Sample introduction for high performance separations

Characterization of the Molecular Weight of Hyaluronan in Eye Products Using a Novel Method of Size Exclusion High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Purpose

Hyaluronan (HA) exists in two forms, high molecular weight HA (HMWHA) and low molecular weight HA (LMWHA), which have distinct physiological functions. Therefore it is imperative to know the form of HA within pharmaceutical products, including eye products. This study developed an accurate, sensitive, and quantitative method to characterize the form of HA in eye products. Thereafter, the effects of the HA-containing eye products on corneal wound healing were investigated.

Methods

The MW distributions and concentrations of HA in over the counter eye products were determined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The effects of the eye products containing HA on corneal wound healing were characterized both in vitro and in vivo using the scratch assay and the debridement wound model, respectively.

Results

The concentrations and MWs of HA were successfully determined within a range of 0.014 to 0.25 mg/mL using SEC HPLC. The concentrations of HA in the ophthalmic products varied from 0.14 to 4.0 mg/mL and the MWs varied from ∼100 kDa to >2500 kDa. All but one HA-containing eye product had an inhibitory effect on corneal wound healing, whereas pure HA promoted corneal wound healing.

Conclusions

A novel SEC-HPLC method was developed for quantifying and characterizing the MW of HA in eye products. Although HA promoted corneal wound healing, HA-containing eye products inhibited corneal wound healing, likely caused by preservatives.

Translational Relevance

SEC-HPLC could be implemented as a routine method for determining the form of HA in commercially available ophthalmic products.

Improving enantiomeric resolutions by avoiding peak distortion effects in on-line coupled liquid chromatography to gas chromatography

In this work, we study the effect of different variables affecting elution profile distortion on the enantiomeric resolution eventually achievable when working with on-line coupled liquid chromatography to gas chromatography (LC-GC). Specifically, the proposed configuration combines achiral reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) and chiral gas chromatography (enantio-GC), with heptakis-(2,3,6-tri-O-methyl)-β-cyclodextrin as enantioselective stationary phase to analyse target fractions transferred (from LC to GC) via the through oven transfer adsorption desorption (TOTAD) interface. The high degree of orthogonality resulting from the combination of two chromatographic columns having very different separation mechanisms (and also requiring mobile phases in distinct physical states), as well as integration of the sample preparation step in the first dimension of the system, significantly contributed to exploit the performance of the proposed two-dimensional approach. Occasional adverse effects, which may result in severe peak distortions during LC-GC analysis and could be explained by flow instabilities due to viscous fingering, are circumvented by using the outstanding capacity of the TOTAD interface for achieving effective elimination of the eluent arriving from the LC preseparation.

A systematic investigation of sample diluents in modern supercritical fluid chromatography

This paper focuses on the possibility to inject large volumes (up to 10μL) in ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) under generic gradient conditions. Several injection and method parameters have been individually evaluated (i.e. analyte concentration, injection volume, initial percentage of co-solvent in the gradient, nature of the weak needle wash solvent, nature of the sample diluent, nature of the column and of the analyte). The most critical parameters were further investigated using in a multivariate approach. The overall results suggested that several aprotic solvents including methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), dichloromethane, acetonitrile or cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) were well adapted for the injection of large volume in UHPSFC, while MeOH was generally the worst alternative. However, the nature of the stationary phase also had a strong impact and some of these diluents did not perform equally on each column. This was due to the existence of a competition in the adsorption of the analyte and the diluent on the stationary phase. This observation introduced the idea that the sample diluent should not only be chosen according to the analyte but also to the column chemistry to limit the interactions between the diluent and the ligands. Other important characteristics of the "ideal" SFC sample diluent were finally highlighted. Aprotic solvents with low viscosity are preferable to avoid strong solvent effects and viscous fingering, respectively. In the end, the authors suggest that the choice of the sample diluent should be part of the method development, as a function of the analyte and the selected stationary phase.