Retention in coupled capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography with lipids as model compounds

Summary We have investigated to which extent retention data, acquired on single capillary columns, can be used for predicting retention factors in a coupled column system. For this purpose we utilized a model mixture of 18 lipid components with widely different vapor pressures and polarities. The sample was chromatographed on two columns, SB-biphenyl-30 (70% methyl-30% biphenylpolysiloxane) and SB-cyanopropyl-50 (50% methyl-50% cyanopropylsiloxane). Experimental retention factors, acquired in coupled column systems with two columns connected in different order, were thus compared with values calculated from runs on each single column. The agreement between calculated and experimental values generally was better than 5% without any pressure drop correction.To study the possibility of predicting retention behavior in a wide pressure range from a limited number of experiments, we also investigated the relation between solute retention and mobile phase density. We found that all data could be fitted to second order equations, which gives the possibility to optimize the resolution with respect to pressure from a limited number of runs at different pressures.     

Binary chromatographic retention times from perturbations in flowrate and composition

This work is a theoretical and experimental investigation of the binary retention time (t _step) when the disturbance is made to a chromatographic system by adding a small flow of one of the pure components. The established theory is for addition of a pulse: in this case, the retention time (t _pulse) depends on the two binary isotherm gradients, and should be independent of the choice of pulse gas. From the column material balance, the value of t _step also depends on the column pressure drop and perturbation gas—the value of t _step should always be greater for the more-adsorbed component. The theory has been validated from results on the nitrogen–argon–5A zeolite system at 25, 54 and 81 °C. For a 50% mixture at 25 °C with a column pressure drop of 0.1 bar, the values of t _step are 257 and 254 seconds for the nitrogen and argon perturbations. The values of t _step are different because addition of the perturbation flow causes a very small increase in average column pressure (about 0.5 mbar), which causes the binary isotherm gradients to be measured in (slightly) different directions along the isotherm surface. The intention is to determine the value of t _step for the case of a zero change in the average column pressure: experimentally, this would require a column with a zero pressure drop. The material balance shows that t _step for a column with a zero pressure drop is obtained from a simple weighted function of the values of t _step for the two pure-component perturbations. Accurate determination is essential because the “zero pressure drop” values are used to determine binary adsorption isotherms which are, of course, at a fixed pressure.     

The effects of the column pressure drop on retention and efficiency in packed and open tubular supercritical fluid chromatography

The effects of the pressure drop across the column on retention and efficiency in SFC have been studied. Numerical methods are described which enable the prediction of hold-up time and pressure drop in both packed and open tubular columns. Predictions of both hold-up time and pressure drop are in good agreement with experimental data. The density gradient along the column can be calculated using the numerical methods and a procedure is described which enables the calculation of the overall capacity factors of the solutes from the density profile in the column. Significant variations of the capacity factor are observed along the column. The effect of the density gradient along the column on local diffusivity and dispersion is studied. The column efficiency in systems with significant pressure drops is affected by changes in: the linear velocity of the mobile phase; the diffusion coefficients; and the capacity factors of the solutes along the column. The overall efficiency of the chromatographic system can be calculated if, as is the case for open tubular columns, adequate plate height equations are available.     

Selectivity tuning of serially coupled columns in high performance liquid chromatography

The tuning of selectivity by changing the flow rate has been investigated in HPLC: two columns with different retention characteristics were coupled in series via a T-piece and the relative retention of components chromatographed on the system were changed by varying the individual flow rates in the coupled columns. The flow rate alteration was performed by adding a second flow after the first column. The flow rate ratio necessary for optimum resolution can be easily calculated on the basis of the capacity factors measured on the individual columns. The performance of this method for adjusting selectivity has been demonstrated by using different column combinations to separate several mixtures containing chlorophenols, nitroaromatic compounds, and aromatic hydrocarbons.     

Effect of pressure drop on solute retention and column efficiency in supercritical fluid chromatography. Part 2: Modified carbon dioxide as mobile phase

The effect of pressure drop on the performance of supercritical fluid chromatography systems using a modified mobile phase (carbon dioxide + ethanol) was studied. Experiments were performed on a Lichrospher-RP-18 column with phenanthrene as a solute. A wide range of back pressures (130 to 210 bar) and modifier concentrations (2 to 7% w/w) have been explored. Experiments yielding both small and large pressure drops were performed. From these experiments, parameters to describe pressure drop, retention, and column efficiency were extracted, and were used to simulate the dynamics of the chromatographic column. A good match between the experimentally measured and calculated values of pressure drop, retention times, and column efficiency was observed. At low back pressure and modifier composition, significant loss of column efficiency was observed.     

Numerical modeling of the elution peak profiles of retained solutes in supercritical fluid chromatography

In supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), the significant expansion of the mobile phase along the column causes the formation of axial and radial gradients of temperature. Due to these gradients, the mobile phase density, its viscosity, its velocity, its diffusion coefficients, etc. are not constant throughout the column. This results in a nonuniform flow velocity distribution, itself causing a loss of column efficiency in certain cases, even at low flow rates, as they do in HPLC. At high flow rates, an important deformation of the elution profiles of the sample components may occur. The model previously used to account satisfactorily for the retention of an unsorbed solute in SFC is applied to the modeling of the elution peak profiles of retained compounds. The numerical solution of the combined heat and mass balance equations provides the temperature and the pressure profiles inside the column and values of the retention time and the band profiles of retained compounds that are in excellent agreement with independent experimental data for large value of mobile phase reduced density. At low reduced densities, the band profiles can strongly depend on the column axial distribution of porosity.     

Dependence of the efficiency of a capillary column in gas chromatography on the relative pressure of the carrier gas

The effect of relative pressure on the efficiency of an open capillary column in gas chromatography was studied. It was shown that the relative pressure was not the only parameter determining the column efficiency. The pressure drop in the column is an additional parameter. At high values of relative pressure, the pressure drop in the column becomes determining for the column efficiency. The smallest value of a height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) is achieved at the minimum values of the pressure drop and the relative pressure, which is accompanied by a decrease in the optimal flow rate of the carrier gas and an increase in the time of determination. The maximum improvement in the column efficiency is determined by the column properties and can exceed 12.5%, that is, the value predicted by Cramers for open capillary columns.     

Effects of high pressure in liquid chromatography

All the experimental parameters that the chromatographers are used to consider as constant (the column length and its diameter, the particle size, the column porosities, the phase ratio, the column hold-up volume, the pressure gradient along the column, the mobile phase density and its viscosity, the diffusion coefficients, the equilibrium constants, the retention factors, the efficiency parameters) depend on pressure to some extent. While this dependence is negligible as long as experiments, measurements, and separations are carried out under conventional pressures not exceeding a few tens of megapascal, it is no longer so when the inlet pressure becomes much larger and exceeds 100 MPa. Equations are developed to determine the extent of the influence of pressure on all these parameters and to account for it. The results obtained are illustrated with graphics. The essential results are that (1) many parameters depend on the inlet pressure, hence on the flow rate; (2) the apparent reproducibility of parameters as simple as the retention factor will be poor if measurements are carried out at different flow rates, unless due corrections are applied to the results; (3) the influence of the temperature on the equilibrium constants should be studied under constant inlet pressure rather than at a constant flow rate, to minimize the coupling effect of pressure and temperature through the temperature dependence of the viscosity; and (4) while reproducibility of results obtained at constant pressure and flow rate will not be affected, method development becomes far more complex because of the pressure dependence of everything.     

一种简单的制备反相电色谱柱的方法

 采用简便易行的方法自制内径为100 μm的电色谱柱,并考察了其性能,同时研究了磷酸盐缓冲液浓度、乙腈体积分数、电压、柱温对中性化合物保留行为的影响。     

Pressure drop effects on selectivity and resolution in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

The influence of pressure drop on retention, selectivity, plate height and resolution was investigated systematically in packed supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using pure carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. Numerical methods developed previously which enabled the prediction of pressure gradients, diffusivities, capacity factors, plate heights and resolutions along the length of the column were used for the model calculations. The effects of inlet pressure and supercritical fluid flow rate on selectivity and resolution are studied. In packed column SFC with pure carbon dioxide as the mobile phase, the pressure drop can have a significant effect on resolution. The flow rate is shown to have a larger effect than generally realized. The calculated data are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, the variation of the chromatographic parameters along a 5.5 meter long model SFC column is illustrated. The possibilities and limitations of using long packed columns in SFC are discussed. It is demonstrated that long columns with large plate numbers do not necessarily yield better separations.     

Numerical modeling of elution peak profiles in supercritical fluid chromatography. Part I—Elution of an unretained tracer

When chromatography is carried out with high-density carbon dioxide as the main component of the mobile phase (a method generally known as “supercritical fluid chromatography” or SFC), the required pressure gradient along the column is moderate. However, this mobile phase is highly compressible and, under certain experimental conditions, its density may decrease significantly along the column. Such an expansion absorbs heat, cooling the column, which absorbs heat from the outside. The resulting heat transfer causes the formation of axial and radial gradients of temperature that may become large under certain conditions. Due to these gradients, the mobile phase velocity and most physico-chemical parameters of the system (viscosity, diffusion coefficients, etc.) are no longer constant throughout the column, resulting in a loss of column efficiency, even at low flow rates. At high flow rates and in serious cases, systematic variations of the retention factors and the separation factors with increasing flow rates and important deformations of the elution profiles of all sample components may occur. The model previously used to account satisfactorily for the effects of the viscous friction heating of the mobile phase in HPLC is adapted here to account for the expansion cooling of the mobile phase in SFC and is applied to the modeling of the elution peak profiles of an unretained compound in SFC. The numerical solution of the combined heat and mass balance equations provides temperature and pressure profiles inside the column, and values of the retention time and efficiency for elution of this unretained compound that are in excellent agreement with independent experimental data.     

流动相的pH值和离子强度对牛血清蛋白高效液相色谱手性柱分离性能的影响

利用羰基咪唑-柱上衍生法制得牛血清蛋白(BSA)生物手性柱,并研究它在高效液相色谱中对3种对映异构体(色氨酸、匹多莫德及4-苯基-1,3-恶唑烷-2-硫酮(L-苯))的手性分离性能.实验结果表明:随着pH值从5.0上升到7.0,由于L-色氨酸与BSA有固定的作用位点,使得其保留值随着pH值的增加而大幅增大.而D-色氨酸与BSA无固定作用位点,其保留值随pH变化基本不变,分离度由1.15上升到8.91,增加了6.8倍;酸性样品匹多莫德与BSA主要是静电作用,与色氨酸相反,其对映体的保留值随着pH的增加逐渐减小,分离度逐渐下降,pH 7.0时为单峰,pH 5.0时Rs=1.27;中性样品L-苯的分离度随着pH值的增加有小幅增大.随着离子强度的减小,3对对映体的保留都增强,分离度增大,增加的幅度依次为色氨酸＞匹多莫德＞L-苯.     

Effects of the thermal heterogeneity of the column on chromatographic results

The influence of the thermal heterogeneity of HPLC columns on retention data was investigated. The retention factor of the retained compound phenol was measured at 24 increasing values of the flow rate, from 0.025 to 4.9 mL/min, on six different packing materials prepared with the same batch of silica particles (5 microm diameter, 90 A pore size). One column was packed with the neat silica particles, another with the silica endcapped with trimethylchlorosilane (TMS)(C(1), 3.92 micromol/m(2)), and the other four with silica first derivatized with octadecyl-dimethyl-chlorosilane (C(18), 0.42, 1.01, 2.03, and 3.15 micromol/m(2)), and second endcapped with TMS. Four different sources of heat contributing to raise the column temperature were considered: (1) the heat supplied by the hot high-pressure pump chamber to the solvent; (2) the adiabatic (dS=0) compression of the solvent in the high-pressure pump; (3) the isenthalpic (dH=0) decompression of the solvent during its migration along the porous chromatographic bed; and (4) the heat released by the friction of the solvent percolating through the column bed. The main contributions appear to be the heat supplied to the solvent by the HP pump and the friction heat. The average column temperature (ACT) was indirectly derived from the measurements of the first moment, mu(1), of phenol peak, of the column pressure drop, DeltaP, and of the retention factors of the phenol peak apices as a function of the flow rate applied. If the column is placed in a still-air bath at 298 K (and its temperature is not externally controlled), a longitudinal temperature gradient is established along the column and the average column temperature is about 6 K higher when this column is operated at 4.9 mL/min than when the flow rate is only 0.025 mL/min. If the column is placed in a heated air bath (temperature controlled at 316 or 338 K), the ACT changes by less than 3 K over the whole flow rate range applied.     

Sampling techniques for SFC using peak focusing by pressure and/or temperature programming

In analogy to the focusing effective in capillary GC, performed with temperature programming but also with sectional cooling of the column inlet as in multidimensional capillary GC, peak focusing can easily be attained in SFC by adjustment of the mobile phase pressure as well as the column temperature. This may be of practical use in connection with sampling techniques giving poor, i.e. broad and unsymmetrical, peak shapes. Such disturbances may occur, for example, in time controlled valve sampling over longer switching times. Generally, all other negative influences on peak shape can be suppressed or compensated by trapping within the column inlet. Special trapping devices and “retention gaps” may also be coupled to the column inlet in order to create narrow starting plug widths. Positive pressure (density) and negative temperature programs give rise to peak compression besides the increase of peak capacity of the separation.     

Capacity ratios and diffusion coefficients of low-volatile organic compounds in supercritical carbon dioxide from supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)

Capacity ratios k have been determined for phenyl myristate, phenyl palmitate and phenyl stearate from supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) at 35 to 56°C and 85 to 190 bar using supercritical CO₂ as mobile phase and Perisorb A and Perisorb RP8 as stationary phases. For the esters used a rise in pressure from 90 to 190 bar produces a drop of k by about two orders of magnitude giving evidence of the rapidly increasing solvent power of supercritical CO₂ with increasing density. At a constant CO₂ density, k decreases with increasing temperature. The separation of the esters was found to be the better the lower the pressure was.

An apparatus for the chromatographic determination of binary diffusion coefficients in supercritical gases is described. D₁₂ values for some organic compounds in carbon dioxide at 40°C and in the pressure range from 80 to 160 bar are presented. With an improved electronic flow regulator an overall precision of the D₁₂ values of ±3% is obtained.     

Theory of Fast Capillary Gas Chromatography Part 4: Column Performance vs.Liquid Film Thickness

The negative effect of the liquid stationary phase film thickness on the column efficiency is strongest for peaks with retention factors, k, in the vicinity of k = 0.3–0.4 and rapidly diminishes with the departure of k from that region. Additionally, at the high pressure drop required for fast analysis of complex mixtures, the negative effect of the same film thickness diminishes with the increase in column length, regardless of the k values. In practice, it is recommended to ignore the film thickness and optimize the columns as thin film ones regardless of their actual film thickness. Accounting for the film thickness results only in a modest improvement in the resolution for a few affected peaks – those with k = 0.3–0.4. However, this improvement comes at the cost of a substantial increase in analysis time, and should be used only as the action of the last resort.     

Chromatographic behaviour of selected steroids and their inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin on octadecylsilica stationary phases with different carbon loads

Retention and separation studies of selected estrogens, progestogens and their inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin were conducted using two C18 HPLC columns with different carbon loads. The difference in carbon load between investigated octadecylsilica packing materials was about 50%. The mobile phases were composed of a 30% v/v acetonitrile-water mixture without and with addition of beta-cyclodextrin at a concentration of 12 mM. The experimental data revealed that retention of the steroids was significantly reduced on the column with the lower carbon load. Moreover, it was found that this column offers better separation power and shorter analysis time at the temperatures studied. However, the calculated values of the retention factor ratios (k0(mMCD))/k(12mMCD)) of the steroids were similar for both columns investigated. This observation suggests that the stationary phase structure appears to have little effect on the formation of host-guest complexes if the complexation process is localised to the chromatographic mobile phase. From a practical point of view, when the mobile phase is modified with beta-cyclodextrin, the separation of the steroids is strongly influenced by temperature. The best chromatographic conditions were determined for the separation of multicomponent samples on the column with lower carbon load. A possible retention mechanism for components of interest in the presence of macrocyclic additives is discussed.     

Effect of the net surface charge density of heptakis-6-bromo-6-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin bonded silica gels on the retention behaviors of neutral cresol isomers in HPLC.

The effect of the surface charge density of heptakis-6-bromo-6-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD-BR) bonded silica gels, which was used as the stationary phase of a packed capillary column for HPLC, was investigated concerning the retention behaviors of neutral cresol isomers. On the whole, the retention factors of the cresol isomers increased with an increase in the pH values of the mobile phase, although they were slightly smaller at pH 6.1 than at pH 4.7. An investigation on the retention variation using a van't Hoff plot revealed that the increase in the retention factor (k) at a higher pH region could be mainly attributed to the increase in DeltaS, while a partial decrease in k around pH 5 - 6 was caused by a decrease in the -DeltaH/T value. On the other hand, a measurement of the electroosmotic flow velocity under various pH of the mobile phase solutions revealed that the retention variations of the neutral cresol isomers were strongly correlated with the surface charge on the packing materials. The positive charge of secondary ammonium functional groups to bind beta-CD-BR inhibit the insertion of the cresol isomers into the cavity of beta-CD-BR while reducing the retention factor, whereas the negative charge of silanol group enhanced it through a local change in the mobile phase composition.     

Flow Rate and Velocity of Ideal Gas in a Capillary Column with Uniform Permeability

When the column pressure drop is high, the average velocity of a carrier gas is proportional to the square root of the outlet velocity and the flow rate. Characteristic velocity, flow rate and pressure – the boundary conditions between low and high pressure drop regions – are introduced. Previously derived equations for average velocity vs. outlet velocity were modified to include the flow rate and to become more suitable for the separate studies of the low and high pressure drop regions.