Simple and Efficient Solution for Robustness Testing in Gradient Elution Liquid Chromatographic Methods

In this paper, an efficient way for robustness testing of gradient elution liquid chromatographic methods is proposed and tested on model mixtures comprising cilazapril, hydrochlorothiazide, and their degradation products, solutes that differ not only in polarities, but also in solubility and absorption characteristics. In general, the robustness could be tested with respect to various responses: resolution, retention factor, selectivity factor, change of detector response, etc. In chromatographic methods, the separation of the adjacent peaks is mandatory, and, consequently, the resolution is usually used as response. In isocratic elution methods, the resolution threshold depends on many factors, such as sizes of adjacent peaks, peak shapes, and asymmetry factor. At the same time, the situation is even more complex in gradient elution methods, because separation depends on a larger number of parameters, such as gradient profile, column geometry, mobile phase flow rate, column equilibration between gradient runs, etc. To ensure baseline separation, the authors propose application of separation criterion (s) as response and indirect modeling in the robustness evaluation. Examined response in this approach is represented by the difference between the retention time of the beginning of the peak and the retention time of the end of the previously eluting peak of the critical pair. Moreover, the proposed methodology included reusing experiments from the optimization phase to define a robust chromatographic region without increasing the number of experiments. It was shown that method robustness can be easily and efficiently evaluated by this methodology.     

On a class of backward doubly stochastic differential equations

In this paper, a new class of backward doubly stochastic differential equations is studied. This type of equations has a more general form of the forward Itô integrals compared to the ones which have been studied until now. We conclude that unique solutions of these equations can be represented with the help of solutions of the corresponding backward doubly stochastic differential equations, considered earlier in paper [5] by Pardoux and Peng. Some comparison theorems are also given, as well as a probabilistic interpretation for solutions of the corresponding quasilinear stochastic partial differential equations.     

Comparison of salivary sodium and potassium concentrations measured by handheld ion-selective electrode meters and an automated biochemical analyser

Ion-selective electrode pocket meters available for use with saliva could be a convenient tool to assess how diseases, drugs, exercise or nutrition affect salivary composition. This study compared salivary sodium and potassium concentrations measured by handheld LAQUAtwin meters and a fully-automated biochemical analyzer. Agreement between two methods was assessed with Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plots. LAQUAtwin meters measured lower values of both analytes and provided repeatable though not accurate results. The meters may serve as an alternative to laboratory methods to gain insight into between-group differences in electrolyte concentrations, or a concentration change induced by an experimental procedure.