Direct on-line coupling of small subcritical and supercritical fluid extractors with packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary A mini extractor of 85 L void volume and a micro extractor of 3–4 L void volume have been coupled directly with a packed column SFC and used under sub- and supercritical conditions. The mini extractor is suitable for holding adsorbates which can be on-line extracted and the extract chromatographed (direct SFE-SFC). The micro extractor can be used for direct sample introduction of liquid and solid materials under SF conditions. Thus any solvent interference with the sample and the chromatographic conditions is excluded. Standard samples of wood tar residue, engine oil, and metal organic compounds have been tested.     

On-line multidimensional supercritical fluid chromatography/capillary gas chromatography

A new analytical technique combining on-line supercritical fluid chromatography with capillary gas chromatography has been developed. The supercritical fluid sample effluent is decompressed through a restrictor directly into a conventional capillary gas chromatographic injection port. This technique allows for not only direct (100%) sample transfer from the supercritical fluid chromatograph to the gas chromatograph but also for selective or multi-step heartcutting of various sample peaks as they elute from the supercritical fluid chromatograph. Heartcut times are determined by monitoring the responses from the flame ionization or ultraviolet absorbance detectors on the supercritical fluid chromatograph. This report describes the operational setup and provides the results of heartcut reproducibility experiments using normal hydrocarbon and aromatic test mixtures. Results from studies where operational parameters were varied, such as GC injector temperature, will also be provided. The potential usefulness of this new technique for selective heartcutting will also be demonstrated using complex hydrocarbon streams.     

Feasibility of screening large aqueous samples for thermally unstable pesticides using high efficiency packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with multiple detectors

Summary Nearly 100 pesticides were eluted with good peak shapes from silica columns using methanol/carbon dioxide mobile phases. The pesticides included organophosphorus, organochlorine, phenylurea, sulfonylurea, triazine, carbamate and phenoxyacid pesticides, demonstrating the wide applicability of SFC to pesticide analysis. A subset of 31 pesticides were on-line extracted from large water samples, typically 10 to 20 ml, but up to 100 ml. The extracts were separated on a 1.6 meter long column packed with 5 μm particles, then detected simultaneously with a photodiode array UV detector plus an electron capture (ECD) and a nitrogen-phosphorus (NPD) detector. Recovery, reproducibility, linearity, response factors and detection limits were determined. Detection limits from a 5 ml water sample were in the range of 100 to 500 parts per trillion (1/10¹²). Larger samples appear capable of lowering these limits to below 10 ppt.     

Feasibility of screening large aqueous samples for thermally unstable pesticides using high efficiency packed column supercritical fluid chromatography with multiple detectors

Summary Nearly 100 pesticides were eluted with good peak shapes from silica columns using methanol/carbon dioxide mobile phases. The pesticides included organophosphorus, organochlorine, phenylurea, sulfonylurea, triazine, carbamate and phenoxyacid pesticides, demonstrating the wide applicability of SFC to pesticide analysis. A subset of 31 pesticides were on-line extracted from large water samples, typically 10 to 20 ml, but up to 100 ml. The extracts were separated on a 1.6 meter long column packed with 5 μm particles, then detected simultaneously with a photodiode array UV detector plus an electron capture (ECD) and a nitrogen-phosphorus (NPD) detector. Recovery, reproducibility, linearity, response factors and detection limits were determined. Detection limits from a 5 ml water sample were in the range of 100 to 500 parts per trillion (1/10¹²). Larger samples appear capable of lowering these limits to below 10 ppt.     

Low flow rate modifier addition in packed capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography

A new method to accurately deliver small amounts (0.5 to 20 mol%) of modifier into CO₂ was used to study the effects of three different modifiers (methanol, water, and formic acid) in packed capillary column SFC. The method allows the use of different modifiers, with minimal instrument modification. The effects of the different modifiers at different concentrations on retention and peak shape are shown by analyzing a polarity test mixture and a sample of free fatty acids.     

Small-scale preparative supercritical fluid chromatography of cyproterone acetate

Summary A method for the micropreparative fractionation of steroid hormones from process solutions was developed. Using a commercial SFC equipment and raw cyproterone acetate (CPA) as a model sample, we showed the value of SFC as a lab scale purification method and also its potential as an environmentally friendly approach to preparative scale chromatography.     

Aspects of retention behaviour of steroids in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary A selection of steroids of different polarities and different polar functional groups was investigated in terms of retention and elution profile. It was found that the apparent polarity of steroids is determined not only by the amount and the nature of polar functional groups but also by their intramolecular interactions, shielding effects and molecular shape due to the conformation of the molecule.     

Current technological challenges in capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

In cases where high efficiency is required to resolve complex mixtures of either thermally labile or nonvolatile organic compounds, capillary supercritical fluid chromatography may be the most desirable analytical method. While great strides in this new technology have been made over the last few years, several problem areas are requiring increased attention. These include sample introduction systems, pressure reduction at the end of the column, column stability in various supercritical mobile phases, and migration of polar solute molecules. This paper describes the state-of-the-art in capillary SFC with emphasis on the progress made and future needs in the solutions to these specific problems.     

Retention in capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) sometimes exhibits GC-like behavior and sometimes LC-like behavior, depending on conditions. However, it is not always clear whether one of these types of behavior, or a combination, operates for a particular set of conditions for every solute in a mixture. For example, some components may be partitioned mostly by their vapor pressures, while others, in the same mixture, are partitioned predominantly by solvent-like properties of the mobile phase. Plots of retetion (as log of the capacity factor) vs. reciprocal temperature at constant pressure reveal a clear change in the character of the separation of well-behaved solutes. A thermodynamic explanation of the observed behavior is given, based on the assumption that partitioning is controlled by the heats of solution of solute in the mobile and stationary phases. A model of SFC retention as it deviates from pure-GC behavior on the same column is presented.     

Fast supercritical fluid chromatography using capillaries packed with nonporous particles

Summary Packed columns containing microparticles provide high column efficiency per unit time and strong retention characteristics compared with open tubular columns, and they are favored for fast separations. Nonporous particles eliminate the contribution of solute mass transfer resistance in the intraparticle void volume characteristic of porous particles, and they should be more suitable for fast separations. In this paper, the evaluation of nonporous silica particles of sizes ranging from 5 to 25 μm in packed capillary columns for fast supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using neat CO₂ is reported. These particles were first deactivated using polymethyl-hydrosiloxanes and then encapsulated with a methylphenylpolysiloxane stationary phase. The retention factors, column efficiencies, column efficiencies per unit time, separation resolution, and separation resolution per unit time for fast SFC were determined for various length capillaries packed with various sizes of polymerencapsulated nonporous particles. It was found that 15 μm nonporous particles provided the highest column efficiency per unit time and resolution per unit time for fast packed capillary SFC. Under certain conditions, separations were completed in less than 1 min. Several thermally labile silylation reagent samples were separated in times less than 5 min. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

Abnormal composition of commerical waxes revealed by supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary The analysis of natural waxes is a complicated process because they occur as complex mixtures. A study using supercritical fluid chromatography with packed columns made it possible to observe the behavior of each family of hydrocarbons, fatty esters, alcohols, acids and triglycerides. The latter were then separated according to their function type and alkyl chain lengths using octadecyl silica as stationary phase. With a polar modifier added to the supercritical fluid, it was possible to analyse certain waxes. Composition anomalies were observed which related to an overabundance of certain compounds which, in excess, are harmful to the quality of waxes intended for use in cosmetics.     

Quantitative analysis of polymer additives in low density polyethylene using supercritical fluid extraction/supercritical fluid chromatography

Analysis of low concentration polymer additives has been a challenging problem. The commonly used methods of analysis involve the initial extraction of polymer additives with solvents, often in a Soxhlet apparatus, followed by liquid, size exclusion, or gas chromatography. This paper describes the on-line super-critical fluid extraction (SFE)-supercritical fluid chromatographic (SFC) determination of different additives from low density polyethylene. Cryogenic collection was used as an interface between SFE and SFC to focus the extraction eluate before transfer to an analytical SFC column for quantitative analysis.     

The effects of modifiers in supercritical fluid chromatography

Investigations have been initiated to examine the basic elements of resolution and how they vary individually and collectively in terms of modifiers used in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). Capacity factors (k′) have been determined for a mixture of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons from SFC experiments as function of modifier identity and concentration using different stationary phases. Using carbon dioxide as the primary mobile phase, the modifiers investigated included methanol, 2-methoxy ethanol, 1-propanol, tetrahydrofuran, dimethyl sulfoxide, acetonitrile, sulfur hexafluoride, and freon 11.     

Splitless injection in capillary supercritical fluid chromatography

A splitless injection technique, allowing 0.5 μl injections on 50 μm i.d. columns, has been developed.     

Sulfur hexafluoride as a mobile phase for supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary The capabilities of sulfur hexafluoride as a mobile phase for supercritical-fluid chromatography are investigated. An evaluation of its overall utility on the basis of separations of standard aromatic hydrocarbon odel mixtures performed on a variety of bonded-phase, packed columns with UV detection is presented. The dependence of separation performance upon operational parameters is also examined. A comparative evaluation of the chroamtographic properties of supercitrical sulfur hexafluoride and those of supercritical carbon dioxide is developed from these separations under corresponding supercritical state conditions.     

Use of various filters for generating modified supercritical fluid mobile phases

Summary Adding various components to supercritical carbon dioxide in supercritical fluid chromatography can extend or significantly alter the solvating properties. Polar samples which are difficult to analyze with pure supercritical CO₂ because of their high polarity can be separated by addidng polar modifiers. In this paper, a new mixing method using an HPLC filter for adding polar modifier to CO₂ is described. Although several filters were tried, only one could keep the amount of modifier in the mobile phase constant for a long time. The amount of water or methanol dissolved in supercritical CO₂ was measured by an amperometric microsensor made of a thin film of perfluorosulfonate ionomer (PFSI).     

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.     

Packed column supercritical fluid chromatography of isomeric polypeptide pairs

The characterization and determination of peptides is of great importance in the pharmaceutical industry as is the ability to rapidly perform targeted determinations of bioactive peptides in complex matrices. The purpose of the presented work is to assess the feasibility of packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) for the separation of two-pairs of water soluble peptides of identical mass, composition and charge that differ only in amino acid sequence. Upon evaluating a variety of conditions, trifluoroacetic acid (HTFA) in conjunction with methanol as the modifier proved to be, in general, the most successful mobile phase additive for elution of the two isomeric peptide pairs from all nitrogenous stationary phases. In contrast, water and ammonium acetate gave distorted peak shapes and therefore proved to be less satisfactory as neutral additives. The basic additive, iso-propylamine (IPAm), coupled with HA-Pyridine yielded the highest resolution factor for the complete study. Aminopropyl and HA-Pyridine columns with 5 μm particle size and 60 Å pore size were found to be best for resolution of each peptide pair. Bare silica and phenyl-hexyl stationary phases did not afford any separation. The primary roles of the carbon dioxide and methanol modifier are believed to provide (a) stationary phase solvation and (b) peptide solubility and transport; while, HTFA is postulated to fully protonate each peptide and form ion pairs between its conjugate base and cationic peptide analyte. The separation process, therefore, is best viewed as ion pair supercritical fluid chromatography (IP-SFC). For the case where IPAm gave good resolution on the HA-Pyridine column, the peptides are probably in the neutral state.     

Some practical experiences in the use of a solventless injection system for packed column supercritical fluid chromatography

The operating characteristics of a solventless injector for packed column supercritical fluid chromatography are described. Successful operation depends on the difference between the volatilities of the analytes and the solvent or matrix being sufficient for their separation by gas purging in a thermostatted precolumn, and also on the existence of an effective re-focusing mechanism at the head of the analytical column for the sample dissolved in liquid or supercritical fluid carbon dioxide. The latter is easily achieved in density programmed operation by stationary phase trapping at low fluid densities or phase ratio trapping by changing the temperature at low to moderate fluid densities. The solventless injector can easily accommodate sample volumes from 1–100 μl and is easily adapted for in-line derivatization using reagents which can, after reaction, be eliminated by gas purging. For general purposes the solventless injector can be used to overcome most of the problems encountered when rotary valve loop injectors are used with small bore packed columns, and will probably replace this type of injector as the injector of choice for supercritical fluid chromatography with mobile phases of low polarity.