Fluorescence detected circular dichroism as a detection principle in high-performance liquid chromatography

Automated High-Throughput Capillary Circular Dichroism and Intrinsic Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Rapid Determination of Protein Structure

Assessing the physical stability of proteins is one of the most important challenges in the development, manufacture, and formulation of biotherapeutics. Here, we describe a method for combining and automating circular dichroism and intrinsic protein fluorescence spectroscopy. By robotically injecting samples from a 96-well plate into an optically compliant capillary flow cell, complementary information about the secondary and tertiary structural state of a protein can be collected in an unattended manner from considerably reduced volumes of sample compared to conventional techniques. We demonstrate the accuracy and reproducibility of this method. Furthermore, we show how structural screening can be used to monitor unfolding of proteins in two case studies using (i) a chaotropic denaturant (urea) and (ii) low-pH buffers used for monoclonal antibody (mAb) purification during Protein A chromatography.

Wave-mixing circular dichroism detector for chiral liquid chromatography

A circular dichroism (CD) detector based on laser four-wave mixing (FWM) is demonstrated using separate injections of analyte enantiomers onto a standard silica-based microbore high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column. Using the chiral column, a preliminary "detected" mass detection limit of 180 pg is determined inside a laser probe volume of 200 pL, corresponding to a circular dichroism detection limit, DeltaA, of 2.2 x 10(-5) for (-) camphorquinone. Detection sensitivity levels are dramatically improved when our FWM-CD detector is interfaced to a microbore system due to the lower mobile-phase flow rates and the smaller sample concentrations required for the analysis. Using the microbore column, a preliminary circular dichroism detection limit, DeltaA, of 1.6 x 10(-6) and a preliminary concentration detection limit of 4.1 x 10(-4) M are determined for camphorquinone. This corresponds to a "detected" mass detection limit of 33 pg for the chiral compound. Laser wave mixing offers better detection limits than conventional circular dichroism detection methods and, hence, offers many promising applications.

Development of a universal ellipsoidal mirror device for fluorescence detected circular dichroism: elimination of polarization artifacts

We have developed an ellipsoidal mirror fluorescence detected circular dichroism (FDCD) device with enhanced detection sensitivity that eliminates the polarization artifact; this is applicable to samples with strongly polarized fluorescence. The device, JASCO FDCD465, has an ellipsoidal mirror structure with a framework consisting of three mirrors (one elliptical and two plane mirrors) that maximally collects light in the FDCD. All assemblies on the device including the ellipsoidal mirror, cylindrical cell, and photomultiplier tube (PMT) are aligned on the chamber-fitting sample mount as an attachment compatible with a standard CD spectropolarimeter. The new FDCD465 device eliminates the polarization artifact caused by anisotropic distribution of the emitted light. It represents a convenient, reliable, and sensitive FDCD attachment to the JASCO J-800 CD spectrometer series that can be used under both isotropic and photoselected conditions.

Chiral analysis of drug substance in clinical plasma extracts using achiral HPLC with circular dichroism detection

A circular dichroism (CD) detector in series with a UV detector was used with reversed-phase gradient HPLC to do the chiral analysis of unresolved enantiomers of a single stereoisomer drug substance in extracts of clinical plasma samples. The CD/UV peak area ratio of the unresolved enantiomers in the plasma extracts was calculated and compared with pure drug substance standards to show that there was no racemization of the chiral center during pharmacokinetic studies. The CD detector can be used only with chiral compounds with a UV chromophore and the limit of detection was approximately 5 ng with the drug substance and chromatographic conditions used in this study.

Fluorescence line-narrowing detection in chromatography and electrophoresis

A review of the basic aspects of fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy (FLNS) and its coupling with thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) for off-line high-resolution low temperature spectral characterization is discussed. This is followed by a description of the on-line interfacing of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) with FLN detection. CE/ CEC-FLNS instrumentation and its applications for spectral identification of closely related analytes are also presented. Future prospects of micro and capillary high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with on-line high-resolution low temperature spectroscopic identification are considered.

Stereospecific analysis of lorazepam in plasma by chiral column chromatography with a circular dichroism-based detector

The chiral separation of lorazepam was achieved on a chiral column with UV and circular dichroism (CD) detection. The good resolution of lorazepam enantiomers was obtained on the column of beta-cyclodextrin derivative immobilized silica gel under reversed-phase conditions. The enantiomeric separation and identification of lorazepam were succeeded by CD detector. The method described allows the quantitation of the stereoisomers of lorazepam in human plasma following the administration of a therapeutic dose of the racemic drug. Chiroptical detection is useful for the pharmacokinetic study of chiral drugs.

Analytical applications of circular dichroism

The goal of the present research has been to develop a selective analytical detection procedure for the easy identification and assay of drugs and related substances present in complex mixtures, without a chromatographic separation step or other work up. The detector of choice is circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimetry which has the appropriate balance between degree of analytical selectivity and breadth of application. Applications that are described are selected from work carried out in the context of forensic, clinical, and pharmaceutical chemistries, and specifically include discussions of the analyses of enantiomeric mixtures of nicotine and cocaine, the D and E vitamins, and cholesterol and other steroids.

Polarimetric detection in high-performance liquid chromatography

Chiroptical detection for HPLC is particularly useful as a selective detection method for chiral molecules, and in enantiomeric purity determination with partial chiral separation or without chiral separation. The recent development of laser-based polarimeters with microdegree sensitivity has increased the applicability of optical rotation detection in HPLC. The detection limit of these instruments is submicrogram on-column for many chiral compounds in analytical HPLC. A variety of applications of the selective detection of optically active molecules are reviewed. The use of polarimetric detection with partial chiral separation is considered, both as an aid to method development and for enantiomeric purity determination. Finally applications to enantiomeric purity determination without chiral separation are reviewed, with the dual use of nonchirally selective and chiroptical detectors to determine the total amount and optical purity of the analyte. Determinations of chiral purity for samples of high enantiomeric excess are described, which with laser-based instrumentation may give accuracies of better than +/- 1% with sample loadings of 50 micrograms on an achiral column. Applications to the study of enantioselective reactions are also considered, with determination of enantiomeric excess in near-racemates to better than +/- 0.1%.