Packings and stationary phases for biopolymer separations by HPLC

Summary Packings and stationary phases applied to high resolution separations of proteins, enzymes, and nucleic acids must satisfy a series of distinct criteria that are different from those usually required by HPLC of low molecular weight non-biologically active analytes. These requirements have been met through substantial improvements in classical gel media together with novel developments in silica supports, and have led to a family of products with tailor-made and reproducible properties. Supports consisting of cross-linked organic gels, and inorganic materials (mostly silicas) are now available with graduated particle sizes, pore sizes, porosities and surface areas as well as non-porous beads. A whole range of stationary phases, such as reversed phase, hydrophobic interaction, ion exchanger and affinity packings, were designed for application as chemical sensors for biopolymer recognition in adsorptive chromatography. The phase systems are operated in the gradient mode, giving high resolution and high peak capacities. In addition, aqueous liquid-liquid partitioning systems have been developed for the fractionation of proteins and nucleic acids. Size exclusion media complete the set of HPLC variants enabling a discrimination of proteins according to their size and shape in an isocratic elution mode. Basically, protein purification and isolation is a multistage process where-by the HPLC variants are combined in a logistic sequence, utilizing the different selectivities of the phase systems and thus maximising resolution, speed and throughput.     

Enantioseparations of polyhalogenated 4,4’-bipyridines on polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phases and molecular dynamics simulations of selector–selectand interactions

2’-(4-Pyridyl)- and 2’-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-TCIBPs (TCIBP = 3,3’,5,5’-tetrachloro-2-iodo-4,4’-bipyridyl) are chiral compounds that showed interesting inhibition activity against transthyretin fibrillation in vitro. We became interested in their enantioseparation since we noticed that the M-stereoisomer is more effective than the P-enantiomer. Based thereon, we recently reported the enantioseparation of 2’-substituted TCIBP derivatives with amylose-based chiral columns. Following this study, herein we describe the comparative enantioseparation of both 2’-(4-pyridyl)- and 2’-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-TCIBPs on four cellulose phenylcarbamate-based chiral columns aiming to explore the effect of the polymer backbone, as well as the nature and position of substituents on the side groups on the enantioseparability of these compounds. In the frame of this project, the impact of subtle variations of analyte and polysaccharide structures, and mobile phase (MP) polarity on retention and selectivity was evaluated. The effect of temperature on retention and selectivity was also considered, and overall thermodynamic parameters associated with the analyte adsorption onto the CSP surface were derived from van ’t Hoff plots. Interesting cases of enantiomer elution order (EEO) reversal were observed. In particular, the EEO was shown to be dependent on polysaccharide backbone, the elution sequence of the two analytes being P-M and M-P on cellulose and amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate), respectively. In this regard, a theoretical investigation based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was performed by using amylose and cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) nonamers as virtual models of the polysaccharide-based selectors. This exploration at the molecular level shed light on the origin of the enantiodiscrimination processes.     

Preparation and characterization of fused-silica capillary columns coated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-carborane–siloxane copolymers for gas chromatography

The carborane–siloxane copolymers Dexsil 300, a 34.5% bis(dimethylsilyl)-m-carborane–65.5% dimethylsiloxane copolymer, and Dexsil 400, a 24.9% bis(dimethylsilyl)-m-carborane–50.8% dimethyl, 24.3% methylphenylsiloxane copolymer, were coated on fused silica capillary columns and their gas chromatographic properties were evaluated. Their selectivity was evaluated using both Rohrschneider–McReynolds constants and triacylglycerol indices. The bis(dimethylsilyl)-m-carborane unit turned out to be equivalent to two dimethylsiloxy units and one half of a diphenylsiloxy unit. The m-carborane unit was found to cause a 15–25 K shift in the elution temperature between 120 and 360 °C. The working range was from 20 and 0 °C to 380 °C for Dexsil 300 and Dexsil 400, respectively. The column bleeding levels at 380 °C were below 20 and 15 pA for Dexsil 300 and Dexsil 400, respectively.     

Mixed valency in the high-temperature phases of transition metal molybdates, A MoO4 ( A =Fe, Co, Ni)

Transition metal molybdates of the formulaAMoO₄ whereA=Fe, Co or Ni exhibit a first-order phase transition between 670K–970K. An investigation of the lowtemperature (lt) and high-temperature (ht) phases by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility and other physical methods shows that the phase transition is associated with a valence change of the typeA ²⁺+Mo⁶⁺αA ³⁺+Mo⁵⁺ in the cases of iron and cobalt molybdates. Contribution No. 311 from the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit.     

Capillary electrochromatography of methylated benzo[a]pyrene isomers. II. Effect of stationary phase tuning

For Part II of our ongoing study, we present a strategy for stationary phase optimization for the capillary electrochromatographic (CEC) separation of the 12 methylated benzo[a]pyrene (MBAP) isomers. Utilizing the optimum mobile phase conditions from Part I of our study as a guide, seven commercially available stationary phases have been evaluated for their ability to separate highly hydrophobic MBAP isomers. Ranging in design from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to CEC application, each phase was slurry packed in house and tested for CEC suitability and performance. Several stationary phase parameters were investigated for their effects on MBAP separation including bonding type (monomeric or polymeric, % carbon loading, surface coverage), pore size, particle size, and type of alkyl substituent. In this manner, the present state of commercially available packings has been assessed in our laboratory. Utilizing the optimum polymeric C18-5 microm-100 A-PAH stationary phase, the effects of CEC packed bed length and capillary inside diameter (I.D.) were also evaluated. A 50 microm I.D. capillary, 25 cm packed bed length and 75% (v/v) acetonitrile, 12.5 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 20 degrees C at 30 kV, provided resolution of 11 out of 12 MBAP isomers thus showing the effectiveness of CEC for analysis of structurally similar methylated polyaromatic hydrocarbons.     

Synthesis and evaluation of new propazine-imprinted polymer formats for use as stationary phases in liquid chromatography

Silica particles have been used as supports for the preparation of three different propazine-imprinted polymer formats. First format refers to grafting of thin films of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) using an immobilised iniferter-type initiator (inif-MIP). The other two new formats were obtained by complete filling of the silica pores with the appropriate polymerisation mixture leading to a silica-MIP composite material (c-MIP) followed by the dissolution of the silica matrix resulting in spherical MIP beads (dis-MIP). These techniques offer a mean of fine-tuning the particle morphology of the resulting MIP particles leading to enhanced capacity in chromatographic applications. Porous silica (specific surface area S = 380 m² g⁻¹, particle size p_s = 10 μm, pore volume V_p = 1.083 ml g⁻¹ and pore diameter d_p = 10.5 nm), methacrylic acid and ethylenglycol dimethacrylate were used for the preparation of the materials. All the MIP formats imprinted with propazine have been characterised by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption and scanning electron microscopy. Further, the materials were assessed as stationary phases in HPLC. Capacity factors, imprinting factors and theoretical plate numbers were calculated for propazine and other related triazines in order to compare the chromatographic properties of the three different stationary phases. For the inif-MIPs the column efficiency depended strongly on the amount of grafted polymer. Thus, only the polymers grafted as thin films of ca. 1.3 nm average thickness show imprinting effects and the highest column efficiency giving plate numbers (N) of 1600 m⁻¹ for the imprinted propazine. The performance of the c-MIP stationary phase decreases as result of the complete pore filling after polymerisation and increases again after the removal of the silica matrix due to a better mass transfer in the porous mirror-image resulting polymer. From this study can be concluded that the inif-MIP shows the best efficiency for use as stationary phase in HPLC for the separation of triazinic herbicides.     

Correlation between excess adsorption data measured for solvent mixture/adsorbent systems and RM values obtained for different solutes chromatographed in binary mobile phases

This paper concerns the application of excess adsorption isotherms, measured for solvent mixture/adsorbent systems, to the characterization of TLC data. For this purpose the excess adsorption isotherms for three liquid mixtures: cyclohexane/ benzene, benzene/acetone, and carbon tetrachloride/ethyl acetate on silica gel at 20°C have been measured. These mixtures have been used as binary mobile phases in TLC measurements. It has been shown for a given solute in binary mobile phase that the quantity R_M is a simple function of the excess adsorption. Parameters of this function have been used to characterize chromatographic systems with binary mobile phases.     

Cholesterol modulates amiodarone-membrane interactions in model and native membranes

The effects of cholesterol, a lipid mostly found in the sarcolemmal membranes, on the interaction of amiodarone with synthetic models of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and with native models of mitochondria and brain microsomes was studied. Alterations on the structural order of lipids were assessed by fluorescence polarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) probing the bilayer core, and of the propionic acid derivative 3-(p-(6-phenyl)-1,3,5-hexatrienyl)phenylpropionic acid (DPH-PA) probing the outer regions of the bilayer. As detected by the probes and according to classic observations, cholesterol progressively increased the molecular order in the fluid phase of DMPC. Additionally, it modulated the type and extension of amiodarone effects. For low cholesterol concentrations (≤10–15 mol%), amiodarone (50 μM) ordered DMPC bilayers and the effects were almost identical to those observed in pure DMPC. For higher cholesterol concentrations, amiodarone ordering effects decreased slightly and faded for cholesterol concentrations as high as 25 and 30 mol%, when detected by DPH-PA and DPH, respectively. Above these high cholesterol concentrations, a crossover from ordering to disordering effects of amiodarone was apparent, either in the upper region of the bilayer or the hydrophobic core. The effects of amiodarone in native membranes of mitochondria and brain microsomes, in which "native" cholesterol accounts for about 0 and 25 mol%, respectively, correlated reasonably with the results in models of synthetic lipids. There is a close relationship between cholesterol concentration and amiodarone effects, in either synthetic models or native model membranes. Therefore, it may be predicted that the lipid physicochemical properties regulated by cholesterol concentration will also modulate the effects of amiodarone in sarcolemma.     

Micelles as pseudo-stationary phases in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

This review article describes some general comments on micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) from the viewpoint of pseudo-stationary phases and presents a compiled list of surfactants used for MEKC, prepared from published papers. We tried to give comments on some typical surfactants from the practical point of view.     

Cyclodextrins with heterocyclic substitution as GC stationary phases

Summary Two new cyclodextrin (CD) derivatives, heptakis{2,6-di-O-pentyl-3-O-[3′-(2″-chloro-4″,5″-dioxylmethene)-phenyl-5′-iso-oxazolylmethyl]}-β-CD (CD I) and heptakis{2,6-di-O-methyl-3-O-[3′-(2″-chloro)-phenyl-5′-iso-oxazolylmethyl]}-β-CD (CD II) were synthesized and coated on fused-silica capillary columns. Their chromatographic characteristics, including column efficiency, polarity, selectivity and phase transition were studied and compared with similar β-CD stationary phases. It was found that the heterocycle group has a significant effect on the selectivity of the CD stationary phases. Both stationary phases can be successfully used to separate many di- and trisubstituted benzene positional isomers and show stronger separation ability in separating low-polarity benzene positional isomers than other β-CD stationary phases.