Evaluation of a C18 hybrid stationary phase using high-temperature chromatography

Exploring the green frontier: Subcritical water chromatography for sustainable analytical practices

Water in the subcritical state is characterized by properties significantly different from water under standard conditions. These include low viscosity, low surface tension, and a much lower dielectric constant, increasing the solubility of nonpolar substances. For this reason, it can provide an alternative solvent and be used in chromatographic techniques-subcritical water chromatography (SBWC). SBWC appears to be one of the greenest analytical techniques until we unravel chromatography with pure water at room temperature. The versatility of SBWC is explored through its applications in the separation and analysis of a wide range of compounds, including pharmaceuticals, natural products, etc. The use of subcritical water as a mobile phase requires suitable stable stationary phases and special apparatus. Still, it makes it possible to conduct analyses without using organic solvents. When using this technique, it is important to remember that it suits the analysis of thermally stable substances. The following work is a critical review of developments in SBWC.

Stationary Phases for Green Liquid Chromatography

Industrial research, including pharmaceutical research, is increasingly using liquid chromatography techniques. This involves the production of large quantities of hazardous and toxic organic waste. Therefore, it is essential at this point to focus interest on solutions proposed by so-called “green chemistry”. One such solution is the search for new methods or the use of new materials that will reduce waste. One of the most promising ideas is to perform chromatographic separation using pure water, without organic solvents, as a mobile phase. Such an approach requires novel stationary phases or specific chromatographic conditions, such as an elevated separation temperature. The following review paper aims to gather information on stationary phases used for separation under purely aqueous conditions at various temperatures.

Sources of Nonlinear van't Hoff Temperature Dependence in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

In HPLC, the nonlinear behavior of the retention factor k' with temperature (dependence of ln k' on 1/T) can be attributed to the multiple interactions of a unique analyte in the separation process and/or to the existence in solution of multiple forms of the analyte (also leading to different free enthalpies of interaction). In this study, several examples of nonlinear retention-temperature dependence are evaluated for both reversed-phase (RP) and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) separations. The potential explanation for nonlinear retention-temperature behavior is evaluated for each example, some caused by multiple interactions in the separation system of a unique analyte and others by multiple forms of the analyte. In cases where the analyte does not have more forms and the separation is based predominantly on one type of interaction (e.g., hydrophobic interaction in RP-HPLC), the dependence is linear, as expected. By studying the changes in the chemical structure of a compound as a function of pH it is possible to decide, in many cases, if a unique form or multiple forms of a compound are present in the solution. The use of this information allows us to determine when the lack of linearity (when present) is caused by multiple interactions in the separation system (for one form of the compound) and when more forms are causing the lack of linearity. The approximation with a quadratic form for the nonlinear dependence has been verified in most cases to be good, and only minor improvements were obtained when using higher polynomial dependencies.

Reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography-diode array detection of the bispyridinium compound MB327: plasma analysis of a potential novel antidote for the treatment of organophosphorus poisoning

In the case of poisoning by organophosphorus nerve agents or pesticides, there is still a lack of pharmacological treatment of the cholinergic crisis selectively targeting the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Recently, the compound MB327 was identified as a potential novel lead structure to close this gap, thus demanding a quantitative assay for initial pharmacokinetic (PK) studies. MB327 is a salt consisting of the dicationic bispyridinium compound (BPC) 1,1´-(propane-1,3-diyl)bis(4-tert-butylpyridinium) and two iodide counter ions. Due to the permanent positive charge of the BPC, an isocratic reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic separation (RPIPC) was developed using heptanesulfonic acid as ion-pairing reagent and 45% v/v methanol as organic modifier (1 mL/min). Selective UV-detection (230 nm) was done by a diode array detector (DAD) for reliable, rugged, precise (RSD < 7%) and accurate (96-104%) quantitative analysis of 50 μL swine plasma (linear range 1-1000 µg BPC/mL plasma, lower limit of quantification 2 µg/mL). During method validation, diverse parameters essential for the chromatographic process were investigated to generate van´t Hoff, van Deemter and width plots allowing calculation of thermodynamic data like the distribution constant K (5.7 ± 0.3), change in enthalpy, ΔH(0) : -23.66 kJ/mol, and entropy, ΔS(0) : -65 J/(mol*K). In addition, RPIPC-DAD analysis enabled calculation of molar absorptivities of the BPC, ε230 : 17 400 ± 1100 L/(mol*cm), and iodide, ε230 : 9900 ± 400 L/(mol*cm), which determination was hampered by interference with each other in conventional cuvette UV-spectrophotometric measurements. Finally, the RPIPC-DAD procedure was applied to samples from an in vivo study of swine.

Flow rate dependent extra-column variance from injection in capillary liquid chromatography

Efficiency and resolution in capillary liquid chromatography (LC) can be significantly affected by extra-column band broadening, especially for isocratic separations. This is particularly a concern in evaluating column bed structure using non-retained test compounds. The band broadening due to an injector supplied with a commercially available capillary LC system was characterized from experimental measurements. The extra-column variance from the injection valve was found to have an extra-column contribution independent of the injection volume, showing an exponential dependence on flow rate. The overall extra-column variance from the injection valve was found to vary from 34 to 23 nL. A new mathematical model was derived that explains this exponential contribution of extra-column variance on chromatographic performance. The chromatographic efficiency was compromised by ∼130% for a non-retained analyte because of injection valve dead volume. The measured chromatographic efficiency was greatly improved when a new nano-flow pumping system with integrated injection valve was used.

High performance liquid chromatography analysis of wine anthocyanins revisited: effect of particle size and temperature

The complex anthocyanin fraction of red wines poses a demanding analytical challenge. We have found that anthocyanins are characterised by extremely low optimal chromatographic velocities, and as a consequence generic HPLC methods suffer from limited resolving power. Slow on-column inter-conversion reactions, particularly between carbinol and flavylium species, are shown to occur on the same time scale as chromatographic separation, leading to increased plate heights at normal chromatographic velocities. In order to improve current routine HPLC separations, the use of small (1.7 microm) particles and high temperature liquid chromatography (HTLC) were investigated. 1.7 microm particles provide better efficiency and higher optimal linear velocities, although column lengths of approximately 20 cm should be used to avoid the detrimental effects of conversion reactions. More importantly, operation at temperatures up to 50 degrees C increases the kinetics of inter-conversion reactions, and implies significantly improved efficiency under relatively mild analysis conditions. It is further demonstrated using relevant kinetic data that no on-column thermal degradation of these thermally labile compounds is observed at 50 degrees C and analysis times of <2h.

High temperature-ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for the metabonomic analysis of Zucker rat urine

The applicability and potential of using elevated temperatures and sub 2-microm porous particles in chromatography for metabonomics/metabolomics was investigated using, for the first time, solvent temperatures higher than the boiling point of water (up to 180 degrees C) and thermal gradients to reduce the use of organic solvents. Ultra performance liquid chromatography, combined with mass spectrometry, was investigated for the global metabolite profiling of the plasma and urine of normal and Zucker (fa/fa) obese rats (a well established disease animal model). "Isobaric" high temperature chromatography, where the temperature and flow rate follow a gradient program, was developed and evaluated against a conventional organic solvent gradient. LC-MS data were first examined by established chromatographic criteria in order to evaluate the chromatographic performance and next were treated by special peak picking algorithms to allow the application of multivariate statistics. These studies showed that, for urine (but not plasma), chromatography at elevated temperatures provided better results than conventional reversed-phase LC with higher peak capacity and better peak asymmetry. From a systems biology point of view, better group clustering and separation was obtained with a larger number of variables of high importance when using high temperature-ultra performance liquid chromatography (HT-UPLC) compared to conventional solvent gradients.

High throughput liquid chromatography with sub-2μm particles at high pressure and high temperature

In this study, ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) using pressures up to 1,000 bar and columns packed with sub-2 microm particles has been combined with high temperature mobile phase conditions (up to 90 degrees C). By using high temperature ultra performance liquid chromatography (HT-UPLC), it is possible to drastically decrease the analysis time without loss in efficiency. The stability and chromatographic behavior of sub-2 microm particles were evaluated at high temperature and high pressure. The chromatographic support remained stable after 500 injections (equivalent to 7,500 column volumes) and plate height curves demonstrated the capability of HT-UPLC to obtain fast separations. For example, a separation of nine doping agents was performed in less than 1 min with sub-2 microm particles at 90 degrees C. Furthermore, a shorter column (30 mm length) was used and allowed a separation of eight pharmaceutical compounds in only 40s.

Subcritical water chromatography: A green approach to high-temperature liquid chromatography

At temperatures and pressures lower than 374 degrees C and 218 atm, subcritical water has widely tunable properties such as dielectric constant, surface tension, viscosity, and dissociation constant achieved by simply adjusting the temperature with a moderate pressure to keep water in the liquid state. At elevated temperatures, water acts like a weak polar organic solvent. Thus, subcritical water has been used as a green eluent to replace hazardous solvents commonly used as organic modifiers in RPLC. Subcritical water chromatography (SBWC) is capable of separating polar, moderately polar, and even some nonpolar analytes. Most of these low molecular weight solutes are stable at elevated temperatures during a chromatographic run. Some new packing materials are also quite stable and robust at mild temperatures ranging from 80 to 150 degrees C. Advantages of SBWC include the elimination of hazardous organic solvents used in traditional RPLC, rapid analysis time, improved selectivity, temperature-dependent separation efficiency, temperature-programmed elution, and compatibility with both gas- and liquid-phase detectors. In this paper, the technical aspects as well as the applications of SBWC are reviewed. Topics addressed in this review include the unique characteristics of subcritical water, analytes separated by SBWC, packing materials tested for SBWC, the application of GC and LC detection techniques in SBWC, SBWC instrumentation development, temperature effects on SBWC separation, and models developed for separation in SBWC.

The application of small porous particles, high temperatures, and high pressures to generate very high resolution LC and LC/MS separations

The effect of combining sub-2 microm porous particles with elevated operating temperatures on chromatographic performance has been investigated in terms of chromatographic efficiency, productivity, peak elution order, and observed operating pressure. The use of elevated temperature in LC does not increase the obtainable performance but allows the same performance to be obtained in less time. Increasing the column temperature did allow the use of longer columns, generating column efficiencies in excess of 100,000 plates and gradient peak capacities approaching 1000. Raising the temperature increased the optimal mobile phase linear velocity, negating somewhat the pressure benefits observed by reducing the solvent viscosity. When operating at higher temperature the analyte retention is not only reduced, but the order of elution will also often change. High temperature separations allowed exotic organic modifiers such as isopropanol to be exploited for alternative selectivity and faster analysis. Finally, care must be taken when using high temperature separations to ensure that the narrow peak widths produced do not compromise the quality of data obtained from detectors such as high resolution mass spectrometers.

Superheated water chromatography--a green technology for the future

Reversed phase liquid chromatography using superheated water as the mobile phase, at temperatures between 100 and 250 degrees C, offers a number of advantages for the analyst. It is an environmentally clean solvent, reducing solvent usage and disposal costs. It has advantages in detection, allowing UV spectra to be monitored down to short wavelengths, as well as a compatibility with universal flame ionisation detection and mass spectroscopy. By employing deuterium oxide as the eluent, solvent free NMR spectra can be measured. The development of newer more thermally stable stationary phases, including hybrid phases, have expanded the analytes that can be examined and these now range from alkylbenzenes, phenols, alkyl aryl ketones and a number of pharmaceuticals to carboxylic acids, amino acids, and carbohydrates. Very few compounds have been found to be unstable during the analysis. The separation methods can be directly coupled to superheated water extraction providing a totally solvent free system for sample extraction and analysis.

Analytical strategies for identifying drug metabolites

With the dramatic increase in the number of new chemical entities (NCEs) arising from combinatorial chemistry and modern high-throughput bioassays, novel bioanalytical techniques are required for the rapid determination of the metabolic stability and metabolites of these NCEs. Knowledge of the metabolic site(s) of the NCEs in early drug discovery is essential for selecting compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic credentials and aiding medicinal chemists in modifying metabolic "soft spots". In development, elucidation of biotransformation pathways of a drug candidate by identifying its circulatory and excretory metabolites is vitally important to understand its physiological effects. Mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have played an invaluable role in the structural characterization and quantification of drug metabolites. Indeed, liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with atmospheric pressure ionization (API) MS has now become the most powerful tool for the rapid detection, structure elucidation, and quantification of drug-derived material within various biological fluids. Often, however, MS alone is insufficient to identify the exact position of oxidation, to differentiate isomers, or to provide the precise structure of unusual and/or unstable metabolites. In addition, an excess of endogenous material in biological samples often suppress the ionization of drug-related material complicating metabolite identification by MS. In these cases, multiple analytical and wet chemistry techniques, such as LC-NMR, enzymatic hydrolysis, chemical derivatization, and hydrogen/deuterium-exchange (H/D-exchange) combined with MS are used to characterize the novel and isomeric metabolites of drug candidates. This review describes sample preparation and introduction strategies to minimize ion suppression by biological matrices for metabolite identification studies, the application of various LC-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS) techniques for the rapid quantification and identification of drug metabolites, and future trends in this field.

Evaluation of ultra performance liquid chromatography

A practical evaluation of the possibilities and limitations of ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) is presented. Acquity BEH columns packed with 1.7 microm particles are evaluated by means of van Deemter and Knox plots. The columns are characterised by high optimal velocities (3.7 mm/s) and low plate heights (4.4 microm). Minimum plate heights of 2d(p) were, however, not reached and reasons are presented and discussed. Furthermore, the use of 1.7 microm particles at 1000 bar is compared, from a theoretical viewpoint, to conventional LC (3.5 and 5 microm particles at 400 bar) in terms of analysis speed and practical maximum efficiency. Experimental data are used to construct kinetic- or "Poppe-plots", which facilitate investigation of the effect of pressure and particle size on speed and efficiency. It is found that UPLC conditions hold advantages in terms of speed of analysis, for required theoretical plate counts up to approximately 80,000.

Elevated temperature and temperature programming in conventional liquid chromatography – fundamentals and applications

Temperature, as a powerful variable in conventional LC is discussed from a fundamental point of view and illustrated with applications from the author's laboratory. Emphasis is given to the influence of temperature on speed, selectivity, efficiency, detectability, and mobile phase composition (green chromatography). The problems accompanying the use of elevated temperature and temperature programming in LC are reviewed and solutions are described. The available stationary phases for high temperature operation are summarized and a brief overview of recent applications reported in the literature is given.