Peculiarities of the mechanism of retention of imidazole derivatives when using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as mobile phase additive

Abstract

Two different methods have been used to investigate the retention mechanism of a series of imidazole derivatives in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) over a range of column temperatures and with different concentrations of hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) in the mobile phase. The first approach was the separate study of each factor affecting the retention mechanism; the second method was the simultaneous variation of all these factors. Changes in Van't Hoff plots as a function of HP-β-CD concentration were examined. Enthalpy and entropy were determined for two physicochemical processes: (i) solute transfer from the mobile phase to the stationary phase, and (ii) solute complexation by HP-β-CD. These thermodynamic data showed that the mechanism of retention of the solute was dependent on the concentration of HP-β-CD in the mobile phase. For a HP-β-CD concentration,C, greater than to 4 mM, from 28°C to a critical temperature,T *, solute retention was entropy-dominated because of inclusion of the solute in the HP-β-CD cavity. AboveT * retention was enthalpy-dominated, because of interaction of the solute with the RP18 stationary phase. At firstT * increased asC was increased up to a critical value,C **; it the remained relatively constant because of auto-association of the HP-β-CD molecules in the mobile phase. Enthalpy-entropy compensation revealed that HP-β-CD-solute complexation had a greater effect on retention than RP18 stationary phase-solute interaction. This confirms that the main parameter determining retention in RPLC is the distribution of the solute in the mobile phase, and that interactions with the stationary phase play a minor role.