Evaluation of the performance of capillary liquid chromatography—fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry systems with precolumn addition of glycerol as a viscous matrix

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A series of experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the boundaries within which precolumn addition of viscous matrices can be systematically used in capillary LC—fast atom bombardment MS systems and to evaluate the broadening caused by components of the systems such as the column, the transfer capillary tube and the probe interface. The effect of the addition of a viscous matrix on the capillary system was studied by monitoring important chromatographic parameters such as capacity factors, selectivity, number of theoretical plates, peak width and resolution. The results obtained indicate that glycerol contents in the mobile phase higher than 5% have a deleterious effect on most chromatographic indicators. The overall effect of the presence of glycerol on the chromatographic system can be rationalized in terms of the modification of the analyte distribution between the mobile and stationary phases and changes in the kinetics of the system created by an increase in the viscosity of the mobile phase. Ale main contribution to band broadening in the system can be attributed to the interface and is related to the formation of a liquid droplet at the tip of the probe. Other contributions such as broadening in the column and in the transfer capillary affect the total variance of the chromatographic system but to a smaller extent.