Partially Methylated β-Cyclodextrin Analysis: A Systematic Approach to Appropriate RP Column Selection

In order to establish guidelines to help the analyst in the choice of the most suitable octadecyl or octyl bonded phase for the LC analysis of a given partially methylated β-CD sample, analyses of four commercially available dimethyl-β-cyclodextrins (DM-β-CDs) have been carried out on nine octyl (C₈) or octadecyl (C₁₈) silica bonded or polymeric bonded phases which differ significantly in their hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. Chromatograms show that the nature of the packing materials has considerable influence on the resolution of complex mixtures composed of closely related compounds such as partially methylated β-CDs. Among various kinds of C₈ and C₁₈ bonded phases, silica based and monomeric phases which present both reinforced hydrophobic and polar interactions showed the best performance. Whatever the complexity of the commercial DM-β-CD, the richest chromatographic fingerprints, which best depict the complexity of the mixture, are obtained with Nucleosil 50-5-C₈ column. For the simplest mixtures, Nucleosil 50-5-C₈ column with acetonitrile-water (34:66) as mobile phase is the most suitable chromatographic system and leads to the best resolution between heptakis (2,6-di-O-methyl)-β-CD and hexakis (2,6-di-O-methyl)-mono(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-CD (14 OCH₃ and 15 OCH₃). This chromatographic system might enable an LC-MS coupling for direct identification of the different components in the mixture as well as control of batch to batch variations.