Formation of β-distonic oxonium ions: Study of ROCH2CH2OR′ radical cations

Radical cations derived from the ethers ROCH₂CH₂OR′ (R, R′ = H, CH₃, C₂₅) were studied, since β-distonic oxonium ions are often prepared from ionized ethers of glycol. The first step in the fragmentation is a 1,5-transfer of an α-hydrogen to oxygen of a terminal alkoxy group leading to a δ-distonic oxonium ion. This step is thermo-neutral and reversible in the ROCH₂CH₂OH radical cations and exothermic and irreversible in the dialkyl ether radical cations. Depending on R and R,′ these δ-distonic oxonium ions fragment by three reactions: the loss of an alcohol or a water molecule, the formation of a β-distonic oxonium ion ˙CH₂CH₂O(H)⁺R and a 1,4-H migration between carbon atoms. Competition between these processes is discussed.     

An estimation of the column efficiency made by analyzing tailing peak profiles

It has been shown previously that most columns are not radially homogeneous but exhibit radial distributions of the mobile phase flow velocity and the local efficiency. Both distributions are best approximated by fourth-order polynomial, with the velocity in the column center being maximum for most packed columns and minimum for monolithic columns. These distributions may be an important source of tailing of elution peaks. The numerical calculation of elution peaks shows how peak tailing is related to the characteristics of these two distributions. An approach is proposed that permits estimations of the true efficiency and of the degree of column radial heterogeneity by inversing this calculation and using the tailing profiles of the elution peaks that are experimentally measured. This method was applied in two concrete cases of tailing peak profiles that had been previously reported and were analyzed by applying this new inverse approach. The results obtained prove its validity and demonstrate that this numerical method is effective for deriving the true column efficiency from experimental tailing profiles.     

Understanding the importance of the viscosity contrast between the sample solvent plug and the mobile phase and its potential consequence in two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography

The effect of solvent viscosity mismatch on elution performance in reversed-phase HPLC was studied using moment analysis. Two conditions were tested: (1) the mobile phase viscosity was less than the injection plug viscosity, and (2) the mobile phase viscosity was greater than the injection plug viscosity. Under the first condition, retention time and elution performance decreased as the viscosity contrast between the mobile phase and injection plug increased. The effect on performance was more marked as the injection volume increased. A decrease in performance of 12% for compounds with retention factors up to 2.8 was apparent even when the viscosity contrast was only 0.165 cP. In the second set of conditions, elution performance was actually observed to increase, by as much as 25% for a 40 μL injection, as the viscosity contrast between the mobile phase and the solute plug increased. No change in the retention factor was observed. This behaviour was attributed to the shape of an injection plug as it enters into the column, whereby a low viscosity plug permeates away from the wall when the column contains a higher viscosity mobile phase, and vice a versa for a high viscosity plug entering a low viscosity mobile phase. At no stage was either a band splitting or shoulders observed with viscosity contrasts up to 1.283 cP, as could have been expected.     

Two-dimensional liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry separation of water-soluble metabolites

Off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry detection (2D-LC/MS-MS) was used to separate a set of metabolomic species. Water-soluble metabolites were extracted from Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisae cultures and were immediately analyzed using strong cation exchange (SCX)-hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). Metabolite mixtures are well-suited for multidimensional chromatography as the range of components varies widely with respect to polarity and chemical makeup. Some currently used methods employ two different separations for the detection of positively and negatively ionized metabolites by mass spectrometry. Here we developed a single set of chromatographic conditions for both ionization modes and were able to detect a total of 141 extracted metabolite species, with an overall peak capacity of ca. 2500. We show that a single two-dimensional separation method is sufficient and practical when a pair or more of unidimensional separations are used in metabolomics.     

The influence of water on the memory effect of the amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) stationary phase

Acid/base modifiers are sometimes used as additives in normal phase elution on columns packed with CHIRALPAK^® AD^®. These modifiers affect enantioseparations in ways that are not yet fully understood for the lack of systematic studies. Shifts of the selectivity of certain pairs of enantiomers upon exposure of the column to these modifiers is amply documented. Furthermore, once the modifier has been removed from the mobile phase, the modified selectivity remains, which has been named the Memory Effect. After a column has been exposed to an eluent stream containing acidic/basic modifiers, this particular column no longer separates certain enantiomeric pairs with the same selectivity as a modifier naive column. This makes the transfer of developed methods from one to other CHIRALPAK AD columns difficult to predict, if the selectivity needs to be similar between the two columns. We selected four enantiomeric pairs for a systematic study of this Memory Effect. The selectivity of 4-chlorophenylalanine ethyl ester improves after a solution of ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) is percolated through the column. The selectivity of Propranolol and Tröger's base increases after a solution of Diiospropylamine is percolated through the column. The selectivity of Propranolol and Tröger's base enantiomers is inversely affected by percolation of the acid solution. The 4-chlorophenylalanine ethyl ester enantiomers is inversely affected by percolation of the base solution. In contrast, the selectivity of trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) is not affected by either modifier. Analytical studies of the stationary phase suggest that slow protonation/deprotonation of water molecules attached to the carbamate moiety may be responsible for the acid/base Memory Effect. To further the understanding of the effect of water on the Memory Effect, mobile phases – spiked with water (0.01–0.43%) – were used to measure changes in the Memory Effect. Finally, we showed that the influence of water on the Memory Effect can be minimized by percolating through the column a sufficiently concentrated solution of the appropriate base while using dried mobile phases.     

Performance of columns packed with the new shell particles,Kinetex-C18

The performance of the new Kinetex-C₁₈ column was investigated. Packed with a new brand of porous shell particles, this column has an outstanding efficiency. Once corrected for the contribution of the instrument extra column volume, the minimum values of the reduced plate heights for a number of low molecular weight compounds (e.g., anthracene and naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene) were between 1.0 and 1.3, breaking the legendary record set 3 years ago by Halo-C₁₈ packed columns. The liquid-solid mass transfer of proteins (e.g., insulin and lyzozyme) is exceptionally fast on Kinetex-C₁₈ much faster than on the Halo-C₁₈ column. The different contributions of dispersion and mass transfer resistances to the column efficiency were determined and discussed. The possible reasons for this extremely high column efficiency are discussed.     

Formation of Long,Multicenter π‐[TCNE]22− Dimers in Solution: Solvation and Stability Assessed through Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Purely organic radical ions dimerize in solution at low temperature, forming long, multicenter bonds, despite the metastability of the isolated dimers. Here, we present the first computational study of these π‐dimers in solution, with explicit consideration of solvent molecules and finite temperature effects. By means of force‐field and ab initio molecular dynamics and free energy simulations, the structure and stability of π‐[TCNE]₂^2? (TCNE=tetracyanoethylene) dimers in dichloromethane have been evaluated. Although the dimers dissociate at room temperature, they are stable at 175 K and their structure is similar to the one in the solid state, with a cofacial arrangement of the radicals at an interplanar separation of approximately 3.0 Å. The π‐[TCNE]₂^2? dimers form dissociated ion pairs with the NBu₄⁺ counterions, and their first solvation shell comprises approximately 20 CH₂Cl₂ molecules. Among them, the eight molecules distributed along the equatorial plane of the dimer play a key role in stabilizing the dimer through bridging C?H???N contacts. The calculated free energy of dimerization of TCNE ^{. ?} in solution at 175 K is ?5.5 kcal mol^?1. These results provide the first quantitative model describing the pairing of radical ions in solution, and demonstrate the key role of solvation forces on the dimerization process.     

Microphase separation of cationic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymers in water: Effect of the migration of charges

The structures of aqueous copolymer solutions have been examined through small angle neutron scattering. The copolymers contained mostly N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) monomers. Poly (NIPAM) solutions have a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), above which the macromolecules separate from water. A small fraction of ionizable N,N-[(dimethylamino) propyl] methacrylamide (MADAP) monomers was introduced into the macromolecules. This had dramatic consequences on the solution behavior at temperatures above the LCST of PNIPAM, where phase separation would have been expected for the homopolymer. When all MADAP monomers were ionized, it was found that the solutions resisted the phase separation. At short spatial scales, the chains were collapsed but at large scales they formed branched aggregates that did not separate out of water. When only half of the MADAP monomers are ionized, the electrical charges were able to redistribute themselves along the chains. In this case, the rise in temperature caused a microphase separation where the electrical charges were relocated on a fraction of the chains that remained in solution.The other chains (or section of chains) formed large nodules of a polymer rich phase.     

α-Distonic ions as transient species in the reactions of metastable alkyl benzoate radical cations

The key intermediates to the fragmentation of metastable methyl and ethyl benzoate radical cations are α- and β-distonic isomers of the molecular ions. The α-distocic isomers are also formed by fragmentation of longer chain alkyl benzoates, but may not be long-lived, stable species. Rearrangement of the α-distonic ions prior to fragmentation can take place, but (re)formation of the benzoate molecular ions does not occur.     

Stable γ-distonic oxonium ions: R\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $\end{document}HCHR′ĊH2CHR″ and their characteristic reaction

The γ-distonic radical ions R$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $CHR′CH₂?HR″ and their molecular ion counterparts R$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{{\rm + } \cdot } $CHR′CH₂CH₂R″ have been studied by isotopic labelling and collision-induced dissociation, applying a potential to the collision cell in order to separate activated from spontaneous decompositions. The stability of CH₃$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $HCH(CH₃)CH₂?HCH₃, C₂H₅$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $HCH(CH₃)CH₂?HCH₃, CH₃$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $HCH(CH₃)CH₂?H₂, CH₃$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $HCH₂CH₂?HCH₃ and C₂H₅$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $HCH₂CH₂?HCH₃, has been demonstrated and their characteristic decomposition, alcohol loss, identified. For all these γ-distonic ions, the 1,4-H abstraction leading to their molecular ion counterpart exhibits a primary isotope effect.