Band profiles of reacting acido-basic compounds with water–methanol eluents at different and ionic strengths in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Combining Chemometric Models with Adsorption Isotherm Measurements to Study Omeprazole in RP-LC

The adsorption of the proton-pump inhibitor omeprazole was investigated using RP-LC with chemometric models combined with adsorption isotherm modelling to study the effect of pH and type of organic modifier (i.e., acetonitrile or methanol). The chemometric approach revealed that omeprazole was tailing with methanol and fronting with acetonitrile along with increased fronting at higher pH. The increased fronting with higher pH for acetonitrile was explored using a pH-dependent adsorption isotherm model that was determined using the inverse method and it agreed well with the experimental data. The model indicated that the peaks exhibit more fronting at high pH due to a larger fraction of charged omeprazole molecules. This model could accurately predict the shape of elution profiles at arbitrary pH levels in the studied interval. Using a two-layer adsorption isotherm model, the difference between acetonitrile and methanol was studied at the lowest pH at which almost all omeprazole molecules are neutral. Omeprazole had adsorbate–adsorbate interactions that were similar in strength for the acetonitrile and methanol mobile phases, while the solute–adsorbent interactions were almost twice as strong with methanol. The difference in the relative strengths of these two interactions likely explains the different peak asymmetries (i.e., tailing/fronting) in methanol and acetonitrile. In conclusion, thermodynamic modelling can complement chemometric modeling in HPLC method development and increase the understanding of the separation.

Separation of peptides and intact proteins by electrostatic repulsion reversed phase liquid chromatography

A new brand of BEH-C18 hybrid particles chemically bonded to a leash carrying an amine group permits the implementation of electrostatic repulsive interactions chromatography. Using columns packed with this material, the influence of the concentration of positive charges bonded to the BEH-C18 surface on the overloaded band profiles of a few positively charged peptides and proteins was investigated in the gradient elution mode. Three columns packed with endcapped BEH-C18 particles bonded with three different surface-charge densities (LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH) were used and compared with those provided by a column packed with non-doped, endcapped BEH-C18 particles. The surface concentrations of fixed charges in the LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH columns were estimated at 0.029, 0.050, and 0.064μmol/m(2), for example, about two orders of magnitude smaller than the surface density of bonded C18 chains (2.1μmol/m(2)). Three different mobile phase additives (0.1% v/v of trifluoro-acetic, phosphoric, and formic acid) were used to optimize the purification levels of proteins under different loading conditions. The weak ion-pairing ions (formate and phosphate) generate smaller retention but broader, more fronting band profiles than those eluted with a stronger ion-pairing ion (trifluoroactate). This effect is worse in the presence of fixed charges at the surface of the BEH-C18 particles. This was explained by an enhanced anti-Langmuirian adsorption behavior of the charged proteins in the presence of fixed surface charges. As the protein concentration increases in the bulk, so does the internal ionic strength, the electrostatic repulsive interactions weaken, and retention increases. Band fronting is mostly eliminated by replacing weak ion-pairing acids with TFA with which the adsorption isotherm remains weakly langmuirian. Faster but still complete gradient separation of insulin and myoglobin were achieved with the HIGH column than with the reference neutral column, despite a measurable loss in selectivity.

Overloading study of basic compounds with a positively charged C18 column in liquid chromatography

While tailing and overloading of basic compounds remain problematic on most RP columns, a new kind of positively charged RP column named XCharge C18 was found to be superior good for the separation of alkaloids in our practical use. In this work, the surface charge property of the XCharge C18 column was evaluated by the retention of NO(3)(-) under different pH values and buffer concentrations. A considerable and pH-dependent positive charge was confirmed on the column. Then overloading behaviors of bases were systematically studied using amitriptyline as a basic probe. Good peak shapes (Tf<1.5) and extra high loadability with a C(0.5) of about 30,000 mg/L were observed on the column, with commonly used 0.1% formic acid as mobile phase additive. However, increasing the ionic strength of buffer with phosphates led to tailing peaks at high sample amount and sharp decline in loadability (C(0.5) of 2000-3000 mg/L), although it brought higher column efficiency at low sample amount. Higher pH also induced worse performance and lower loadability. The overall results demonstrated the importance of an appropriate level of ionic repulsion for the XCharge C18 column to achieve the good performance for bases, which could be explained by the multiple-site adsorption theory as ionic repulsion would shield the solute from occupying high-energy sites deeper in C18 layer.

The challenges of the analysis of basic compounds by high performance liquid chromatography: some possible approaches for improved separations

This review considers some of the difficulties encountered with the analysis of ionised bases using reversed-phase chromatography, such as detrimental interaction with column silanol groups, and overloading which both lead to poor peak shapes. Methods of overcoming these problems in reversed-phase (RP) separations, by judicious selection of the column and mobile phase conditions, are discussed. Hydrophilic interaction chromatography is considered as an alternative method for the separation of some basic compounds.