Preparative isolation of alkaloids from Corydalis bungeana Turcz. by high-speed counter-current chromatography using stepwise elution

High‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully applied for the preparative separation and purification of alkaloids from Corydalis bungeana Turcz. (Kudiding in Chinese) for the first time. After the measurement of partition coefficient of seven target alkaloids in the nine two‐phase solvent systems composed of CHCl₃–MeOH–(0.1 M; 0.2 M; 0.3 M) HCl (4:1.5:2; 4:2:2; 4:3:2, v/v), CHCl₃–MeOH–0.2 M HCl (4:2:2, v/v) and CHCl₃–MeOH–0.3 M HCl (4:3:2, v/v) were finally selected for the HSCCC separation using the first upper phase as the stationary phase and the stepwise elution of the two lower mobile phases. Consequently, sanguinarine (10 mg), corynoline (25 mg), protopine (20 mg), corynoloxine (18 mg), and 12‐hydroxycorynoline (8 mg) were obtained from 200 mg of crude alkaloid extracts with purities of 94–99% as determined by HPLC. Their chemical structures were characterized on the basis of ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, and LC‐ESI‐Q‐TOF‐MS/MS analyses.     

Extraction and isolation of diphenylheptanes and flavonoids from Alpinia officinarum Hance using supercritical fluid extraction followed by supercritical fluid chromatography

In this paper, an off-line combination method of supercritical fluid extraction and supercritical fluid chromatography was developed for the selective extraction and isolation of diphenylheptanes and flavonoids from Alpinia officinarum Hance. The enrichment of target components was successfully achieved using supercritical fluid extraction with the following conditions (8% ethanol as co-solvent at 45°C and 30 MPa for 30 min). Taking full advantage of the complementarity of supercritical fluid chromatography stationary phases, a two-step preparative supercritical fluid chromatography strategy was constructed. The extract was firstly divided into seven fractions on a Diol column (250 × 20 mm internal diameter, 10 μm) within 8 min by gradient elution increasing from 5% to 20% modifier (methanol) at 55 ml/min and 15 MPa. Then the seven fractions were separated by using a 1-AA or a DEA column (250 × 19 mm internal diameter, 5 μm) at 50 ml/min and 13.5 MPa. This two-step strategy showed superior separation ability for structural analogs. As a result, seven compounds, including four diphenylheptanes and three flavonoids with high purity, were successfully obtained. The developed method is also helpful for the extraction and isolation of other structural analogs of traditional Chinese medicines.     

An efficient strategy for the extraction and purification of lignans from Schisandra chinensis by a combination of supercritical fluid extraction and high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

An efficient strategy for extracting and separating five lignans from Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill has been developed using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) in the present study. First, the extraction was performed by a preparative SFE system under 15 MPa of pressure at 36°C for 4 h. Then, the SFE extract was successfully separated and purified by HSCCC with a two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (6:4:5:5, 6:4:6:4, 6:4:8:2, v/v) in a stepwise elution mode. The fractions were analyzed by HPLC, and the chemical structures of the products were identified by ESI‐MS and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. As a result, a total of 12.5 mg of schisandrin at 98.0% purity, 7.1 mg of gomisin A at 98.1% purity, 1.8 mg of schisantherin B at 93.3% purity, 4.4 mg of deoxyschisandrin at 92.9% purity, and 6.8 mg of γ‐schisandrin at 89.1% purity were obtained from 300 mg crude extract in a one‐step purification.     

Preparative separation of quaternary ammonium alkaloids from Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang by pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography

The optimal extraction condition for extracting quaternary ammonium alkaloid dehydrocorydaline from Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang was investigated using orthogonal experimental design. pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography (CCC) with normal phase elution was successfully applied to preparative separation of alkaloids from the crude extract of Corydalis yanhusuo. The separation was performed with a biphasic solvent system composed of chloroform (CHCl₃)–methanol (MeOH)–water (2:1:1, v/v), in which the lower organic phase containing 10 mM of triethylamine was used as the mobile phase, while the upper aqueous phase containing 10 mM of hydrochloric acid was used as the stationary phase. The separation mechanism of quaternary ammonium alkaloids using pH‐zone‐refining CCC was discussed in comparison with standard high‐speed CCC. In the present study, the separation of 1.200 g of crude sample yielded 129 mg of dehydrocorydaline and 12 mg of palmatine at a high purity of 94 and 92%, respectively. Recovery for dehydrocorydaline and palmatine was 85 and 86%, respectively.     

Rapid separation of three glucosylated resveratrol analogues from the invasive plant Polygonum cuspidatum by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

Three glucosylated resveratrol analogues (piceid, piceatannol glucoside, resveratroloside) were successfully isolated from the crude MeOH extract of the invasive plant species Polygonum cuspidatum by semi‐preparative high‐speed countercurrent chromatography with a two‐phase solvent system composed of cyclohexane‐ethyl acetate‐methanol‐water (1:5:1:5, v/v/v/v). Piceid (23 mg), resveratroloside (17 mg), piceatannol glucoside (15 mg) of purities over 80% were isolated from 500 mg crude MeOH extract in one step. Subsequent passage over a SPE column was used to quickly bring their purities to over 90%. The purities were determined by HPLC analysis and their structures were elucidated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR), HMBC, ESI‐MS and HR‐MS.     

Isolation of oxidative degradation products of atorvastatin with supercritical fluid chromatography

The isolation of four oxidative degradation products of atorvastatin using preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography applying at least two chromatographic steps is known from the literature. In this paper it is shown that the same four impurities could be isolated from similarly prepared mixtures in only one step using supercritical fluid chromatography. The methods for separation were developed and optimized. The preparation of the mixtures was altered in such a way as to enhance the concentration of desired impurities. Appropriate solvents were applied for collection of separated impurities in order to prevent degradation. The structures of the isolated impurities were confirmed and their purity determined. The preparative supercritical fluid chromatography has proven to be superior to preparative HPLC regarding achieved purity of standards applying fewer chromatographic as well as isolation steps. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Method for Separation of Chlorthalidone Enantiomers

Supercritical fluid chromatography employing chiral stationary phases is a popular separation technique to perform enantioselective separations. The main advantages of supercritical fluid chromatography are low analysis time, low consumption of organic modifiers, and therefore lower costs and higher environmental friendliness. A novel method for the separation of chlorthalidone enantiomers, widely used diuretic drug, is reported that clearly demonstrates the advantages of supercritical fluid chromatography. The effects of the amount and type of organic modifiers, temperature, and back pressure on enantioselectivity and resolution of the enantiomers were evaluated. The baseline separation was achieved in less than 2.5 min in the optimized system composed of Chiralpak AD column, mobile phase CO₂/MeOH 50/50 (v/v), temperature 40°C, a flow rate of 4.0 mL/min, and 120 bar back pressure. Moreover, enantiomers of chlorthalidone were determined in two commercially available pharmaceuticals. The proposed method may be easily transferred to a semi-preparative scale.     

Combined application of chromatographic techniques for the separation of phenolic compounds from Stenoloma chusanum Ching

High‐speed countercurrent chromatography combined with preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography was successfully used to separate seven phenolic compounds from Stenoloma chusanum Ching. A biphasic solvent system composed of hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:2:1:2, v/v) was used for the first step high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation in elution–extrusion mode. A mobile phase composed of acetonitrile (18%) and pure water (82%) was used for further preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography purification. In total, the combined separation yielded seven compounds, including 3,4‐dihydroxy benzoic acid, 3,4‐dihydroxy benzaldehyde, esculetin, caffeic acid, syringic acid, luteolin, and apigenin, at a purity of over 90%. Esculetin was separated from Stenoloma chusanum Ching for the first time. The results suggest that the proposed combination method is a useful strategy for separating compounds from complex samples.     

Triticonazole enantiomers: Separation by supercritical fluid chromatography and the effect of the chromatographic conditions

Enantiomeric pairs of triticonazole have been successfully separated by supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with a tris(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamoyl) cellulose‐coated chiral stationary phase in this work. The effects of co‐solvent, dissolution solvent, flow rate, backpressure, and column temperature have been studied in detail with respect to retention, selectivity, and resolution of triticonazole. As indicated, the co‐solvents mostly affected the retention factors and resolution, due to the different molecular structure and polarity. In addition, the dissolution solvents, namely, chloromethanes and alcohols, have been also important for enantioseparation because of the different interaction with stationary phase. Higher flow rate and backpressure led to faster elution of the triticonazole molecules, and the change of column temperature showed slight effect on the resolution of triticonazole racemate. Moreover, a comparative separation experiment between supercritical fluid chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography revealed that chiral supercritical fluid chromatography gave the 3.5 times value of R_s/t_R2 than high performance liquid chromatography, which demonstrated that supercritical fluid chromatography had much higher separation efficiency.     

Efficient separation of curcumin,demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin from turmeric using supercritical fluid chromatography: From analytical to preparative scale

Curcumin is the major constituent of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). It has attracted widespread attention for its anticancer and anti‐inflammatory activities. The separation of curcumin and its two close analogs, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, has been challenging by conventional techniques. In this study, an environmentally friendly method based on supercritical fluid chromatography was established for the rapid and facile separation of the three curcuminoids directly from the methanol extract of turmeric. The method was first developed and optimized by ultra performance convergence chromatography, and was then scaled up to preparative supercritical fluid chromatography. Eluted with supercritical fluid CO₂ containing 8–15% methanol (containing 10 mM oxalic acid) at a flow rate of 80 mL/min, curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin could be well separated on a Viridis BEH OBD column (Waters, 250 mm × 19 mm, 5 μm) within 6.5 min. As a result, 20.8 mg of curcumin (97.9% purity), 7.0 mg of demethoxycurcumin (91.1%), and 4.6 mg of bisdemethoxycurcumin (94.8%) were obtained after a single step of supercritical fluid chromatography separation with a mean recovery of 76.6%. Showing obvious advantages in low solvent consumption, large sample loading, and easy solvent removal, supercritical fluid chromatography was proved to be a superior technique for the efficient separation of natural products.     

Chromatographic enantioseparation of amino acids using a new chiral stationary phase based on a macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotic

The separation of the enantiomers of several a-amino acids was studied on a new chiral stationary phase (CSP) which is based on the macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotic eremomycin attached to silica particles. Retention and separation factors were determined under analytical conditions at ambient temperature for different mobile phase compositions. In order to evaluate the potential with respect to preparative separations the adsorption isotherms of D- and L-methionine were determined for one mobile phase composition applying the elution by characteristic point method. The isotherms were validated by comparing experimentally determined elution profiles with predictions based on the equilibrium dispersive model. Finally, the performance of the eremomycin CSP was compared with a commercially available CSP based on the macrocyclic antibiotic teicoplanin. After determining the isotherms of D- and L-methionine also for the teicoplanin phase, the equilibrium dispersive model was used for both CSP to identify optimal operating conditions. For the separation and conditions considered the new eremomycin CSP revealed a better performance compared to the teicoplanin CSP.     

Analytical and semi‐preparative enantioresolution of (RS)‐ketorolac from pharmaceutical formulation and in human plasma by HPLC

An efficient, simple, validated, analytical and semi‐preparative HPLC method has been developed for direct enantioresolution of (RS)‐Ketorolac (Ket) using monochloro‐methylated derivatives of cellulose and amylose, i.e. cellulose (tris‐3‐chloro‐4‐methylphenylcarbamate) and amylose (tris‐5‐chloro‐2‐methylphenylcarbamate) as chiral stationary phases (CSPs) with photo diode array detection at 320 nm. Enantioresolution was carried out in samples of human plasma spiked with (RS)‐Ket under normal and reversed‐phase elution modes with suitable mobile phase compositions. The effect of nature of alcohols (MeOH, EtOH, PrOH and n‐BuOH) and other solvents (MeCN and MeOH) as organic modifiers in the mobile phase was investigated on the separation performance of two CSPs in terms of retention and separation of enantiomers. The best resolution was observed on cellulose‐based CSP using EtOH, while using 2‐PrOH (15%) and amylose‐based CSP obtained the highest retention. Under reversed‐phase elution mode the best enantioseparation was observed using 30% MeCN with ammonium formate buffer. The elution order of enantiomers was ascertained by determining specific rotations. The limit of detection and quantitation values were 5 and 15.5 ng/mL for each enantiomer of (RS)‐Ket, respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cellulose tris‐(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate)‐based chiral stationary phase for the enantioseparation of drugs in supercritical fluid chromatography: comparison with HPLC

A cellulose tris‐(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarbamate)‐based chiral stationary phase was studied as a tool for the enantioselective separation of 21 selected analytes with different pharmaceutical and physicochemical properties. The enantioseparations were performed using supercritical fluid chromatography. The effect of the mobile phase composition was studied. Four different additives (diethylamine, triethylamine, isopropylamine, and trifluoroacetic acid) and isopropylamine combined with trifluoroacetic acid were tested and their influence on enantioseparation was compared. The influence of two different mobile phase co‐solvents (methanol and propan‐2‐ol) combined with all the additives was also evaluated. The best mobile phase compositions for the separation of the majority of enantiomers were CO₂/methanol/isopropylamine 80:20:0.1 v/v/v or CO₂/propan‐2‐ol/isopropylamine/trifluoroacetic acid 80:20:0.05:0.05 v/v/v/v. The best results were obtained from the group of basic β‐blockers. A high‐performance liquid chromatography separation system composed of the same stationary phase and mobile phase of similar properties prepared as a mixture of hexane/propan‐2‐ol/additive 80:20:0.1 v/v/v was considered for comparison. Supercritical fluid chromatography was found to yield better results, i.e. better enantioresolution for shorter analysis times than high‐performance liquid chromatography. However, examples of enantiomers better resolved under the optimized conditions in high‐performance liquid chromatography were also found.     

Exploration and optimization of conditions for quantitative analysis of lignans in Schisandra chinensis by an online supercritical fluid extraction with supercritical fluid chromatography system

An online supercritical fluid extraction with supercritical fluid chromatography system could provide sequential extraction and quantitative analysis of lignans in Schisandra chinensis. Supercritical fluid extraction conditions were optimized at 15 MPa, 50°C, and 4 min with supercritical CO₂ adding 1% methanol; the elution volume and flow rate were set at 6 mL and 2 mL/min to blow extract out of the tank completely. The split‐flow rate was confirmed at 2.5%, which determines injection volume and accuracy of quantitative detection. The factors having negative influences on supercritical fluid chromatography retention in the online system, including sample loading forms and backpressure settings, are discussed in the paper. At last, an extraction‐quantitative method for lignans in Schisandra chinensis was developed, which could be finished within 19.5 min. The total content percentage of four lignans (Schisandrin, Schisandrin A, Schisandrin B and Schisandrol B) in four batches was respectively measured to be 1.42, 1.54, 1.62, and 1.90%.     

Pharmaceutical analysis by supercritical fluid chromatography: Optimization of the mobile phase composition on a 2-ethylpyridine column

The separation of neutral, acidic, and basic pharmaceuticals with diverse physicochemical properties by packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (pSFC) on a 2-ethylpyridine column (25 cmx4.6 mm id, 3 mum particles) is presented. The optimization strategy involved separations at 100% methanol (MeOH) and at 50% MeOH/50% ACN while keeping the peak symmetry additives formic acid (FA) and isopropylamine (IPA) at constant levels of 0.25% v/v. By plotting the adjusted retention times as a function of the MeOH/ACN ratio, an optimal modifier ratio composition of 65% MeOH/35% ACN was found. The total set of 26 neutral, acidic, and basic pharmaceuticals was analyzed and the optimal composition experimentally verified. This mobile phase composition is currently used in pharmaceutical method development and open-access generic screening environments.     

Preparative purification of glycyrrhizin extracted from the root of liquorice using high-speed counter-current chromatography

Glycyrrhizin is one of the main bioactive components in liquorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch) which has recently been found to be highly active in inhibiting replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated virus. The separation and purification of glycyrrhizin from a methanol-water (70:30 (v/v)) extract of liquorice roots was achieved using high-speed counter-current chromatography. The separation was performed at a preparative scale in a one-step separation with a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:2:5 (v/v)). The lower phase was used as the mobile phase in the head-to-tail elution mode. The present method yielded 42.2 mg glycyrrhizin at 96.8% purity from 130 mg of the crude exact with 95.2% recovery as determined by HPLC analysis.     

Preparative separation of bioactive constitutes from Zanthoxylum planispinum using linear gradient counter‐current chromatography

Counter‐current chromatography is a chromatographic technique with a support‐free liquid stationary phase. In the present study, a successful application of linear gradient counter‐current chromatographic method for preparative isolation of bioactive components from the crude ethanol extract of Zanthoxylum planispinum was presented. The application of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water quaternary solvents, in terms of “HEMWat” or “Arizona” solvent families, in gradient elution mode was evaluated. Results indicated that slightly proportional changes of biphasic liquid systems provided the possibility of gradient elution in counter‐current chromatography, maintaining stationary phase retention in the column. With the selected quaternary solvent systems composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (2:1:2:1 and 3:2:3:2, v/v), and optimized gradient programs, in total seven fractions were separated in 4.5 h. Most of the purified compounds could be obtained at the milligram level with over 80% purity. The present study indicated that the linear gradient counter‐current chromatographic approach possessed unique advantages in terms of separation efficiency, exhibiting great potential for the comprehensive separation of complex natural extracts.     

Supercritical fluid chromatography tandem-column method development in pharmaceutical sciences for a mixture of four stereoisomers

A tandem-column method using Chiralpak AD-H and Chiralcel OD-H columns was achieved for baseline separation of a mixture of chiral pharmaceutical compounds (i.e., four stereoisomers) via supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with a mobile phase consisting of 90% liquid carbon dioxide and 10% ethanol:isopropanol (50:50 v/v). On the contrary, this mixture (mixture A) could not be baseline separated by SFC conditions explored with individual Chiralpak AD-H and Chiralcel OD-H columns. The effects of various mobile phases on elution order, capacity factor, selectivity, and resolution were determined with mixture A on the individual aforementioned columns to develop the tandem-column method.     

Preparative enantioseparation of loxoprofen precursor by recycling countercurrent chromatography with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as a chiral selector

Recycling countercurrent chromatography was successfully applied to the resolution of 2‐(4‐bromomethylphenyl)propionic acid, a key synthetic intermediate for synthesis of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug loxoprofen, using hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as chiral selector. The two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐hexane/n‐butyl acetate/0.1 mol/L citrate buffer solution with pH 2.4 (8:2:10, v/v/v) was selected. Influence factors for the enantioseparation were optimized, including type of substituted β‐cyclodextrin, concentration of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, separation temperature, and pH of aqueous phase. Under optimized separation conditions, 50 mg of 2‐(4‐bromomethylphenyl)propionic acid was enantioseparated using preparative recycling countercurrent chromatography. Technical details for recycling elution mode were discussed. The purities of both the S and R enantiomers were over 99.0% as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The enantiomeric excess of the S and R enantiomers reached 98.0%. The recovery of the enantiomers from eluted fractions was 40.8–65.6%, yielding 16.4 mg of the S enantiomer and 10.2 mg of the R enantiomer. At the same time, we attempted to enantioseparate the anti‐inflammatory drug loxoprofen by countercurrent chromatography and high‐performance liquid chromatography using a chiral mobile phase additive. However, no successful enantioseparation was achieved so far.     

Supercritical fluid extraction of aurentiamide acetate from Patrinia villosa Juss and subsequent isolation by silica gel and high-speed counter-current chromatography

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of aurentiamide acetate from Patrinia villosa Juss was performed. The optimization of parameters was carried out using an analytical-scale supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) system. Then the extraction was scaled up by 100 times using a preparative SFE system under the optimized conditions of 55 degrees C, 35 MPa and modified CO2 with 10% methanol. Then, the crude extract I obtained by SFE was chromatographed on silica gel and the solvent system composed of petroleum ether-ethyl acetate (5:1, v/v) was used to produce the crude extract II, which was further isolated and purified by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:1.2:1.2:1, v/v/v/v). One hundred fifty-five milligrams of aurentiamide acetate was obtained from 400 mg crude extract II (contained 42% target) with a purity of 99.3% determined by HPLC and 92.3% recovery in one-step elution, and identification was performed by UV, MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. As far as we know, this is the first report of discovering aurentiamide acetate from the plant of Patrinia genius.