Optimization of stepwise gradient elution in reversed-phase chromatography

Summary Equations describing multi-step gradient elution with a mobile phase of constant composition in each step were derived. These equations useful for calculating the retention volumes in both gradient HPLC and TLC were derived on the basis of the relationship between the isocratic capacity factor and the volume fraction of the organic modifier. The validity of the equations was experimentally verified in a LiChrosorbRP-18-water/methanol system for 11 methyl- and chlorobenzenes and phenols. A satisfactory agreement between the theoretical and experimental k′ values was found.     

Spherical coordinate representations of solvent composition for liquid chromatography method development using experimental design

One of the major techniques used for the method development of ternary and quaternary high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems has been to use mixture designs, often referred to as "Glajch's Triangle". This technique does not allow for the systematic and simultaneous optimization of other factors such as gradient time, pH and temperature that affect the quality of separations. An alternative approach is to use experimental designs. The condition, however, that the composition of all components of the mobile phase must total 100% presents a problem when trying to mathematically represent ranges of each mobile phase constituent of a ternary or quaternary system. A method is described here, based on spherical coordinate representations, that adheres to the constraints of the mobile phase composition and allows experimental designs, such as central composite and factorial designs, to be applied to the simultaneous optimization of the mobile phase composition. Other factors, in particular temperature and gradient time, can then be included in the design. As a result of applying these designs to the HPLC separation of phenols and corticosteroids, it was found necessary to include three-way interactions between experimental factors in the model. The significance of these interactions shows that they need to be considered in HPLC method development.     

Multivariate optimisation of the experimental conditions for determination of three methylxanthines by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine) and theophylline (1,3-dimethylxanthine) are the most important naturally occurring methylxanthines. Caffeine is a constituent of coffee and other beverage and included in many medicines. Theobromine and theophylline are formed as metabolites of caffeine in humans, and are also present in tea, cocoa and chocolate products.

In order to improve the chromatographic resolution (R_s) with a good analysis time, experimental designs were applied for multivariate optimisation of the experimental conditions of an isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method used for the simultaneous determination of caffeine, theobromine and theophylline. The optimisation process was carried out in two steps using full three-level factorial designs. The factors optimised were: flow rate and mobile phase composition. Optimal conditions for the separation of the three methylxanthines were obtained using a mixture of water/ethanol/acetic acid (75:24:1%, v/v/v) as mobile phase and a flow rate of 1.0 mL min⁻¹. The RP-HPLC/UV method was validated in terms of limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), linearity, recovery and the precision, calculated as relative standard deviation (R.S.D.). In these conditions, the LOD was 0.10 μg L⁻¹ for caffeine, 0.07 μg L⁻¹ for theobromine and 0.06 μg L⁻¹ for theophylline. The proposed method is fast, requires no extraction step or derivatization and was suitable for quantification of these methylxanthines in coffee, tea and human urine samples.     

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.     

Elution profiles of lanthanides with α‐hydroxyisobutyric acid by ion exchange chromatography using fine resin

Experiments were carried out using a strong acid cation exchange resin with a particle size of 75–150 μm, termed as “fine resin” in hydrogen ion form for the elution of individual lanthanides Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, and Dy that are produced as fission products in the spent nuclear fuel and generated in the effluent during reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Batch experiments were carried out to study the effect of concentration of nitric acid on distribution coefficient. The distribution coefficient values for these individual lanthanides were determined in nitric acid medium in the concentration range of 0.01–4.0 N. Uptake of each individual lanthanide by resin was increased with increased nitric acid concentration from 0.01 to 0.5 N and remained similar from 0.5 to 1.0 N and decreased thereafter up to 4.0 N. Column experiments were also carried out using the same resin to study the parameters like pH of the eluent, flow rate, and resin bed height under isocratic elution conditions for eluting lanthanide elements using α‐hydroxyisobutyric acid as eluent. The results of this study have indicated the possibility for the elution of individual lanthanides.     

Isocratic Separation of Dansylated Biogenic Amines on a C8‐Bonded Silica Column under the LC Elution of Methanol‐Based Mobile Phase

Under the elution of methanol‐based mobile phase, the isocratic resolution of 12 biogenic amines, including 1 aromatic, 2 heterocyclic and 9 aliphatic amines, as the dansylated derivatives has been accomplished in less than 25 minutes on a 15 cm C₈‐bonded column. The resolution can not be reproduced on other examined alkyl‐bonded phases (e.g., C₄ and C₁₈) under the same chromatographic conditions, or in the reversed‐phase mode. The retention, mainly as a result of hydrophobic interaction between analyte and stationary phase, can be adjusted by varying the percentage of methanol in the mobile phase. Also, incorporating acetic acid as additive to the mobile phase to protonate the analyte and silanol groups that are little shielding on the surface of silica gel reduces the dipole‐dipole interaction, and thus the retention scale, which in turn deteriorates the resolution. Furthermore, the elution reversal is plausible for some of analytes as a greater percent of acetic acid is used in the elution. Values of correlation coefficients (R²) range between 0.9995 and 0.9996, indicating good linearity.     

Study of blood collection and sample preparation for analysis of vitamin D and its metabolites by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

The analysis of vitamin D status, with special emphasis on 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, is gaining interest in clinical studies due to the classical and non-classical effects attributed to this prohormone. In this research, the influence of the two steps preceding determination (viz. sample collection and preparation) on the quantitative analysis of vitamin D and its more important metabolites has been studied. Two preparation approaches, deproteination and solid-phase extraction (SPE), have been evaluated in terms of sensitivity to delimit their application, thus establishing that detection of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D cannot be addressed by protein precipitation. Concerning sample collection, serum and plasma reported high accuracy (above 83.3%) for vitamin D and metabolites, while precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, was below 12.9% for all analytes in both samples. Statistical analysis revealed that serum and plasma provided similar physiological levels for vitamin D₃, 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ and 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃, while significantly different levels were obtained for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃, always higher in plasma than in serum. Sample collection and treatment have proved to be significant in the analysis of vitamin D and its relevant metabolites.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定血浆中同型半胱氨酸的含量

本文建立了在等度洗脱下高效液相色谱法(HPLC)测定血清中同型半胱氨酸含量的方法。血浆同型半胱氨酸经巯基乙醇还原后用H2O2氧化巯基,与邻苯二甲醛(OPA)衍生,经C18色谱柱在45℃分离,荧光检测。方法简便、快速,线性范围为0.685～148.0μmol·L-1,r=0.9998;方法回收率为96.4%～100.1%。日内相对标准偏差小于5%,日间相对标准偏差小于6%。     

Reversed phase liquid chromatographic retention behavior of polystyrene homopolymers

Summary Isocratic and gradient elution high performance liquid chromatographic measurements of the retention behavior of polystyrene homopolymers with molecular weights ranging from 2 kD to 390 kD were performed using mixed methylene chloride-methanol mobile phases of varying composition and a C-18 chemically bonded stationary phase supported on either 100 Å or 300 Å mean pore diameter silica. Isocratic measurements of the capacity factor, k, for different molecular weight homopolymers as a function of the volume fraction of methylene chloride, , permit determination of the critical composition, _c, which renders k=1 and the local slope, S=–lnk/_c of the lnk- isotherm at =_c, and also the dependence of _c and S on the degree of polymerization, M. Linear gradient elution measurements of _c and S were also performed and compared to the corresponding isocratic measurements. The general retention behavior and the dependence of _c and S on M compare favorably to the predictions of the theory of homopolymer retention and fractionation developed by Boehm, Martire, Armstrong, and Bui (BMAB). Comparison is also made between the present work and the experimental observations of other workers on related chromatographic systems involving hompolymer retention.