Selectivity tuning of serially coupled columns in high performance liquid chromatography

The tuning of selectivity by changing the flow rate has been investigated in HPLC: two columns with different retention characteristics were coupled in series via a T-piece and the relative retention of components chromatographed on the system were changed by varying the individual flow rates in the coupled columns. The flow rate alteration was performed by adding a second flow after the first column. The flow rate ratio necessary for optimum resolution can be easily calculated on the basis of the capacity factors measured on the individual columns. The performance of this method for adjusting selectivity has been demonstrated by using different column combinations to separate several mixtures containing chlorophenols, nitroaromatic compounds, and aromatic hydrocarbons.     

Extraction Refining of Light Vacuum Gas Oil

Highly selective refining of light vacuum gas oil by five-step countercurrent extraction of aromatic and heteroatomic compounds with N-methylpyrrolidone or dimethylacetamide in the presence of low-boiling nonpolar solvents was studied. The resulting refined oil can be used as high-quality raw material in hydrocracking and catalytic cracking.     

Separations of aldehydes by means of ion-exchange chromatography on bisulfite columns

Mixtures of carbonyl compounds were chromatographed on Dowex-I columns in the bisulfite form. Sodium bisulfite solutions of increasing concentrations were used as eluants. The studied compounds, including acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural and vanillin, were separated completely from each other. The eluate was also analysed quantitatively.     

Arsenic Compounds in Terrestrial Organisms II: Arsenocholine in the Mushroom Amanita muscaria

Arsenic compounds were identified and quantified in the mushroom Amanita muscaria, collected close to a facility that had roasted arsenic ores. The powdered dried mushrooms were extracted with methanol/water (9:1), the extracts were concentrated and the concentrates were dissolved in water. The resulting solutions were chromatographed on anion-exchange, cation-exchange and reversed- phase columns. Arsenic was detected on-line with an ICP–MS detector equipped with a hydraulic high-pressure nebulizer. Arsenite, arsenate, dimethylarsinic acid and the tetramethylarsonium cation were minor arsenic compounds (∼2% each of the total 22 mg kg⁻¹ dry mass), and arsenobetaine, arsenocholine (∼15% each) and several unidentified arsenic compounds (∼60%) were the major arsenic compounds in Amanita muscaria. The presence of arsenocholine (detected for the first time in a terrestrial sample) was ascertained by matching retention times in the anion-exchange, cation- exchange and reversed-phase chromatograms with the retention time of synthetic arsenocholine bromide and chromatographing extracts spiked with arsenocholine bromide. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gas Chromatographic Analysis of DDT-Type Compounds

Abstract

Four columns have been used experimentally in combination with an electron capture detector, which allowed the determination of 25 DDT-type compounds, some of which have been reported as DDT breakdown products in many biological and nonbiological systems. The liquid phases were 5% QF-i, 5% Igepal, 5% Versamid 900, and 5% DC-11. The solid support for the 4 columns was 80 to 100 mesh Chromosorb W. Optimal temperatures (°C) for the columns were 190 (column), 210 (detector), and 230 (injector port). Optimal nitrogen flow rate was 35 ml/min., for all columns. The trimethylsilyl derivatives of the polar DDT-type compounds, DBH, DDOH, Dicofol, and DDA were successfully gas chromatographed on the column 5% QF-1 and the mixed column 2.5% QF-1 + 2.5% SE-30.     

The pyrolysis and nonflaming oxidative degradation of poly(vinylfluoride)

The thermal degradation of poly(vinylfluoride) (PVF) was studied under slow heating conditions to 1000°C with and without the presence of air. The degradation products, classified as low-boiling volatiles, high-boiling volatiles, and nonvolatile residues, were analyzed quantitatively by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry and several spectroscopic methods. Initial stages of degradation begin at 420°C with the evolution of HF and benzene and rapidly reach a maximum in sample weight loss by 450°C. One-third of this weight loss was in the form of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and at least 70 low-boiling volatile compounds that consisted of substituted aromatics, unsaturated hydrocarbons, and multiple-ring compounds, many of which contained a fluorine atom. The high-boiling volatile fraction contained compounds with more aliphatic but less aromatic character than the low-boiling. The nonvolatile residue retained 4% of the original fluorine content and exhibited strong unsaturated character. In the presence of oxygen HF, CO, and H₂O were the major constituents of the low-boiling volatiles; the organic fraction was essentially unchanged in composition but reduced in overall concentration. The overall weight-loss process was bimodal in air and produced a thermally resistant residue that degraded by 650°C. A comparison of degradation products from poly(vinylchloride) with this work demonstrates that PVF forms more lower-molecular-weight, halogen-containing compounds, whereas the former produced more HCl and nonvolatile residue containing a lower halogen content.     

Capillary supercritical fluid chromatography with flame photometric detection using a large bore column SFC pumping system

A commercially available instrument with an SFC pumping system suitable for wide bore columns (4.6 mm i.d.) has been modified for capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (CSFC) by incorporating a double-stage flow splitter. The first flow splitter was installed in front of the sample injection valve in order to avoid a high solute split ratio. The second splitter was mounted in the column oven so that the injected sample (0.2 μL) would be split to the capillary column. In order to perform pressure programmed elution, a pressure regulating system equipped with a gradient programmer has been used. Flame photometric detection was optimized for the analysis of organosulfur compounds by CSFC. In this study, detection limits were found to be 6–14 ng and the experimentally determined exponent (n value) varied from 1.721 to 1.984 depending on the compounds tested. Sulfur- and phosphorus-containing thermally labile pesticides can be chromatographed and selectively detected by using CSFC/FPD in either sulfur- or phosphorus mode, respectively.     

An improved method of characterizing fatty acids by equivalent chain length values

A method has been developed for calculating more accurate and reproducible equivalent chain length (ECL) values of 33 straight-chain fatty acids (FA), with various positions and numbers of cis double bonds, chromatographed on DB-Wax and DB-1 columns. The dependence of ECL values on the position and the number of double bonds is described, as is a method of utilizing these relationships for the characterization of FA by gas chromatography.     

Alternating iterative regression method for dead time estimation from experimental designs

An indirect method for dead time (t ₀) estimation in reversed-phase liquid chromatography, based on a relationship between retention time and organic solvent content, is proposed. The method processes the retention data obtained in experimental designs. In order to get more general validity and enhance the accuracy, the information from several compounds is used altogether in an alternating regression fashion. The method was applied to nitrosamines, alkylbenzenes, phenols, benzene derivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and β-blockers, among other compounds, chromatographed in a cyano and several C18 columns. A comprehensive validation was carried out by comparing the results with those provided by the injection of markers, the observation of the solvent front and the homologous series method. It was also found that different groups of compounds yielded the same t ₀ value with the same column, which was verified in different solvent composition windows. The method allows improved models useful for optimisation or for other purposes, since t ₀ can be estimated with the retention data of the target solutes.       

The use of glass capillary columns for the analysis of polar natural products

Two published procedures for glass capillary column production are applied to produce capillaries for chromatography of polar natural compounds. Soda lime glass capillaries, after leaching with aqueous HCL, are either treated with colloidal silicic acid or with barium carbonate and coated with either Silar 7CP or SE 52. A test mixture as well as polar carbohydrate and peptide mixtures are chromatographed on the different columns and their chromatographic properties are evaluated. Combined capillary gas chromatography-electron impact and chemical ionization mass spectrometry are used for identification of the peptide sequence.     

Routine Analysis of Catecholamines and Metabolites in Urine by a Liquid Chromatographic Column Switching System

Abstract

A reversed-phase liquid chromatographic technique including a column switching system has been adapted for the routine measurement of catecholamines and their metabolites (14 compounds) in urine. From 1 ml of urine all the compounds and the internal standards were obtained according to combined extraction procedures involving organic solvent, anionic and weakly cationic resins. Finally four extracts (catecholamines, methoxamines, acidic and neutral derivatives) had to be chromatographed throughout a wholly automated apparatus. For each run, the column switching system determined the analytical columns to be used to obtain the separation of the compounds from interferences due to other co-extracted endogenous substances, while the analysis times remained between 20 and 40 min. Such a system allowed the rapid clean-up of columns (in direct- and back-flush mode) carried out between two consecutive injections. By coupling on-line fluorimetric and electro-chemical detections the specificity of the technique could be checked, since the ratio of the responses of both detectors was an index of the purity of the peaks. Finally the advanced automation of the equipment allowed weekly the evaluation of catecholamines and the whole range of their known metabolites in 36 urine samples.     

Identification of FAMEs using ECL values and a three-dimensional Kováts retention index system

n-Alkanes and fatty acid methyl esters have been chromatographed on four capillary columns of different polarity (LM-1 (100% polydimethylsiloxane), CB-225 (25% cyanopropyl, 25% phenyl polysiloxane), LM-100 (immobilized polyethylene glycol), and BPX-70 (70% cyanopropyl polysiloxane)) with the goal of identifying the major fatty acid methyl esters obtained by derivatization of vegetable oils. Chromatographic retention data were employed for the construction of a three-dimensional Kováts retention index system and for the elaboration of a table of equivalent chain length values.     

Origin and correction of the deviations in retention times at increasing flow rate with Chromolith columns

Chromoliths can be used at flow rates beyond those feasible for conventional microparticulate packed columns. Ideally, the plots of the retention time versus the inverse of delivered flow rate should exhibit y-intercept of zero. However, significant positive deviations correlating with the solute polarity were observed for several compounds chromatographed with a Chromolith column, owing to the increased system pressure. Consequently, the dead time marker exhibits a smaller deviation, making the retention factors depend on the flow rate. Chromoliths are made of a silica-based monolith encapsulated within a PEEK tube, and should suffer larger stress with pressure than stainless steel columns, tending to inflate them and increase their volume. This decreases the linear velocity inside the column, and increases the retention at relatively low pressure (<200 bar). In contrast, frictional heating, which is an issue for microparticulate columns, seems to be less significant for the highly permeable Chromoliths. The usefulness of the retention time versus the inverse of the delivered flow rate plots to measure the deviations, whatever their origin, is shown. This allows the correction of the retention times to the ideal behaviour, where the retention factors are independent of the flow rate.     

A unique reversal of elution order during direct enantiomeric resolution of amide derivatives of 1-phenyl-2-aminopropane by high performance liquid chromatography on chiral stationary phases

Enantiomeric amide derivatives of (S)- and (R)-1-phenyl-2-aminopropane (dextro- and levoamphetamine, respectively) were resolved by high performance liquid chromatography on commercially available ionically and covalently bonded chiral stationary phases ((R)-N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)phenylglycine). Ten enantiomeric amide pairs were synthesized and chromatographed on the columns by using a mobile phase of hexane-isopropanol (97 : 3), a flow rate of 2 ml/min, and a column temperature of 20°C. The (R)-isomer of all 10 amides eluted first on the covalent column as did the (R)-isomer of nine derivatives on the ionic column. however, the 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl amide of (S)- amphetamine eluted before the (R)-isomer on the ionic column. This reversal in enantiomeric elution order reveals the complexity of the interactions occurring on these columns and emphasizes the hazards of relying on observed elution order as an a priori indication of absolute configuration.     

Alkoxy compounds XIX. The stereoisomerism of some 2, 5-dialkyl-5-α-alkoxyethyl-1, 3-dioxanes

Using PMR spectra and GL chromatograms, it is shown that 2,5-di methyl-, 2-isopropyl-5-ethyl-, 2, 5-diisopropyl-5-α-isopropoxyethyl-1, 3-dioxane are mixtures of isomers. Efficient columns are used to fractionate these mixtures into the individual isomers, purities being checked by GLC. From PMR spectra and dipole moments it was concluded that the low-boiling isomers of the stereoisomeric dioxanes are trans forms with chair configuration, while the high-boiling isomers are cis, and have the unsymmetrical boat-shaped configuration.     

Chromatographic purification steps involved in the synthesis of prodrug-liposome-antibody-complexes

Summary The cytostatic effect of the widely used antitumor drug 1-β-D-arabinofuranosyl cytosine (ara C) can be improved by its chemical derivatization to lipophilic prodrugs. We have incorporated these prodrugs together with lipophilic biotin derivatives into membranes of unilamellar liposomes. Monoclonal antibodies were coupled to the biotin residues of the liposomes via avidin-biotin complexation resulting in prodrug-liposome-antibody complexes whichin vitro preferably bind to cells selectively recognized by the immobilized antibodies. The results open a promising way of drug targeting. The components and liposomal derivatives used for the stepwise preparation of the prodrug-liposome antibody complex are purified by means of preparative liquid chromatography. Lipophilic membrane components are chromatographed on silica gel, antibodies on hydroxylapatite and liposomal derivatives on Ultrogel AcA 22 columns. Concentration and desalting are achieved by ultrafiltration. The purification process can be quantitatively pursued by labelling with radioactive components.     

Evaluation of a thermionic detector for capillary supercritical fluid chromatography of nitrated polycyclic aromatic compounds

A thermionic detector was evaluated for capillary supercritical fluid chromatography of polar nitro-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds (nitro-PAC). Three modes of detector operation were studied. The best performance was obtained using a nitro-selective mode of detection. Although linearity was confined to a narrow range for a given source current, the sensitivity was excellent; 20 pg injected for p-nitrophenol gave a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. Conventional thermionic detection also produced good sensitivity; however, serious baseline drift was observed at high operating temperatures using density programming. A third mode, flame thermionic detection, was not acceptable because of low sensitivity. A number of nitro-PAC were successfully chromatographed using density programming at 101°C. Hydroxynitropyrenes, nitropyrene quinones, and 9-hydroxy-2-nitrofluorene, which could not be eluted in capillary gas chromatography, were successfully chromatographed here. Retention of these compounds increased sequentially on 50% n-octyl-, 5% phenyl-, and 25% biphenyl polysiloxane stationary phases, respectively. Stationary phase interactions appeared to be more a function of the polar functional groups on the aromatic rings than of the hydrocarbon character of the compounds. Solute solubility in the mobile phase and volatility were additional factors contributing to the elution of these molecules. Finally, these results were used to identify a number of nitro-PAC in a polar subfraction of a diesel particulate extract.     

Routine analysis of catecholamines and metabolites in urine by a liquid chromatographic column switching system

A reversed-phase liquid chromatographic technique including a column switching system has been adapted for the routine measurement of catecholamines and their metabolites (14 compounds) in urine. From 1 ml of urine all the compounds and the internal standards were obtained according to combined extraction procedures involving organic solvent, anionic and weakly cationic resins. Finally four extracts (catecholamines, methoxamines, acidic and neutral derivatives) had to be chromatographed throughout a wholly automated apparatus. For each run, the column switching system determined the analytical columns to be used to obtain the separation of the compounds from interferences due to other co-extracted endogenous substances, while the analysis times remained between 20 and 40 min. Such a system allowed the rapid clean-up of columns (in direct- and back-flush mode) carried out between two consecutive injections. By coupling on-line fluorimetric and electrochemical detections the specificity of the technique could be checked, since the ratio of the responses of both detectors was an index of the purity of the peaks. Finally the advanced automation of the equipment allowed weekly the evaluation of catecholamines and the whole range of their known metabolites in 36 urine samples.     

Clean-up of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and 3-ring azaarenes and their GC-analysis on whisker-walled open tubular columns

A modified clean-up of polynuclear aromatic (PNA) hydrocarbons on XAD-2 is described. n-Alkanes (C₁₆? C₂₈) are separated quantitatively from the PNA hydrocarbons and are eluted in one fraction. The distribution of 17 PNA hydrocarbons and four of their alkyl derivatives, two S-heterocyclic compounds and two azaarenes between the different fractions is reported. Azaarenes containing three rings are separated from PNA hydrocarbons and S-heterocyclic compounds. Whisker-walled open tubular columns coated with OV-215 and OV-25 were used in the separation of isomeric azaarenes and in PNA hydrocarbon profile analysis, respectively. The preparation of such columns is described in detail. Rinsing of capillary columns with cold, concentrated HCI after whisker growth removes much larger amounts of boron and sodium than subsequent leaching with HCI at 180°C. Whisker-walled open tubular columns are successfully applied to the characterization of isomeric benzofluoranthenes and other PNA hydrocarbons isolated from air particulate matter.