Elution mechanism of polypeptides in reversed-phase liquid chromatography based on the critical threshold of organic solvent to induce abrupt change in adsorption capacity to the column packing

Adsorption capacity of polypeptides to the column packing in a solution containing multiple organic solvents was found to be expressed by means of an fn value, which is the sum of the ratios of the content of each organic solvent in the solution to the critical content of each organic solvent to cause abrupt change in the adsorption capacity, and to change abruptly at the point where the fn value becomes 1. Additionally, our results indicate that each polypeptide is eluted by the eluent containing a specific organic solvent content regardless of gradient elution rate in reversed-phase liquid chromatography, and that total organic solvent content in the eluent containing polypeptides is equal to the critical content. Considering the power law relationship between the retention times and the gradient elution rates, our results suggest that the elution of each polypeptide in reversed-phase liquid chromatography is mainly controlled by abrupt change in the adsorption capacity induced by change in the organic solvent content of the eluent during a gradient elution process, and that the abrupt change repeats across the critical threshold while a polypeptide moves through the column, and as a result, each polypeptide is concentrated in the eluent with the critical threshold.     

Simple and low-cost high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of D- and L-amino acids

In this article, a simple and low-cost method for the analysis of amino acid enantiomers by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. In this method, the amino acids are modified to diastereomers in order to be separated into enantiomers on a usual C(18) reversed-phase column. Methanol instead of acetonitrile is used as an elution solvent; the results of HPLC with methanol elution are comparable with those of HPLC with acetonitrile elution. Sub-nanomolar sensitivity is attained by measuring the absorbance at 340 nm in analysis of 15 amino-acid enantiomers.     

Comparative study of capillary electroendosmotic chromatography and electrically assisted gradient nano-liquid chromatography for the separation of peptides

Capillary electroendoendosmotic chromatography (CEC), being a hybrid of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis, offers considerable changes to enhance column efficiency, speed of analysis and additional selectivity as compared to the parent methods. The analytes are driven by the electroendosmotic flow (EOF) and separated by surface-solute interactions as well as by differences in electromigration. In this paper on the separation of peptides on C18 reversed-phase and mixed-mode (sulphonic acid-n-alkyl) packings in CEC and electrically assisted reversed-phase gradient nano-LC are investigated. It is shown that mixed mode packings generate a higher EOF than reversed-phase packings that is scarcely dependent on the pH of the eluent. Applying a potential in gradient elution reversed-phase nano-LC of peptides shortens the analysis time as compared to separations without a potential. Electrically assisted reversed-phase gradient elution nano-LC is a powerful separation tool for analysis of tryptic digests. Peptides can be successfully resolved in acidic organic mobile phase at pH 2-3 with and without trifluoroacid as ion pairing reagent under isocratic conditions. It is demonstrated that CEC with mixed mode packing and an eluent of pH 2.3 with varying acetonitrile content can be applied to monitor impurities in a synthetic peptide.     

Determination of pharmaceutically related compounds by suppressed ion chromatography: I. Effects of organic solvent on suppressor performance

This overall study aims to investigate gradient elution ion-exchange chromatography of pharmaceutically relevant compounds using universal nebulisation detectors, such as evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Addition of organic solvents to the eluent is necessary to minimise hydrophobic adsorption on the polymeric stationary phase and improve solubility of analytes. It is also necessary to de-salt the eluent prior to detection, and in this work, ion chromatography suppressors were used for this step. Such suppressors have been designed for aqueous eluents, so the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of methanol and acetonitrile on suppressor performance. Chemical and electrolytic suppressors were evaluated for baseline drift, noise and efficiency of suppression using aqueous/organic eluents containing up to 40% (v/v) methanol or acetonitrile. Chemical suppression of aqueous/organic eluents showed minimal noise levels, uniform low baseline and low gradient drift. Electrolytic suppression gave good performance, but with higher baseline conductivity levels and baseline drift than chemical suppression. The elevated baseline was found not to be caused by incomplete suppression of the eluent, but was attributed to chemical reactions involving the organic solvents and facilitated by high electric currents and heat generation. It was demonstrated that suppressed ion-exchange separation using a complex KOH elution profile could be coupled with ELSD, with the suppressor effectively de-salting the eluent, producing a stable baseline. Finally, complementary separation selectivity was demonstrated using a set of pharmaceutically related organic acids separated by reversed-phase and ion-exchange methods.     

The determination of lactate,acetate, chloride and phosphate in an intravenous solution by non-suppressed ion chromatography

Summary The determination of acetate, lactate, chloride and phosphate in an intravenous solution is investigated using non-suppressed ion chromatography with indirect UV absorption detection. When phthalate eluents are used with low capacity anion-exchange columns, the above solute species cannot be resolved unless acetonitrile is added to the eluent. Optimum results are obtained with 0.3 mM phthalate (pH 6.0) containing 30% acetonitrile as eluent. The improved resolution with this eluent is attributed to the existence of a partial reversed-phase retention mechanism operating on the unfunctionalised portions of the styrene-divinylbenzene polymeric ion-exchange material.     

Separation and quantitation of colour pigments of chili powder (Capsicum frutescens) by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection

The performance of reversed-phase thin-layer (RP-TLC) and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was compared for the separation and determination of the colour pigments of chili (Capsicum frutescens) powder using a wide variety of eluent systems. No separation of pigments was achieved in RP-TLC, however, it was established that tetrahydrofuran shows an unusually high solvent strength. RP-HPLC using water-methanol-acetonitrile gradient elution separated the chili pigments in many fractions. Diode array detection (DAD) indicated that yellow pigments are eluted earlier than the red ones and chili powder contains more yellow pigments than common paprika powders. It was established that the very different absorption spectra of pigments make the use of DAD necessary.     

An expert system for eluent optimisation in liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection

Summary The problem of eluent optimisation in reversed-phase liquid chromatography is a complex diagnostic situation, amenable to an expert system approach. Such a system has been developed in microProlog, which uses a gradient elution experiment to determine the appropriate initial solvent strength for a given separation, followed by response-surface modelling using an iterative lattice method to determine the mobile phase composition for optimum resolution. Spectral information from a diode array detector is used to track the retention position of each component as the mobile phase composition is varied. Peak homogeneity is assessed by a number of independent modules, the output from which is utilised by the expert system to validate the model constructed by the optimisation procedure.     

Automated two-dimensional liquid chromatographic system for mapping proteins in highly complex mixtures.

An automated two-dimensional liquid chromatographic system was developed for systematic protein separations which could serve for analytical mapping and preparative separations of proteins. The system applies the principles of the column-switching technique, and consists of two different columns connected in tandem through an electrical column switching valve, two pumping systems to operate each column independently and a system controller to perform sequential chromatography on the two columns. A protein mixture is applied to the first-dimensional anion-exchange column and is separated by stepwise elution with an increasing sodium chloride concentration. The eluent is introduced directly to the second-dimensional reversed-phase column, and is further separated by gradient elution with an increasing acetonitrile concentration. The two elution stages are synchronized by a computer program. By this system, very complex protein mixtures such as crude cerebellar extracts were resolved reproducibly into ca. 200 peaks within 12 h. The method can be used for the total analysis of proteins in various tissues and cells without complicated premanupulation of samples, and allows the simultaneous analysis of a protein isolated by chromatography. The isolated protein is most suitable for use in the strategy of protein and gene sequence analysis.     

A Rapid Sample Preparation Method of Adriamycin from Plasma for HPLC Analysis

A rapid and comprehensive sample preparation method used to extract adriamycin from plasma has been investigated. The samples were passed through an Adsorbex extraction column with an elution solvent. The eluate was directly analyzed by reversed-phase high performance liguid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detector. This solid/liquid extraction method is simpler than the conventional liquid/liquid extraction method. Different elution solvents were used to extract the adriamycin from samples with and without serum. The mobile phase was found to be the optimal elution solvent: 5 mM orthophosphoric acid 62.5% in methanol; acetonitrile; isopropanol = 15:15:7.5, pH 3.2. This method has the merits of better recovery (98%), higher reproducibility, and reguires shorter time and consumes less solvent.     

Thermospray liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry of corticosteroids.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for thermospray mass spectrometric analysis of steroidal hormones. Using a Nova-Pak C18 reversed-phase column and isocratic elution with a solvent comprised of 25 mM ammonium formate in 30% acetonitrile, corticosteroids were separated within 10 min. This solvent also permitted ultraviolet absorbance detection down to 220 nm with low-nanogram sensitivity. The use of acetonitrile was favourable for thermospray mass spectrometric analysis because mass spectra were obtained with a pseudomolecular ion as the base peak. A combination of liquid chromatography, ultraviolet absorbance detection and thermospray mass spectrometry provided a sensitive and reliable method for unequivocal confirmation of the presence of steroidal drugs in equine urine.     

Reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatographic procedure for the simultaneous analysis of S-adenosylmethionine, its metabolites and the natural polyamines

A method using reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography with dual detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of the S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) analogues and the natural polyamines. The separation is obtained with a gradient elution and by adjusting the concentration of octanesulfonic acid used as ion-pairing agent, the ionic strength of the eluent, the pH and the acetonitrile content of the eluents. The SAM analogues are analyzed by UV detection at 254 nm and the polyamines by fluorescence detection after post-column derivatization with o-phthalaldehyde. The method allows the determination of the SAM analogues and the polyamines in one single run by direct injection of tissue extracts. The procedure is applied to the study in rats and in hepatoma tissue culture cells of the biochemical effects of alpha difluoromethylornithine, a potent enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase.     

Control of adsorption and solubility in gradient high performance liquid chromatography 1. Principles of sudden transition gradients and elution characteristics of copolymers from styrene and methacrylates

Summary Proper retention of polymers in high performance liquid chromatography often requires injection into a starting eluent which is not a solvent for the sample under investigation. In this case, the polymer is precipitated at the top of the column. Subsequent gradient elution has to be performed by addition of an eluent with sufficient chromatographic strength and solvent power. In normal phase chromatography, it must be a solvent of high polarity. With the gradient elutions reported so far, polarity and dissolution power were simultaneously increased.The present paper reports the separate control of solvent strength and chromatographic power by applying gradient programs which include sudden addition of a moderately polar solvent. The amount of the latter does not suffice for elution, which is performed by subsequent, controlled addition of a highly polar nonsolvent. Sudden transition gradients of this kind work with, e.g.,iso-octane as a nonpolar starting eluent, tetrahydrofuran as a solvent of intermediate polarity, and methanol as a strongly polar nonsolvent. They have been applied to copolymers from styrene and ethyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, or methoxyethyl methacrylate.     

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.     

Dynamically modified silica — the use of bare silica in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A new approach to reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography has been developed and investigated in some detail. Bare silica is used as the column packing material with an aqueous eluent containing a buffer, an organic solvent as the modifier and a long-chain quaternary ammonium ion. The eluent exhibits a high affinity to the silica surface at pH values above 5, thus, dynamically, forming a nonpolar stationary phase.     

Investigation of copolymers of styrene and ethyl methacrylate by size-exclusion chromatography and gradient HPLC

Summary Copolymers of styrene and ethyl methacrylate (SEMA) have been separated according to composition by reversed-phase chromatography on C18 columns. The starting eluent was methanol, in which the copolymers are insoluble, and an elution gradient was formed by the addition of tetrahydrofuran, which is less polar than methanol yet a good solvent for SEMA copolymers. The method was applied to fractions obtained by size exclusion chromatography of model mixtures, and yielded a separation superior to that obtained in normal-phase mode on polar columns using gradients of increasing polarity.

---

Untersuchung von Copolymeren von Styrol und Ethylmethacrylat durch Größenausschluß-Chromatographie und Gradient-HPLCII. Gradient-HPLC unter Umkehrphasen-Bedingungen

---

Part I: see [1]     

Selection of the optimum electrospray voltage for gradient elution LC-MS measurements

Changes in liquid composition during gradient elution liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) analyses affect the electrospray operation. To establish methodologies for judicious selection of the electrospray voltage, we monitored in real time the effect of the LC gradient on the spray current. The optimum range of the electrospray voltage decreased as the concentration of organic solvent in the eluent increased during reversed-phase LC analyses. These results and related observations provided the means to rationally select the voltage to ensure effective electrospray operation throughout gradient-elution LC separations. For analyses in which the electrospray was operated at constant voltage, a small run-to-run variation in the spray current was observed, indicating a changing electric field resulting from fouling or degradation of the emitter. Algorithms using feedback from spray current measurements that can maintain the electrospray voltage within the optimum operating range throughout gradient elution LC-MS were evaluated. The electrospray operation with voltage regulation and at a constant, judiciously selected voltage during gradient elution LC-MS measurements produced data with similar reproducibility.     

A sensitive high-throughput HPLC assay for simultaneous determination of everolimus and clobetasol propionate

A novel sensitive high-throughput high-performance liquid chromatography assay is developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of everolimus and clobetasol propionate in pharmaceutical formulations. The chromatographic separation is achieved on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 reversed-phase column using a gradient elution, with solvent A: ammonium acetate (pH 6.8; 0.01 M) and solvent B: acetonitrile. The mean recovery ranges from 95.1% to 100.0% for clobetasol propionate and from 97.9% to 103.7% for everolimus. The limit of quantitation for each analyte is 0.02 microg/mL. The percent relative standard deviations are less than 3% for intra- and inter-day analyses. The proposed method can be used for the routine quality control of everolimus and clobetasol propionate in complex pharmaceutical formulations, especially the drug-delivery systems with a low total drug-load.     

Application of the split-peak effect to study the adsorption kinetics of human serum albumin on a reversed-phase support

The adsorption step of human serum albumin on a reversed-phase support was analyzed by studying the "split-peak" effect in mass-overload conditions. This behavior is characterized by the occurrence of a first non-retained fraction and is described by an analytical expression in the case of a Langmuirian adsorption isotherm. The method was applied to determine the column loading capacity, the number of mass-transfer units and the apparent adsorption rate constant measured at a given flow-rate. The nature of the organic modifier influences the split-peak effect: it increases with the eluotropic strength of the organic solvent added to the buffer. Compared to the results with pure buffer, it is the association of two effects, the decrease of the column loading capacity and that of the apparent adsorption rate constant, which increases the split-peak effects observed when methanol and 2-propanol are added to the eluent. These results allow us to gain a better understanding of the role of the organic solvent in the elution behavior of proteins in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.     

Prefractionation of protein samples for proteome analysis using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

We describe an approach for fractionating complex protein samples prior to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Whole lysates of cells and tissue were prefractionated by reversed-phase chromatography and elution with a five-step gradient of increasing acetonitrile concentrations. The proteins obtained at each step were subsequently separated by high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The reproducibility of this prefractionation technique proved to be optimal for comparing 2-DE gels from two different cell states. In addition, this method is suitable for enriching low-abundance proteins barely detectable by silver staining to amounts that can be detected by Coomassie blue and further analyzed by mass spectrometry.     

Separation of Minute Quantities of Impurities in Nonapeptides by Reverse-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography: Critical Nature of The Water/Acetonitrile Ratio

Abstract

A detailed study of the influence of the eluent composition, such as the ratio of the concentration of water to acetonitrile and the apparent pH, for the analysis of nonapeptides by high-performance liquid chromatography is described. Selection of the optimum conditions is based on maximizing the separation of the minor components from the major component in a minimum elution time.

This investigation also describes the effect of an elution gradient, the wavelength setting for the absorbance detection, recycling the main component through the column and using microparticulate octadecyl columns from different manufacturers.