Characterisation of pitch by HPLC

Summary A new high performance liquid chromatography method for the characterisation of toluene-soluble fractions of pitches has been developed. Although a chromatographic system typical of size exclusion chromatography was used, results indicate that, for these structurally complex samples, separation does not follow the usual discrimination by molecular size. A differentiation between several classes of polyaromatic hydrocarbons is achieved instead. Data are reported on the analysis of individual standard polyaromatic hydrocarbons, showing that four different elution ranges can be observed: three ofcata-condensed compounds (Cata1, Cata2 and Cata3) and one ofperi-condensed compounds (Peri). Results are reported proving the capacity of this high performance liquid chromatography method to distinguish between pitches of different origin and nature. It is also effective for the study of the chemical reactions occurring during heat treatment.     

Microcomputer-assisted retention prediction system in reversed-phase HPLC

Summary The microcomputer-assisted retention prediction system in C₁₈ reversed-phase HPLC is described. The system is based on the use of the hydrophobic parameter and the correlation factor of alkylbenzenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are highly correlated to their retention in reversed-phase HPLC. The system is evaluated by comparing the retention data between measured and predicted values. One of the typical examples applied for PAH analysis in the extracts of diesel particulate matter shows the high potential of the system investigated.     

Prediction of LC retention of steroids using solvatochromic parameters

Summary The proportion of organic modifier and pH of the hydroorganic mobile phase were optimized to separate a series of nine important steroids by LC. It has been shown that linear plots of logk′ against Reichardt’sE _T ^N parameter for the mobile phase is observed over the whole range of compositions of practical importance. Data from these plots summarize an approach for optimization of resolution from only two retention measurements for each compound. pH is shown to be irrelevant. This behaviour could be extrapolated to other steroids and drastically reduce the number of retention values needed for mobile phase optimization for screening analysis of steroids in doping investigations.     

Correlation of the retention data of polyaromatic hydrocarbons obtained on various stationary phases used in normal- and reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Summary The correlation between the retention data of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) obtained in normal-and reversed-phase liquid chromatography is investigated in order to determine the dominant factors controlling the retention. It is clear that the separation of PAHs on various chemically-bonded packing materials in normal- and/or reversed-phase modes is primarily controlled by the molecular structure and shape. The -electron interaction between the solute and the stationary phase also contributes to the retention, although pure silica shows a somewhat different behavior.     

The use of large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to study retention in non-aqueous reversed-phase HPLC

Summary Elution strengths of 11 common HPLC solvents on a polymeric C₁₈ phase were compared using a marker set of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Naphthalene, pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene, and three larger naphthologues of 8, 10, and 12 rings (constituting a naphthalene zigzag series) were chosen because they span the solvent strength range up to and including the strongest solvents, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and chlorobenzene. Four pairs of similarly shaped isomers were used to probe solvent selectivity. With the exception of THF, HPLC solvent strength correlated with observed red shifts of fluorescence band maxima in each solvent. For THF, the pure solvent and blended mixtures behaved quite differently.     

Influence of column characteristics on retention and selectivity in RP-HPLC

Summary Eight commercially available reversed-phase (RP) columns of widely different characteristics were evaluated and compared using the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER). Retention factors of 32 solutes of different types were determined under isocratic conditions using an acetonitrile-water (30∶70) mobile phase. Stationary phase properties were compared by the fitting coefficients of the LSER-based regression equations which are characteristic of the individual stationary phases and represent the extent of various molecular interactions contributing to the retention process. The good agreement between the calculated and measured logk values for different type of compounds support the adequacy and applicability of the LSER model to describe chromatographic retention. Characterization of column performance for the separation of various type of compounds was established by the determination of the different selectivity factors representing hydrophobic selectivity, polar selectivity and specific selectivity.     

Retention prediction system coupled with a multichannel ultraviolet detector for the identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Summary The retention prediction system assisted by a micro-computer coupled with an UV multichannel detector has been investigated in the separation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The method offered very precise identification of components in NBS-SRM-1647 sample without any standard reference substances. It has been proven that the system makes very precise, non-pollutive and convenient environmental analysis possible.     

Evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline by HPLC and GC-MS

Summary In this paper the evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in gasoline is described. A procedure involving a double extraction of samples with N-methylpirrolidone-water-phosphoric acid and with cyclohexane has been used followed by HPLC-DAD and GC-MS. The results obtained show that all gasoline samples contain PAHs with two to six rings and no substantial difference was noticed between leaded and unleaded gasoline. The benzo(a)-pyrene content ranged between 1.0–2.0 mg L⁻¹, a comparatively high concentration for a dangerous compound.     

Prediction of retention of O-ethyl,O-aryl and N-isopropyl phosphoroamidothioates in RP-HPLC from molecular structure parameters

Summary Multi-variable regression analysis between lnk_w, c (in retention equation lnk=lnk_w+cC_b) and molecular structure parameters, including hydrophobicity, electric effect, field effect and position-specific effect constant, was carried out with O-ethyl, O-aryl and N-isopropyl phosphoroamidothioates as test solutes. With these quantitative relationships, the retention behaviour of these solutes for different mobile phase compositions was predicted. The results showed that there are only 26.7% of total, experimentally measured, capacity factors with relative deviations larger than 5% and only 2.2% with deviations larger than 10%, which means that it is possible to apply the method reported to predict retention values for qualitative purposes for different mobile phase compositions.     

Retention prediction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in reversed phase liquid chromatography with various mobile phase compositions and column temperatures

Summary The relationship between the logarithmic capacity factor measured in reversed-phase liquid chromatography and the operating conditions including the mobile phase composition and the column temperature is investigated. The strategy described herein can offer the possibility to predict the retention of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons without any experiments and standard materials, by utilizing equations describing the relationships between retention, temperature, mobile phase composition and physicochemical properties of the solutes previously stored in the program of the microcomputer-assisted retention prediction system.This concept is one of the most promising techniques for the optimization of the separation conditions in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.     

The effect of some modifiers on the retention of aromatic hydrocarbons on untreated silica gel

Summary The retention parameters of benzene, naphthalene; anthracene and phenanthrene on untreated silica gel were determined in the presence of four modifiers: 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (MP), 4-formyl morpholine (FM), -butyrolactone (BL) and sulfolane (SF). Better column performance was found in the case of FM and MP only.     

The driving force for solute retention in electron donor-acceptor chromatography: Electrostatic versus charge-transfer interactions

Summary Charge-transfer interactions are often assumed to be dominant among the noncovalent interactions that govern the solute retention in electron donor-acceptor chromatography. This popular view, however, has been called into question by recent studies that suggest an important role for electrostatic interactions in the formation of donor-acceptor complexes. We reported here an experimental investigation concerning the question as to whether charge-transfer or electrostatic interactions are the driving force for solute retention in donor-acceptor chromatography. Using three chromatographic systems composed of a dinitrobenzene derived stationary phase and a hexane based mobile phase, we determined retention factors for a range of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and correlated them with molecular properties that describe the solute's dispersion, charge-transfer, and electrostatic characteristics. It was found that the molecular polarizability and ionization potential give either very poor or no correlation with solute retention whereas the molecular quadrupole moment is a linear function of the logarithmic retention factor. These results were interpreted as showing that electrostatic, rather than charge-transfer or dispersion, interactions play a major role in determining solute retention. The dominance of the electrostatic interactions over the other noncovalent interactions was discussed in terms of distance dependency of the interaction energy. Dedicated to Professor John H. Knox on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Use of molecular connectivity indices to predict LC retention of dansylamides in six different eluent systems

Summary Molecular connectivity indices (x) through the sixth order were calculated and compared with measured reversed-phase liquid chromatographic retention data of sixteen dansyl derivatives of amines (dansylamides). Retention measurements were performed in the capacity factor, k′, range 1–30 with organic solvent-water eluents using acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol, methanol, 1-propanol and 2-propanol. Mainly valence level indices were selected to describe retention. Indices of different order were selected in the different eluents, suggesting that there are differences in the retention mechanism in these eluents. Retention can be predicted with great accuracy by the molecular connectivity indices, as the high correlations between the calculated and observed retention indicate. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

Compatibility and universality of the retention prediction system for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Summary System-compatibility and universality of the retention prediction concept has been investigated for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. The results clearly indicate that the retention prediction approach has a very high potential for optimization of separation conditions in almost all reversed-phase systems, and allows more precise and rapid analysis. This approach may be one of the best optimization techniques, because the system does not require any standard materials.     

Modelling and prediction of retention in high-performance liquid chromatography by using neural networks

Summary Multi-layer feed-forward neural networks trained with an error back-propagation algorithm have been used to model retention behaviour of liquid chromatography as a function of the composition of the mobile phases. Conventional hydro-organic and micellar mobile phases were considered. Accurate retention modelling and prediction have been achieved using mobile phases defined by two, three and four parameters. With micellar mobile phases, the parameters involved included the concentrations of surfactant and organic modifier, pH and temperature. It is shown that neural networks provide a competitive tool to model varied inherent nonlinear relationships of retention behaviour with respect to the mobile phase parameters. The soft models defined by the weights of the networks are capable of accommodating all types of linear and nonlinear relationships, neural networks being specially useful when the relationships between retention behaviour and the mobile phase parameters are unknown. However, to train neural networks more experimental points than with hard-modelling methods are required, hence the use of the networks is recommended only for those cases where adequate theoretical or empirical models do not exist.