Efficiency of short, small-diameter columns for reversed-phase liquid chromatography under practical operating conditions

Development of Narrow-Bore C18 Column for Fast Separation of Peptides and Proteins in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Separation with high efficiency and good resolution is constantly in demand in the pharmaceutical industry. The fast and efficient separation of complex samples such as peptides and proteins is a challenging task. To achieve high efficiency with good resolution, chromatographers are moving towards small particles packed into narrow-bore columns. Silica monolith particles (sub-2 µm) were derivatized with chlorodimethyl octadecyl silane (C18) and packed into stainless steel columns (100 mm × 1.8 mm i.d) by a slurry-packing method. The developed columns were used for the separation of peptides and proteins. A separation efficiency (N) of 40,000 plates/column (400,000 plates/m) was achieved for the mixture of five peptides. Similarly, the fast separation of the peptides was carried out using a high flow rate, and the separation of the five peptides was achieved in one minute with high efficiency (N ≅ 240,000 plates/m). The limit of detection (DL) and the limit of quantification (QL) for each analyte were determined by developing a linear regression curve with relatively very low concentrations of the target compound. The average values of the QL for the peptide and proteins were 0.55 ng and 0.48 ng, respectively, using short C18 column (1.8 mm × 100 mm) UV (at 214 nm). The fast analysis of peptides and proteins with such high efficiency and good resolution has not been reported in the literature yet. Owing to high efficiency, these home-made columns could be used as an alternative to the expensive commercial columns for peptide and protein separation.

Using 1.5 mm internal diameter columns for optimal compatibility with current liquid chromatographic systems

This article describes the use of a new prototype column hardware made with 1.5 mm internal diameter (i.d.) and demonstrates some benefits over the 1.0 mm i.d. micro-bore column. The performance of 2.1, 1.5 and 1.0 mm i.d. columns were systematically compared. With the 1.5 mm i.d. column, the loss of apparent column efficiency can be significantly reduced compared to 1.0 mm i.d. columns in both isocratic and gradient elution modes. In the end, the 1.5 mm i.d. column is almost comparable to 2.1 mm i.d. column from a peak broadening point of view. The advantages of the 1.5 mm i.d. hardware vs 2.1 mm i.d. narrow-bore columns are the lower sample and solvent consumption, and reduced frictional heating effects due to decreased operating flow rates.

Reduction of the extra-column band dispersion by a slow transport and splitting of a sample band in isocratic reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Sample introduction method was studied to reduce the extra-column effect in reversed-phase HPLC. Slow transport of a sample band (SToSB) in the pre-column space followed by the introduction of the band into the column at a near-optimum flow rate resulted in larger plate counts for a 1.0 mmID, 5 cm long column as much as 1.4-1.6 times for solutes with a retention factor (k) of 0.5-1.8 compared to a conventional elution method. Further reduction of the extra-column effect was possible by orthogonally splitting the sample band (SplSB) by flow switching during its slow transport followed by the introduction of the leading part of the band into the column. In this case, increased plate counts of up to 2-3 times for solutes with k of 0.5-1.8 were observed for a 1.0 mmID, 5 cm column. The sample introduction method, SToSB in the injector and the pre-column tube of a few μL, was found to reduce the extra-column band variance by 0.4-0.5 μL² for an UHPLC system with the extra-column volume (V_extra) of ca. 4.6 μL and the system variance (σ_extra²) of 1.1 μL² at flow rate of 100 μL/min, while SToSB and subsequent SplSB were found to be more effective, reducing σ_extra² by about 0.8 μL². With an UHPLC instrument with V_extra of about 10 μL and σ_extra² of ca. 3.6 μL² at flow rate of 300 μL/min, 1.4-2.1 times as many plate counts were observed with SToSB and SplSB compared to the normal elution method for early-eluting solutes with k=0.25-1.7 for a column, 2.1 mmID, 5 cm long. With this UHPLC instrument, SToSB and/or SplSB resulted in the reduction of σ_extra² by 1.2-2.2 μL².

Fast enantiomeric separation of amino acids using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry on a chiral crown ether stationary phase

Fast enantiomeric separation of amino acids was studied by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) on a chiral crown ether stationary phase. A chiral crown ether bonded silica column (3 mm internal diameter (i.d.), 5 cm long) packed with 3 μm particles was employed instead of a 15 cm column packed with 5 μm particles used in our previous study. In addition, the extra-column variance, becoming more serious for smaller columns, was reduced by replacing 0.127 mm i.d. post-column tubes with shorter, smaller-diameter (0.0635 mm i.d.) tubes. The results demonstrated the benefits of using shorter columns packed with smaller particles and the reduction of the extra-column band broadening for fast enantiomeric separation. Finally, the enantiomeric separation of 18 pairs of proteinogenic amino acids was achieved within 2 min with a resolution (Rs) > 1.5 for each pair using an isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile/water/trifluoroacetic acid (ACN/W/TFA) = 96/4/0.5, and a flow rate 1.2 mL/min at 30°C. This is the highest throughput method for simultaneous chiral separation of all proteinogenic amino acids except proline to date.

Recent Progress in Monolithic Silica Columns for High-Speed and High-Selectivity Separations

Monolithic silica columns have greater (through-pore size)/(skeleton size) ratios than particulate columns and fixed support structures in a column for chemical modification, resulting in high-efficiency columns and stationary phases. This review looks at how the size range of monolithic silica columns has been expanded, how high-efficiency monolithic silica columns have been realized, and how various methods of silica surface functionalization, leading to selective stationary phases, have been developed on monolithic silica supports, and provides information on the current status of these columns. Also discussed are the practical aspects of monolithic silica columns, including how their versatility can be improved by the preparation of small-sized structural features (sub-micron) and columns (1 mm ID or smaller) and by optimizing reaction conditions for in situ chemical modification with various restrictions, with an emphasis on recent research results for both topics.

Exploring the pressure resistance limits of monolithic silica capillary columns

We report on an experimental approach to measure the pressure stability and mechanical strength of monolithic silica capillary columns with different diameters (50 and 100μm i.d.) and considering two different domain sizes, typical for the second generation monoliths or smaller. The approach consists of exposing the capillaries to ultra-high pressures (gradually stepwise increased from 20 to 80MPa), with intermediate measurements of the column efficiency, permeability and retention factors to check the mechanical stability of the bed. It was observed that all tested columns withstood the imposed pressure stress, i.e., all the tested parameters remained unaffected up till the maximal test pressure of 80MPa. The applied pressure gradient corresponded to 320MPa/m. The two 100μm i.d.-capillary columns were also exposed to pressures between 80 and 90MPa for a prolonged time (8h), and this did not cause any damage either.

Ultrafast Polyphenol Metabolomics of Red Wines Using MicroLC-MS/MS

The taste and quality of red wine are determined by its highly complex mixture of polyphenols and many other metabolites. No single method can fully cover the full metabolome, but even for polyphenols and related compounds, current methods proved inadequate. We optimized liquid chromatography resolution and sensitivity using 1 mm i.d. columns with microLC pumps and compared data-dependent to data-independent (SWATH) MS/MS acquisitions. A high-throughput microLC-MS method was developed with a 4 min gradient at 0.05 mL/min flow rate on a Kinetex C18 column and Sciex TripleTOF mass spectrometry. Using the novel software MS-DIAL, we structurally annotated 264 compounds including 165 polyphenols in six commercial red wines by accurate mass MS/MS matching. As proof of concept, multivariate statistics revealed the difference in the metabolite profiles of the six red wines, and regression analysis linked the polyphenol contents to the taste of the red wines.

Gone in seconds: praxis, performance, and peculiarities of ultrafast chiral liquid chromatography with superficially porous particles

A variety of brush-type chiral stationary phases (CSPs) were developed using superficially porous particles (SPPs). Given their high efficiencies and relatively low back pressures, columns containing these particles were particularly advantageous for ultrafast "chiral" separations in the 4-40 s range. Further, they were used in all mobile phase modes and with high flow rates and pressures to separate over 60 pairs of enantiomers. When operating under these conditions, both instrumentation and column packing must be modified or optimized so as not to limit separation performance and quality. Further, frictional heating results in axial thermal gradients of up to 16 °C and radial temperature gradients up to 8 °C, which can produce interesting secondary effects in enantiomeric separations. It is shown that the kinetic behavior of various CSPs can differ from one another as much as they differ from the well-studied C18 reversed phase media. Three additional interesting aspects of this work are (a) the first kinetic evidence of two different chiral recognition mechanisms, (b) a demonstration of increased efficiencies at higher flow rates for specific separations, and