Open tubular capillary electrochromatography with an N -phenylacrylamide-styrene copolymer-based stationary phase for the separation of anomers of glucose and structural isomers of maltotriose

Recent applications and chiral separation developments based on stationary phases in open tubular capillary electrochromatography (2019–2022)

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) plays a significant role in chiral separation via the double separation principle, partition coefficient difference between the two phases, and electroosmotic flow-driven separation. Given the distinct properties of the inner wall stationary phase (SP), the separation ability of each SP differs from one another. Particularly, it provides large room for promising applications of open tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). We divided the OT-CEC SPs developed over the past four years into six types: ionic liquids, nanoparticle materials, microporous materials, biomaterials, non-nanopolymers, and others, to mainly introduce their characteristics in chiral drug separation. There also added a few classic SPs that occurred within ten years as supplements to enrich the features of each SP. Additionally, we discuss their applications in metabolomics, food, cosmetics, environment, and biology as analytes in addition to chiral drugs. OT-CEC plays an increasingly significant role in chiral separation and may promote the development of capillary electrophoresis (CE) combined with other instruments in recent years, such as CE with mass spectrometry (CE/MS) and CE with ultraviolet light detector (CE/UV).

In situ synthesis of a spherical covalent organic framework as a stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are a novel type of crystalline porous organic polymer materials recently developed. It has several advantages in chromatographic separation field, such as high thermal stability, porosity, structural regularity, and large specific surface area. Here, a novel spherical COF 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenyl)benzene (TAPB) and 2,5-bis(2-propyn-1-yloxy)-1,4-benzenedicarboxaldehyde (BPTA) was developed as an electrochromatographic stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography separation. The COF TAPB-BPTA modified capillary column was fabricated via a facile in situ growth method at room temperature. The characterization results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that COF TAPB-BPTA were successfully modified onto the capillary inner surface. The electrochromatography separation performance of the COF TAPB-BPTA modified capillary was investigated. The prepared column demonstrated outstanding separation performance toward alkylbenzenes, phenols, and chlorobenzenes compounds. Furthermore, the baseline separations of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and parabens with good efficiency and high resolution were achieved. Also, the prepared column possessed satisfactory precision of the intra-day runs (n = 5), inter-day runs (n = 3), and parallel columns (n = 3), and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the retention times of tested alkylbenzenes were all less than 2.58%. Thus, this new COF-based stationary phase shows tremendous application potential in chromatographic separation field.

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COF TAPB–BPTA was studied as OT-CEC stationary phase.

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In situ, room-temperature growth method was quite facile and efficient.

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Excellent separation performances toward various hydrophobic compounds.

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The maximum column efficiency was 1.78 × 10⁵ plates/m.

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Reproducibility and stability were found to be satisfactory.

Enhanced enantioseparation of drugs by capillary electrochromatography with a L-cysteine functionalized gold nanoparticle based stationary phase

Nanoparticles, which have unique properties, have attracted growing attention in enantiomeric separation nowadays. In this paper, an L-cysteine functionalized gold nanoparticle (L-Cys-GNP) based capillary column was prepared and applied in separating drug enantiomers in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with lactobionic acid (LA) as a chiral selector. Compared with bare fused-silica capillary columns, the capillary columns modified with L-Cys-GNPs showed excellent chiral separation performance. A series of parameters affecting the enantiomeric separation were systematically investigated.

Recent Advances in Capillary Electrochromatography of Proteins and Carbohydrates in the Biopharmaceutical and Biomedical Field

Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a powerful hybrid separation technique that combines capillary electrophoresis and capillary chromatography, capable to address the analytical challenges of proteomics and glycomics. The focus of this paper is to review the recent developments in capillary electrochromatography of proteins and carbohydrates. The different column types applied in capillary electrochromatography such as packed bed, open tubular and monoliths are conferred in detail with respective separation examples. A comprehensive comparison is also given listing the mostly utilized coating methods, stationary phase materials and column preparation methods. The choice of porogenic solvent combinations for monolithic column fabrication is thoroughly discussed, paying close attention to the fine tuning options for the separation driving electroosmotic flow. Application examples of CEC in process analytical technology for the biopharmaceutical and biomarker discovery in the biomedical fields are also given.

Recent advancements in open-tubular liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography during 2014-2018

This review critically discusses the developments on open-tubular liquid chromatography (OT-LC) and open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) during 2014-2018. An appropriate Scopus search revealed 5 reviews, 4 theoretical papers on open-tubular format chromatography, 29 OT-LC articles, 68 OT-CEC articles and 4 OT-LC/OT-CEC articles, indicating a sustained interest in these areas. The open-tubular format typically uses a capillary column with inner walls that are coated with an ample layer or coating of solid stationary phase material. The ratio between the capillary internal diameter and coating thickness (CID/CT) is ideally ≤ 100 for appropriate chromatographic retention. We, therefore, approximated the CID/CT ratios and found that 22 OT-LC papers have CID/CT ratios ≤100. The other 7 OT-LC papers have CID/CT ratio >100 but have clearly demonstrated chromatographic retention. These 29 papers utilised reversed phase or ion exchange mechanisms using known or innovative solid stationary phase materials (e.g. metal organic frameworks), stationary pseudophases from ionic surfactants or porous supports. On the other hand, we found that 68 OT-CEC papers, 7 OT-LC papers and 4 OT-LC & OT-CEC papers have CID/CT ratios >100. Notably, 44 papers (42 OT-CEC and 2 OT-LC & OT-CEC) did not report the retention factor and/or effective electrophoretic mobility of analytes. Considering all covered papers, the most popular activity was on the development of new chromatographic materials as coatings. However, we encourage OT-CEC researchers to not only characterise changes in the electroosmotic flow but also verify the interaction of the analytes with the coating. In addition, the articles reported were largely driven by stationary phase or support development and not by practical applications.

Surface-Confined Aqueous Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (SCARAFT) Polymerization Method for Preparation of Coated Capillary Leads to over 10 000 Peptides Identified from 25 ng HeLa Digest by Using Capillary Zone Electrophoresis-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A surface-confined aqueous reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (SCARAFT) polymerization method was developed to coat capillaries for use in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). SCARAFT polymerization primarily takes place on the inner surface of the capillary instead of in solution, which greatly improves the homogeneity of the coating. Capillaries treated with this coating produced an electroosmotic mobility of 2.8 ± 0.2 × 10^-6 cm²·V^-1·s^-1 (N = 3), which is roughly an order of magnitude lower than that of commercial linear polyacrylamide (LPA)-coated capillaries. Coated capillaries were evaluated for bottom-up proteomic analysis using CZE. The very low electroosmotic mobility results in a 200 min separation and improved single-shot analysis. An average of 977 protein groups and 5605 unique peptides were identified from 50 ng of an E. coli digest, and 2158 protein groups and 10 005 peptides were identified from 25 ng of a HeLa digest using single-shot analysis with a SCARAFT-acrylamide capillary coupled to a Q Exactive HF mass spectrometer. The coating is stable. A single capillary was used for over 200 h (8.4 days) of continuous operation. RSD in migration time was between 2 and 3% for selected ion electropherograms (SIEs) generated for six ions; median theoretical plate counts ranged from 240 000 to 600 000 for these SIEs. Various types of coatings could be prepared by simply changing the functional vinyl monomers in the polymerization mixture. Positively charged coatings using direct attachment and formation of a block copolymer were prepared and demonstrated for the separation of mixtures of intact proteins.

Open tubular-capillary electrochromatography: Developments and applications from 2013 to 2015

Open tubular CEC (OT-CEC) separates analyte mixtures by a combination of electrophoretic, electro-osmotic, and/or chromatographic effects. OT-CEC research is an active and growing field, with studies encompassing a wide range of investigations related to new strategies for chemical modification of the inner surface of the capillary, leading to the introduction of novel stationary phase coatings. This review has examined the literature on OT-CEC from 2013 to August 2015 and highlights the developments in the fabrication of highly selective stationary phases, based on materials that include cyclodextrin chiral selectors, graphene and graphene oxide, metal-organic frameworks, molecularly imprinted polymers, nanoparticles, nanolatex particles, nanocomposites, in situ generated polymers, block polymers, tentacle-type polymers, polyelectrolyte multilayers, polysaccharides, phospholipids, and proteins. This review, while considering the development of novel OT-CEC coating materials, specifically examines different immobilization or coating methodologies and approaches and also discusses the separation mechanisms that occur with these new materials. These OT-CEC coatings are intended mainly to separate low molecular weight molecules relevant to the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and food industries as well as for use in environmental monitoring.

Enantioseparations in open-tubular capillary electrochromatography: Recent advances and applications

This review highlights recent advances and applications in open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) for enantioseparations during the last decade. Although extensive research has been conducted in the area of separations by use of CEC, and a big number of reviews have been published, there is not a review on exclusively the use of chiral stationary phases (CSPs) in OT-CEC for enantioseparations. Therefore, in this review, the design and synthesis of different CSPs are presented, and their potential applications in OT-CEC for enantioseparations are discussed. The different approaches to CSP development include chiral nanomaterials, porous layers, molecular imprinting, sol-gel technique, polyelectrolyte multilayer coating, polymeric coating and others.