Determining the vinyl alcohol distribution in poly(vinyl butyral) using normal-phase gradient polymer elution chromatography

Functionality-type and chemical-composition separation of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) using gradient elution normal-phase liquid chromatography with basic and acidic additives

End groups of poly(Lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) play an important role in determining the properties of polymers for use in drug delivery systems. For instance, it has been reported that the encapsulation efficiency in PLGA microspheres varies significantly between ester-terminated and acid-terminated PLGA. More importantly, the in-vivo degradation time of such polymer excipients is influenced by the functional end-group of the copolymer used. The end group distribution in PLGA polymers has been studied using electrospray and matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization - high-resolution mass spectrometry. In both cases, the application of these methods is typically limited to PLGA having a molecular weight of up to 4 kDa. 13Carbon-nuclear-magnetic-resonance has also been reported as a method to differentiate and quantify PLGA end groups with a molecular weight up to 136 kDa. However, reported NMR methods take over 12 h per sample, limiting throughput.Cryoprobe NMR can reduce the time required for the process, however such NMR equipment is costly, which makes it unsuitable for the quality control of PLGA. Here, we present a normal-phase liquid chromatography method capable of resolving functionality type distribution (FTD) and, partially, chemical composition distribution (CCD) in commercial PLGA polymers obtained from ring opening polymerization. This method can separate PLGA polymers with a molecular weight of up to 183.0 kDa while also enabling the simultaneous separation of the difference of Lactic acid (LA)/Glycolic acid (GA) ratios. To achieve this, a cross-linked diol column was used with a ternary gradient from HEX to 0.1 % v/v TEA in EA to 0.1 % v/v FA in THF to allow first for the elution of mono-ester terminated PLGA, followed by the di-acid terminated. In addition, a separation of ester-terminated PLGA in the difference of the LA/GA ratio was achieved. This method is expected to aid in understanding the correlation between PLGA's FTD, CCD, and physical properties, facilitating product development and quality control.

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Method development in interaction polymer chromatography

Interaction polymer chromatography (IPC) is an umbrella term covering a large variety of primarily enthalpically-dominated macromolecular separation methods. These include temperature-gradient interaction chromatography, interactive gradient polymer elution chromatography (GPEC), barrier methods, etc. Also included are methods such as liquid chromatography at the critical conditions and GPEC in traditional precipitation-redissolution mode. IPC techniques are employed to determine the chemical composition distribution of copolymers, to separate multicomponent polymeric samples according to their chemical constituents, to determine the tacticity and end-group distribution of polymers, and to determine the chemical composition and molar mass distributions of select blocks in block copolymers. These are all properties which greatly affect the processing and end-use behavior of macromolecules. While extremely powerful, IPC methods are rarely employed outside academic and select industrial laboratories. This is generally because most published methods are "bespoke" ones, applicable only to the particular polymer being examined; as such, potential practitioners are faced with a lack of inductive information regarding how to develop IPC separations in non-empirical fashion. The aim of the present review is to distill from the literature and the author's experience the necessary fundamental macromolecular and chromatographic information so that those interested in doing so may develop IPC methods for their particular analytes of interest, regardless of what these analytes may be, with as little trial-and-error as possible. While much remains to be determined in this area, especially, for most techniques, as regards the role of temperature and how to fine-tune this critical parameter, and while a need for IPC columns designed specifically for large-molecule separations remains apparent, it is hoped that the present review will help place IPC methods in the hands of a more general, yet simultaneously more applied audience.

Absolute molar mass determination in mixed solvents. 1. Solving for the SEC/MALS/DRI "trivial" case

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) with on-line static light scattering, specifically multi-angle static light scattering (MALS), and differential refractometry (DRI) detection remains the premier method by which to determine absolute, calibrant-independent molar masses of polymers. The method is restricted to the use of either neat solvents or solvents with a small amount of additive. In mixed solvents, preferential solvation (i.e., the enrichment, within the solvated volume of the polymer in solution, of one solvent over the other as compared to the solvent ratio outside said volume) leads to errors in the areas of the MALS and DRI chromatograms, as the solvent baseline does not accurately represent the solvent contribution to these detectors' peaks. A seemingly trivial way by which to overcome this problem is through the use of an isorefractive solvent pair. This "trivial" solution is complicated by the fact that the solvents in the pair must be miscible with each other in all proportions; the individual solvents as well as the mix must be able to fully dissolve the analyte; the solvents must possess sufficient optical contrast with the solution so as to generate an adequate detector signal; the solvent mix must be compatible with the chromatographic stationary phase, such that enthalpic contributions to the separation are minimal and analyte recovery from the columns is quantitative; and the difference in the Rayleigh factors of the solvents can be ignored. Herein, we present the analysis of narrow dispersity polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) samples, across a four-fold range in molar mass, using SEC/MALS/DRI in a mix of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and methyl isoamyl ketone (MIAK), solvents which are shown to be isorefractive with each other at the temperature and wavelength of the experiments. Molar mass averages and dispersities are demonstrated to be statistically independent of solvent composition and to correspond well to the values in neat THF. The experiments were augmented by the use of on- and off-line quasi-elastic light scattering and of off-line MALS and DRI, to study the effect of solvent composition on polymer size in solution and on dilute solution thermodynamics. Additionally, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to study the effect of tacticity on the insolubility of PMMA100 in 100% MIAK. We believe this constitutes the first example of obtaining accurate molar masses of polymers by SEC/MALS/DRI employing mixed solvents. The value of these experiments to other forms of macromolecular liquid chromatographic separations is also noted.

Influence of chain architecture on the mechanochemical degradation of macromolecules

We detail here studies into the nature of mechanochemical degradation of macromolecules, effected by means of ultrasonic (US) irradiation. Specifically, we have investigated the effect of long-chain branching (LCB), in the star configuration, on the degradation mechanism of polystyrene dissolved in DMAc/LiCl. The information obtained from size-exclusion chromatography with triple detection (refractometry, viscometry, multi-angle light scattering) shows that the degradation mechanism of stars is radically different from that of linear polymers. Whereas in the latter, from a macromolecular standpoint, it is merely necessary for the molar mass to be greater than some limiting value (M(lim)), in the former both molar mass and structural factors affect ultrasonic degradation. We have examined the effects of arm number and of arm molar mass on star degradation, and propose the concept of a spanning molar mass (M(span) approximately 2M(arm)) such that, even in the event that M(arm)<M(lim) for the stars, mechanochemical degradation may nonetheless proceed if M(span)>M(lim). This mechanism has been extended to other types of architecture (e.g., H-branched, dendritic), where it is proposed that a continuous path must exist with M(path)>M(lim) for degradation to occur. Examination of the different radii afforded by viscometric and light-scattering detection gives insight into the solution thermodynamics and conformation of the stars with differing arm number and molar mass and of the effects of insonation on macromolecular structure.

Determining and correcting "moment bias" in gradient polymer elution chromatography

Gradient polymer elution chromatography (GPEC) is rapidly becoming the analytical method of choice for determining the chemical composition distribution (CCD) of synthetic polymers. GPEC can be performed in traditional (strict precipitation-redissolution mechanism) or interactive (normal- and reversed-phase) modes, and results may be qualitative, semi-quantitative, or fully quantitative. Quantitative approaches have thus far relied on colligative or end group techniques for determining the values of standards used in constructing the GPEC calibration curve. While the values obtained from said methods are number-averages, they are assigned to the peak apexes of the standards (i.e. assigned as peak averages). This creates a determinate error in the quantitation, referred to herein as "moment bias". In this paper we determine moment bias for a series of styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers, where the distribution and averages of the AN% have been measured using normal-phase (NP) GPEC. We also correct for the effect via statistical treatment of the chromatographic data.