Acetonitrile-based Mobile Phase Research Articles

Automated screening of reversed-phase stationary phases for small-molecule separations using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry.

There are various reversed-phase stationary phases that offer significant differences in selectivity and retention. To investigate different reversed-phase stationary phases (aqueous stable C18 , biphenyl, pentafluorophenyl propyl, and polar-embedded alkyl) in an automated fashion, commercial software and associated hardware for mobile phase and column selection were used in conjunction with liquid chromatography and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer detector. A model analyte mixture was prepared using a combination of standards from varying classes of analytes (including drugs, drugs of abuse, amino acids, nicotine, and nicotine-like compounds). Chromatographic results revealed diverse variations in selectivity and peak shape. Differences in the elution order of analytes on the polar-embedded alkyl phase for several analytes showed distinct selectivity differences compared to the aqueous C18 phase. The electron-rich pentafluorophenyl propyl phase showed unique selectivity toward protonated amines. The biphenyl phase provided further changes in selectivity relative to C18 with a methanolic phase, but it behaved very similarly to a C18 when an acetonitrile-based mobile phase was evaluated. This study shows the value of rapid column screening as an alternative to excessive mobile phase variation to obtain suitable chromatographic settings for analyte separation.

An Abnormal Temperature Dependence of Alkylpyrazines’ Retention in Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography

Retention behaviors of pyrazine and alkylpyrazines on various stationary phases in reversed-phase liquid chromatography were examined. An abnormal temperature effect on the retention of alkylpyrazines with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water was observed when changing the column temperature. On the other hand, no similar trend was found with a methanol-water mobile phase. For all the columns investigated in this work, the above tendency to the temperature-dependence was consistently observed, suggesting that the abnormal temperature effect on the retention of alkylpyrazines could be mainly induced by an acetonitrile-based mobile phase.

Analytical strategy for rapid identification and quantification of lubricant additives in mineral oil by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with UV absorption and fluorescence detection combined with mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy.

A simple strategy for identification and quantification of lubricant additives in mineral oil was demonstrated by high-performance thin-layer chromatography with UV absorption and fluorescence detection using various coupling options, e.g., with attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART-MS). For the additives zinc bis(O,O'-diisobutyl dithiophosphate), zinc bis(O,O'-didodecyl dithiophosphate), and Anglamol 99, 2 chromatographic systems were developed, i.e., a reversed-phase (RP) system on RP2 plates using an acetonitrile-based mobile phase and a normal-phase system on silica gel 60 plates using a toluene-based gradient. Densitometry was performed by absorption measurement at 220 nm. Repeatabilities (relative standard deviation, n = 6) between 2.2 and 5.5% and correlation coefficients >0.9973 were highly satisfactory for the analysis of these additives in the mineral oil. Primuline reagent was used to improve the detection limit of the lipophilic additives by a factor of 2, followed by fluorescence measurement at UV 366/>400 nm. For rapid identification by ATR-IR and FTIR, the respective additive zones on the plate were online extracted by an interface called ChromeXtract, concentrated, and directly applied for measurements in the wave number range of 4000-400 cm(-1). Identification was confirmed by online ESI-MS within a minute using ChromeXtract and by DART-MS within seconds.

Chiral separations in polar organic solvent chromatography: Updating a screening strategy with new chlorine-containing polysaccharide-based selectors

The screening conditions of an existing column and mobile phase selection strategy for chiral drug substances in polar organic solvent liquid chromatography (POSC) were tested for their applicability on two new chlorine-containing polysaccharide-based stationary phases. The selectors of these phases are cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) and amylose tris(5-chloro-2-methylphenylcarbamate). The enantioselectivity of these phases is compared to that of the four phases (Chiralpak ® AD-RH, Chiralcel ® OD-RH, Chiralpak ® AS-RH and Chiralcel ® OJ-RH) used in the earlier defined strategy. A test set of 62 structurally diverse chiral drug substances is analyzed using the screening conditions of the strategy on the six phases. The results confirm that the acetonitrile-based mobile phase provides a higher success rate and better resolutions than the methanol-based also on the new phases. However, the importance of the methanol-based mobile phase cannot be neglected for complementarity reasons; the two mobile phases insure enantioselectivity for different compounds. A third (ethanol-based) mobile phase, not part of the strategy, was also used to screen the two new phases. The joint results led to different possibilities to upgrade the current screening strategy so that improved success rates are obtained. The chlorine-containing chiral stationary phases demonstrated to have an added value to the screening process since they provided enantioresolution for compounds not resolved by non-chlorine-containing ones.

A fluorescent electrophilic reagent, 9-fluorenone-4-carbonyl chloride (FCC), for the enantioresolution of amino acids on a teicoplanin phase under the elution of the methanol-based solvent mixture

A fluorescent electrophilic reagent, 9-fluorenone-4-carbonyl chloride (FCC), is chosen to functionalize amino acids in alkaline medium before their HPLC resolution. FCC reacts with both primary and secondary amino acids to produce stable and highly fluorescent derivatives suitable for sensitive and efficient chromatographic determination and resolution on a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase (CSP) using the methanol-based solvent mixture as the mobile phase. The detection limit is in the picomole range and approximately 0.01% of the D: -enantiomer in an excess of the L: -enantiomer is detectable. However, the resolution is not reproducible under the elution of either the water- or the acetonitrile-based mobile phase. The increase in solubility of analyte in the mobile phase seems to be responsible. Upon comparison under the optimal chromatographic conditions, the resolution is better than that for the 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC) or 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) derivatives reported previously.

Thermodynamic Studies on Solvent Effects in Molecularly Imprinted Polymers. 2. Concentration of the Organic Modifier

The effects of the organic modifier concentration on the isotherm parameters of the two enantiomers of Fmoc-tryptophan (Fmoc-L,D-Trp) on an Fmoc-L-Trp-imprinted polymer were investigated over a wide concentration range (0.005-100 mM), using frontal analysis. The modifier was acetic acid; concentrations of 0.2, 0.9, 1.7, and 3.7 M in an acetonitrile-based mobile phase were studied. At each concentration, adsorption isotherm data were acquired for each enantiomer. From these data, the isotherm parameters of each compound were derived from nonlinear isotherm fitting and the affinity energy distributions were calculated independently. We found that three types of sites coexist for Fmoc-L-Trp but only two types of sites for Fmoc-D-Trp, except at the lowest acetic acid concentration (0.2 M), at which three types of sites coexist. Increasing the acetic acid concentration decreases the selectivity and the overall affinity of both enantiomers. The overall affinity of Fmoc-L-Trp is dominated by the contribution of the low-density highest energy sites while that of Fmoc-D-Trp is dominated by the most abundant, low-energy sites. For the low-energy sites, increasing the acetic acid concentration affects the association constant of the enantiomers more than the number of corresponding sites. In contrast, for the highest energy sites (sites that exist only for Fmoc-L-Trp), increasing the concentration of acetic acid affects significantly the number of sites but hardly changes the association constant.

The HPLC resolution of N-2,4-dinitrophenylated amino acids and peptides stereoisomers on naphthylethylcarbamate-?-cyclodextrin bonded phase using the acetonitrile-based mobile phase: evidence for the chiral recognition pattern

A facile method of enantioresolving a variety of alpha-amino acids and peptides on naphthylethylcarbamate-beta-cyclodextrin bonded phases (i.e., SN- and RN-beta-CDs) under the elution of acetonitrile-based mobile phase makes use of 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) as the tagging reagent, which undergoes nucleophilic substitution by the free amino group in alkaline medium to give a N-2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) derivative. The resolution is better obtained on RN-beta-CD phase and fails to reproduce on the intact beta-cyclodextrin bonded phase under the same chromatographic conditions, which strongly suggests that the observed resolution should be due to the interaction of analyte with naphthylethylcarbamate moiety, not with the residual secondary hydroxyl groups on the beta-cyclodextrin.

The HPLC Enantioresolution of Phenyl Isocyanated Amino Acids, Peptides and Amino Alcohols on Cyclodextrin Bonded Phases Using the Acetonitrile-Based Mobile Phase

A variety of amino acids (primary and secondary), peptides and amino alcohols are pre-column phenyl isocyanated in alkaline medium and enantioresolved on the naphthylethylcarbamated β-cyclodextrin (i.e., RN- and SN-β-CD) bonded chiral phases (CSPs) using the acetonitrile-based mobile phase and on a native β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) phase for comparison. The resolution is believed to be a result of the hydrogen bonding between the secondary hydroxyl groups of cyclodextrin and the functional groups of analyte and is enhanced as the amino and the carboxyl groups are attached to the stereogenic center of analyte. Also, the enhancement is observed if the steric hindrance between the side-chain group of amino acid and the chiral selector exists. However, the resolution is deteriorated in the case that the side-chain group close to the stereogenic center of amino acid becomes bulky or is capable of forming hydrogen bonding with chiral selector. The aromatic moiety of the tagging reagent not only contributes the retention, but also benefits the resolution in some cases on the RN- and SN-β-CD phases through π-π interaction. The resolution is either not observed or unsatisfactory in the reversed-phase mode.

The HPLC Stereoselective Resolution of N-2,4-Dinitrophenylated (DNP) Amine-Containing Enantiomers on Teicoplanin Bonded Phase Using the Methanol-Based Mobile Phase

A variety of compounds containing an amine group (i.e., amino acids and amino alcohols) are fast and much better than baseline enantioresolved on a teicoplanin bonded chiral phase using the methanol-based mobile phase after their pre-column derivatization with 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) in alkaline medium. The resolution is found relatively insensitive to the structural variations of the analyte and is enhanced as the stereogenic center of analyte is close to the nitro group substituted aromatic moiety of the tagging reagent for stronger π-π interaction. The resolution is either not observed or unsatisfactory using the acetonitrile-based mobile phase.

Comparison of the chiral separation of amino‐acid derivatives by a teicoplanin and RN‐β‐CD CSPs using waterless mobile phases: Factors that enhance resolution

A variety of compounds containing amines (i.e., amino acids, amino alcohols, etc.) were chemically derivatized with a variety of electrophilic tagging reagents to elucidate the chiral recognition sites on a teicoplanin-bonded chiral stationary phase (CSP) and on R-naphthylethylcarbamate-beta-cyclodextrin (RN-beta-CD)-bonded CSP. Solutes were separated under optimum chromatographic conditions on teicoplanin and RN-beta-CD CSPs for comparison using an acetonitrile-based mobile phase. It was noted that the size of the analyte or tagging reagent exerted a greater influence on compounds separated on teicoplanin than on RN-beta-CD when using the polar organic mode. This suggests that chiral recognition on teicoplanin CSP is more sensitive to size and indicates that the hydrophobic pocket of teicoplanin plays a significant role in chiral recognition in this mode. However, the type of functional groups had a greater impact than the size of analyte on separations obtained from RN-beta-CD phase in the polar-organic mode. Specifically, the pi-pi interaction was enhanced by derivatizing the aromatic ring of the tagging reagent with electron-withdrawing groups and thus altered the resolution substantially. For both phases, chiral recognition is most pronounced when the stereogenic center of the analyte is near the tagging moiety and surrounded by functional groups (e.g., carboxylic, etc.) which are favorable for hydrogen bonding.

The facile HPLC enantioresolution of amino acids, peptides on naphthylethylcarbamate-beta-cyclodextrin bonded phases using the acetonitrile-based mobile phase after their pre-column derivatization with phenyl isothiocyanate: factors that affect the resolution.

A variety of alpha-amino acids are enantioresolved for the first time on naphthylethylcarbamate-beta-cyclodextrin bonded phases (i.e., SN- and RN-beta-CD) using the acetonitrile-based mobile phase after their pre-column derivatization with phenyl isothiocyanate in alkaline medium. The resolution is better obtained on RN-beta-CD phase and fails to reproduce if the amino acid is N-benzoylated or N-carbobenzyloxylated under the same chromatographic conditions. The enhanced resolution is believed to be due to the re-location of the hydrogen receptor site from sulfur to nitrogen on the isothiocyanyl fragment of derivatizing reagent, which in turn changes the enantioselectivity. Also, the sulfur atom is larger in size and subject to steric hindrance more significantly in comparison with oxygen. The carboxyl group of amino acid is essential toward a satisfactory resolution. The position of the amino group on the backbone affects the resolution as well. Finally, the resolution is either not observed or unsatisfactory in the reversed- or normal phase mode for most of the amino acids examined in this study.

The HPLC Enantioresolution of Phenyl Isothiocyanated Amino Acids on Vancomycin Bonded Phase Using the Acetonitrile‐Based Mobile Phase: A Comparison to the Teicoplanin Phase

AbstractThe phenyl isothiocyanate, an electrophilic reagent for peptide chain sequencing, is used to pre‐column derivatize a variety of α‐amino acids in alkaline medium before their enantioresolution on a vancomycin bonded chiral phase using the acetonitrile‐based mobile phase. The observed resolution is believed to be due to the re‐location of the hydrogen receptor site from sulfur to nitrogen on the isothiocyanyl fragment of derivatizing reagent, which in turn changes the enantioselectivity. Under the same chromatographic conditions, the resolution for N‐benzoylated, 3,5‐dinitrobenzoylated and N‐carbobenzyloxylated amino acids is either not found or unsatisfactory. Also, no resolution is obtained in the reversed‐ or normal phase mode for all phenyl isothiocyanated amino acids examined in this study.

Conversion of intravenously administered beta-cryptoxanthin to a beta-carotene-like compound in mouse lung.

The intravenous administration of beta-cryptoxanthin (320 microg/mouse) into 4-wk-old ddY mice caused a new peak in addition to the peak of beta-cryptoxanthin during high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the lipid fraction of lung homogenate. Different HPLC conditions revealed that the new peak might be attributed to a beta-carotene-like compound. The average retention times for the new peak and authentic all-trans-beta-carotene were 14.97 and 15.00 min, respectively, in a HPLC system using a YMC-Pack ODS-A column and methanol-based mobile phase, and 27.05 and 26.93 min, respectively, in a HPLC system using a Waters Nova Pack C18 column and methanol-based mobile phase. In a HPLC system using a Waters Nova Pack C18 column and acetonitrile-based mobile phase, the retention times were 10.73, 10.48 and 10.70 min for the new peak, authentic all-trans-beta-carotene, and 9-cis-beta-carotene, respectively. Spectrophotometry with a photodiode array detector showed maximum absorption of 447 and 475 nm for the new peak, and 450 and 475 nm for authentic all-trans-beta-carotene. This new peak was not observed in the lung tissue of control mice. These findings indicate the possible conversion of beta-cryptoxanthin to a beta-carotene like-compound in ddY mice.

Influence of mobile phase composition and cross-linking density on the enantiomeric recognition properties of molecularly imprinted polymers

A series of experiments were conducted to investigate elements which affect the enantiomeric recognition properties of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in the HPLC mode. Our results show that the recognition properties of MIPs are greatly influenced by the mobile phase used. For a polymer prepared in acetonitrile, a good enantiomeric separation was observed when acetonitrile-based mobile phase was used, when the mobile phase was changed to chloroform-based, no enantiomeric recognition was observed although the sample molecule was retarded. This indicates that the specific co-operative binding interactions between the functional groups at the imprinted polymer’s recognition sites and the sample molecule were considerably disrupted and only non-specific interactions remained. When the mobile phase was changed back to acetonitrile-based, the recognition was regained. In contrast, for polymers prepared in chloroform, chloroform-based mobile phase gave much better separation than acetonitrile-based mobile phase. When other solvents were tested, significant solvent effects were generally observed. Based on these observations, the recognition properties of the methacrylic acid (MAA)–co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) polymers were reinvestigated, and the results show that by simply using an optimised mobile phase system, significantly improved recognition over previously reported results was observed. For a polymer made against Cbz- l-Trp, 100 μg of Cbz- d, l-Trp was separated with a separation factor ( α) of 4.23 and a resolution ( R s ) of 3.87, whereas in the previous report, 10 μg of Cbz- d, l-Trp was only separated with α=1.67 and R s =0.1. It is generally realised that the imprinted polymer’s recognition property is also very much influenced by the nature of the polymer network. It was shown that the recognition decreased with a decrease in the apparent degree of cross-linking (molar percentage of cross-linker in the polymerisation mixture). Nonetheless, our results show that in our optimised assay system a significant separation could still be obtained on a polymer which was only 22% cross-linked. We consider this to be of importance, since it may suggest a way of imprinting larger molecules because of the possibly improved mass transfer in low cross-linking density polymers. It was reported that when trifunctional cross-linkers [for example: trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM)] were used as the cross-linker instead of EGDMA, considerably improved enantiomeric separation and resolving capability were observed. Our results show that the improved performance of the MAA–co-EGDMA MIPs is actually comparable to the performance of the MIPs prepared with those trifunctional cross-linkers. The combination of a hydrogen bonding functional monomer (acrylamide) with TRIM also did not give improved recognition. The results suggest that although the three-dimensional network of these two kinds of polymer may be quite different, the observed recognition improvements were probably largely due to solvent effect.

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of pyrazinamide in human plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and alveolar cells.

A technique is presented for the measurement of pyrazinamide in human plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage, and alveolar cells by reversed-phase column chromatography. The assay utilizes acetazolamide as an internal standard, ultraviolet detection at 268 nm, and an acetonitrile-based mobile phase. Preparation of plasma samples requires a simple deproteinization step, resulting in the development of sharp peaks with retention times of 8.4 and 17 minutes for pyrazinamide and acetazolamide, respectively. Bronchoalveolar lavage and alveolar cell suspensions require an acid extraction with ethyl acetate, evaporation to dryness, and reconstitution. This method provides specific, rapid, and reliable determinations of drug concentrations and therefore is suitable for pharmacological studies, particularly those that are designed to quantitate the intrapulmonary concentrations of pyrazinamide.

Characterization of protein N-glycosylation by reversed-phase microbore liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry, complementary mobile phases, and sequential exoglycosidase digestion

A strategy for the identification of the site occupancy and glycoform heterogeneity, including sialylation occurring at specific sites of N-linked glycoproteins is presented using the asparagine-linked glycosylation on bovine fetuin for illustration. This is achieved by microbore high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass analysis (LC/ESIMS) of the tryptic glycopeptide mixtures with an acetonitrile-based mobile phase followed by sequential steps of residue (and linkage) specific glycoform degradation and LC/ESIMS analysis at each stage. In addition, chromatographic separation of the site-specific glycoforms of tryptic glycopeptides is accomplished by the use of an alternative, mass spectrometrically compatible mobile phase—water/ethanol/propanol/formic acid. By employing this nontraditional mobile phase for characterizing the complete tryptic digest, and using highly specific exoglycosidases in combination with LC/ESIMS analysis, a previously uncharacterized carbohydrate (a disialo biantennary complex oligosaccharide) was identified as a novel structure at Asn 81 of bovine fetuin.