Considerations for the use of ultra-high pressures in liquid chromatography for 2.1 mm inner diameter columns

Chromatography at -30 °C for Reduced Back-Exchange, Reduced Carryover, and Improved Dynamic Range for Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

For hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to have an increased role in quality control of biopharmaceuticals, H for D back-exchange occurring during protein analyses should be minimized to promote greater reproducibility. Standard HDX-MS analysis systems that digest proteins and separate peptides at pH 2.7 and 0 °C can lose >30% of the deuterium marker within 15 min of sample injection. This report describes the architecture and performance of a dual-enzyme, HDX-MS instrument that conducts liquid chromatography (LC) separations at subzero temperature, thereby reducing back-exchange and supporting longer LC separations with improved chromatographic resolution. LC separations of perdeuterated, fully reduced, iodoacetamide-treated BSA protein digest standard peptides were performed at 0, -10, -20, and -30 °C in ethylene glycol (EG)/H₂O mixtures. Analyses conducted at -20 and -30 °C produced similar results. After subtracting for deuterium retained in arginine side chains, the average peptide eluted during a 40 min gradient contained ≈16% more deuterium than peptides eluted with a conventional 8 min gradient at 0 °C. A subset of peptides exhibited ≈26% more deuterium. Although chromatographic peaks shift with EG concentration and temperature, the apparatus elutes unbroadened LC peaks. Electrospray ion intensity does not decline with increasing EG fraction. To minimize bias from sample carryover, the fluidic circuits allow flush and backflush cleaning of all enzyme and LC columns. The system can perform LC separations and clean enzyme columns simultaneously. Temperature zones are controlled ±0.058 °C. The potential of increased sensitivity by mixing acetonitrile with the analytical column effluent was also examined.

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.

Detailed computational fluid dynamics study of the parameters contributing to the viscous heating band broadening in liquid chromatography at pressures up to 2500 bar in 2.1 mm columns

Over the past years viscous heating band broadening occurring in high pressure liquid chromatography has been studied extensively. In the present numerical study, we investigate the fine details of this band broadening contribution under extreme high-pressure conditions (2500 bar). To analyze the results, we first show that viscous heating leads to two clearly distinguishable band broadening effects, one originating from the radial differences in the species migration velocity and the other from the axial variations. It was found that the radial contribution is independent of the intrinsic band broadening of the bed (i.e. band broadening in absence of viscous heating) while it strongly depends on the radial dispersion coefficient and the retention enthalpy of the analytes. On the other hand, the axial contribution is strongly dependent on the bed intrinsic band broadening and it is found to be 4 to 5 times lower than the radial contribution. We also show the strong effect of the endfittings on the temperature gradients inside the column thus on the resulting viscous heating band broadening.

Computational fluid dynamics study of potential solutions to alleviate viscous heating band broadening in 2.1 millimeter liquid chromatography columns

We report on a numerical simulation study of a number of potential column technology solutions to minimize the plate height contribution (H_vh) originating from the use of ultra-high pressures and their concomitant viscous heating effect. Looking as far as possible into the future of UHPLC, all main results are obtained for the case of a 2500 bar pressure gradient. However, to generalize the result, a correlation is given that can be used to interpolate the results to lower pressures with some 10% accuracy. For the considered case of a 2.1mm column, a liquid flow rate of 0.45 ml/min, an analyte with retention factor k(25°C)=3 and a retention enthalpy chosen such that ΔH_R/R= -1000 K, it is found that, in order to keep the global plate height as measured at the column outlet (H_vh,glob,out) below 1 μm, the bed conductivity would need to be raised to λ_bed=2.4 W/m•K, i.e., 4 times higher than a typical packed bed of fully-porous or core-shell silica particles. An equivalent effect on the band broadening could be obtained if it would be possible to replace the steel column wall with a low conductivity material. In this case, a wall conductivity of 0.25 W/m•K, i.e., 64 times smaller than the conductivity of steel, would be needed to keep H_vh,glob,out below 1 μm. Results are also interpreted based on contour plots of the axial and radial velocity variation of a retained analyte.

Methods to determine the kinetic performance limit of contemporary chromatographic techniques

By combining separation efficiency data as a function of flow rate with the column permeability, the kinetic plot method allows to determine the limits of separation power (time vs. efficiency) of different chromatographic techniques and methods. The technique can be applied for all different types of chromatography (liquid, gas, or supercritical fluid), for different types of column morphologies (packed beds, monoliths, open tubular, micromachined columns), for pressure and electro-driven separations and in both isocratic and gradient elution mode. The present contribution gives an overview of the methods and calculations required to correctly determine these kinetic performance limits and their underlying limitations.

Evaluating the advantages of higher heat conductivity in a recently developed type of core-shell diamond stationary phase particle in UHPLC

In recent studies, the nature and magnitude of the temperature gradients developed in ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC), were found to be dependent on the heat conductivity properties of the column matrices, but also, on the principle used for controlling the temperature over the column. Here, we investigated the potential of using highly heat conductive diamond-based stationary phases (85 times higher than silica), for reducing the temperature gradients. The stationary phases investigated were a (i) Diamond Analytics FLARE column, based on particles comprised of a graphite core surrounded by a very thin diamond shell, and two silica hybrid columns: (ii) a core-shell silica Kromasil Eternity Shell column and (iii) a fully porous silica Kromasil Eternity XT column. Models were developed based on two-dimensional heat transfer theory and mass transfer theory, which were used to model the temperature profiles and the migration of an analyte band accounting for column efficiencies at different flow rates. For the silica-based columns, using water-controlled temperature mode, the temperature gradients along the column axes are suppressed whereas temperature gradients in the radial direction prevails resulting in decreased column efficiencies. Using these columns with air-controlled temperature mode, the radial temperature gradients are reduced whereas temperature gradients along the column prevails resulting in decreased retention times. With the Diamond FLARE column, there was no loss in column efficiency using the water-controlled temperature mode and the van Deemter curves are almost identical using both temperature control modes. Thus, for the Diamond FLARE column, in contrast to the silica-based columns, there are almost no losses of column efficiencies due to reduced radial temperature gradients independent on how the column temperature was controlled.

Liquid chromatography above 20,000 PSI

Continued improvements in HPLC have led to faster and more efficient separations than previously possible. One important aspect of these improvements has been the increase in instrument operating pressure and the advent of ultrahigh pressure LC (UHPLC). Commercial instrumentation is now capable of up to ~20 kpsi, allowing fast and efficient separations with 5-15 cm columns packed with sub-2 μm particles. Home-built instruments have demonstrated the benefits of even further increases in instrument pressure. The focus of this review is on recent advancements and applications in liquid chromatography above 20 kpsi. We outline the theory and advantages of higher pressure and discuss instrument hardware and design capable of withstanding 20 kpsi or greater. We also overview column packing procedures and stationary phase considerations for HPLC above 20 kpsi, and lastly highlight a few recent applicatioob pressure instruments for the analysis of complex mixtures.