation tool for analysis of tryptic digests. Peptides can be successfully resolved in acidic organic mobile phase at pH 2-3 with and without trifluoroacid as ion pairing reagent under isocratic conditions. It is demonstrated that CEC with mixed mode packing and an eluent of pH 2.3 with varying acetonitrile content can be applied to monitor impurities in a synthetic peptide.     

Protein separation using a novel silica-based RPLC/IEC stationary phase modified with N-methylimidazolium ionic liquid

Ionic liquids (ILs) immobilized on silica as novel high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) stationary phases have attracted considerable attention. However, it has not been applied to protein separation. In this paper, N-methylimidazolium IL-modified silica-based stationary phase (SilprMim) was prepared and investigated as a novel multi-interaction stationary phase charged positively for protein separation. The results indicate that all of the basic proteins tested cannot be absorbed on this novel stationary phase, whereas all of the acidic proteins tested can be retained, and the baseline separation of eight kinds of acidic protein standards can be achieved when performed in reversed phase/ ion-exchange chromatography (RPLC/IEC) mode. Compared with commonly used commercial octadecylated silica (ODS) column, the novel stationary phase can show selectivity and good resolution to acidic proteins, which has a promising application in the separation and analyses of acidic proteins from the complex samples in proteomics. In addition, the chromatographic behavior of proteins, the effect of the ligand structure and the retention mechanism on this stationary phase were also investigated.     

Integrated strong cation exchange/capillary reversed-phase liquid chromatography/on-target digestion coupled with mass spectrometry for identification of intact human liver tissue proteins

We present a comprehensive method for proteome analysis that integrates both intact protein separation and proteolytic fragment characterization mass spectrometric approaches. Strong cation exchange chromatography (SCX) was used as the first separation dimension and capillary reversed-phase liquid chromatography (cRPLC) was integrated as the second separation dimension. Fractions from SCX were collected offline and loaded onto cRPLC. Effluents from cRPLC were directly deposited onto the MALDI target plates and further digested by using a rapid on-probe tryptic digestion technique. This approach minimizes the amount of time and extensive labor required for traditional in-solution digestion followed by exhaustive sample cleanup and transfer. MALDI-TOF/TOF was used for subsequent analyses. The sensitivity of on-target digestion is showed by analyzing 0.07 ng of myoglobin, 0.07 ng of cytochrome c and 0.7 ng BSA. The high efficiency of the overall system was demonstrated by the analysis of intact proteins extracted from normal human liver tissue. In total, 458 proteins were identified, which proved the system's promising potential for analysis and application in proteomics.     

Affinity chromatography with monolithic capillary columns. II. Polymethacrylate monoliths with immobilized lectins for the separation of glycoconjugates by nano-liquid affinity chromatography

Monolithic capillary columns with surface bound lectin affinity ligands were introduced for performing lectin affinity chromatography (LAC) by nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC). Two kinds of polymethacrylate monoliths were prepared, namely poly(glycidyl methacrylateco-ethylene dimethacrylate) and poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate-co-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethyl ammonium chloride) to yield neutral and cationic macroporous polymer, respectively. Two lectins including concanavalin (Con A) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) were immobilized onto the monolithic capillary columns. The neutral monoliths with immobilized lectins exhibited lower permeability under pressure driven flow than the cationic monoliths indicating that the latter had wider flow-through pores than the former. Both types of monoliths with immobilized lectins exhibited strong affinity toward particular glycoproteins and their oligosaccharide chains (i.e., glycans) having sugar sequences recognizable by the lectin. Due to the strong binding affinity, the monoliths with surface bound lectins allowed the injection of relatively large volume (i.e., several column volumes) of dilute samples of glycoproteins and glycans thus allowing the concentration of the glycoconjugates and their subsequent isolation and detection at low levels (approximately 10(-8) M). To further exploit the lectin monoliths in the isolation of glycoconjugates, two-dimensional separation schemes involving LAC in the first dimension and reversed-phase nano-LC in the second dimension were introduced. The various interrelated methods established in this investigation are expected to play a major role in advancing the sciences of "nano-glycomics".     

Analysis of neutral and sialylatedN-liked oligosaccharides by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with addition of a divalent cation

Summary Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) has been investigated as an alternative mode of analyzing oligosaccharides released from glycoproteins. The influence on the separation of experimental parameters such as the concentrations of surfactant and electrolyte and the addition of divalent cations was examined. Solubilization, of neutral oligosaccharides by micelles was demonstrated whereas for the sialylated oligosaccharides the electrophoretic mobility remained the predominant factor. The addition of Mg⁺⁺ to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)solutions provided an effective means of enhancing the selectivioty of the separation through both an increase of the time window and the differential complexation of carbohydrate with this divalent cation.     

Electrically driven microseparation methods for pesticides and metabolites: III. Capillary electrochromatography with novel silica-based stationary phases having a surface-bound surfactant moiety

A silica-based stationary phase with surface bound silylpropyl trialkylammonium functions was introduced and evaluated in the capillary electrochromatography of alkylbenzenes and pesticides. This stationary phase is referred to as octadecyldimethyl(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl) ammonium-silica (ODAS) and has quaternary amine functions that generate an anodic electroosmotic flow (EOF) and octadecyl functions that are responsible for solute retention by a reversed-phase chromatography mechanism. The ODAS stationary phase was characterized over a wide range of elution conditions in term of EOF and retention behavior of alkylbenzene homologous series. The ODAS stationary phase proved useful in the separation of pesticides as well as in the on-column preconcentration of dilute pesticide samples, thus permitting the detection of solution at 7 x 10(-7) M using a UV detector.     

Preparation of polymeric monoliths by copolymerization of acrylate monomers with amine functionalities for anion-exchange capillary liquid chromatography of proteins

Two novel polymeric monoliths for anion-exchange capillary liquid chromatography of proteins were prepared in a single step by a simple photoinitiated copolymerization of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate and polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), or copolymerization of 2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride and PEGDA, in the presence of selected porogens. The resulting monoliths contained functionalities of diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) as a weak anion-exchanger and quaternary amine as a strong anion-exchanger, respectively. An alternative weak anion-exchange monolith with DEAE functionalities was also synthesized by chemical modification after photoinitiated copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and PEGDA. Important physical and chromatographic properties of the synthesized monoliths were characterized. The dynamic binding capacities of the three monoliths (24 mg/mL, 56 mg/mL and 32 mg/mL of column volume, respectively) were comparable or superior to values that have been reported for various other monoliths. Chromatographic performance was also similar to that provided by a modified poly(GMA-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolith. Separation of standard proteins was achieved under gradient elution conditions using these monolithic columns. Peak capacities of 34, 58 and 36 proteins were obtained with analysis times of 20–30 min. This work represents a successful attempt to prepare functionalized monoliths via direct copolymerization of monomers with desired functionalities. Compared to earlier publications, additional surface modifications were avoided and the PEGDA crosslinker helped to improve the biocompatibility of the monolithic backbone.     

强阳离子交换毛细管液相色谱-反相加压毛细管电色谱二维系统的构建及其在中药黄柏提取物分离中的应用

加压毛细管电色谱(pCEC)具有电泳和液相色谱的双重分离机理,其柱效高、选择性强、分辨率高和分离速度快并可进行梯度洗脱。我们在此基础上加入离子交换色谱模式,构建了强阳离子交换-反相加压毛细管液相色谱(micro strong cation exchange liquid chromatography/reversed phase pressurized capillary electrochromatography, μ-SCXLC/RP-pCEC)二维系统,并对中药黄柏的提取物进行了优化分离。第一维μ-SCXLC采用线性盐梯度分离,样品被切割成11个馏分洗脱收集后进入第二维,第二维脱盐后,采用RP-pCEC进行分离分析,梯度洗脱。以中药黄柏提取物为样品,此二维系统的分辨率和峰容量都较一维系统有很大提高,理论峰容量可达900左右,证明构建的二维体系非常适合复杂样品的分离分析。     

Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin modified micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence for separation and detection of phospholipids

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) with laser-induced fluorescence detection was applied to the separation of amino group-containing phospholipids including phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LysoPE), and lysophosphatidylserine (LysoPS). A fluorogenic dye, 3-(2-furoyl)quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (FQ), was successfully used to fluorescently label these phospholipids. 4-Fluoro-7-nitrobenzofurazan only produced fluorescent product from LysoPE and PE; signals were not observed from LysoPS and PS. A borax buffer containing sodium deoxycholate modified with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (methyl-beta-CD) was an excellent MECC system for these phospholipids. Under the optimum conditions, four FQ-labeled phospholipid classes were separated within 8 min. Moreover, each of the PE, PS, LysoPE and LysoPS peaks split into two components corresponding to subclasses with different lengths of the fatty acid chains, but these subclasses were completely resolved only for LysoPE. Detection limits ranged from 0.18 to 1.1 fg (10(-9) - 10(-10) M), which was four- to five-orders of magnitude superior to previously reported CE methods.     

Enantioselective strong cation-exchange molecular recognition materials: design of novel chiral stationary phases and their application for enantioseparation of chiral bases by nonaqueous capillary electrochromatography

New chiral stationary phases derived from enantiomerically pure derivatives of cysteine carrying sulfonic acid groups are synthesized and evaluated for enantiomer separation of chiral bases by non aqueous capillary electrochromatography after bonding to a linker and grafting upon thiol-modified silica particles. Structural modifications of these low molecular weight chiral selectors are investigated and discussed in terms of apparent enantioselectivities and resolution factors based on the enantiomeric separations of a set of chiral bases including beta-blockers, beta-sympathomimetics and other basic drugs. The influence of the mobile phase constitution and its flow velocity on the enantioseparation by nonaqueous capillary electrochromatography is also briefly evaluated and discussed for the chiral substances investigated.     

Silica-based monoliths for rapid peptide screening by capillary liquid chromatography hyphenated with electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Capillary liquid chromatography based on particulate and monolithic stationary phases was used to screen complex peptide libraries by fast gradient elution coupled on-line to electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICRMS). A slightly modified commercial electrospray interface consisting of a fused-silica transfer capillary and low dead volume stainless steel union at which the electrospray voltage was grounded enabled the effluent of all the capillary columns to be directly sprayed into the mass spectrometer. Stable electrospray conditions were generated over a wide range of mobile phase compositions, alleviating the need for a tapered end of the spray capillary, pneumatic assistance or preheated nebulizer gas. Since the identification of complex samples containing numerous isobaric substances is facilitated by chromatographic separation prior to mass spectrometry, stationary phase materials have been employed which offer a fast, efficient elution and, due to the complexity of samples, a high loading capacity. Silica-based monolithic capillary columns combine these three characteristics in a unique manner due to a tailored adjustment of both macro- and mesopore sizes in the highly porous silica structure. As we demonstrate by a comparative study of the silica-based monolithic and packed capillaries for LC/MS analysis of complex peptide libraries, silica monoliths show superior performance over packed beds of small-diameter particles with respect to analysis time and separation efficiency. Libraries with more than 1000 different peptides could be screened in less than 20 min.