Determination of the pH of binary mobile phases for reversed-phase liquid chromatography

The measurement of pH in chromatographic mobile phases has been a constant subject of discussion during many years. The pH of the mobile phase is an important parameter that determines the chromatographic retention of many analytes with acid-base properties. In many instances a proper pH measurement is needed to assure the accuracy of retention-pH relationships or the reproducibility of chromatographic procedures. Three different methods are common in pH measurement of mobile phases: measurement of pH in the aqueous buffer before addition of the organic modifier, measurement of pH in the mobile phase prepared by mixing aqueous buffer and organic modifier after pH calibration with standard solutions prepared in the same mobile phase solvent, and measurement of pH in the mobile phase prepared by mixing aqueous buffer and organic modifier after pH calibration with aqueous standard solutions. This review discusses the different pH measurement and calibration procedures in terms of the theoretical and operational definitions of the different pH scales that can be applied to water-organic solvent mixtures. The advantages and disadvantages of each procedure are also presented through chromatographic examples. Finally, practical recommendations to select the most appropriate pH measurement procedure for particular chromatographic problems are given.     

Chromatographic evaluation using basic solutes of the silanol activity of stationary phases based on poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto silica

The chromatographic behaviors of some basic solutes were evaluated on stationary phases based on poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto silica (PMOS-SiO(2)). The test solutes present both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties. Evaluations of the pH effect used 80:20 v/v methanol/buffered mobile phase over the pH range of 5-11.5 with inorganic buffers such as borate, carbonate and phosphate and with organic buffers such as citrate, tricine and triethylamine. Evaluations in acidic mobile phases used 50:50 v/v and 30:70 v/v methanol/buffer (pH 2.5; 20 mmol/L) mobile phases. The buffer concentration effect used 65:35 v/v methanol/phosphate (pH 7; 20 and 100 mmol/L) mobile phases. The results are compared with those obtained with two chemically bonded stationary phases. The immobilized phases show greater contributions from an ion-exchange mechanism than do the commercial phases. The results indicate that the silanol activity of PMOS-SiO(2) stationary phases can be adequately evaluated by using appropriate basic probes and mobile phases having different pH, using different buffers.     

Effect of analyte lipophilicity on the resolution of α‐ and β‐amino acids on liquid chromatographic ligand exchange chiral stationary phases

Separation of the two enantiomers of racemic α‐ and β‐amino acids on two ligand exchange chiral stationary phases (CSPs) prepared previously by covalently bonding sodium N‐((S)‐1‐hydroxymethy‐3‐methylbutyl)‐N‐undecylaminoacetate or sodium N‐((R)‐2‐hydroxy‐1‐phenylethyl)‐N‐undecylaminoacetate on silica gel was studied with variation of the organic modifier (methanol) concentration in the aqueous mobile phase. In particular, the variation of retention factors with changing organic modifier concentration in the aqueous mobile phase was found to be strongly dependent on both the analyte lipophilicity and the stationary phase lipophilicity. In general, the retention factors of relatively lipophilic analytes on relatively lipophilic CSPs tend to increase with increasing organic modifier concentration in the aqueous mobile phases while those of less lipophilic or hydrophilic analytes tend to increase. However, only highly lipophilic analytes show decreasing retention factors with increasing organic modifier concentration in the aqueous mobile phase on less lipophilic CSPs. The contrasting retention behaviors on the two CSPs were rationalized by the balance of the two competing interactions, viz. hydrophilic interaction of analytes with polar aqueous mobile phase and the lipophilic interaction of analytes with the stationary phase.     

高效液相色谱法测定面粉及面粉制品中乙二胺四乙酸二钠的含量

在未使用离子对试剂和高盐缓冲液条件下,采用亲水性C_(18)反相液相色谱柱,以甲醇-水体系为流动相,建立了面粉及面粉制品中乙二胺四乙酸二钠含量的高效液相色谱测定方法。样品采用水溶液提取,在超声辅助下与三氯化铁反应生成稳定的衍生产物,用三氯甲烷净化衍生产物。采用高效液相色谱法以pH 4.0甲醇-水溶液(10∶90,体积比)为流动相,亲水性C_(18)反相液相色谱柱为固定相,260 nm波长下测定面粉及面粉制品中乙二胺四乙酸二钠含量。乙二胺四乙酸二钠的质量浓度在1.0~50.0 mg/L范围内呈良好的线性关系,其相关系数为0.999 6,检出限为3.0 mg/kg,定量下限为10.0 mg/kg。面粉样品添加浓度在10.0~200 mg/kg范围内,加标回收率为95.0%~103%,相对标准偏差为4.0%~6.3%,可满足面粉及面制品中乙二胺四乙酸二钠的快速检测和定量分析要求。     

Reversed-phase separation of basic tricyclic antidepressants using buffered and fluoroform-enhanced fluidity liquid mobile phases

In an effort to expand the range of applications of enhanced-fluidity liquid chromatography (EFLC) to strongly polar and basic analytes, fluoroform (CHF3) was investigated as a fluidity-enhancing agent. Fluoroform was chosen due to its high polarity, low viscosity and chemical inertness toward water and basic analytes. A group of representative basic compounds, tricyclic antidepressants, covering a wide range of polarity was chosen as model compounds. Their retention behavior on a C18 stationary phase in methanol/phosphate buffer and methanol/phosphate buffer/CHF3 mobile phases was characterized. The chromatographic performance with mobile phase conditions of different pH, with and without CHF3 addition and with addition of triethylamine was studied. The advantages of using CHF3 enhanced and buffered mobile phases were shown in the much improved chromatographic performance, such as shortened analysis time, increased efficiency, lower pressure drop and improved selectivity. Furthermore, this study demonstrated for the first time, that a commercial instrument could be readily utilized for EFLC separations which greatly expands the application range of the EFLC technique and chromatographic instrumentation.     

Explanation for the enhanced dissolution of silica column packing in high pH phosphate and carbonate buffers

It has been reported that at high pH, the rate of bonded phase packing degradation in methanol/water mobile phases is greater for carbonate and phosphate buffers than for amine buffers. This conclusion was based on buffer pH determined in the aqueous buffer before dilution with methanol. Changes in buffer species pKa, and therefore buffer pH, upon methanol dilution are consistent with the observed degradation results. Measurements of pH in the methanol/water solutions confirm that the carbonate and phosphate buffers were considerably more basic than the amine buffer, even though all the buffers were pH 10 before dilution with methanol. These results demonstrate that it can be misleading to extrapolate aqueous pH data to partially aqueous solutions. Measurements of pH in the mixed solvent provide more reliable predictions of column and sample stability.     

Retention of ionizable compounds on high-performance liquid chromatography. VII. Characterization of the retention of ionic solutes in a C18 column by mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization

The elution of ions from a C₁₈ column with mobile phases containing methanol (60%, v/v) and aqueous buffers is studied by mass spectrometry. It is demonstrated that the anions are excluded from the stationary phase by the ionized silanols. However, the ionized silanols interact strongly with cations, which are retained in the column. These cations are later eluted from the column by ion exchange with the cations present in the pH buffered mobile phase. The size of the ions, the mobile phase cation concentration and the mobile phase pH are the main parameters that affect elution of the retained cations. It is also demonstrated that there are at least two different types of ionizable silanols, with different acidities, that contribute to the retention of cations. An estimate of the pK_a values of these two groups of silanols in 60% methanol is given.     

Retention of ionizable compounds on high-performance liquid chromatography: VII. Characterization of the retention of ionic solutes in a C18 column by mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization

The elution of ions from a C₁₈ column with mobile phases containing methanol (60%, v/v) and aqueous buffers is studied by mass spectrometry. It is demonstrated that the anions are excluded from the stationary phase by the ionized silanols. However, the ionized silanols interact strongly with cations, which are retained in the column. These cations are later eluted from the column by ion exchange with the cations present in the pH buffered mobile phase. The size of the ions, the mobile phase cation concentration and the mobile phase pH are the main parameters that affect elution of the retained cations. It is also demonstrated that there are at least two different types of ionizable silanols, with different acidities, that contribute to the retention of cations. An estimate of the pK_a values of these two groups of silanols in 60% methanol is given.     

Effect of chromatographic conditions on the separation and system efficiency for HPLC of selected alkaloids on different stationary phases

Retention parameters of alkaloid standards were determined on different stationary phases, i.e., octadecyl silica, base-deactivated octadecyl silica, cyanopropyl silica, preconditioned cyanopropyl silica, and pentafluorophenyl, using different aqueous eluant systems: acetonitrile-water mixtures; buffered aqueous mobile phases at pH 3 or 7.8; and aqueous eluants containing ion-pairing reagents (octane-1-sulfonic acid sodium salt and pentane-1-sulfonic acid sodium salt) or silanol blockers (tetrabutyl ammonium chloride and diethylamine). Improved peak symmetry and separation selectivity for basic solutes was observed when basic buffer, ion-pairing reagents, and, especially, silanol blockers as mobile phase additives were applied. The best separation selectivity and most symmetric peaks for the investigated alkaloids were obtained in systems containing diethylamine in the mobile phase. The influence of acetonitrile concentration and kind and concentration of ion-pairing reagents or silanol blockers on retention, peak symmetry, and system efficiency was also examined. The most efficient and selective systems were used for separation of the investigated alkaloids and analysis of Fumaria officinalis and Glaucium flavum plant extracts.     

Overloaded elution band profiles of ionizable compounds in reversed‐phase liquid chromatography: Influence of the competition between the neutral and the ionic species

The parameters that affect the shape of the band profiles of acido‐basic compounds under moderately overloaded conditions (sample size less than 500 nmol for a conventional column) in RPLC are discussed. Only analytes that have a single pK_a are considered. In the buffer mobile phase used for their elution, their dissociation may, under certain conditions, cause a significant pH perturbation during the passage of the band. Two consecutive injections (3.3 and 10 μL) of each one of three sample solutions (0.5, 5, and 50 mM) of ten compounds were injected on five C₁₈‐bonded packing materials, including the 5 μm Xterra‐C₁₈ (121 Å), 5 μm Gemini‐C₁₈ (110 Å), 5 μm Luna‐C₁₈(2) (93 Å), 3.5 μm Extend‐C₁₈ (80 Å), and 2.7 μm Halo‐C₁₈ (90 Å). The mobile phase was an aqueous solution of methanol buffered at a constant _W^WpH of 6, with a phosphate buffer. The total concentration of the phosphate groups was constant at 50 mM. The methanol concentration was adjusted to keep all the retention factors between 1 and 10. The compounds injected were phenol, caffeine, 3‐phenyl 1‐propanol, 2‐phenyl butyric acid, amphetamine, aniline, benzylamine, p‐toluidine, procainamidium chloride, and propranololium chloride. Depending on the relative values of the analyte pK_a and the buffer solution pH, these analytes elute as the neutral, the cationic, or the anionic species. The influence of structural parameters such as the charge, the size, and the hydrophobicity of the analytes on the shape of its overloaded band profile is discussed. Simple but general rules predict these shapes. An original adsorption model is proposed that accounts for the unusual peak shapes observed when the analyte is partially dissociated in the buffer solution during its elution.     

Retention of ionisable compounds on high-performance liquid chromatography XVI. Estimation of retention with acetonitrile/water mobile phases from aqueous buffer pH and analyte pKa

In agreement with our previous studies and those of other authors, it is shown that much better fits of retention time as a function of pH are obtained for acid-base analytes when pH is measured in the mobile phase, than when pH is measured in the aqueous buffer when buffers of different nature are used. However, in some instances it may be more practical to measure the pH in the aqueous buffer before addition of the organic modifier. Thus, an open methodology is presented that allows prediction of chromatographic retention of acid-base analytes from the pH measured in the aqueous buffer. The model presented estimates the pH of the buffer and the pKa of the analyte in a particular acetonitrile/water mobile phase from the pH and pKa values in water. The retention of the analyte can be easily estimated, at a buffer pH close to the solute pKa, from these values and from the retentions of the pure acidic and basic forms of the analyte. Since in many instances, the analyte pKa values in water are not known, the methodology has been also tested by using Internet software, at reach of many chemists, which calculates analyte pKa values from chemical structure. The approach is successfully tested for some pharmaceutical drugs.     

Enhanced fluidity liquid chromatography for hydrophilic interaction separation of nucleosides

The application of enhanced fluidity liquid (EFL) mobile phases to improving isocratic chromatographic separation of nucleosides in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode is described. The EFL mobile phase was created by adding carbon dioxide to a methanol/buffer solution. Previous work has shown that EFL mobile phases typically increase the efficiency and the speed of the separation. Herein, an increase in resolution with the addition of carbon dioxide is also observed. This increase in resolution was achieved through increased selectivity and retention with minimal change in separation efficiency. The addition of CO₂ to the mobile phase effectively decreases its polarity, thereby promoting retention in HILIC. Conventional organic solvents of similar nonpolar nature cannot be used to achieve similar results because they are not miscible with methanol and water. The separation of nucleosides with methanol/aqueous buffer/CO₂ mobile phases was also compared to that using acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases. A marked decrease in the necessary separation time was noted for methanol/aqueous buffer/CO₂ mobile phases compared to acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases. There was also an unusual reversal in the elution order of uridine and adenosine when CO₂ was included in the mobile phase.     

Chromatography of substituted benzoic acids with methanol-water-carbon dioxide mixtures.

The impact of the proportion of CO2 concentration in methanol-water-CO2 mobile phases on the separation of several substituted benzoic acids was explored by studying the variation of retention with mobile phase pH in these mixtures. As the amount of CO2 in methanol-aqueous buffer-CO2 mixtures increased, a more basic buffer was needed to control the dissociation of these acids. Differences in terms of retention, separation efficiency and peak asymmetry were shown for substituted benzoic acids with methanol-water-CO2 and methanol-aqueous buffer-CO2 mixtures. Variations of these chromatographic parameters with mobile phase pH were related to the dissociation of these acids and their interaction with methanol-aqueous buffer-CO2 mobile phases and the stationary phase. The addition of a buffer into methanol-aqueous solution-CO2 was an effective means to optimize separations of acidic analytes with high fluidity liquid mobile phases. The substituted benzoic acids had baseline separation in the least amount of time using the high fluidity liquid mobile phases.     

Investigation of the novel mixed-mode stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography. II. Separation of amino acids and peptides on sulfonated naphthalimido-modified silyl silica gel

The potential of 3-(4-sulfo-1,8-naphthalimido)propyl-modified silyl silica gel (SNAIP) as a mixed-mode stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) was investigated for the separation of charged analytes, taking four amino acids (tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine) as model analytes. The elution process of these charged analytes in CEC with SNAIP was dominated by a combination of both electrophoretic process and chromatographic process involving hydrophobic as well as electrostatic interactions. In order to study the retention mechanism, the CEC retention factor k* and the velocity factor ke* were measured for the amino acids, which allowed the assessment of the respective contribution from the differential processes underlying the separation. Migration and retention could be mediated by changing various mobile phase compositions, including buffer pH, buffer concentration, and concentration of organic solvent. Based on the results obtained by separation of the amino acids, the separation of eight peptides (Gly-Val, Gly-Phe, Gly-Ile, Gly-His, Gly-Lys, Lys-Lys, Gly-Gly-Gly, Gly-Gly-His) was attempted. A good separation was achieved under an isocratic elution with a mobile phase consisting of 35 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.8) and 40% methanol.     

Fluoroalcohols as novel buffer components for basic buffer solutions for liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: retention mechanisms

Two fluoroalcohols--1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methyl-2-propanol (HFTB)--were evaluated as volatile buffer acids in basic mobile phases for LC-ESI-MS determination of acidic and basic compounds. HFIP and HFTB as acidic buffer components offer interesting possibilities to adjust retention behavior of different analytes and expand the currently rather limited range of ESI-compatible buffer systems for basic mobile phases. Comparing with commonly used basic buffer components the fluoroalcohols did not suppress the ionization of the analytes, for several analytes ionization enhancement was observed. RP chromatographic retention mechanisms were evaluated and compared to traditional buffer system. All trends in retention of the acidic and basic analytes can be interpreted by the following model: the neutral fluoroalcohols are quite strongly retained by the stationary phase whereas their anions are less retained, thus their amount on the stationary phase is dependent on mobile phase pH; the anions of the fluoroalcohols form ion pairs in the mobile phase with the basic analytes; the fluoroalcohols on the stationary phase surface compete with acidic analytes thereby hindering their retention; the fluoroalcohols on the stationary phase bind basic analytes thereby favoring their retention.     

Separation of enantiomers by nanoliquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography using a bonded cellulose trisphenylcarbamate stationary phase

A cellulose trisphenylcarbamate-bonded chiral stationary phase was applied to nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with nonaqueous and aqueous solutions as the mobile phases. Several chiral compounds were successfully resolved on the prepared phase by nano-LC. The applicability of nonaqueous CEC on a cellulose derivative stationary phase was investigated with the organic solvents methanol, hexane, 2-propanol, and tetrahydrofuran (THF) containing acetic acid, as well as triethylamine as the mobile phases. Enantiomers of warfarin and praziquantel were baseline-resolved with plate numbers of 82,300 and 38,800 plates/m, respectively, for the first eluting enantiomer. The influence of applied voltage, concentration of nonpolar solvent, apparent pH, and buffer concentration in the mobile phase on the electroosmotic flow (EOF) and the mobility of the enantiomers was evaluated. Enantioseparations of trans-stilbene oxide and praziquantel were also achieved in aqueous CEC with plate numbers of 111,100 and 107,400 plates/m, respectively, for the first eluting enantiomer. A comparison between nonaqueous CEC and aqueous CEC based on a cellulose trisphenylcarbamate stationary phase was discussed. Pressure-assisted CEC was examined for the chiral separation of praziquantel and faster analysis with high enantioselectivity was acquired with the proper pressurization of the inlet vial.     

Relationships between LC retention, octanol-water partition coefficient, and fungistatic properties of 2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)benzothiazoles

The retention behavior of newly synthesized compounds with antimycotic activity from the 2-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole group by high-performance liquid chromatography has been investigated. RP-18 stationary phase and methanol-acetate buffer aqueous mobile phases at pH 4 and 7.4 have been used. In the case of the mobile phase at pH 7.4, higher concentrations of water can be applied than at pH 4. The studied compounds showed regular retention behavior, their log k values decreasing linearly with an increasing concentration of methanol in the mobile phase. On the basis of these relationships, the lipophilicity (log kw), specific hydrophobic surface area (S), and isocratic chromatographic hydrophobicity index (psi0) were determined. Similar log kw values and sensitivity to changes in the structure of compounds studied for both mobile phases have been found. Moderate correlations between the chromatographic parameters and the calculated octanol-water log P values were found. Finally, the lipophilicity parameters were compared with the fungistatic properties of compounds expressed by log MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) values to find quantitative structure activity relationship equations.