The application of retention indices using the alkylarylketone scale to the separation of the barbiturates by HPLC. II The effect of the stationary phase

Summary The capacity factors and retention indices, based on the alkylarylketone scale, of ten barbiturates and a set of five column test compounds have been compared on a series of different octadecylsilyl bonded (ODS) silica columns under identical elution conditions of 40:60 methanol-buffer pH 8.5 at 30 °C. The retentions were highly reproducible on columns prepared from the same batch or different batches of ODS-Hypersil, but large differences in the capacity factors were found when column packings from different manufacturers were compared. Retention indices were more reproducible than capacity factors but they could not compensate for differences between the different packing materials. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

A collaborative study to investigate the retention reproducibility of barbiturates in HPLC with a view to establishing retention databases for drug identification

A collaborative study among 10 laboratories has been undertaken to investigate the interlaboratory reproducibility of retention measurements in a high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system for separating barbiturates. The system involved an ODS-Hypersil column with an eluent of methanol:phosphate buffer (40:60, v/v) at pH 8.5; all laboratories used the same batch of packing material. The conventional methods of recording retention properties (retention times and capacity factors) gave poor interlaboratory reproducibility. Better results were obtained by expressing the retentions relative to a standard barbiturate (quinalbarbitone); relative adjusted retention times proved to be more effective than straightforward relative retention times. Retention indices based on the alkylarylketone scale were not as reproducible as the methods based on a single closely related compound. The best reproducibility was obtained using corrected capacity factors based on the retention of four barbiturates in a standard mixture. The results of the study are discussed with a view to selecting the best methods of recording retention in HPLC when considering the establishment of databases for drug identification.     

Application of retention indices based on the alkylarylketone scale to the separation of the local anaesthetic drugs by high-performance liquid chromatography

The separation of the local anaesthetic drugs by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using a Hypersil ODS column has been examined in order to identify critical factors in the establishment of a retention database for interlaboratory comparisons. An eluent of methanol-aqueous orthophosphoric acid (15:85, v/v) (pH 2.5) containing 0.7% hexylamine has been used. The effects of small changes in the eluent composition, pH, temperature and the use of different column packing materials on the retentions of the analytes have been studied. The use of capacity factors, relative capacity factors and retention indices based on the alkylarylketone scale have been compared.     

Characterization of a microparticulate strong anion-exchanger in the HPLC of acidic drugs

The use of Waters Spherisorb S5SAX for the HPLC of acidic compounds, including a number of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), has been investigated. Adequate retention, separation, and peak efficiency and symmetry were obtained for most analytes on a 250 x 4.6 mm i.d. column using methanol containing ammonium perchlorate (10 mmol L(-1), pH 6.7 or pH 8.3) as eluent. The results of changes in (i) eluent pH (constant ionic strength); (ii) eluent ionic strength (constant pH); and (iii) adding water to the eluent (constant pH) were consistent with a retention mechanism dominated by ion-exchange with the bonded strong anion-exchange (SAX) moieties. However, there were some unexpected observations, including (i) a general decrease in retention at eluent pH values above 7.7; (ii) a marked increase in retention on adding 1% (v/v) water to the eluent; (iii) a subsequent marked decrease in retention on adding 5% (v/v) or more water; and (iv) decreased column activity with time. These observations may be due to (i) interaction between the charged SAX moieties and ionised surface silanols (with ionization increasing at higher eluent pH values) and (ii) influence of the solvation of silanols, analytes, SAX moiety, and counter-ion varying with both pH and water content. Nevertheless, the factors influencing separation of individual NSAIDs remain unclear especially as no relation between log k and pKa exists for these compounds. Hydrophobic interactions are unlikely to be important since basic and neutral compounds were hardly retained. Ease of accessibility of the counter-ion to the SAX moiety for analyte displacement may be a factor.     

Effect of temperature on the chromatographic retention of ionizable compounds. II. Acetonitrile-water mobile phases

The retentive behavior of weak acids and bases in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) upon changes in column temperature has been theoretically and experimentally studied. The study focuses on examining the temperature dependence of the retention of various solutes at eluent pH close to their corresponding pKa values, and on the indirect role exerted by the buffer ionization equilibria on retention and selectivity. Retention factors of several ionizable compounds in a typical octadecylsilica column and using buffer solutions dissolved in 30% (v/v) acetonitrile as eluent at five temperatures in the range from 25 to 50 degrees C were carefully measured. Six buffer solutions were prepared from judiciously chosen conjugated pairs of different chemical nature. Their pKa values in this acetonitrile-water composition and within the range of 15-50 degrees C were determined potentiometrically. These compounds exhibit very different standard ionization enthalpies within this temperature range. Thus, whenever they are used to control mobile phase pH, the column temperature determines their final pH. Predictive equations of retention that take into account the temperature effect on both the transfer and the ionization processes are evaluated. This study demonstrates the significant role that the selected buffer would have on retention and selectivity in RPLC at temperatures higher than 25 degrees C, particularly for solutes that coelute.     

Investigation of the novel mixed-mode stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography. I. Preparation and characterization of sulfonated naphthalimido-modified silyl silica gel

A novel packing material, 3-(4-sulfo-1,8-naphthalimido)propyl-modified silyl silica gel (SNAIP), was prepared for the use as a stationary phase of capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The sulfonic acid groups on SNAIP stationary phase contributed to the generation of electroosmotic flow (EOF) at low pH and served as a strong cation-exchanger. In CEC with SNAIP, a mixed-mode separation was predicted, comprising hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions as well as electrophoretic migration process. In order to understand the retention mechanism on SNAIP, effects of buffer pH, concentration, and mobile phase composition on EOF mobility and the retention factors of barbiturates and benzodiazepines were systematically investigated. Moreover, the retention behavior of barbiturates on SNAIP was investigated and compared with those on octadecyl silica (ODS), phenyl-bonded silica, and 3-(1,8-naphthalimido)propyl-modified silyl silica gel to confirm the presence of pi-pi interaction on its retention mechanism. It was observed that a column efficiency was more than 85,000 N/m for retained compounds and the relative standard deviations for the retention times of EOF marker, thiourea, and five barbiturates were below 2.5% (n = 4). Under an applied voltage of 20 kV and a mobile phase consisted of 5 mM phosphate (pH 3.8) and 40% methanol, the baseline separation of five barbiturates was achieved within 3 min.     

Elution behavior for a large sample size of uranyl ions on reversed-phase columns using alpha-hydroxyisobutyric acid as an eluent

Large sample sizes of uranyl ions are eluted on a strenedivinylbenzene copolymer phase and an octadecyl phase column, respectively, using alpha-hydroxyisobutyric acid (alpha-HiBA) as an eluent. Chromatograms are obtained from variations of the uranyl sample amounts, eluent concentrations, concentrations of the sample matrix, and the pH of the sample solution for both columns, respectively. Column capacities are estimated from the loading factors measured from the retention times of the peaks. Bandwidths of the peaks and apparent column efficiencies are measured as a function of the loading factor and calculated using the equations derived from the assumptions of a Langmuir isotherm for a single solute. Comparison between the experiment and the calculation reveals that the former showed a broader bandwidth and worse column efficiency than the latter for both columns. The two columns are compared with regards to the retention time, peak shape, column capacity, column efficiency, etc. The PRP-1 column shows a rectangular-, triangle-type peak shape, longer retention time, lower column capacity, and better column efficiency, and the LC-18 column shows a distorted Gaussian curve, shorter retention time, higher column capacity, and worse column efficiency. Column capacity, peak shape, and retention time are dependent on the eluent concentration rather than the alpha-HiBA concentration in the sample solutions.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of barbiturates using a hollow-fibre membrane for postcolumn pH modification

A sensitive, high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination of barbiturates by postcolumn pH modification. The barbiturates (barbital, phenobarbital, hexobarbital and amobarbital) were separated on a C18 column using a mixture of methanol and water as an eluent. Then the pH of the eluent was raised to 10 by introducing ammonia or ammonium ion through a sulphonated hollow-fibre membrane inserted between the column and the detector. The detection was based on the primary ionized barbiturates at 240 nm. At barbiturate concentrations of 2.0 micrograms/ml, the within- and between-experiment precision (relative standard deviation) was 0.65-3.28 and 0.76-1.90%, respectively. The limits of detection were about 0.5-2.5 ng at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The method was applied to the determination of amobarbital in saliva.     

Retention behaviour of acidic, neutral and basic drugs on a CN column using phosphate buffers in the mobile phase

The retention behaviour of a set of sixteen more or less drugs on a CN column with methanol-phosphate buffer as eluent was studied. The influence of the volume percentage of methanol, pH and the ionic strength on the capacity factors (k') of the drugs was determined using an experimental design consisting of three pH values (3, 5 and 7), four ionic strengths (0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1) and three volume percentages of methanol (10, 30 and 50%). The selected drugs were basic, acidic and neutral compounds with different polarity properties. The number of carbon atoms, considered here as reflecting the hydrophobic characteristics of the solutes, varied from 7 to 25. The influence on the retention of drugs on a CN column of the different parameters studied was evaluated. The volume percentage of organic modifier and the pH are the most important factors. A change in ionic strength is important only when large molecules are chromatographed. As the interaction between pH, ionic strength and volume percentage of methanol is small, optimization of the three parameters separately is possible.     

Separation of acidic compounds by strong anion-exchange capillary electrochromatography

Separation of the acidic compounds in the ion-exchange capillary electrochromatography (IE-CEC) with strong anion-exchange packing as the stationary phase was studied. It was observed that the electroosmotic flow (EOF) in strong anion-exchange CEC moderately changed with increase of the eluent ionic strength and decrease of the eluent pH, but the acetonitrile concentration in the eluent had almost no effect on the EOF. The EOF in strong anion-exchange CEC with eluent of low pH value was much larger than that in RP-CEC with Spherisorb-ODS as the stationary phase. The retention of acidic compounds on the strong anion-exchange packing was relatively weak due to only partial ionization of them, and both chromatographic and electrophoretic processes contributed to separation. It was observed that the retention values of acidic compounds decreased with the increase of phosphate buffer and acetonitrile concentration in the eluent as well as the decrease of the applied voltage, and even the acidic compounds could elute before the void time. These factors also made an important contribution to the separation selectivity for tested acidic compounds, which could be separated rapidly with high column efficiency of more than 220000 plates/m under the optimized separation conditions.     

Differences between retentions of various classes of aromatic hydrocarbons in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Implications of using retention data for characterizing hydrophobicity

Capacity factors of a series of alkylbenzenes (C1-C10), 12 chlorobenzenes, 9 chlorotoluenes, 17 chloronaphthalenes and 65 chlorobiphenyls have been measured on an octadecylsilica column. Aqueous methanol of four different compositions (80-95% methanol) was used as eluent. Logarithms of capacity factors of all eluites are linearly related to the amount of organic modifier in the eluent. In addition, linear relationships between the solvent strength and the logarithms of capacity factors extrapolated to zero methanol have been revealed. The proportionality factors are dependent on the structures of the eluites. Thermodynamic consideration of the retention processes shows that, within each type of eluite, enthalpy-entropy compensation is found. The compensation temperatures are not significantly different for the various types of eluite. Furthermore, it is shown that the compensation temperatures increase with increasing water content of the eluent. Since the intercepts of the delta G0-delta H0 plots are not equal for the various types of eluite, it was concluded that the distribution processes causing retention of benzene, naphthalene and biphenyl are different. When only the free energies of retention (i.e. the capacity factors) of different types of eluite are compared, no accurate information on the hydrophobicity of the eluites can be obtained if aqueous methanol is used as eluent. Therefore the possibilities for relating or predicting other physico-chemical parameters of the test compounds, such as octan-1-ol-water partition coefficients with isocratic retention data, will be limited.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of basic drugs on silica columns using non-aqueous ionic eluents. I. Factors influencing retention, peak shape and detector response

The use of silica columns together with non-aqueous ionic eluents provides a stable yet flexible system for the high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of basic drugs. At constant ionic strength, eluent pH influences retention via ionisation of surface silanols and protonation of basic analytes, pKa values indicating the pH of maximum retention. At constant pH, retention is proportional to the reciprocal of the eluent ionic strength for fully protonated analytes and quaternary ammonium compounds. The addition of water up to 10% (v/v) has little effect on retention if the protonation of the analytes is unaffected. Thus, it is likely that retention is mediated primarily via cation exchange with surface silanols. However, additional factors must play a part with compounds such as morphine which give tailing peaks at acidic or neutral eluent pHs.     

Effect of temperature on the chromatographic retention of ionizable compounds. I. Methanol-water mobile phases

The retention mechanism of acids and bases in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) has been experimentally studied by examining the temperature dependence of retention, with emphasis on the role of the buffer ionization equilibria in the retention and selectivity. Retention factors of several ionizable compounds in a typical octadecylsilica column and using buffers dissolved in 50% (w/w) methanol as eluents at three temperatures in the range of 25-50 degrees C were measured. Two pairs of buffer solutions were prepared by a close adjusting of their pH at 25 degrees C; differences in their ionization enthalpies determined a different degree of ionization when temperature was raised and, as a consequence, a different shift in the eluent pH. Predictive equations of retention that take into account the temperature effect on both the transfer and the ionization processes are proposed. This study demonstrates the significant role that the selected buffer would have in retention and selectivity in RPLC at temperatures higher than 25 degrees C, particularly for co-eluted solutes.     

Separation and determination of metals as complexes of 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-6-suiphonic and 2-nitroso-1-naphthol-6-sulphonic acids. II. Liquid chromatography on c18 bonded and copolymer stationary phases

An ion-pair Chromatographic system for the separation of copper(II), palladium(II), iron(III) and cobalt(III) as ion-associates of their l-nitroso-2-naphthol-6-sulphonate and 2-nitroso-l-naphthol-6-sulphonate anionic complexes with organic ammonium compounds and inorganic cations has been studied. Isocratic and gradient elution methods were used, and the effects of column material, organic and aqueous modifiers, and pH of the eluent on the retention were examined. The elution time for the metal complex anions depends on the eluent, the proportion of organic solvent in the mobile phase, the pH of the eluent and the extraction coefficient of the compounds. The compounds were identified photometrically with a diode-array detector at wavelengths of 229, 254, 260, 298, 320 and 400 nm. The detection limits for the metals are at the ng/ml level.     

The chromatographic interaction and separation of metal ions with 8-Quinolinol stationary phases in several aqueous eluents

Several 8-quinolinol silica gel (QSG) columns were used, with metal-uptake capacities of 10–156 μmol g^?1. Various transition and heavy metal ions were used as analytes in nitrate, sulfate, phosphate, citrate, tartrate, oxalate, phthalate, and maleate mobile phases. Metal-ion retention increased with column capacity and pH. Optimum capacity factors were obtained on columns of intermediate capacity (27 and 46 μmol g^?1). Retention times decreased with an increase in eluent buffer concentration, typically by half with a doubling of buffer. Evidence is presented for the occurence of mobile-phase complexation of analyte ions by eluent buffer species. Multiple or split peaks were often observed when the analyte solvent differed from the mobile phase. Chromatographic separation of up to six metals on the QSG columns is demonstrated in tartrate and maleate mobile phases.     

Lipophilicity measurements of protonated basic compounds by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography : II. Procedure for the determination of a lipophilic index measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

The retention behaviour of protonated basic compounds in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, using methanol-water mixtures as the eluent, is reported. A minimum is found in the relationship between the logarithm of the capacity factor (log k) and the percentage of methanol (x) in the eluent. The deviation from linearity is postulated to be caused by a dual retention mechanism, namely polar interactions between the solute and eluent molecules in water-poor eluents, and hydrophobic expulsion in water-rich ones. The influence of the pH, pK_a and lipophilicity on retention behaviour is also investigated.     

Retention model for the separation of anionic metal-EDTA complexes in ion chromatography

A retention model is derived for complex anions eluted from an anion-exchange column with multiple ionic eluents containing hydrogencarbonate, carbonate, and hydroxyl species and the sample solution, containing transition metals, anions and complexing ligand. The theory is based on the generalized ion-exchange equilibrium, protonation and complex-formation equilibria. The unknown parameters of chromatographic ion-exchange equilibrium constants for sample and eluent species are determined from the experimental retention data by iterative minimization, using a non-linear regression algorithm. The model was utilized to predict the retention behaviour of CdEDTA²⁻, CoEDTA²⁻, MnEDTA²⁻ and NiEDTA²⁻ ions. The capacity factors of complex ions were determined for wide ranges of pH values and eluent concentrations. Good agreement was obtained between the observed and predicted retentions.     

Capacity gradient anion chromatography with a borate complex as eluent

Complex formation between borate compounds and vicinal diols is well recognized. Generally, in a chemically bonded anion-exchange resin, many hydroxyl groups are introduced on the surface of the resin in order to make the resin hydrophilic. The borate as an eluting reagent also reacts to these hydroxyl groups, and this complex formation decreases the apparent ion-exchange capacity of the column by being dissociated to the anion depending on the eluent pH. In the present work a method is described for the simultaneous determination of anions based on the capacity gradient for suppressed ion chromatography. A Tosoh IC-Anion-PW column and dihydroxyphenylborane–mannitol eluent system were used. To maintain baseline stability, it was helpful to keep the borate concentration constant during a gradient of 16 to 0 mM mannitol as a modifier to prevent the complex formation with the hydroxyl on the resin. The chemical composition of the eluents and gradient profiles are discussed and the application to the analysis of the condensed phosphates with widely varying retention times as food additives in a cheese sample is presented.     

Optimization of reversed-phase separation of some nucleosides

Optimization of the separation of ionogenic nucleosides in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography can be based on the solvophobic theory of retention. The dependence of the capacity factors, selectivity, plate number and resolution on the pH may be calculated by knowing pK(a) and measuring the capacity factors for the compounds in the ionized and molecular forms. An increase in the eluent ionic strength (I) results in increased selectivity.     

Effect of mobile phase composition on the retention of selected alkaloids in reversed-phase liquid chromatography with chaotropic salts

Sodium hexafluorophosphate, perchlorate and trifluoroacetate were applied as ion-ion interaction reagents in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The separation of chosen alkaloids was performed by changing the kind of the organic modifier (methanol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran), concentration of the ion-ion-interaction reagents and the concentration of phosphate buffer at constant pH (2.7) in the mobile phase. Obtained results were analyzed in connection to a dynamic ion-exchange model of retention and ion-ion interaction effects. The perturbation method was applied to test proposed retention theories. The formation of ion-complexes controlling the retention in chaotropic systems was confirmed. On the basis of the relationships of capacity factors (k) versus salt concentrations derived experimentally, absolute increases in capacity factors, the desolvation parameters and the limiting retention factors were calculated and compared for all the investigated compounds in eluent systems studied. The selectivity of the proposed mobile phases was compared on the basis of the separation of alkaloid mixture.