Electrochemical detector with a 20 nl volume for micro-columns liquid chromatography

Summary A flow-through two electrode wall-jet cell with a platinum measuring electrode and a cell volume of 20 nl has been designed and evaluated. It has been used to detect phenols by reversed phase liquid chromatography using short micro bore columns. The linear dynamic range between the measured current and the concentration is greater than 10³ (1.5×10^–7–5×10^–4 mol/l) and the minimum analyzable amount was found to be 10 pg for pyrocatechol. A negligible broadening in the detector permits the use of micro columns down to 0.5 mm internal diameter, packed with 5 m particles, without any substantial distortion of eluted zones.Presented at the 14th International Symposium on Chromatography London, September, 1982     

Speciation of chromium in waste waters by coupled column ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

An application of coupled column ion chromatography (IC)-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is presented for speciation of chromium in waste waters. By coupling an anion column with a cation column, both the cationic Cr(III) and anionic Cr(VI) species can be analyzed with detection limits below 0.5 μg/1. The separation of the interfering ions (chloride, chlorate, perchlorate, sulphate, sulphite, sulphide, thiosulphate, carbonate, cyanide and some organic compounds) from the chromium peaks is discussed, and the use of different chromium isotopes for data acquisition is compared. Based on the results, m/z 52 was considered as an ideal isotope for speciation of chromium in waste waters by the coupled column IC-ICP-MS, because it did not suffer from polyatomic interferences and due to the high sensitivity for chromium. The analysis of the waste water samples should be performed as soon as possible after sampling according to the stability tests of the species.     

Preparation of apolar glass capillary columns by the barium carbonate procedure

As an extension of previous reports, the barium carbonate procedure has been optimized in detail for the preparation of apolar columns. The aim was to produce optimum overall column characteristics, and to maintain them unchanged under the prolonged influence of the highest possible temperature. The main parameters under optimization were glass variety, leaching of glass surface with aqueous HCl, and amount of barium carbonate deposited, while deactivation and coating were kept constant. The basic column characteristics were adsorption properties and thermostability of deactivation, acid/base behaviour and separation efficiency. They were determined by a new, quantitative testing procedure. Intense leaching was able to eliminate almost totally the differences between glass varieties and to create a well-defined glass surface. While untreated glass, leached glass, and barium carbonate treated glass showed specific weak points in the respective column quality, the combination of leaching and barium carbonate treatment yielded the highest and most stable quality. Some technical modifications of the preparation procedure are described, including deactivation in the gas phase, and use of pentane as a solvent for static coating.     

The chromatographic properties of a mixed-bed stationary phase combining reversed-phase and strong anion exchange properties

Summary The feasibility of using columns prepared by mixing together ion exchange and reversed-phase packing materials, for the simultaneous separation of ionised and unionised molecules, has been examined using a range of test solutes. Columns prepared in this way showed chromatographic properties which were intermediate between those of the individual phases. The dual nature of the retention mechanism allowed the retention of ionisable molecules to be adjusted using pH whilst that of uncharged compounds was unaffected. The simultaneous chromatography of model compounds and their glucuronide, sulphate and glycine conjugates, under a variety of conditions, was demonstrated.     

Sulfur hexafluoride as a mobile phase for supercritical fluid chromatography

Summary The capabilities of sulfur hexafluoride as a mobile phase for supercritical-fluid chromatography are investigated. An evaluation of its overall utility on the basis of separations of standard aromatic hydrocarbon odel mixtures performed on a variety of bonded-phase, packed columns with UV detection is presented. The dependence of separation performance upon operational parameters is also examined. A comparative evaluation of the chroamtographic properties of supercitrical sulfur hexafluoride and those of supercritical carbon dioxide is developed from these separations under corresponding supercritical state conditions.     

Fused silica capillary micro-packed columns in gas chromatography

Summary Flexibility, strength and adsorption inertness of fused-silica capillaries permits their extensive application for the preparation of micro-packed columns in gas chromatography. Decreasing the column diameter (from 0.5 to 0.15 mm) and the diameter of the sorbent particles (from 100 to 5 μm) results in a marked reduction of the height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP), as well as in diminishing the dependence of the HETP on the carrier gas flow rate. The chromatographic characteristics of fused-silica capillary micro-packed columns and open-tubular columns are compared. The fused-silica capillary micro-packed column can be used to advantage for performing rapid and trace analyses and have been shown to be adapted for application in gas-solid chromatography. Separation of organic and inorganic compounds on fused-silica capillary micro-packed columns is illustrated by practical examples. Presented at the 15th International Symposium on Chromatography, Nürnberg, October 1984     

Comparison of the retention behaviour of phenol derivatives on porous graphitized and octadecylsilica columns

Summary The retention of 22 ring-substituted phenol derivatives on porous graphitized carbon (PGC) (eluents: acetonitrile — water and methanol — water mixtures) and on octadecylsilica (ODS) (eluents: methanol — 0.025 M KH₂PO₄ mixtures) was determined, and the relationship between retention and physicochemical parameters were evaluated by principal component analysis followed by two-dimensional nonlinear mapping and by cluster analysis as well as by canonical correlation analysis. Calculations proved that marked differences can be detected between the retention characteristics of PGC and ODS columns, and the electronic parameters of phenol derivatives have the highest impact on their retention. The comparison of various multivariate mathematical-statistical methods indicated that principal component analysis followed by two dimensional non-linear mapping is the most appropriate method for the evaluation of large data matrices in RP-HPLC.     

Surface modification of soft-glass capillaries for gas chromatography by treatment with water vapour

“Leaching” or “etching” by strong mineral acids seems to be a necessary pretreatment step for the most commonly used deactivation procedures of glass capillaries by reaction with either polyethylene glycol or silylation reagents. The acidic sites which are formed on the surface during this acid treatment cannot be completely removed by the subsequent deactivation process. This drawback can be overcome by performing the leaching with water vapour, resulting in an accumulation of cations at the surface and a decrease in the number of silanol groups. Capillaries of this type show excellent properties for the chromatography of strongly basic compounds. After the wash-out of the alkaline surface layer, the acidity of the support is suited for the chromatography of strongly basic as well as strongly acidic compounds. Due to a lack of reactive acidic sites, special deactivation procedures have to be applied to capillaries produced in this way.     

Selectivity optimization for the capillary gas chromatographic analysis of bacterial cellular fatty acids

Summary The importance of selectivity in the capillary gas chromatographic analysis of the cellular fatty acids of micro-organisms is underestimated. The analysis on apolar silicone phases can lead to erratic elucidation of the fatty acid structure. Qualitative errors have been detected in commercially available standards on which computer matching identification techniques are based. Using highly polar capillary columns of the cyanopropyl silicone type, the errors could be elucidated. The exact identification of the hydrolysis products of bacteria is a must for chemotaxonomic studies applying chromatographic techniques. The fatty acid methyl ester profiles can also contain other chemical components which are very important taxonomic markers. Fatty aldehydes, for example, are main components in someClostridium species. Fractionation techniques are described for selective enrichment of fatty aldehydes and hydroxy fatty acids.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. A Liberti on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Separation of phytosterol oxidation products by combination of different polarity gas chromatography capillary columns

The number of characterized phytosterol oxidation products (POPs) from both ring- and side-chain structures has increased during recent decades, resulting in difficulties in the separation of POPs on different gas chromatography (GC) capillary columns. The main objective of this study was to separate a mixture of 29 purified and characterized oxidation products from sito-, campe- and stigmasterol using GC capillary columns with different polarity. For the first time in the area of POPs analysis, the separation efficiency of the combination of two capillary GC columns with different polarities was investigated. A non-polar 5% phenyl coated (DB5-MS) and a mid-polar 35% phenyl coated (DB35-MS) column was combined with a pressfit connector. The main improvement was enhanced base line separation for many of the analyzed POPs, compared with the separations achieved using the individual columns. However, three pairs of POPs co-eluted: 24-hydroxysitosterol/campesterol-5beta,6beta-epoxide, stigmasterol-5beta,6beta-epoxide/campesterol-5alpha,6alpha-epoxide and stigmasterol-5alpha,6alpha-epoxide/campestanetriol.