Rapid headspace gas chromatographic method for the determination of liquid/gas partition coefficients

A rapid, efficient and low-cost headspace technique useful for the determination of liquid/gas partition coefficients of gases and volatile substances of low and intermediate solubility is described. The equilibration step is carried out at constant pressure using glass syringes, with a ratio of liquid/gas phase volumes of ca. 1:3; after 30 min at the desired temperature, the headspace is recovered by transfer into another syringe and analyzed by gas chromatography. A study of the partition coefficients in water at 37 degrees C of 27 volatile compounds demonstrated that the method is fully applicable for all gases, with exception of those with a partition coefficient higher than 300.     

Micellar chromatographic determination of partition coefficients and associated thermodynamic data for pharmaceutical compounds

Micelle/water partition coefficients were obtained for procaine hydrochloride using micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) to illustrate the potential application of this technique to compounds of pharmaceutical interest. Experiments were conducted over a temperature range which led to calculation of a Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy of transfer for procaine hydrochloride. Successful application of this technique was confirmed using a second compound over a range of temperatures, namely caffeine. Overall, this work confirms that MLC can be used to determine precise and accurate partition coefficients that possibly more closely mimic biological membranes than traditional in vitro systems, namely octanol/water.     

Simulation of ion mass transfer processes with allowance for the concentration dependence of diffusion coefficients

The system of equations describing ion transport in a binary electrolyte z _a-z _c with allowance for the linear dependence of the diffusion coefficients on the concentration was analyzed in the framework of the phenomenological Nernst-Planck approach. The expressions are obtained that define concentration profiles of ions and conditions favorable for the limiting current caused by the achievement of the concentration of a saturated solution (in the case of the anodic reaction) and depletion of the near-electrode region in electroactive cations (in the case of the cathodic reaction). The revealed theoretical dependence of the limiting current on the volume concentration of the salt agrees with published experimental data. The voltammetric characteristics of the corresponding systems were calculated. The role of the migrational component of the ion flow is discussed. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 638–642, April, 2006.     

Methods for chromatographic determination of amanitins and related toxins in biological samples.

Methods for the chromatographic determination of amanitins, toxins of Amanita phalloides (Fr.), Link mushrooms and related toxins are reviewed; particular emphasis is given to high-performance liquid chromatographic methods. The main chemical and toxicological aspects are discussed, but the focus of the present review is on the analytical problems arising in a laboratory charged with the setting up of a procedure which can direct the appropriate clinical management of an intoxicated patient or solve a forensic case.     

Simultaneous determination of binary diffusion coefficients from multiple response curves by chromatographic measurements

A validated two-dimensional HPLC method for the comprehensive analysis of small quantities of branched aliphatic D-amino acids in the presence of large amounts of their L-congeners in mammalian tissues and physiological fluids is described. The quantitative analysis of these aliphatic amino acids (Val, allo-Ile, Ile, and Leu) is important for the diagnosis of various inherent metabolic disorders of amino acids, and the D-enantiomers are expected to be of particular interest from a pharmacological point of view. Target analytes were determined as their fluorescent derivatives, pre-column labeled with 4-fluoro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-F), using an automated two-dimensional column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic system combining a narrow bore reversed-phase column and an enantioselective column connected with an integrated multi-loop peak fraction storage device. The described two-dimensional analysis concept proved to be successful for the given task in biological samples taken from mammals. Total analysis time for the reversed-phase separation of the four target NBD-amino acids is 60 min, and the integrated enantiomer separation of each of the four analytes is completed in approximately 5 min. In the rat, significant amounts of D-Leu were found in all tissues and physiological fluids tested (trace-1.3 nmol/g tissue), and in the urine, the presence of high amounts of D-allo-Ile (D-isomer of a non-proteinogenic amino acid, 22.2 nmol/ml) was demonstrated. D-allo-Ile was also found in the urine of dog and mouse, which indicates the ubiquitous presence of this unusual D-amino acid and the potential need to clarify its unique metabolism in mammals.     

In-drop derivatisation liquid-phase microextraction assisted by ion-pairing transfer for the gas chromatographic determination of phenolic endocrine disruptors

A novel in-drop derivatisation liquid-phase microextraction procedure with an ion-pairing agent is developed and optimised for the extraction of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The ethyl esters of the analytes were rapidly formed in the organic drop and analysed by gas chromatography. The effects of various parameters such as rate and time of agitation, ion-pairing agent and reactant concentration, pH and temperature were studied systematically to optimise the process and bring out the locale of reaction in the organic drop. A study of the mechanistic pathways of the overall procedure is attempted leading to interesting findings and delineating important points of the kinetics and mechanism. A mechanistic model is proposed on the basis of the theory of mass transfer with chemical reaction in two liquid phases. The O-ethoxycarbonyl derivatisation appears to take place in the bulk organic phase. The system provides insight into the first reported analytical case of single-drop extraction-preconcentration-derivatisation assisted by an ion-pairing transfer and has all of the interesting facets of chemical reaction in which the role of mass transfer comes into picture.The analytical features of the method are acceptable and the overall relative standard deviations of the intra-day repeatability (n = 5) and inter-day reproducibility were <3.9% and <5.4%, respectively, for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses and <4.3% and <7.1% for gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection analyses. The method was applicable to urine and surface water samples. The LODs ranged between 0.2-1.3 ng mL⁻¹ and 8.5-26.5 ng mL⁻¹ for GC/MS and GC/FID analyses, respectively.     

Stability-indicating chromatographic methods for the determination of some oxicams

Two sensitive and selective methods were developed for the determination of some oxicams, namely, lornoxicam (LOX), tenoxicam (TEX), and meloxicam (MEX), in the presence of their alkaline degradation products. The first method is based on the thin-layer chromatographic separation of the 3 drugs from their alkaline degradation products, followed by densitometric measurement of the intact drug spots for LOX, TEX, and MEX at 380, 370, and 364 nm, respectively. The developing systems used for separation are ethyl acetate-methanol-26% ammonia (17 + 3 + 0.35, v/v/v) for LOX and TEX and chloroform-n-hexane-96.0% acetic acid (18 + 1 + 1, v/v/v) for MEX. The linear ranges were 0.25-6.0 microg/spot for LOX and TEX and 0.5-10 microg/spot for MEX, with mean recoveries of 99.80 +/- 1.32, 100.57 +/- 1.34, and 100.71 +/- 1.57%, respectively. The second method is based on the liquid chromatographic separation of the 3 drugs from their alkaline degradation products on a reversed-phase C18 column, using mobile phases of methanol-acetonitrile-acetate buffer, pH 4.6 (4.5 + 0.5 + 5.0, v/v/v) for LOX and MEX and methanol-acetonitrile-acetate buffer, pH 4.6 (1.9 + 0.1 + 3.0, v/v/v) for TEX at ambient temperature. Quantification is achieved by UV detection at 280 nm, based on peak area. The linear ranges were 0.5-20 microg/mL for LOX and TEX and 1.25-50 microg/mL for MEX, with mean recoveries of 99.81 +/- 1.01, 98.90 +/- 1.61, and 100.86 +/- 1.55%, respectively. The methods were validated according to guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization. The developed methods were successfully applied to the determination of LOX, TEX, and MEX in bulk powder, laboratory-prepared mixtures containing different percentages of degradation products, and pharmaceutical dosage forms.     

Methods for the exploratory analysis of two-dimensional chromatographic signals

In this article several approaches for the exploratory analysis of two-dimensional chromatographic signals (fingerprints) are presented. Their usefulness is illustrated on experimental chromatographic data obtained from high performance liquid chromatography using the photodiode-array detector (HPLC-DAD). Among the methods discussed are principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering methods and several N-way techniques such as PARAFAC, PARAFAC2 and Tucker3. In addition to the N-way methods, other approaches that allow for comparing samples represented by two-dimensional fingerprints are also presented (the Rv coefficient, the STATIS approach and ‘fuzzy’ variants of the similarity matrix). Exploratory analysis of the HPLC-DAD data with peak shifts is also discussed.     

Anisotropy of the transfer coefficients in organic semiconductors

Within the framework of the kinetic equation, the assumption of the existence of a relaxation tensor is introduced. From the Onsager relationships in the zeroth approximation with respect to the magnetic field it follows that commutes with matrix iV_k> where v is the velocity of the electron or the hole. This permits one to reduce matrix to diagonal form. The ratios ₁/₂ and ₃/₂ were evaluated from data on the anistropy of the hole mobility in anthracene. Since the zone structure for holes in naphthalene and anthracene is practically the same, it is possible to calculate in advance the anisotropy of the hole mobility in naphthalene. The results obtained agree better with the experimental data than do the known literature data.     

Characteristics of the activity coefficients in binary solutions on chromatographic paper

The deviation from ideality of the characteristics of chromatographic binary solutions in paper chromatography is discussed.     

Extending reversed-flow chromatographic methods for the measurement of diffusion coefficients to higher temperatures

A reversed-flow gas-chromatography (RF-GC) apparatus for the measurement of binary diffusion coefficients is described and utilized to measure the binary diffusion coefficients for several systems at temperatures from (300 to 723)K. Hydrocarbons are detected using flame ionization detection, and inert species can be detected by thermal conductivity. The present apparatus has been utilized to measure diffusion coefficients at substantially higher temperatures than previous RF-GC work. Characterization of the new apparatus was accomplished by comparing measured binary diffusion coefficients of dilute argon in helium to established reference values. Further diffusion coefficient measurements for dilute helium in argon and dilute nitrogen in helium (using thermal conductivity detection) and dilute methane in helium (using flame ionization detection) were performed and found to be in excellent agreement with literature values. The measurement of these well-established diffusion coefficients has shown that specific experimental conditions are required for accurate diffusion measurements using this technique, particularly at higher temperatures. Numerical simulations of the diffusion experiments are presented to demonstrate that artifacts of the analysis procedure must be specifically identified to ensure accuracy, particularly at higher temperatures.     

Gas chromatographic quantitation of underivatized amines in the determination of their octanol-0.1 M sodium hydroxide partition coefficients by the shake-flask method

The elution behaviour of a selection of sequence variant and modified insulins has been compared on a C18 reversed-phase column. Observed elution times were compared with those expected from the nature of the differences from bovine insulin. In some cases prediction rules established for peptides are adequate to explain the observed elution and in others detailed knowledge of the structure of the protein is of considerable importance in understanding elution behaviour.     

Phenomenological coefficients in the equations of thermodynamics of irreversible processes for anisotropic media

The phenomenological coefficients of the phenomenological equations (laws) obtained for anisotropic media, in particular, interphase separation regions, were studied. Generally, these coefficients are tensors of rank from 0 to 4. An attempt was made to find a general procedure for the determination of nonzero tensor components when cross phenomenological coefficient are present in phenomenological equations including generalized thermodynamic forces with various tensor ranks.     

Systematic search for surrogate chromatographic models of biopartitioning processes

A systematic approach for identifing surrogate chromatographic models for biopartitioning processes is described. The method is based on a comparison of the system constant ratios of the solvation parameter model for biopartitioning processes and a database of system constant ratios for reversed-phase liquid chromatographic and micellar electrokinetic chromatographic systems compiled from literature sources. An acceptance filter of < or = 0.2 is applied for each difference in system constant ratio for the compared systems to provide a reasonable probability of success without outputting too many systems with limited predictive properties. Surrogate chromatographic models identified for the non-specific toxicity of neutral organic compounds to the fathead minnow and the soil-water distribution constant are tested by construction of a correlation model for the characteristic property of the biological process and the chromatographic retention factors for a structurally varied group of compounds. Although these models are not the best that could be obtained based on ranking of the differences in system constant ratios the predictive ability of the correlation models is suitable for typical applications and similar to the accepted uncertainty in the measurements of the biological property. Retention factors on the immobilized artificial membrane column (IAM PC DD 2) with 10% (v/v) methanol-water as mobile phase are able to estimate non-specific toxicity to the fathead minnow with a standard error (SE) of 0.22 log units and coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.97 for 31 compounds. Retention factors on a Bakerbond DIOL column with 20% (v/v) acetonitrile-water as mobile phase are able to estimate the soil-water distribution constant with an SE of 0.38 log units and r2 = 0.88 for 59 compounds. Other potential surrogate chromatographic models are identified for non-specific toxicity to the guppy, tadpole, Vibrio fischeri and Terahymena pyriformis as well as the plant cuticle matrix-water distribution constant. On the other hand reversed-phase chromatographic systems seem poorly suited for estimating intestinal absorption and the blood-brain distribution constant.