Continuous‐Bed Columns Containing Sol‐Gel Bonded Packing Materials for Capillary Electrochromatography

Sol‐gel bonded packing materials in continuous‐bed columns have been prepared for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). Three packing materials were investigated: small‐pore Spherisorb ODS1 (3 μm, 80 Å) with octadecyl as stationary phase, small‐pore mixed‐mode Spherisorb ODS/SCX (3 μm, 80 Å) with octadecyl and propyl sulfonic acid as stationary phases, and large‐pore Nucleosil ODS (7 μm, 1 400 Å) with octadecyl as stationary phase. The characteristics of these columns were compared in terms of electroosmotic flow, efficiency, inertness, and retention factors. In contrast to columns containing sol‐gel bonded ODS, columns containing sol‐gel bonded mixed‐mode ODS/SCX generated nearly pH independent electroosmotic flow (EOF) over pH 2–9. Columns containing sol‐gel bonded large‐pore ODS produced nearly three times lower reduced plate height than those containing small‐pore ODS. Efficiencies of 220,000 plates per meter and 175,000 plates per meter were obtained from columns containing sol‐gel bonded 7 μm, 1 400 Å ODS and columns containing sol‐gel bonded 3 μm, 80 Å ODS, respectively, which are among the highest reported efficiencies for continuous‐bed columns. In CEC, over one million plates per meter and pH independent EOF are expected from continuous‐bed columns containing sol‐gel bonded 1.5 μm particles with large pores and mixed‐mode stationary phases.     

HPLC of basic drugs using non‐aqueous ionic eluents: evaluation of a 3 μm strong cation‐exchange material

HPLC columns packed with 3 μm particle size HPLC Technology Techsphere SCX (propylsulfonic acid‐modified) silica offer considerable advantages over 5 μm SCX packings in the analysis of basic drugs using 100% methanol eluents containing an ionic modifier such as ammonium perchlorate. The basic drugs studied included clozapine and norclozapine, olanzapine, quinine and quinidine, and amitriptyline, nortriptyline, imipramine and desipramine. The 3 μm column was not only more efficient for a given column length compared with 5 μm materials, but also elution times were less, a phenomenon observed in reversed‐phase systems. The high efficiencies and excellent peak shapes obtained with the 3 μm SCX‐modified packing together with the relatively low back‐pressures attained show that such materials deserve serious consideration by laboratories involved in the analysis of basic drugs. Manufacturers should offer such packings as a matter of routine. Alternative ionic modifiers such as ammonium acetate are available for use with mass spectrometric detection if required. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The efficient analysis of neutral and highly polar pharmaceutical compounds using reversed-phase and ion-exchange electrochromatography

Summary Highly polar compounds, such as tricyclic antidepressants are very difficult to analyse by electrochromatography with conventional reversed-phase silica-based chromatography packings. At high pH (high electroosmotic flow) the test compounds were not eluted from a Spherisorb ODS-1 column, as a result of strong interactions between the analyte and residual silanol groups on the packing material. By lowering the pH of the mobile phase, whereby the highly basic test compounds become positively charged, it was possible to elute the samples but only with severe peak tailing. Because the electroosmotic flow was greatly reduced, the elution time for neutral species became prohibitively long. By use of a strong cation exchanger in place of C₁₈-silica it was found possible to resolve a series of highly basic compounds with very high efficiencies, with very little evidence of peak tailing. Plate numbers in excess of 8 million per metre were observed.     

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.     

Spectroscopic studies on the inclusion interaction of p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene with vitamin B6

The formation of the inclusion complex of p-sulfonatocalix[6]arene (SCX6) with different forms of vitamin B₆ (VB₆) was studied by using fluorescence spectroscopy. VB₆ can exist in one of three forms (the acidic form, neutral zwitterionic form and basic form) depending on pH. The fluorescence intensities of acidic and basic forms of VB₆ remarkably decreased in presence of SCX6. SCX6 preferred to form 1:1 inclusion complexes with acidic and basic forms of VB₆ but hardly form inclusion complex with neutral zwitterionic form. According to the nonlinear curve fitting method, the inclusion constant (K) for the formation of inclusion complexes of acidic and basic forms of VB₆ with SCX6 were evaluated to be 1.4?×?10⁴ and 9?×?10³ L/mol, respectively. The binding affinity of SCX6 towards acidic form is attributed to hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interaction, furthermore, additional electrostatic interaction also plays a crucial role. The possible inclusion mode was given by ¹H NMR technique.     

Basic drug analysis by strong cation-exchange liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry: simultaneous analysis of amisulpride, and of metamfetamine and amfetamine in serum/plasma

In the HPLC of basic drugs and metabolites, good efficiency and peak shape can often be attained using strong cation‐exchange packings with isocratic 100% methanol eluents containing an ionic modifier at an appropriate pH* and ionic strength. Solvent extracts can be analysed directly, and use of ammonium acetate as modifier facilitates the use of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)–tandem mass spectrometry, selected reaction monitoring mode. For the analysis of amisulpride and of metamfetamine/amfetamine in plasma (200 µL) after single oral doses in man, a column packed with Waters Spherisorb S5SCX (5 µm average particle size, 100 × 2.1 mm i.d.) was used with methanolic ammonium acetate (40 mmol/L, pH* 6.0, flow rate 0.5 mL/min) as eluent (35°C). Deuterated internal standards were used for each analyte. Detection was by positive‐mode APCI. Responses for all analytes were linear over the calibration ranges. Intra‐assay precision (RSD) was 2–18%, and inter‐assay precision was 2–12%. The limit of detection was 0.5 µg/L for all analytes. No significant matrix effects or isobaric interferences were noted. The total analysis time was 7 min. Similar methodology can be applied to a wide range of basic analytes using MS/MS detection. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and evaluation of n-octadecylphosphonic acid-modified magnesia-zirconia stationary phases for reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Three n-octadecylphosphonic acid-modified magnesia-zirconia reversed stationary phases (C₁₈PZM) are prepared via the strong Lewis base interactions between organophosphonate and magnesia-zirconia composite. And two of them are end-capped by using trimethylchlorosilane as end-capping agent in different procedures. Stability studies at extreme high pH conditions (pH 9-12) show that both the non-endcapped and endcapped columns are quite stable at pH 12 mobile phase. The reversed-phase liquid chromatographic behavior of three C₁₈PZM stationary phases are comparatively investigated in detail using a variety of basic compounds as probes. The retention of basic compounds on the three phases is studied over a wide range of pHs. And the possible retention mechanisms of basic compounds on the three stationary phases are discussed. The results show that the basic solutes retain by a hydrophobic and cation-exchange interaction mixed mechanism on three stationary phases when they are operated in eluents at pH values near to the pK_a of the Brönsted conjugate acid form of the analyte, suggesting that inherent zirconol groups on ZM are not expected to interact with bases via cation-exchange interaction at lower pH. Nonetheless, the non-endcapped phase differs markedly from the edncapped ones in retention and selectivity of basic solutes using eluents at pH 4.1, implying a complex retention mechanism at this pH. The cation-exchange sites under such conditions are more likely due to the adsorbed Lewis base anionic buffer constituents (acetate) on accessible ZM surface sites than the chemisorbed phosphonate. Although the three phases exhibit very similar chromatographic behavior with eluents at pH 10.1, and show in general satisfactory separation of basic compounds and alkaloids studied, the performance for a specific analyte, however, differs largely from column to column.     

Retention and selectivity effects caused by bonding of a polar urea-type ligand to silica: a study on mixed-mode retention mechanisms and the pivotal role of solute-silanol interactions in the hydrophilic interaction chromatography elution mode

The separation properties of five silica packings bonded with 1-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]urea in the range of 0–3.67 μmol m⁻² were investigated in the hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) elution mode. An increase of the ligand surface density promoted retention of non-charged polar compounds and even more so for acids. An opposite trend was observed for bases, while the amphoteric compound tyrosine exhibited a U-shaped response profile. An overall partitioning retention mechanism was incompatible with these observations; rather, the substantial involvement of adsorptive interactions was implicated. Support for the latter was provided by column-specific changes in analyte retention and concomitant selectivity effects due to variations of salt concentration, type of salt, pH value, organic modifier content, and column temperature. Silica was more selective for separating compounds differing in charge state (e.g. tyramine vs. 4-hydroxybenzoic acid), while in cases where structural differences of solutes resided in non-charged polar groups (e.g. tyramine vs. 5-hydroxydopamine, nucleoside vs. nucleobase) more selective separations were obtained on bonded phases. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the home-made urea-type and three commercial amide-type bonded packings evinced considerable differences in separation properties. The present data emphasise that the role of the packing material under HILIC elution conditions is hardly just the polar support for a dynamic coating with a water-enriched layer. Three major retention mechanisms are claimed to be relevant on bare silica and the urea-type bonded packings: (i) HILIC-type partitioning, (ii) HILIC-type weak adsorption such as hydrogen bonding between solutes and ligands or solutes and silanols (potentially influenced by individual degrees of solvation, salt bridging, etc.), (iii) strong electrostatic (ionic) solute–silanol interactions (attractive/repulsive). Even when non-charged polar bonded phases are used, solute–silanol interactions should not be discounted, which makes them a prime parameter to be characterised by HILIC column tests. Multi/mixed-mode type separations seem to be common under HILIC elution conditions, associated with a great deal of selectivity increments. They are accessible and controllable by a careful choice of the type of packing, the mobile phase composition, and the temperature.     

Properties and Applications of Mixed Packing Capillary Electrochromatography

Mixed packing capillary electrochromatography (MP CEC) with the stationary phase comprising a physical mixture of strong cation exchange (SCX) phase and octadecysilyl (ODS) phase was developed. With the existence of a sulfonic acid group on the surface of SCX, not only could the electroosmotic flow (EOF) remain high at low pH, but also the hydrophilicity of the stationary phase was increased greatly, leading to broad adaptable ranges of both pH and organic modifier concentration in the mobile phase. At the same time, with the coexistence of C₁₈ on the surface of ODS, both the retention and the resolution of samples were improved. Accordingly, MP CEC combined the advantages of both SCX and ODS columns. Effects of operation parameters on EOF and the capacity factors of solutes as well as the retention mechanism of such a column were studied systematically. In addition, MP CEC columns were used in the analysis of strong polar solutes as well as for the high speed separation of acidic, basic, and neutral compounds in a single run.     

Prediction of the net retention volumes in gas chromatography using porous polymers coated with different stationary phases

Summary A new expression which permits the prediction of the net retention volumes in gas chromatography with column packings of coated porous polymers is reported. The porous polymers Chromosorb 101 and Chromosorb 102 were used as supports and squalane, Ethofat and Carbowax 20M as stationary phases at three different column temperatures of 80°C, 100°C and 150°C. Several organic compounds of various polarity were used as test compounds and the net retention volumes, V_Ntheor, have been calculated according to this new expression. The V_Ntheor values were compared with the experimental net retention volumes, V_Nexp, and it was found that the difference between these two values is dependent on the type of compound and column packing. Nevertheless, the elution order could be predicted in most cases.     

Poly(ethylene oxide)-bonded stationary phase for capillary ion chromatography

Methyl-capped poly(ethylene oxide) moieties were chemically bonded to silica gel using an amine-reactive modification reagent and evaluated as the stationary phase for ion chromatography. In this work, primary amino groups of an aminopropylsilica packing material were reacted with methyl-PEO₁₂-NHS ester (succinimidyl-{[N-methyl]-dodecaethyleneglycol} ester) in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at room temperature. The prepared poly(ethylene oxide)-bonded stationary was evaluated for the separation of inorganic anions, and the retention behavior of inorganic anions on the prepared stationary phase was examined. The elution order of the investigated anions was the same as that observed in common ion chromatography. Both cations and anions of the eluent affected the retention of the analyte anions. Ion exchange was involved for the retention of analyte anions, although the present stationary phase does not possess any discrete ion-exchange sites. The stationary phase was applied to the separation of trace anions contained in tap water and a rock salt.     

The chromatographic assay of 4‐hydroxynonenal as a biomarker of diseases by means of MEPS and HPLC technique

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a new analytical method for the determination of 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal (4‐HNE) in biological samples while applying microextraction by packed sorbent as a sample preparation method and HPLC with UV–vis detection. Various microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) sorbents like C₂, C₈, C₁₈, M1 (80% C₈ and 20% SCX) and silica were used to separate 4‐HNE from biological samples. The highest affinity of 4‐HNE was observed for sorbents like C₁₈. The extraction efficiency was in the range from 47.4 to 89.2% dependent on the concentration of 4‐HNE. Lower efficiency of 4‐HNE extraction was obtained with use of MEPS packings such as C₈ and M1. The extraction efficiency was in the range from 35.2 to 66.3% for packing C8 and from 34.2 to 64.3% for packing M1, respectively. The limit of detection and lower limit of quantitation for UV–vis detection were respectively 4.5 and 9.0 nmol/mL. The proposed method can be used for the evaluation of extraction efficiency of 4‐HNE in biological sample because the values of lower limit of quantitation are lower than the determined amounts of the analyte in samples. The method yields excellent performance of quantification and identification in analysis of inflammation biomarkers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Further investigations of the effect of pressure on retention in ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography

In this study, we investigated further the large increases in retention with pressure that we observed previously in RP-LC especially for ionised solutes. These findings were initially confirmed on a conventional silica C₁₈ column, which gave extremely similar results to the hybrid C₁₈ phase originally used. Large increases in retention factor of ∼50% for a pressure increase of 500 bar were also shown for high MW polar but neutral solutes. However, experiments with the same bases in ionised and non-ionised forms suggest that somewhat greater pressure-induced retention increases are found for ionised solutes. Retention increases with pressure were found to be considerably smaller for a C₁ column compared with a C₁₈ column; decreases in retention with increasing pressure were noted for ionised bases when using a bare silica column in the hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) mode. These observations are consistent with the partial loss of the solvation layer in RP-LC as the solute is forced into the hydrophobic environment of the stationary phase, and consequent reduction in the solute molar volume, while the water layer on the surface of a HILIC packing increases the hydration of a basic analyte. Finally, retention changes with pressure in RP-LC can also be observed at a mobile phase pH close to the solute pK_a, due to changes in pK_a with pressure. However, this effect has no influence on the results of most of our studies.     

Size exclusion chromatography on porous fractals

Summary Some porous packings used in chromatography have been claimed to be fractals with a scale of sizes a<l<L, where a is a molecular size and L is the size of the largest pores. For a fractal porous packing, the excluded volume for molecules in solution in the vicinity of the packing surface is directly related to D_f, the fractal dimension of the pore surface (2<D_f<3). Since retention in size exclusion chromatography is itself directly related to this excluded volume, the fractal nature of the packing provides a model of retention in this technique. According to this model there is a linear relationship between log R_s and log(1-K_d), where R_s is the hydrodynamic radius of the solute macromolecules and K_d the distribution coefficient. The fractal dimension is derived from the slope of this plot. Size exclusion chromatographic retention data have been analyzed according to the model. It is found that some HPLC packings are fractals with fractal dimensions ranging from about 2.15 to 2.6, depending on the material. Such a large range of D_f values indicates large variations in the selectivities and domains of applications of the different packings. For some classical gel filtration chromatographic gels, the fractal retention model does not seem to apply.Presented at the 17th International Symposium on Chromatography, September 25–30, 1988, Vienna, Austria.     

Simultaneous LC Estimation of Glimepiride and Metformin in Glimepiride Immediate Release and Metformin Sustained Release Tablets

In the present study, a simple, rapid and precise liquid chromatographic method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of glimepiride and metformin in sustained release formulation. The separation was achieved on a Nucleosil 100-5SA column, 250 × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm using a mobile phase composed of 1.7 % ammonium dihydrogen phosphate buffer pH 3.0: acetonitrile (70:30 v/v).The instrumental settings were a flow rate of 1.0 ml min^?1 and a detector wavelength of 230 nm. The retention time of glimepiride and metformin were 5.1 and 11.3, respectively. The developed method was validated in terms of specificity, sensitivity, linearity, range, accuracy, precision and ruggedness. The proposed method was successfully applied to the sustained release pharmaceutical dosage form for the simultaneous determination of glimepiride and metformin without any interference by excipients.     

一种混合模式反相强阳离子交换色谱固定相的制备及其保留机理的考察

采用一种简单的“混合配体”方法将辛基和磺酸基键合到硅胶表面,制备了辛基-磺酸基共同键合硅胶(OSS)材料。通过元素分析和吸附容量检测对OSS材料进行表征,证明辛基和磺酸基已成功键合到硅胶表面上。将该OSS硅胶材料作为混合模式反相强阳离子交换(RP/SCX)色谱固定相,在反相液相色谱(RPLC)流动相条件下,采用几种碱性探针分子定量地考察了该固定相的混合模式RP/SCX保留机理。通过改变流动相中缓冲盐的浓度,考察了溶质保留因子和盐浓度的对数和倒数的关系,得到了几种碱性探针分子在该混合模式OSS固定相上的单点和两点保留机理的数学模型。对两种数学模型的方程进行了线性拟合,结果表明两点保留机理更加符合实验的结果。此外,根据混合模式两点保留机理的数学方程,可以得到单一的疏水或离子交换作用力对总保留的影响,对混合模式色谱的实际分离应用可提供有价值的参考。     

Specific interactions of alkenes with different metal ion forms of ion exchangers in gas solid chromatography

Summary The gas chromatographic selectivity of K⁺, Zn²⁺, Ag⁺, Ni²⁺, and Cd²⁺ forms of a cation exchange packing have been determined for a set of 44 C₂ to C₈ alkenes. The retention characteristics of each ion are broken down into electronic (charge-transfer) and steric effects associated with the alkene sub-populations of each carbon number. Almost every pair of alkenes tested can be separated on at least one of these packings. Retention is much stronger on the ion exchangers than on metal-ion containing packings in gas-liquid chromatography, even with shorter columns and higher temperatures.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

Rapid clean-up of fat extracts for organophosphorus pesticide residue determination using C18 solid-phase extraction cartridges

Commercial solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges with C₁₈ bonded silica packings effectively cleaned up acetonitrile extracts of 3-g samples of fats and oils for determination of organophosphorus pesticide residues by gas chromatography with flame photometric detection. Cartridges from three different sources were tested and found to differ in lipid capacity and inertness (free silanol activity). Consequently, the amount of packing (i.e., number of cartridges) and/or the choice of eluent used were adjusted for each brand of cartridge to achieve optimum clean-up and analyte recovery. Seven pesticides with a wide range of polarity (acephate, azodrin, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion, methamidophos and methyl parathion) were separated from coextracted lipids by elution with either acetonitrile or methanol, depending on the brand of cartridge used. Cartridges were regenerated by purging lipids with dichloromethane and were reused numerous times without apparent loss of effectiveness. Recoveries from vegetable oils and butterfat fortified with the seven compounds at levels of 0.05–0.87 μg g^?1 ranged from 80 to 103%. Practical limits of determination range from 0.01 to 0.08 μg g^?1, depending on analyte response.     

Study of RP HPLC Retention Behaviours in Analysis of Carotenoids

For determination of selected carotenoids, various types of columns for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with different properties have been used. The characteristics of the laboratory-used packing material containing monomeric alkyl-bonded phases (C₁₈, C₃₀) and phenyl as well as phenyl-hexyl stationary phases were studied. The retention data of the examined compounds were used to determine the hydrophobicity and silanol activity of stationary phases applied in the study. The presence of the polar and carboxyl groups in the structure of the bonded ligand strongly influences the polarity of the stationary phase. Columns were compared according to methylene selectivity using a series of benzene homologues. The measurements were done using a methanol–water mobile phase. Knowledge of the properties of the applied stationary phase provided the possibility to predict the RP HPLC retention behaviours in analysis of carotenoids including lutein, lycopene and β-carotene. The composition of the mobile phase, the addition of triethylamine and the type of stationary phase had been taken into account in designing the method of carotenoid identification. Also a monolithic column characterised by low hydrodynamic resistance, high porosity and high permeability was applied. The presented results show that the coverage density of the bonded ligands on silica gel packings and length of the linkage strongly influence the carotenoid retention behaviours. In our study, the highest retention parameters for lutein, lycopene and β-carotene were observed for C₃₀ and C₁₈ stationary phase. This effect corresponds with pore size of column packing greater than 100 Å and carbon content higher than 11 %.