The use of deuterated solvents in high-performance liquid chromatography-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry

High Performance Liquid chromatography - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Coupling: A Comprehensive Review

This review presents a critical examination of the interface for coupling high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) since 2010. This coupling offers a robust analytical approach characterized by exceptional chemical specificity and the capacity to analyze complex multi-component mixtures qualitatively and quantitatively with high sensitivity, particularly in low limit of detection ranges. This coupling enables the identification of individual components of a mixture by IR after their separation by HPLC, although challenges arise from the potential distortion of infrared spectra by mobile phase components. Addressing this issue necessitates the implementation of suitable interfaces, such as flow cells or off-line indirect measurement methods like hot inert gas streams or ultrasonic nebulizers. The key parameters influencing the coupling of HPLC-FTIR include the solvent elimination methods, mode of FTIR technique, and IR background for accurate analyte identification. Moreover, the composition of the mobile phase and the utilization of buffer solutions in the HPLC mobile phase profoundly impact analyte identification by FTIR.

Liquid chromatography-Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry

Over the past years the coupling of liquid chromatography (LC) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) has been pursued primarily to achieve specific detection and/or identification of sample constituents. Two approaches can be discerned in the combination of LC and FT-IR. The first and simpler approach is to use a flow cell through which the effluent from the LC column is passed while the IR spectra are continuously recorded. The second approach involves elimination of the LC solvent prior to IR detection using an interface which evaporates the eluent and deposits the analytes onto a substrate. This paper provides a general overview of flow-cell based IR detection and briefly discusses early solvent-elimination interfaces for LC-FT-IR. A more comprehensive description is given of interface systems which use spraying to induce rapid eluent evaporation, and which basically represent the state-of-the-art in LC-FT-IR. Finally, the interface systems suitable for reversed-phase LC are summarized and the perspectives of LC-FT-IR are discussed. The overview indicates that flow-cell LC-FT-IR has rather poor detection limits but can be useful for the specific and quantitative detection of major constituents of mixtures. Solvent-elimination techniques, on the other hand, provide much better sensitivity and enhanced spectral quality which is essential when unambiguous identification of low-level constituents is required.

Hyphenation of ion exchange high-performance liquid chromatography with Fourier transform infrared detection for the determination of sugars in nonalcoholic beverages

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is presented here as a molecular-specific detection system for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in an aqueous phase, focusing on the chromatographic separation of sugars in beverages. The separation was achieved with an isocratic HPLC setup using an ion exchange column (counterion, Ca2+). The FT-IR detection of the C-O bands in the mid-IR between 1000 and 1200 cm-1 was performed in real time with a 25 microns flow cell without elimination of the solvent. Characteristic FT-IR spectra of the common sugars sucrose, glucose, and fructose in concentrations of 1 mg/mL could be recorded during the separation. The calibration of these compounds in the 5-100 mg/mL range resulted in a linear correlation with a standard deviation of the method (Sx0) of 0.11, 0.07, and 0.11 mg/mL for sucrose, glucose, and fructose, respectively. The method was, furthermore, applied to the analysis of nine soft drinks and fruit juices containing between 6 and 97 mg/mL of each carbohydrate. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by standard ion exchange HPLC with refractive index detection. The average deviation from the reference method was in the range of 0.5-0.9 mg/mL. Furthermore, the method was found to be suitable to identify and quantify also minor components in beverages, such as taurine (4 mg/mL) and ethanol (0.4 mg/mL).