Effect of ionic liquid additives to mobile phase on separation and system efficiency for HPLC of selected alkaloids on different stationary phases

The silica-based stationary phases with favorable physical characteristics are the most popular in liquid chromatography. However, there are several problems with silica-based materials: severe peak tailing in the chromatography of basic compounds, non-reproducibility for the same chemistry columns, and limited pH stability. Ionic liquids (ILs) as mobile phase components can reduce peak tailing by masking residual free silanol groups. The chromatographic behavior of some alkaloids from different classes was studied on C18, phenyl, and pentafluorophenyl columns with different kinds and concentrations of ionic liquids as additives to aqueous mobile phases. Ionic liquids with different alkyl substituents on different cations or with different counterions as eluent additives were investigated. The addition of ionic liquids has great effects on the separation of alkaloids: decrease in band tailing, increase in system efficiency, and improved resolution. The retention, separation selectivity, and sequence of alkaloid elution were different when using eluents containing various ILs. The increase of IL concentration caused an increase in silanol blocking, thus conducted to decrease the interaction between alkaloid cations and free silanol groups, and caused a decrease of alkaloids retention, improvement of peak symmetry, and increase of theoretical plate number in most cases. The effect of ILs on stationary phases with different properties was also examined. The different properties of stationary phases resulted in differences in analyte retention, separation selectivity, peak shape, and system efficiency. The best shape of peaks and the highest theoretical plate number for most investigated alkaloids in mobile phases containing IL was obtained on pentafluorophenyl (PFP) phase.     

Why robust background electrolytes containing multivalent ionic species can fail in capillary zone electrophoresis

Previous models for the retention behaviour of carboxylic acids in ion-exclusion chromatography are applicable only when the degree of ionisation of the analyte is constant over the entire chromatographic peak. When solutions of sulfuric acid are used as eluents, this condition applies only when the eluent concentration is considerably higher than that of the analyte. Since it is common for dilute solutions of sulfuric acid to be used as eluents, a retention model which accounts for unbuffered eluents has been developed. This model also considers the effects on retention of hydrophobic adsorption of the undissociated and dissociated forms of the analyte onto the stationary phase substrate, as well as the effects of organic solvents added to the eluent. The derivation of this model is presented and it has been evaluated using a comprehensive set of retention data obtained using three different sulfonated stationary phases over a range of eluent conditions. The adsorption coefficients calculated from the model are in accordance with expected trends and showed that both the undissociated and dissociated forms of the analyte acids were retained by hydrophobic adsorption effects, although this adsorption was much stronger for the undissociated analytes.     

Retention process in reversed phase TLC systems with polar bonded stationary phases

The retention of a solute in RP chromatography is a very complex process which depends on many factors. Therefore, the study of the influence of a mobile phase modifier concentration on the retention in different reversed phase chromatographic systems is very important for understanding the rules governing retention and mechanisms of substance separation in a chromatographic process. Composition changes and the nature of mobile phases enable tuning of the separated analytes' retention over a wide range of retention parameters and optimization of the chromatographic process as well. Optimization of the chromatographic process can be achieved by several different methods; one of them is the so-called interpretative strategy. The key approach adopted in this strategy is the implementation of adequate retention models that couple the retention of solute with the composition of a mixed mobile phase. The use of chemically bonded stationary phases composed of partially non-bonded silica matrix and organic ligands bonded to its surface in everyday chromatography practice leads to questions of the correct definition of the retention model and the dominant retention mechanism in such chromatographic systems. The retention model for an accurate prediction of retention factor as a function of modifier concentration and the heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface should be taken into consideration. In this work the influence of mobile-phase composition on the retention of sixteen model substances such as phenols, quinolines, and anilines used as test analytes in different RP-TLC systems with CN-, NH2-, and Diol-silica polar bonded stationary phases has been studied. The aim of this study is to compare the performance of three valuable retention models assumed as the partition, adsorption/partition, and adsorption mechanism of retention. All the models were verified for different RP-TLC systems by three statistical criteria. The results of investigations presented in this work demonstrate that the best agreement between the experimental and calculated Rf values was obtained by the use of new-generation retention models, which assume heterogeneity of adsorbent surface. The results reported here show that heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface may be important in analysis of the elution process in liquid chromatography. Consideration of the goodness of fit for the experimental data to the examined retention models is in conformity with the adsorption mechanism of retention on all polar bonded stationary phases in most eluent systems for most investigated compounds.     

Prediction of the effects of methanol and competing ion concentration on retention in the ion chromatographic separation of anionic and cationic pharmaceutically related compounds

The mixed-mode separation of a selection of anionic and cationic pharmaceutically related compounds is studied using ion-exchange columns and eluents consisting of ionic salts (potassium hydroxide or methanesulfonic acid) and an organic modifier (methanol). All separations were performed using commercially available ion-exchange columns and an ion chromatography instrument modified to allow introduction of methanol into the eluent without introducing compatibility problems with the eluent generation system. Isocratic retention prediction was undertaken over the two-dimensional space defined by the concentration of the competing ion and the percentage of organic modifier in the eluent. Various empirical models describing the observed relationships between analyte retention and both the competing ion concentration and the percentage of methanol were evaluated, with the resultant model being capable of describing the separation, including peak width, over the entire experimental space based on six initial experiments. Average errors in retention time and peak width were less than 6% and 27%, respectively, for runs taken from both inside and outside of the experimental space. Separations performed under methanol gradient conditions (while holding the competing ion concentration constant) were also modelled. The observed effect on retention of varying the methanol composition differed between analytes with several analytes exhibiting increased retention with increased percentage methanol in the eluent. An empirical model was derived based on integration of the observed t_R vs. %methanol plot for each analyte. A combination of the isocratic and gradient models allowed for the prediction of retention time using multi-step methanol gradient profiles with average errors in predicted retention times being less than 4% over 30 different 2- and 3-step gradient profiles for anions and less than 6% over 14 different 2- and 3-step gradient profiles for cations. A modified peak compression model was used to estimate peak widths under these conditions. This provided adequate width prediction with the average error between observed and predicted peak widths being less than 15% for 40 1-, 2- and 3-step gradients for anions and less than 13% over 14 1-, 2- and 3-step gradients for cations.     

Modeling of ion-exclusion and vacancy ion-exclusion chromatography in analytical and concentration overload conditions

Ion-exclusion chromatography (IEC) finds applications in various different analytical separations of weak acids. Pure, deionized water or a diluted, aqueous solution of a strong mineral acid (such as, e.g., sulphuric acid) is used as the mobile phase, whereas a typical stationary phase is a strongly acidic resin in the H(+) form (e.g., the sulfonated polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin with a high ion-exchange capacity, provided by the sulfonic acid groups). When pure water is used as the mobile phase, then the characteristic leading (i.e., frontally tailing) peaks are obtained, and the retention depends mainly on the concentration of the analyte. An alternative technique is vacancy ion-exclusion chromatography (v-IEC), in which the column is equilibrated with the sample solution, flowing as the mobile phase through the system, and pure water is injected as the sample. In this case, the symmetrical vacant peaks are obtained. The aim of this paper is to describe the retention mechanism in IEC and v-IEC for the adsorptive and nonadsorptive acids in analytical and concentration overload conditions, with pure water and the diluted sulphuric acid solution as the two different mobile phases. The retention times and the peak shapes predicted by the derived equations remain in a good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental data. The model proposed in this paper predicts the new features characteristic of IEC for the adsorptive acids. These are, namely, an increase in the retention time of the peak apexes (up to a certain level and concurring with an increase in the acid concentration), followed by a subsequent decrease of the retention time (with the further growth of the acid concentration in the eluent). Similar changes in the retention time observed for v-IEC in the specific adsorption conditions were also correctly predicted by the model.     

Retention behaviour of imidazolium ionic liquid cations on 1.7 μm ethylene bridged hybrid silica column using acetonitrile-rich and water-rich mobile phases

The potential of 1.7 μm ethylene bridged hybrid silica phase was investigated for the separation of twelve imidazolium-based ionic liquid cations. U-shaped retention profile was observed for all solutes with an increase in retention at both low and high acetonitrile content. Chromatographic behaviour of imidazolium cations in both hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and per aqueous liquid chromatography (PALC) modes was studied by varying key parameters such as buffer concentration and pH, acid additive, organic modifier and column temperature. Experimental data provided some evidences that under PALC conditions cationic solutes are retained predominantly by mixed hydrophobic/ion-exchange interactions. In the HILIC mode, both partitioning and ion-exchange interactions are responsible for the retention of solutes. Compared to PALC, HILIC provided significantly higher efficiencies with less or even no peak tailing, better separation selectivity and greater resistance to overload. In PALC mode gradient elution was required to achieve adequate retentivity of all solutes but selectivity was not sufficient to distinguish between solutes with very similar hydrophobicity. In contrast, under HILIC conditions twelve solutes were almost completely resolved in less than 4 min by using isocratic elution. Summarizing, it could be concluded that ethylene bridged hybrid silica column providing a dual retention mechanism offers the possibility of selecting between the two retention modes with opposite separation selectivity, just by changing the composition of the mobile phase.     

Development of an inorganic cations retention model in ion chromatography by means of artificial neural networks with different two-phase training algorithms

This paper describes development of artificial neural network (ANN) retention model, which can be used for method development in variety of ion chromatographic applications. By using developed retention model it is possible both to improve performance characteristic of developed method and to speed up new method development by reducing unnecessary experimentation. Multilayered feed forward neural network has been used to model retention behaviour of void peak, lithium, sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium in relation with the eluent flow rate and concentration of methasulphonic acid (MSA) in eluent. The probability of finding the global minimum and fast convergence at the same time were enhanced by applying a two-phase training procedure. The developed two-phase training procedure consists of both first and second order training. Several training algorithms were applied and compared, namely: back propagation (BP), delta-bar-delta, quick propagation, conjugate gradient, quasi Newton and Levenberg-Marquardt. It is shown that the optimized two-phase training procedure enables fast convergence and avoids problems arisen from the fact that every new weight initialization can be regarded as a new starting position and yield irreproducible neural network if only second order training is applied. Activation function, number of hidden layer neurons and number of experimental data points used for training set were optimized in order to insure good predictive ability with respect to speeding up retention modelling procedure by reducing unnecessary experimental work. The predictive ability of optimized neural networks retention model was tested by using several statistical tests. This study shows that developed artificial neural network are very accurate and fast retention modelling tool applied to model varied inherent non-linear relationship of retention behaviour with respect to mobile phase parameters.     

Adsorption of polar solutes in reversed-phase liquid-liquid chromatography

Summary The properties of chloroform as a liquid stationary phase in reversed-phase liquid chromatography have been investigated. Stable systems and complete pore filling of the support were obtained. Uncharged acids were slightly adsorbed by the support. Amines in the cationic form showed tailing, which can be attributed to adsorption on the support material. The influence of several reversed-phase supports on retention and peak symmetry has been studied. Little difference was found for uncharged acids, but retention and peak shape of the cations was dependent on the specific support. Also on the poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) copolymer PRP-1 cations gave tailing peaks. The results indicate that the surface of reversed-phase supports is heterogeneous. From this and other studies it can be concluded that only certain reversed-phase silicas, such as -Bondapak, are suitable supports for cationic solutes. In liquid-liquid chromatography polar solutes only obey a liquid-liquid distribution model if the liquid stationary phase molecules contains a hydrophobic group, as well as a polar function.Presented in part at the 7th and 9th International Symposiums on Column Liquid Chromatography, Baden-Baden, FRG, May 1983, and Edinburgh, UK, July 1985, respectively.     

Molecular parameters and retention characteristics of unsubstituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons in HPLC

Summary The present research studies the possibility of using the correlation dependence between molecular parameters of unsubstituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their retention in reversed-phase liquid chromatography to optimize the conditions for the separation and identification of unknown peaks on the chromatograms of multicomponent mixtures. A linear correlation equation, that takes the number and environment of the carbon atom in the PAH molecule into account as well as the differences in the specific interactions of isomeric molecules with polar eluent, has been proposed. The adequacy of the proposed PAH retention model was verified by comparing the calculated retention values with the experimental data. The possibility of identifying unsubstituted PAH according to the number of carbon atoms of various types and according to the values of the molecules lengths (calculated on the basis of the retention of these substances under different eluent compositions) was exemplified by various chromatographic systems (reversed phase-eluent-PAH molecules).     

Influence of inorganic mobile phase additives on the retention, efficiency and peak symmetry of protonated basic compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Inorganic eluent additives affect the retention of protonated basic analytes in reversed-phase HPLC. This influence is attributed to the disruption of the analyte solvation-desolvation equilibria in the mobile phase, also known as "chaotropic effect". With an increase of counteranion concentration analyte retention increases with concomitant decrease in the tailing factor. Different inorganic counteranions at equimolar concentrations affect protonated basic analyte retention and peak symmetry to varying degrees. The effect of the concentrations of four different inorganic mobile phase additives (KPF6, NaClO4, NaBF4, NaH2PO4) on the analyte retention, peak symmetry, and efficiency on a C8-bonded silica column has been studied. The analytes used in this study included phenols, toluene, benzyl amines, beta-blockers and ophthalmic drugs. The following trend in increase of basic analyte retention factor and decrease of tailing factor was found: PF6- > ClO4- approximately BF4- > H2PO4-. With the increase of the counteranion concentration greater analyte loading could be achieved and consequently an increase in the apparent efficiency was observed until the maximum plate number for the column was achieved. At the highest concentration of counteranions, the peak efficiency for most of the basic compounds studied was similar to that of the neutral markers. In contrast, the neutral markers, such as phenols, showed no significant changes in retention, efficiency or loading capacity as counteranion concentration was increased.     

Application of retention modelling to the simulation of separation of organic anions in suppressed ion chromatography

The ion-exchange separation of organic anions of varying molecular mass has been demonstrated using ion chromatography with isocratic, gradient and multi-step eluent profiles on commercially available columns with UV detection. A retention model derived previously for inorganic ions and based solely on electrostatic interactions between the analytes and the stationary phase was applied. This model was found to accurately describe the observed elution of all the anions under isocratic, gradient and multi-step eluent conditions. Hydrophobic interactions, although likely to be present to varying degrees, did not limit the applicability of the ion-exchange retention model. Various instrumental configurations were investigated to overcome problems associated with the use of organic modifiers in the eluent which caused compatibility issues with the electrolytically derived, and subsequently suppressed, eluent. The preferred configuration allowed the organic modifier stream to bypass the eluent generator, followed by subsequent mixing before entering the injection valve and column. Accurate elution prediction was achieved even when using 5-step eluent profiles with errors in retention time generally being less than 1% relative standard deviation (RSD) and all being less than 5% RSD. Peak widths for linear gradient separations were also modelled and showed good agreement with experimentally determined values.     

Ion chromatographic separation of car☐ylic acids prediction of retention data

The retention behavior of biologically relevant monovalent (formic, acetic, propionic, lactic and pyruvic) and divalent (oxalic, malonic, succinic, fumaric, maleic and tartaric acids) car☐ylic acids together with inorganic analytes (chloride and sulphate) has been studied. The separation was performed on a latex-based strong anion-exchange resin using carbonate buffer systems in suppressed IC. The retention behaviour of analytes was investigated at different pH values and [HCO₃⁻]+[CO₃²⁻] concentrations. A theoretical model, involving ion-exchange equilibria of sample and eluent anions, was derived and applied to the chromatographic data obtained. Chromatographic ion exchange selectivity values were determined and retention data were calculated for the anions using different carbonate eluent conditions. The average of errors between the predicted and the measured retention volumes of the analytes studied does not exceed 4.0%. The study effectively characteristics the behaviour of different analytes under elution conditions of practical importance.     

Evaluation of the Temperature Responsive Stationary Phase Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in Aqueous LC for the Analysis of Small Molecules

Liquid chromatography columns were packed with a temperature responsive stationary phase based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) attached to aminopropyl silicagel. This polymer shows hydrophilic properties below 32 °C and becomes hydrophobic above that temperature. The temperature responsive properties of the coupled phase are demonstrated using only water as mobile phase, whereby an increase in retention is observed with raising temperature. Mixtures of compounds covering a wide polarity range and including phenones, alkylbenzenes, phenols, alkylated benzoic acids, anilines, sulfonamides and carbamates were analyzed and the retention, peak shapes and plate counts were compared under identical conditions. For retained solutes, an increase in retention as a function of the temperature between 25 and 55 °C could be noted, whereby this was higher for the analytes containing a longer hydrophobic chain. Compounds with similar hydrophobic chains, but containing additional polar functions showed increased retention and improved peak shapes, suggesting a mixed mode interaction mechanism also at temperatures well above the transition temperature of the polymer. Weak acids and bases could be analyzed by pH adjustment. This is demonstrated for mixtures of benzoic acid derivatives and sulfamide drugs. A carbamate pesticide mixture was analyzed at 55 °C with water (pH 5.5) as mobile phase and ESI-MS detection. Temperature responsive stationary phases open perspectives for green chromatography.     

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography of alkaloids: Masking effects of inorganic salts

The addition of salts (investigated cations Na(+), NH(+)(4), K(+), KBu(+)(4) combined with the anions acetate, Br(-), SCN(-) and I(-)) can be used to eliminate peak tailing and to decrease retention of cationic species in the course of the separation of alkaloids from Chelidonium majus L. by reversed-phase chromatography on a ODS Hypersil column, using water-acetonitrile-methanol mixture as eluent. These findings are interpreted in terms of a silanol masking effect. The extended donor-acceptor concept is used to interpret the effectiveness of different salts in masking the active sites of the stationary phase.     

Brief analysis of the retention process in RP-HPLC systems with a C(30) bonded stationary phase

The influence of the mobile-phase composition on the retention of eight model substances in different RP-HPLC systems with a C(30) alkyl bonded stationary phase has been studied. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of four valuable retention models assuming the partition and adsorption mechanism of retention. All the models were verified for different experimental data by four criteria: the sum of squared differences between the experimental and theoretical data; the approximation of the standard deviation; the Fisher test; and the F-test ratio.     

Vitamin U-bonded stationary phase in capillary ion chromatography

A vitamin U-bonded stationary phase was prepared and the retention behavior of inorganic anions was examined using ion chromatography. Inorganic anions were retained on the vitamin U-bonded stationary phase under acidic as well as neutral eluent conditions in the ion-exchange mode. The elution order of the examined anions under neutral eluent conditions was nearly the same as that observed in common ion exchange mode, while the elution order observed under acidic eluent conditions was completely different from that observed in common ion exchange mode. The retention of the analyte anions under the neutral eluent conditions was due to the sulfonium groups of the vitamin U, while protonated primary amino groups caused retention of the analyte anions with different selectivity under acidic conditions. The retention factor of the analyte anions increased with decreasing eluent concentration under both eluent conditions. The present system was applied to the determination of bromide and nitrate contained in seawater.     

Study of pH dependence using molecular modeling in reversed-phase liquid chromatography of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone derivatives of aldose

A series of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) aldose was eluted on a C₁₈ column with an acetonitrile-phosphate buffer over the range of pH 2-10 in reversed phase liquid chromatography. The relationship between the retention factor, k, and the eluent pH was expressed by an equilibrium scheme representing the probable retention process. The experimental data were fitted to the correlation curve drawn according to the equation containing the formation of the hydrogen bond with a hydroxonium ion in the eluent and the ionization of the oxygen atoms in the pyrazolone rings of the solute.The conformational changes of PMP-aldose according with the eluent pH were corroborated by computer-aided molecular modeling using quantum chemical calculations. The retention behavior was elucidated as a function of the geometrical feature of the PMP-aldose.     

Separation of inorganic anions by liquid chromatography with crown ether as eluent additive

Inorganic anions were separated on a reversed-phase stationary phase dynamically modified with crown ether as a selector in capillary ion chromatography. The eluent contained crown ether, acetonitrile and a salt. Free and cation-trapped crown ether molecules in the eluent were adsorbed on a hydrophobic stationary phase such as triacontyl-functionalized silica (C30). The eluent cations trapped on crown ether worked as the ion-exchange sites, where the eluent anions and the analyte anions were competing for electrostatic interaction. The sizes of crown ether and the salt cation affected the retention of analyte anions. The concentrations of acetonitrile and crown ether as well as the eluent anion also affected the retention of analyte anions. An aqueous solution containing 18-crown-6-ether, potassium salt and acetonitrile achieved larger retention for analyte anions. Effects of the eluent conditions on the retention of analyte anions were examined in detail.     

Effects of Counter Ions in Ion-Pair Liquid Chromatography of Hydrophobic Amines on Non-Polar Bonded Phases

Abstract

The retention behaviour of alprenolol and related hydrophobic amines in ion-pair adsorption systems has been examined with particular emphasis on the influence of different mono-and divalent counter ions (dihydrogenphosphate, bromide, perchlorate, dimethylcyclohexyl sulphate, sulphate and ethylenediaminetetraacetate). N,N-dimethyloctylamine (DMOA) and 1-pentanol were used as modifiers in the aqueous eluent and LiChrosorb RP-8 as stationary phase.

The retention is evaluated according to a two-site adsorption model and equilibrium constants are given for ion pair adsorption of DMOA. The retention of alprenolol has been evaluated in terms of ion exchange with DMOA and the ion-exchange constants are shown to be of the same magnitude and independent of the nature of the counter ion used. The ion-pair adsorption and the ion-exchange approaches are analogous expressions for the distribution process governing the retention.     

Reversed-phase ion-interaction chromatography of Cu(I)-cyanide complexes

It has been established that during the separation of Cu(I)-cyanide complexes, the cyanide:Cu(I) molar ratio, R of the eluted complex remained constant irrespective of the R value injected onto the column, and there was considerable tailing of the unretained cyanide peak and fronting of the Cu(I)-cyanide peak in an eluent containing no cyanide. The addition of small amounts of cyanide (100 μM) to the eluent resulted in the elimination of these effects on peak shape and a significant increase in the retention of the Cu(I)-cyanide species. These results suggested that more than one Cu(I)-cyanide complex may be present in the Cu(I)-cyanide peak in an eluent containing no cyanide. Three different detection systems [Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) and photodiode array spectrophotometry and a post-column reaction (PCR)], were used to determine changes that occurred to the Cu(I)-cyanide complexes during the separation with eluents containing from 0 to 100 μM cyanide. The FTIR approach was unsuccessful due to a lack of sensitivity. The UV spectrum of the Cu(I) peak in any one eluent remained constant, irrespective of the composition of the injected sample, but there were distinct changes in this spectrum among eluents. Similarly, the R value of the Cu(I) peak determined by PCR remained the same in any one eluent but ranged from about 2.5 to about 3.4 for these eluents. The R value was found to vary within the eluted Cu(I)-cyanide peak, especially in an eluent containing no added cyanide. These results show that more than one Cu(I)-cyanide complex is present in the eluted peak and that in the absence of cyanide in the eluent, the eluted peak consists of a mixture of the di- and tricyano complexes of Cu(I).