Sample Solvent as Analyte in High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Solvents vary in their behavior in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Water and methanol, among others, are widely used in the mobile phase as well as solvents for the solute. Few reports indicate that the solvent used for the solute can behave as an analyte. Normally, it is generally accepted that the solute solvent, a non-constituent of the mobile phase will be the first eluent. However, a solvent which is a component of the sample can show up as an unexpected peak with its own identity. This solvent may show a similar retention time as some of the unknown components of the sample. This indicates that in some cases the quantitative results may be the sum of the absorptivity of the solute and solvent used for the sample. It is assumed that some solvents show no absorption in the ultraviolet region at which the analysis is being conducted. Depending on the mobile phase composition some solvents can be detected at the wavelengts or wavelengths used for analysis. Water, ethylacetate, and methanol showed absorption at 210 nm when present in the sample being analyzed with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-methanol using a C₁₈ column. These solvents overlapped or showed retention times the same as estriol and testosterone.