Evolution and Evaluation of GC Columns

A chromatographic column is the fundamental element required for gas-chromatographic analysis. The separation of components coming from complex mixtures, prior to their detection was leading to a prominent revolution in different areas of science. Moreover, current advances in gas chromatographic (GC) columns technology and development have been providing almost unlimited possibilities for analysis employing diverse matrices. We aim through this review article to describe the evolution of chromatographic columns, by pointing the most important stages, as well as the new trends and future perspectives predicted for the new generation of GC columns. Furthermore, it was in our scope to present the main fundamentals regarding the theoretical relationships that describe the chromatographic separation, to introduce concepts related to columns selection in accordance with the required application as well as to discuss the available evaluation parameters for columns efficiency. Consequently, the early stages of first columns preparation up to the development of GC capillary columns used nowadays, together with examples of their applications are also reported and described in detail.

Peak capacity, peak-capacity production rate, and boiling point resolution for temperature-programmed GC with very high programming rates

Recent advances in column heating technology have made possible very fast linear temperature programming for high-speed gas chromatography. A fused-silica capillary column is contained in a tubular metal jacket, which is resistively heated by a precision power supply. With very rapid column heating, the rate of peak-capacity production is significantly enhanced, but the total peak capacity and the boiling-point resolution (minimum boiling-point difference required for the separation of two nonpolar compounds on a nonpolar column) are reduced relative to more conventional heating rates used with convection-oven instruments. As temperature-programming rates increase, elution temperatures also increase with the result that retention may become insignificant prior to elution. This results in inefficient utilization of the down-stream end of the column and causes a loss in the rate of peak-capacity production. The rate of peak-capacity production is increased by the use of shorter columns and higher carrier gas velocities. With high programming rates (100-600 degrees C/min), column lengths of 6-12 m and average linear carrier gas velocities in the 100-150 cm/s range are satisfactory. In this study, the rate of peak-capacity production, the total peak capacity, and the boiling point resolution are determined for C10-C28 n-alkanes using 6-18 m long columns, 50-200 cm/s average carrier gas velocities, and 60-600 degrees C/min programming rates. It was found that with a 6-meter-long, 0.25-mm i.d. column programmed at a rate of 600 degrees C/min, a maximum peak-capacity production rate of 6.1 peaks/s was obtained. A total peak capacity of about 75 peaks was produced in a 37-s long separation spanning a boiling-point range from n-C10 (174 degrees C) to n-C28 (432 degrees C).

Two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic method for assaying S-adenosyl-L-methionine and its related metabolites in tissues

S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is a methyl-donor compound which is actively involved in a variety of biochemical reactions. An assay has been developed permitting the quantitative measurement of SAM and its related metabolites (S-adenosylhomocysteine, decarboxylated SAM, methylthioadenosine, adenosine and adenine) in liver and cell cultures. As gradient reversed-phase chromatographic or cation-exchange chromatographic methods often resulted in overlapping peaks, a two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure was developed involving gradient reversed-phase chromatographic separation followed by ion-exchange chromatography. After precipitating large molecules in the sample by perchloric acid, gel permeation was carried out on a Sephadex G 25 column to separate small water-soluble metabolites from proteins and membrane fragments. The freeze-dried sample was injected onto an ODS column and a 0-10% acetonitrile gradient in 10 mM ammonium formate buffer (pH 2.9) (20 min, linear) was applied. The relevant fractions were collected and injected onto a cation-exchange column (Partisil SCX, 10 microns, 250 mm x 4.6 mm I.D.). Elution and quantification were carried out using ammonium formate buffers of various concentration (15-400 mM), pH 2.9. The detector response (254 nm) as a function of concentration was linear over the concentration range 30-500 pmol. The detection limits of the compounds after the two-dimensional chromatographic procedure ranged from 10 to 60 pmol and the recovery was higher than 70%. The reproducibility of the results obtained from given samples was within 9-22% for rat liver and 6-24% for mast cells.

Harman in rat brain, lung and human CSF: effect of alcohol consumption

A simple, sensitive, HPLC method for the determination of harman has been developed and used to quantitate harman in rat brain (0.41 +/- 0.05 ng/g, n = 7) and rat lung (1.88 +/- 0.55 ng/g, n = 6). The definitive identification of harman in these tissues was accomplished by derivatizing the beta-carboline with pentafluorobenzyl bromide and using gas chromatography-electron capture chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Rats treated acutely with ethanol or subchronically with ethanol in the presence or absence of disulfiram did not have altered harman concentrations. Analysis of control human CSF samples and CSF samples taken from alcoholic patients (n = 8) at the time of intoxicated admission and one week later indicated a predominant absence of harman. These data suggest that harman is unlikely to be formed as a result of ethanol ingestion; its origin and pharmacological significance remain to be determined.

Measurement of beta-carbolines by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

A method using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection was developed for the determination of beta-carboline compounds norharman, harman, norharmol, and harmol in lung. Aqueous derivatization with acetic anhydride was used to facilitate the isolation and separation of the phenolic compounds and to reduce the fluorescence background of the biological samples. Harman was identified and quantitated in rat lung (1.88 +/- 0.55 ng/g) using this method and its identity confirmed by means of gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

Recent advances in capillary gas chromatography related to drug research

Recent progress in capillary gas chromatography, with emphasis on the needs of drug research, has been briefly reviewed. The value of this method in studies of drug-induced changes in metabolic profiles has been emphasized. Recent improvements in technology of glass and fused-silica capillary columns and enhanced capabilities of detectors related to capillary techniques promise to increase their utilization in drug research and routine analyses.