Recent advances in solvation models for stationary phase characterization and the prediction of retention in gas chromatography

Determination of physicochemical properties of ionic liquids by gas chromatography

Over the years room temperature ionic liquids have gained attention as solvents with favorable environmental and technical features. Both chromatographic and conventional methods afford suitable tools for the study of their physicochemical properties. Use of gas chromatography compared to conventional methods for the measurement of physicochemical properties of ionic liquids have several advantages; very low sample concentrations, high accuracy, faster measurements, use of wider temperature range and the possibility to determine physicochemical properties of impure samples. Also, general purpose gas chromatography instruments are widely available in most laboratories thus alleviating the need to purchase more specific instruments for less common physiochemical measurements. Some of the main types of physicochemical properties of ionic liquids accessible using gas chromatography include gas-liquid partition constants, infinite dilution activity coefficients, partial molar quantities, solubility parameters, system constants of the solvation parameter model, thermal stability, transport properties, and catalytic and other surface properties.

A large scale test dataset to determine optimal retention index threshold based on three mass spectral similarity measures

Retention index (RI) is useful for metabolite identification. However, when RI is integrated with mass spectral similarity for metabolite identification, many controversial RI threshold setup are reported in literatures. In this study, a large scale test dataset of 5844 compounds with both mass spectra and RI information were created from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) repetitive mass spectra (MS) and RI library. Three MS similarity measures: NIST composite measure, the real part of Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT.R) and the detail of Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT.D) were used to investigate the accuracy of compound identification using the test dataset. To imitate real identification experiments, NIST MS main library was employed as reference library and the test dataset was used as search data. Our study shows that the optimal RI thresholds are 22, 15, and 15 i.u. for the NIST composite, DFT.R and DWT.D measures, respectively, when the RI and mass spectral similarity are integrated for compound identification. Compared to the mass spectrum matching, using both RI and mass spectral matching can improve the identification accuracy by 1.7%, 3.5%, and 3.5% for the three mass spectral similarity measures, respectively. It is concluded that the improvement of RI matching for compound identification heavily depends on the method of MS spectral similarity measure and the accuracy of RI data.

Fabrication and optimization of a conducting polymer sensor array using stored grain model volatiles

During storage, grain can experience significant degradation in quality due to a variety of physical, chemical, and biological interactions. Most commonly, these losses are associated with insects or fungi. Continuous monitoring and an ability to differentiate between sources of spoilage are critical for rapid and effective intervention to minimize deterioration or losses. Therefore, there is a keen interest in developing a straightforward, cost-effective, and efficient method for monitoring of stored grain. Sensor arrays are currently used for classifying liquors, perfumes, and the quality of food products by mimicking the mammalian olfactory system. The use of this technology for monitoring of stored grain and identification of the source of spoilage is a new application, which has the potential for broad impact. The main focus of the work described herein is on the fabrication and optimization of a carbon black (CB) polymer sensor array to monitor stored grain model volatiles associated with insect secretions (benzene derivatives) and fungi (aliphatic hydrocarbon derivatives). Various methods of statistical analysis (RSD, PCA, LDA, t test) were used to select polymers for the array that were optimum for distinguishing between important compound classes (quinones, alcohols) and to minimize the sensitivity for other parameters such as humidity. The performance of the developed sensor array was satisfactory to demonstrate identification and separation of stored grain model volatiles at ambient conditions.

iMatch: a retention index tool for analysis of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data

A method was developed to employ National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 2008 retention index database information for molecular retention matching via constructing a set of empirical distribution functions (DFs) of the absolute retention index deviation to its mean value. The effects of different experimental parameters on the molecules' retention indices were first assessed. The column class, the column type, and the data type have significant effects on the retention index values acquired on capillary columns. However, the normal alkane retention index (I(norm)) with the ramp condition is similar to the linear retention index (I(T)), while the I(norm) with the isothermal condition is similar to the Kováts retention index (I). As for the I(norm) with the complex condition, these data should be treated as an additional group, because the mean I(norm) value of the polar column is significantly different from the I(T). Based on this analysis, nine DFs were generated from the grouped retention index data. The DF information was further implemented into a software program called iMatch. The performance of iMatch was evaluated using experimental data of a mixture of standards and metabolite extract of rat plasma with spiked-in standards. About 19% of the molecules identified by ChromaTOF were filtered out by iMatch from the identification list of electron ionization (EI) mass spectral matching, while all of the spiked-in standards were preserved. The analysis results demonstrate that using the retention index values, via constructing a set of DFs, can improve the spectral matching-based identifications by reducing a significant portion of false-positives.

Time-resolved chromatographic analysis and mechanisms in adsorption and catalysis

The main object of this review is the study of fundamentals of adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis, a benefit for the understanding of adsorptive and catalytic properties. This work aims to define and record, with the utmost accuracy, the phenomena and the possible reactions. A new methodology for the study of the adsorption is presented, which is a version of the well-known inverse gas chromatography. This reversed-flow inverse gas chromatography (RF-IGC) is technically very simple, and it is combined with a mathematical analysis that gives the possibility for the estimation of various physicochemical parameters related to adsorbent or catalyst characterization, under conditions compatible with the operation of real adsorbents and catalysts. On this base, this methodology has been successfully applied to the study of the impact of air pollutants, volatile organic and/or inorganic, on many solids such as marbles, ceramics, oxide-pigments of works of art, building materials, authentic statues of the Greek Archaeological Museums. Moreover, this methodology proved to be a powerful tool for studying the topography of active sites of heterogeneous surfaces in the nano-scale domain. Thus, some very important local quantities for the surface chemistry have been determined experimentally for many solids including thin films. These physicochemical local quantities (among which adsorption energy and entropy, surface diffusion coefficient, probability density function) have been determined from the experimental pairs of height of extra chromatographic peaks and time by a nonlinear least-squares method, through personal computer programs written in GW BASIC and lately in FORTRAN. Through the time-resolved analysis the surface characterization of the examined materials took place. In addition, the kinetic constants responsible for adsorption/desorption and surface chemical reactions have also been calculated. Thus, important answers have been provided to the following essential questions: (1) Can RF-IGC define the gnostic regions of adsorption/desorption, surface diffusion, surface reaction? Yes, irrefutably and undeniably. (2) Can RF-IGC deal with issues of catalysis, the existence of more than one reaction? Certainly yes. Indeed, it is impressive to observe the reactions "on line". (3) Can RF-IGC identify peaks of products and reactants simultaneously? Certainly yes. (4) Can RF-IGC be applied to thin films in a nano-scale domain? The answer is "definitely yes". (5) Can it kinetically follow the above? Yes, again.

Separation characteristics of wall-coated open-tubular columns for gas chromatography

The application of the solvation parameter model for the classification of wall-coated open-tubular columns for gas chromatography is reviewed. A system constants database for 50 wall-coated open-tubular columns at five equally spaced temperatures between 60 and 140 degrees C is constructed and statistical and chemometric techniques used to identify stationary phases with equivalent selectivity, the effect of monomer chemistry on selectivity, and the selection of stationary phases for method development. The system constants database contains examples of virtually all commercially available common stationary phases.

Prediction of equivalent chain lengths from two-dimensional fatty acid retention indices

A recently introduced two-dimensional fatty acid retention index system (2D-FARI) was used as basis for prediction of equivalent chain lengths (ECL) of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) on a BPX-70 stationary phase. Models for the relationship between 2D-FARI data and ECL values of a calibration sample with 30 common fatty acids were established by a simple multivariate regression. The models were thereafter applied on 2D-FARI data for other FAMEs and used to predict the ECLs for these compounds. The 2D-FARI values for the fatty acids in the calibration sample are given by definition. Thus, the only information necessary to calculate the ECL value for a compound run under identical conditions as the calibration sample is the 2D-FARI values for the compound, which can be acquired from literature data. The method was validated with test sets analysed with different temperature and flow programs. ECLs of various marine FAME and trans isomers of Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic acid were predicted with root mean squared error of prediction from 0.002 to 0.012 ECL units.

Quantitative structure–property relationships for pesticides in biopartitioning micellar chromatography

The retention factor (log k) in the biopartitioning micellar chromatography (BMC) of 79 heterogeneous pesticides was studied by quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPR) method. Heuristic method (HM) and support vector machine (SVM) method were used to build linear and nonlinear models, respectively. Compared the results of these two methods, those obtained by the SVM model are much better. For the test set, a predictive correlation coefficient (R) of 0.9755 and root-mean-square (RMS) error of 0.1403 were obtained. The proposed QSPR models, both by HM and SVM, contain the same descriptors that agree with the classical Abraham parameters of well-known linear solvation energy relationships (LSER).

Accurate measurements of thermodynamic properties of solutes in ionic liquids using inverse gas chromatography

Activity coefficients at infinite dilution of 29 organic compounds in two room temperature ionic liquids were determined using inverse gas chromatography. The measurements were carried out at different temperatures between 323.15 and 343.15K. To establish the influence of concurrent retention mechanisms on the accuracy of activity coefficients at infinite dilution for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octyl sulfate and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tosylate, phase loading studies of the net retention volume per gram of packing as a function of the percent phase loading were used. It is shown that most of the solutes are retained largely by partition with a small contribution from adsorption on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octyl sulfate and that the n-alkanes are retained predominantly by interfacial adsorption on 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tosylate.

Chromatographic and spectroscopic methods for the determination of solvent properties of room temperature ionic liquids

Room temperature ionic liquids are novel solvents with favorable environmental and technical features. Synthetic routes to over 200 room temperature ionic liquids are known but for most ionic liquids physicochemical data are generally lacking or incomplete. Chromatographic and spectroscopic methods afford suitable tools for the study of solvation properties under conditions that approximate infinite dilution. Gas-liquid chromatography is suitable for the determination of gas-liquid partition coefficients and activity coefficients as well as thermodynamic constants derived from either of these parameters and their variation with temperature. The solvation parameter model can be used to define the contribution from individual intermolecular interactions to the gas-liquid partition coefficient. Application of chemometric procedures to a large database of system constants for ionic liquids indicates their unique solvent properties: low cohesion for ionic liquids with weakly associated ions compared with non-ionic liquids of similar polarity; greater hydrogen-bond basicity than typical polar non-ionic solvents; and a range of dipolarity/polarizability that encompasses the same range as occupied by the most polar non-ionic liquids. These properties can be crudely related to ion structures but further work is required to develop a comprehensive approach for the design of ionic liquids for specific applications. Data for liquid-liquid partition coefficients is scarce by comparison with gas-liquid partition coefficients. Preliminary studies indicate the possibility of using the solvation parameter model for interpretation of liquid-liquid partition coefficients determined by shake-flask procedures as well as the feasibility of using liquid-liquid chromatography for the convenient and rapid determination of liquid-liquid partition coefficients. Spectroscopic measurements of solvatochromic and fluorescent probe molecules in room temperature ionic liquids provide insights into solvent intermolecular interactions although interpretation of the different and generally uncorrelated "polarity" scales is sometimes ambiguous. All evidence points to the ionic liquids as a unique class of polar solvents suitable for technical development. In terms of designer solvents, however, further work is needed to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the relationship between ion structures and physicochemical properties.

Evaluation of a structure-driven retention model for temperature-programmed gas chromatography

The solvation parameter model is suitable for describing the retention properties of compounds of varied structure in temperature-programmed gas chromatography. An empirical second-order model provides a good account of the change in system constants as a function of program rate. These relationships codify the reduction in retention time at higher program rates and changes in elution order (selectivity) with program rate. The prediction of retention times from structure, while quite good, is probably adversely affected by descriptor quality and the possibility of a mixed retention mechanism on polar stationary phases. Plots of experimental against predicted temperature-programmed retention times for varied compounds are linear but generally contain a small bias from an ideal model (slope of one and an intercept of zero). The average absolute deviation in temperature-programmed retention times on three columns (DB-210, DB-1701 and EC-Wax) varied from 0.15 to 0.89 min with the best results obtained at higher program rates on the columns of lower polarity.

Column selectivity from the perspective of the solvation parameter model

The solvation parameter model is a useful tool for delineating the contribution of defined intermolecular interactions to retention of neutral molecules in separation systems based on a solute equilibrium between a gas, liquid or fluid mobile phase and a liquid or solid stationary phase. The free energy for this process is decomposed into contributions for cavity formation and the set up of intermolecular interactions identified as dispersion, electron lone pair, dipole-type and hydrogen bonding. The relative contribution of these interactions is indicated by a series of system constants determined by the difference of the defined interaction in the two phases. The interpretation of these system constants as a function of experimental factors that affect retention in the chromatographic system provides the connection between relative retention (selectivity) and the control variables for the separation system. To aid in the understanding of these processes we perform an analysis of system constants for gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography and micellar electrokinetic chromatography as a function of different experimental variables as a step towards gaining a theoretical understanding of selectivity optimization for method development.

Effects of solvent density on retention in gas-liquid chromatography. I. Alkanes solutes in polyethylene glycol stationary phases

Gas-liquid chromatographic columns were prepared coating silica capillaries with poly(oxyethylene) polymers of different molecular mass distributions, in the range of low number-average molar masses, where the density still varies significantly. A novel, high-temperature, rapid evaporation method was developed and applied to the static coating of the low-molecular-mass stationary phases. The analysis of alkanes retention data from these columns reveals that the dependence of the partition coefficient with the solvent macroscopic density is mainly due to a variation of entropy. Enthalpies of solute transfer contribute poorly to the observed variations of retention. Since the alkanes solubility diminishes with the increasing solvent density, and this variation is weakly dependent with temperature, it is concluded that the decrease of free-volume in the liquid is responsible for this behavior.

Selectivity assessment of DB-200 and DB-VRX open-tubular capillary columns

The solvation parameter model is used to study the influence of composition and temperature on the selectivity of two poly(siloxane) stationary phases used for open-tubular capillary column gas chromatography. The poly(methyltrifluoropropyldimethylsiloxane) stationary phase, DB-200, has low cohesion, intermediate dipolarity/polarizability, low hydrogen-bond basicity, no hydrogen-bond acidity, and repulsive electron lone pair interactions. The DB-VRX stationary phase has low cohesion, low dipolarity/polarizability, low hydrogen-bond basicity and no hydrogen-bond acidity and no capacity for electron lone pair interactions. The selectivity of the two stationary phases is complementary to those in a database of 11 stationary phase chemistries determined under the same experimental conditions.

Behavior of n-alkanes on poly(oxyethylene) capillary columns. Evaluation of interfacial effects

The solvation behavior of n-alkanes on poly(oxyethylene) was studied employing capillary gas chromatography. Interfacial effects were discriminated and evaluated through the analysis of retention data from six commercial fused-silica capillary columns, having film thicknesses of 0.15-5 microm. Expressions for the mixed retention mechanism in capillary columns were deduced from assumptions of a general character. Partition coefficients were determined for the n-alkanes up to 28 carbon atoms, at temperatures ranging from 40 to 240 degrees C. In agreement with other authors, it was observed that interfacial phenomena contribute poorly to the chromatographic retention, being negligible over 140 degrees C for homologues with less than 16 carbons.

Study of retention in micellar liquid chromatography on a C8 column by the use of linear solvation energy relationships

Linear solvation energy relationships (LSERs) are used to investigate the fundamental chemical interactions governing the micellar liquid chromatographic retention of 22 aromatic compounds (11 benzene derivatives and 11 aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons) in 80 mobile phases on a C8 column. The systems studied involve combinations of 0.050 to 0.140 M sodium dodecyl sulfate or cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, with 0 to 10% methanol, n-propanol, and n-butanol as mobile phase modifiers. The ability of the LSERs to account for the chemical interactions underlying solute retention is shown. A comparison of predicted and experimental retention factors suggests that LSER formalism is able to reproduce adequately the experimental retention factors of the solutes studied in the different experimental conditions investigated.

Selectivity assessment of popular stationary phases for open-tubular column gas chromatography

The solvation parameter model is used to study the influence of temperature and composition on the selectivity of nine poly(siloxane) and two poly(ethylene glycol) stationary phase chemistries for open-tubular column gas chromatography. A database of system constants for the temperature range 60-140 degrees C was constructed from literature values with additional results determined for HP-50+, DB-210, DB-1701, DB-225 and SP-2340 columns. The general contribution of monomer composition (methyl, phenyl, cyanopropyl, and trifluoropropyl substituents) on the capacity of poly(siloxane) stationary phases for dispersion, electron lone pair, dipole-type and hydrogen-bond interactions is described. The selectivity coverage of the open-tubular column stationary phases is compared with a larger database for packed column stationary phases at a reference temperature of 120 degrees C. The open-tubular column stationary phases provide reasonable coverage of the range of dipole-type and hydrogen-bond base interactions for non-ionic packed column stationary phases. Deficiencies are noted in the coverage of electron lone pair interactions. None of the open-tubular column stationary phases are hydrogen-bond acids. The system constants are shown to change approximately linearly with temperature over the range 60-140 degrees C. The intercepts and slopes of these plots are used to discuss the influence of temperature on stationary phase selectivity.

Pair-wise interactions by gas chromatography. VII. Interaction free enthalpies of solutes with secondary alcohol groups

A polar type liquid having a secondary alcohol substituent on a branched alkane skeleton, SOH, was used as stationary phase. The molecules of this stationary phase are nearly isomorphous and isochor with those of the branched alkane, C78, elected as standard, i.e., the molecules of both solvents have nearly the same form and the same size. Partition properties of 158 chosen molecular probes were measured by gas chromatography on SOH and on an SOH-C78 mixture having a volume fraction of thetaOH = 0.5. Based on the resulting data an interaction free enthalpy could be calculated, i.e., the additional effect of the secondary alcohol to partition. Comparison with data determined earlier on another member of this solvent family, POH, having a primary alcohol as interacting group gives information about the effect of steric hindrance on polar type solute-solvent interaction free energies.

Development of comprehensive descriptors for multiple linear regression and artificial neural network modeling of retention behaviors of a variety of compounds on different stationary phases

A new series of six comprehensive descriptors that represent different features of the gas-liquid partition coefficient, K(L), for commonly used stationary phases is developed. These descriptors can be considered as counterparts of the parameters in the Abraham solvatochromic model of solution. A separate multiple linear regression (MLR) model was developed by using the six descriptors for each stationary phase of poly(ethylene glycol adipate) (EGAD), N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl) ethylenediamine (THPED), poly(ethylene glycol) (Ucon 50 HB 660) (U50HB), di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (DEHPA) and tetra-n-butylammonium N,N-(bis-2-hydroxylethyl)-2-aminoethanesulfonate (QBES). The results obtained using these models are in good agreement with the experiment and with the results of the empirical model based on the solvatochromic theory. A 6-6-5 neural network was developed using the descriptors appearing in the MLR models as inputs. Comparison of the mean square errors (MSEs) shows the superiority of the artificial neural network (ANN) over that of the MLR. This indicates that the retention behavior of the molecules on different columns show some nonlinear characteristics. The experimental solvatochromic parameters proposed by Abraham can be replaced by the calculated descriptors in this work.

Selectivity equivalence of poly(ethylene glycol) stationary phases for gas chromatography

The solvation parameter model is used to study differences in selectivity for poly(ethylene glycol) stationary phases for packed column (Carbowax 20M) and fused-silica, open-tubular column (HP-20M, AT-Wax, HP-INNOWax and DB-FFAP) gas chromatography. All phases are dipolar, strongly hydrogen-bond basic with no hydrogen-bond acidity and of moderate cohesion. No two phases are exactly alike, however, and selectivity differences identified with cavity formation and dispersion interactions, n- and pi-electron pair interactions, dipole-type interactions and hydrogen-bond interactions are quantified by differences in the system constants at a fixed temperature where retention occurs solely by gas-liquid partitioning. The system constants vary linearly with temperature over the range 60-140 degrees C (except for n- and pi-electron pair interactions which are temperature invariant) facilitating a general comparison of the importance of temperature on selectivity differences for compared phases. From a mechanistic point of view it is demonstrated that selectivity differences can result from chemical differences between the poly(ethylene glycol) stationary phases and from differences in the relative contribution of interfacial adsorption to the retention mechanism. The latter depends on both system properties and solute characteristics.