Retention prediction in reversed-phase liquid chromatography systems with methanol/water mobile phases containing different alkanols as additives

In an effort to gain enhancement of selectivity in reversed-phase liquid chromatography, retention was tuned in this study by introducing short and medium straight-chained-length alkanol additives (methanol (MeOH), ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol or 1-heptanol) at low concentrations in mobile phases containing MeOH as the main organic solvent. A six-parameter retention model considering simultaneously the contents of the main organic modifier and of the alcohol additive as well as of the number of alkyl chain of additive was developed by a direct combination of equations expressing separately a linear dependence of the retention upon each of these factors. The effectiveness of the above model was tested in the retention prediction of a mixture of six alkylbenzenes under isocratic conditions with mobile phases containing as an additive any member of the homologues series of alkanols (with 1-7 carbon atoms) at different low concentrations in a wide range of MeOH-water mixtures. The prediction was excellent in all cases even when the alkanol additives used in experiments for the fitting procedure are different than those used in chromatographic runs done for testing the prediction ability of the proposed model.     

New approach to linear gradient elution used for optimisation in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

A new mathematical treatment concerning the gradient elution in reversed-phase liquid chromatography when the volume fraction psi of an organic modifier in the water-organic mobile phase varies linearly with time is presented. The experimental ln k versus psi curve, where k is the retention factor under isocratic conditions in a binary mobile phase, is subdivided into a finite number of linear portions and the solute gradient retention time tR is calculated by means of an analytical expression arising from the fundamental equation of gradient elution. The validity of the proposed analytical expression and the methodology followed for the calculation of tR was tested using eight catechol-related solutes with mobile phases modified by methanol or acetonitrile. It was found that in all cases the accuracy of the predicted gradient retention times is very satisfactory because it is the same with the accuracy of the retention times predicted under isocratic conditions. Finally, the above method for estimating gradient retention times was used in an optimisation algorithm, which determines the best variation pattern of psi that leads to the optimum separation of a mixture of solutes at different values of the total elution time.     

Analysis of polar peptides using a silica hydride column and high aqueous content mobile phases

The retention behavior of a set of polar peptides separated on a silica hydride stationary phase was examined with a capillary HPLC system coupled to ESI‐MS detection. The mobile phases consisted of formic acid or acetic acid/acetonitrile/water mixtures with the acetonitrile content ranging from 5 to 80% v/v. The effects on peptide retention of these two acidic buffer additives and their concentrations in the mobile phase were systematically investigated. Strong retention of the peptides on the silica hydride phase was observed with relatively high‐organic low‐aqueous mobile phases (i.e. under aqueous normal‐phase conditions). However, when low concentrations of acetic acid were employed as the buffer additive, strong retention of the peptides was also observed even when high aqueous content mobile phases were employed. This unique feature of the stationary phase therefore provides an opportunity for chromatographic analysis of polar peptides with water‐rich eluents, a feature usually not feasible with traditional RP sorbents, and thus under conditions more compatible with analytical green chemistry criteria. In addition, both isocratic and gradient elution procedures can be employed to optimize peptide separations with excellent reproducibility and resolution under these high aqueous mobile phase conditions with this silica hydride stationary phase.     

Retention modeling under organic modifier gradient conditions in ion-pair reversed-phase chromatography. Application to the separation of a set of underivatized amino acids

The combined effect of the ion-pairing reagent concentration, C _ipr, and organic modifier content, φ, on the retention under φ-gradient conditions at different constant C _ipr was treated in this study by using two approaches. In the first approach, the prediction of the retention time of a sample solute is based on a direct fitting procedure of a proper retention model to 3-D φ-gradient retention data obtained under the same φ-linear variation but with different slope and time duration of the initial isocratic part and in the presence of various constant C _ipr values in the eluent. The second approach is based on a retention model describing the combined effect of C _ipr and φ on the retention of solutes in isocratic mode and consequently analyzes isocratic data obtained in mobile phases containing different C _ipr values. The effectiveness of the above approaches was tested in the retention prediction of a mixture of 16 underivatized amino acids using mobile phases containing acetonitrile as organic modifier and sodium dodecyl sulfate as ion-pairing reagent. From these approaches, only the first one gives satisfactory predictions and can be successfully used in optimization of ion-pair chromatographic separations under gradient conditions. The failure of the second approach to predict the retention of solutes in the gradient elution mode in the presence of different C _ipr values was attributed to slow changes in the distribution equilibrium of ion-pairing reagents caused by φ-variation.     

多糖衍生物手性固定相上采用酸性或碱性添加剂的流动相拆分β受体阻滞剂对映体

考察了多糖类手性固定相在含有酸性或碱性添加剂的流动相下高效液相色谱法拆分β受体阻滞剂对映体的效果。色谱条件: 流动相为10%～30%(体积分数,下同)乙醇-正己烷(含0.1%三氟乙酸)和10%～30%乙醇-正己烷(含0.1%三乙胺),流速1.0 mL/min,紫外检测波长254 nm。结果表明,在直链淀粉-三(3,5-二甲基苯基氨基甲酸酯)衍生物手性固定相(Chiralpak AD和Chiralpak IA)上拆分β受体阻滞剂对映体,酸性添加剂的流动相体系与碱性添加剂的流动相体系相比,碱性添加剂的流动相的拆分效果比酸性添加剂的流动相要好。而在纤维素-三(3,5-二甲基苯基氨基甲酸酯)衍生物的手性固定相(Chiralcel OD和Chiralpak IB)上分离β受体阻滞剂,比较酸性添加剂的流动相与碱性添加剂的流动相的拆分效果,发现酸性添加剂的流动相条件下对映体的保留减弱,但对映体的选择性增大,特别是在Chiralcel OD上,酸性添加剂的流动相体系对对映体的选择性非常理想,而且随着流动相中酸性添加剂含量的增加,β受体阻滞剂对映体的分离效果更佳。     

Enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography using mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/strong cation‐exchange retention mechanisms

The potential of enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography, a subcritical chromatography technique, in mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange separations is explored, using amino acids as analytes. The enhanced‐fluidity liquid mobile phases were prepared by adding liquefied CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures, which increases the diffusivity and decreases the viscosity of the mixture. The addition of CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures resulted in increased retention of the more polar amino acids. The “optimized” chromatographic performance (achieving baseline resolution of all amino acids in the shortest amount of time) of these methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures was compared to traditional acetonitrile/water and methanol/water liquid chromatography mobile phases. Methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures offered higher efficiencies and resolution of the ten amino acids relative to the methanol/water mobile phase, and decreased the required isocratic separation time by a factor of two relative to the acetonitrile/water mobile phase. Large differences in selectivity were also observed between the enhanced‐fluidity and traditional liquid mobile phases. A retention mechanism study was completed, that revealed the enhanced‐fluidity mobile phase separation was governed by a mixed‐mode retention mechanism of hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange. On the other hand, separations with acetonitrile/water and methanol/water mobile phases were strongly governed by only one retention mechanism, either hydrophilic interaction or strong cation exchange, respectively.     

Application of optimization procedures for the separation of anabolic compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple systematic approach is presented for optimizing high-performance liquid chromatographic separations of anabolics with multi-component isocratic mobile phases. A computer program was obtained and adjusted for use with an IBM-compatible XT personal computer. The program requires experimental retention data with three quaternary solvent mixtures to calculate the optimum solvent composition using a geometric model of a prism. For each possible composition of the mobile phase the set of retention data can be calculated. Applications are shown for mixtures of anabolic compounds using a mobile phase composed of methanol, tetrahydrofuran and acetonitrile. The predicted retention data agreed very well with the experimental data.     

Study of the Effect of Mobile Phase Additives on Retention in Reversed Phase HPLC Using Linear Solvation Energy Relationships

Linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs) were used to delineate which specific intermolecular interactions are responsible for changes in retention for a variety of well characterized analytes when acidic and basic additives were used in reversed phase HPLC. The effects of trifluoroacetic acid, triethylamine and a combination of trifluoroacetic acid and triethylamine on the LSERs were compared to those observed in the absence of additives. These effects were examined using four different mobile phase modifiers and five different stationary phases. Trifluoroacetic acid alone and in combination with triethylamine produced LSER regression coefficients nearly identical to those obtained with no additive present in the mobile phase. Triethylamine alone produced different LSER regression coefficients from the other systems unless the mobile phase contained trifluoroethanol as the mobile phase modifier, or the stationary phase consisted of a polymeric support.     

Study of influence of additives of tyloxapol on the chromatographic characteristics of the model compounds: the comparative characterization of micellar mobile phases of tyloxapol and Triton X‐100

The chromatographic behavior of model compounds of biomedical significance (organic acids, amino acids, drugs) was investigated using mobile phases modified with tyloxapol. The influence of factors such as concentration of tyloxapol, content of organic modifier and pH of mobile phase on the retention factor of solutes was studied. The results were compared with the data obtained by elution with mobile phases containing Triton X‐100 additives, since units of Triton X‐100 are repeated in the structure of tyloxapol. Divergence in chromatographic behavior of model compounds was explained by the difference in physico‐chemical characteristics (microviscosity, polarity, critical micelle concentration, shape of micelles, etc.) of tyloxapol and Triton X‐100 micelles. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimization of the LC enantioseparation of chiral pharmaceuticals using cellulose tris(4‐chloro‐3‐methylphenylcarbamate) as chiral selector and polar non‐aqueous mobile phases

The resolving power of a new commercial polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phase, Sepapak‐4, with cellulose tris(4‐chloro‐3‐methylphenylcarbamate) coated on silica microparticles as chiral selector, was evaluated toward the enantioseparation of ten basic drugs with widely different structures and hydrophobic properties, using ACN as the main component of the mobile phase. A multivariate approach (experimental design) was used to screen the factors (temperature, n‐hexane content, acidic and basic additives) likely to influence enantioresolution. Then, the optimization was performed using a face‐centered central composite design. Complete enantioseparation could be obtained for almost all tested chiral compounds, demonstrating the high chiral discrimination ability of this chiral stationary phase using polar organic mobile phases made up of ACN and containing an acidic additive (TFA or formic acid), 0.1% diethylamine and n‐hexane. These results clearly illustrate the key role of the nature of the acidic additive in the mobile phase.     

High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of sulphonated dyes and intermediates

This paper reports our results in the analysis of polysulphonated anionic dyes and their intermediates using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Negative-ion electrospray ionization is the most suitable ionization technique for the molecular mass determination of polysulphonated dyes or other dyes carrying a negative charge. From the series of [M-xH]x- ions and their sodiated adducts [M-(x + y)H+yNa]x-, the molecular mass and the number of sulphonic and carboxylic groups can be determined. The mobile phase should be compatible with the mass spectrometric detection, which rules out non-volatile tetraalkylammonium salts usually used as ion-pair mobile phase additives for the HPLC of sulphonated compounds. Some mono- and disulphonated dyes and intermediates can be separated with aqueous-organic mobile phases containing 5 mM ammonium acetate, which is the most suitable additive as far as compatibility with MS detection is concerned. However, the retention of compounds with two or more sulphonic groups is too low for a successful separation both with this mobile phase additive and with ion-pair additives with short alkyl chains. The dihexylammonium acetate ion-pairing reagent offers a reasonable compromise in terms of sufficient volatility and adequate retention and separation selectivity for the HPLC-MS analysis of polysulphonated dyes.     

Effect of ionic additives on the elution of sodium aryl sulfonates in supercritical fluid chromatography

Addition of a small amount of polar solvent (i.e., modifier) to CO2 in packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has shown major improvements in both polar analyte solubility and interaction of the polar analyte with the stationary phase. Recently, the addition of an ionic component (i.e., additive) to the primary modifier by one of us has been shown to extend even further the application of SFC to polar analytes. In this work, the effect of various ionic additives on the elution of ionic compounds, such as sodium 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate and sodium 4-octylbenene sulfonate, has been studied. The additives were lithium acetate, ammonium acetate, tetramethylammonium acetate, tetrabutylammonium acetate, and ammonium chloride dissolved in methanol. Three stationary phases with different degrees of deactivation were considered: conventional cyanopropyl, deltabond cyanopropyl, and bare silica. The effect of additive concentration and additive functionality on analyte retention was investigated. Sodium 4-dodecylbenzene sulfonate was successfully eluted using all the additives with good peak shape under isocratic/isobaric/isothermal conditions. Different additives, however, yielded different retention times and in some cases different peak shapes.     

Competitional hydrophobicity driven separations under RP‐LC mechanism: Application to sulfonylurea congeners

Retention of a model set of sulfonylurea compounds has been studied under RP‐LC conditions, considering competitional effects brought by different alcohols (ethanol, 1‐propanol, 2‐propanol, 1‐butanol, 1‐pentanol, and 1‐octanol) used as additives in the organic component of the mobile phase (methanol). The capacity factors determined for the model compounds decreased with the increase of the hydrophobic character of the organic additive in the mobile phase. The amount of the additive within the organic component of the mobile phase was kept constant (1% as volumetric ratio). Retention was studied at different mobile phase compositions (aqueous to organic component ratios). Different functional fitting models were used to correlate retention to the content of the organic component in the mobile phase. Extrapolation of retention expressed as capacity factor to a mobile phase composition free of organic component is well correlated to the hydrophobic characteristics of the organic additives. The adsorption model was used for tuning the experimental find‐outs. The possibility of controlling retention through the competitive effects induced by hydrophobic additives in the mobile phase is highlighted.     

Simple models for the effect of aliphatic alcohol additives on the retention in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Four retention models for the effect of aliphatic alcohol additives on the retention of analytes in reversed-phase liquid chromatography have been developed following either a semi-thermodynamic treatment or an empirical approach. Their performance was tested using the experimental retention times of six non-polar analytes (alkylbenzenes) and ten o-phthalaldehyde derivatives of amino acids under different isocratic chromatographic runs when a small amount of ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol or 1-heptanol was added to methanol/water mixtures containing a constant amount of methanol. It was shown that for the structurally simple alkylbenzenes all the models can be adopted for retention prediction with good results. In contrast, just one out of four models, that with the fewest approximations, predicts satisfactorily the retention properties of amino acids derivatives. However, the most interesting feature is that this model can predict the effect of an alcohol-additive on the retention properties of solutes, even if this additive was not used in chromatographic runs done for the fitting procedure, provided that it belongs to the same homologous series of alkanols. This feature is also observed in all models described the retention of alkylbenzenes.     

An Efficient Strategy for Optimization of Isocratic Mobile Phase Conditions for HPLC Separation of a Complex Mixture

Abstract

Chromatographic resolution of a complex mixture is often a trial and error process. An efficient strategy for the optimization of previously reported isocratic mobile phase conditions utilizes a factorial design and multivariate regression equations to model the dependence of elution time of each component on chromatographic parameters. Several parameters are varied simultaneously, with extreme and central values to allow interpolation in the modeling. Run order is scrambled to minimize time dependent errors. Reported here is the optimization of the separation of monoamine neurotransmitters and metabolites using isocratic reverse phase HPLC chromatography with serial oxidation and reduction electrochemical detection. The predicted retention times closely follow the experimental retention times for a set of conditions not included in the calculation of the model. The results enable the rational adjustment of parameters to meet subsequent chromatographic needs.     

Study of chromatographic characteristics of inorganic analytes in biopartitioning micellar chromatography with ion‐pair additives

The chromatographic behavior of model ions of biomedical and environmental significance was investigated by using nonionic micellar mobile phases modified with ion‐pair additives. The influence of concentrations of polyoxyethylene (23) lauryl ether and ornithine hydrochloride in the mobile phase on the retention factors of chromium (III), chromium (VI), iodide and bromide ions was studied. The possible mechanisms of retention of the mentioned ions in biopartitioning micellar chromatography with zwitter ion‐pair additives were proposed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controlling selectivity of polymer‐based monolithic stationary phases

In this work, we aimed to prepare a monolithic capillary column that allowed an isocratic separation of ten dopamine precursors and metabolites in a single run. Segments of five zwitterion sulfobetaine polymer monoliths have been modified by zwitterion phoshorylcholine by using an ultraviolet‐initiated two‐step photografting. Columns with 0, 33, 50, 66, and 100% of modified length were prepared. Effect of length of the modified segment and mobile phase composition has been tested. All columns provided dual‐retention mechanism with reversed‐phase retention in highly aqueous mobile phase and hydrophilic interaction mechanism in highly organic mobile phase. The retention mechanism was controlled by the composition of the mobile phase and has been described by a three‐parameter model. We have used regression parameters to characterize the retention of analyzed compounds and to study individual pathways of dopamine metabolism. Comprehensive optimization of mobile phase composition allowed to find an optimal composition of the mobile phase and stationary phase surface chemistry arrangement to achieve desired separation. Optimized columns provided an isocratic separation of all tested compounds in less than nine min.     

Multiple Step Gradient Analysis in Stationary Phase Optimised Selectivity LC for the Analysis of Complex Mixtures

Stationary phase optimised selectivity liquid chromatography (SOSLC) is an approach to tune a given LC separation by combining different stationary phases in a multi- segment column set-up. The presently available SOSLC optimisation procedure and algorithm are, however, only applicable to isocratic conditions. This is a severe limitation for the analysis of mixtures composed of components covering a broad hydrophobicity range. A strategy is described to circumvent this limitation. The components of a mixture are divided into different groups according to hydrophobicity as elucidated by a gradient analysis on a C₁₈ reversed-phase column. Each group separation is then individually optimised with a specific isocratic mobile phase composition using the original SOSLC strategy. The mobile phase composition thereby only differs in the percentage of organic modifier between the various groups. Finally, a combination of stationary phases that guarantees sufficient selectivity for all the groups is selected and the separation is performed by a multiple step gradient, whereby each level consists of the mobile phase composition applied for the SOSLC optimisation of the individual groups. The multi step gradient approach is demonstrated through the analysis of a mixture of 27 steroids covering a wide range of hydrophobicity.     

Application of perfluorinated acids as ion-pairing reagents for reversed-phase chromatography and retention-hydrophobicity relationships studies of selected β-blockers

The addition of the homologous series of perfluorinated acids-trifluoroacetic acid (TFAA), pentafluoropropionic acid (PFPA), heptafluorobutyric acid (HFBA) to mobile phases for reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) of β-blockers was tested. Acidic modifiers were responsible for acidification of mobile phase (pH 3) ensuring the protonation of the β-blockers and further ion pairs creation. The effect of the type and concentration of mobile phase additives on retention parameters, the efficiency of the peaks, their symmetry and separation selectivity of the β-blockers mixture were all studied. It appeared that at increasing acid concentration, the retention factor, for all compounds investigated, increased to varying degrees. It should be stressed that the presence of acids more significantly affected the retention of the most hydrophobic β-blockers. Differences in hydrophobicity of drugs can be maximized through variation of the hydrophobicity of additives. Thus, the relative increase in the retention depends on either concentration and hydrophobicity of the anionic mobile phase additive or hydrophobicity of analytes. According to QSRR (quantitative structure retention relationship) methodology, chromatographic lipophilicity parameters: isocratic log k and log k_w values (extrapolated retention to pure water) were correlated with the molecular (log P_o/w) and apparent (log P_app) octanol–water partition coefficients obtained experimentally by countercurrent chromatography (CCC) or predicted by Pallas software. The obtained, satisfactory retention-hydrophobicity correlations indicate that, in the case of the basic drugs examined in RP-HPLC systems modified with perfluorinated acids, the retention is mainly governed by their hydrophobicity.     

Simultaneous isocratic separation of phenolic acids and flavonoids using micellar liquid chromatography

The simultaneous isocratic separation of a mixture of five phenolic acids and four flavonoids (two important groups of natural polyphenolic compounds with very different polarities) was investigated in three different RPLC modes using a hydro‐organic mobile phase, and mobile phases containing SDS at concentrations below and above the critical micellar concentration (submicellar LC and micellar LC (MLC), respectively). In the hydro‐organic mode, methanol and acetonitrile; in the submicellar mode methanol; and in the micellar mode, methanol and 1‐propanol were examined individually as organic modifiers. Regarding the other modes, MLC provided more appropriate resolutions and analysis time and was preferred for the separation of the selected compounds. Optimization of separation in MLC was performed using an interpretative approach for each alcohol. In this way, the retention of phenolic acids and flavonoids were modeled using the retention factors obtained from five different mobile phases, then the Pareto optimality method was applied to find the best compatibility between analysis time and quality of separation. The results of this study showed some promising advantages of MLC for the simultaneous separation of phenolic acids and flavonoids, including low consumption of organic solvent, good resolution, short analysis time, and no requirement of gradient elution.