Capillary Electrochromatography Column Research Articles

Sub-micrometer mesoporous SBA-15 silica rods as stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography separation

Mesoporous SBA-15 silica rods were packed into capillary as stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) separation. The attractive properties of the sub-micrometer material are its radical size of 400 nm and highly ordered cylindrical mesopores running along the same direction. The special structure is formed by piling of rod shape particles, which provide good permeability and facilitate the packing procedure of small size CEC column. The modified silica particles were successfully applied for the reversed-phase (RP) and ion-exchange (IE) electrochromatographic separation of non-polar and polar compounds with satisfactory efficiency (140 000 plates/m for benzene using 70% (v/v) acetonitrile). The van Deemter plot showed the hindrance to mass transfer because of the existence of pore structure. The lowest plate height of 7. 1 mm was obtained at the linear velocity of 3.2 cm/min. The prepared ion exchange column was applied to the separation of Chinese traditional medicines Ginseng and Rhizoma Gastrodiae.

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes as functional monomer to prepare hybrid monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography and capillary liquid chromatography

A simple approach to fabricate hybrid monolithic column within the confines of fused-silica capillaries (75μm i.d.) was introduced. A polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) reagent containing a methacrylate group was selected as functional monomer, and copolymerized with bisphenol A dimethacrylate (BPADMA) or ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) in the presence of porogenic solvents via thermally initiated free radical polymerization. After optimization of the preparation conditions, two POSS-containing hybrid monoliths were successfully prepared and exhibited good permeability and stability. By comparison of the separation efficiencies of the resulting poly(POSS-co-BPADMA) and poly(POSS-co-EDMA) monoliths in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and capillary liquid chromatography (cLC), it was indicated the former has better column efficiencies for alkylbenzenes, phenols, anilines and PAHs in CEC and cLC than the latter. Particularly, the hybrid poly(POSS-co-BPADMA) monolith is more suitable for separation of PAHs due to π–π interaction between the analytes and aromatic rings in the surface of monolithic stationary phase.

The characteristics of open-tubular capillary electrochromatography columns with series/mixed stationary phases constructed with magnetic nanoparticle coating

Novel open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) systems with core/shell magnetic nanoparticles modified by amino or C18 groups as stationary phase were constructed by immobilizing nanoparticles in the capillary with permanent magnets. Influence of preparation method of OT-CEC column with series stationary phases (continuous two-dimension) on column performance and effect of dispersant on capability of OT-CEC column prepared by stationary phases with mixed functionalities (mixed stationary phases) were investigated in details to achieve stable preparation. Organic acids were used to evaluate the OT-CEC systems, and the relative column efficiency of salicylic acid was 420,000 plates/m for series stationary phases, while that of benzoic acid reached 480,000 plates/m for mixed stationary phases. The excellent within-column and between-column repeatability (n=5) testified with the RSDs of retention time were less than 0.44% and 10.20% for series stationary phases and 1.65% and 4.29% for mixed stationary phases. The two OT-CEC systems were further applied to separation of the aqueous extract of Rhizoma gastrodiae. Comparing with normal OT capillary column, the new systems show extra high column efficiency due to large surface areas of nanoparticles and multiple separation mechanisms, and they have great potential in the method development for the analysis of complicated samples.

Performance Evaluation of Different Design Alternatives for Microfabricated Nonporous Fused Silica Pillar Columns for Capillary Electrochromatography

An experimental study comparing the performance of different designs for microfabricated column structures for microchip capillary electrochromatography is presented. The work is a follow-up to our previously published modeling and simulation study on the same topic. Experiments were performed using fused silica microchips with and without octadecyltrimethoxysilane coating for nonretained and retained modes of operation, respectively. Showing the same trends as the modeling results, the foil shape produces a significant decrease in plate height with an increase of around 15% in mobile phase velocity in nonretained measurements of Coumarin 480 (C480). Measured plate heights at 1 kV/cm applied electric field were 0.77, 1.33, and 1.42 μm for foil, diamond, and hexagon, respectively. Chromatographic runs of C480 yielded minimal plate height values of 1.85 and 3.28 μm for foil and diamond, respectively. The optimization of the shape and placement of the structures appeared to have a considerable impact on the achievable performance.

Preparation and evaluation of C10-cationic latex particle coated open-tubular column for capillary electrochromatography

A simple way was proposed to prepare reverse phase open tubular column (OTC) for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) by dynamically coating cationic latex particles with C10 functional groups onto the fused silica capillary with surface sulphonation. The latex particles are bounded into the capillary wall via electrostatic attraction force and demonstrate good stability under test conditions. Relative bare silica capillary, reverse electroosmotic flow (EOF) is generated for the OTC due to the existence of cationic latex particles onto the capillary. Preliminary separation of aromatic compounds on an OTC with 50 i.d. has been demonstrated.

Characterization and Comparison of Methacrylic Acid with 2-Acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic Acid in the Preparation of Monolithic Column for Capillary Electrochromatography

Butyl methacrylate (BMA)-ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA)-methacrylic acid (MAA) and BMA-EDMA-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) monolithic columns were prepared by varying the percentage of ionic monomers for capillary electrochromatography. Monolithic columns with a higher content of ionic monomers provided better column efficiency, and the performance of BMA-EDMA-MAA monoliths was better than BMA-EDMA-AMPS. To characterize and optimize BMA-EDMA-MAA monoliths, the effects of the content of cross-linker and the total monomer in the polymerization mixture on column performance were also studied. Plate heights of 8.2 µm for the unretained solute (thiourea) and 12.6 µm for the retained solute (naphthalene) were achieved with a monolithic column using 2.5% MAA (Column I).

Preparation and Evaluation of C18 Modified Capillary Open-Tubular Column Based on Thiol-ene Click Chemistry for Capillary Electrochromatography

Abstract A novel C 18 open-tubular column (C 18 capillary) for capillary electrochromatography was prepared based on thiol-ene click chemistry between n -octadecanethiol and vinyl-functionalized capillary (vinyl capillary). The inner wall of capillary was chemically modified with vinyltrimethoxysilane to provide ene-functionality. Then n -octadecanethiol was chemically bonded on the surface of vinyl capillary via thiol-ene click chemistry. The surface features of the prepared C 18 capillary was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The effects of buffer pH on the electroosmotic flow of C 18 capillary, vinyl capillary was compared with bare capillary. The experiment results indicated that the lowest EOF profile was obtained on the C 18 capillary under the same experimental conditions compared with vinyl capillary and bare capillary. To evaluate the column performance, test mixture of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were electrochromatographic separation on C 18 capillary, vinyl capillary and bare capillary. The electrochromatographic retention behavior of the selected model PAHs on C 18 capillary was also investigated. The experiment results showed that C 18 capillary exhibits typical reversed-phase electrochromatographic behavior toward PAHs. Compared with vinyl capillary, the relatively good peak shape and no peak tailing was observed for the separation of basic model analytes on C 18 capillary, which may be attributed to embedded polar sulphur groups on the surface of the C 18 capillary that effectively shield the adsorption of basic analytes onto the residual silanol groups.

A novel positively charged achiral co-monomer for β-cyclodextrin monolithic stationary phase: Improved chiral separation of acidic compounds using capillary electrochromatography coupled to mass spectrometry

The work presented here demonstrates the incorporation of vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium (VBTA) as a novel positively charged achiral co-monomer to a glycidyl methacrylate-beta cyclodextrin (GMA/β-CD) based monolith, providing anion exchange sites with reversed electroosmotic flow (EOF) for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The monolithic phases, GMA/β-CD-VBTA and GMA/β-CD (without co-monomer) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, pressure drop/flow-rate curves and nitrogen adsorption analysis. After optimizing the stationary phase and mobile phase parameters, chiral separations of 41 pairs of structurally diverse anionic chiral analytes were compared individually using the GMA/β-CD-VBTA and GMA/β-CD monolithic columns. The GMA/β-CD-VBTA monolith chiral stationary phase separated significantly more acidic compounds compared to the GMA/β-CD column. To-date there has been limited work in the development of chiral monolithic column for CEC-mass spectrometry (MS). Because of good electrodriven flow characteristics, which allow the column to maintain a stable current in the absence of outlet vial, GMA/β-CD-VBTA column was successfully coupled to single quadrupole mass spectrometer for CEC-MS of several chiral test compounds. In addition, the same monolithic CEC column when coupled to a triple quadrupole MS instrument, two orders of magnitude higher sensitivity was observed compared to a single quadrupole MS instrument.

Preparation of Open Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography Column with Immobilized Vancomycin as Chiral Stationary Phase by Microwave Irradiation

Preparation of Open Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography Column with Immobilized Vancomycin as Chiral Stationary Phase by Microwave Irradiation

Amino Acid Bound Surfactants: A New Synthetic Family of Polymeric Monoliths Opening Up Possibilities for Chiral Separations in Capillary Electrochromatography

By combining a novel chiral amino-acid surfactant containing an acryloyl amide tail, a carbamate linker, and a leucine headgroup of different chain lengths with a conventional cross-linker and a polymerization technique, a new "one-pot" synthesis for the generation of amino-acid based polymeric monolith is realized. The method promises to open up the discovery of an amino-acid based polymeric monolith for chiral separations in capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The possibility of enhanced chemoselectivity for simultaneous separation of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine containing multiple chiral centers and the potential use of this amino-acid surfactant bound column for CEC and CEC coupled to mass spectrometric detection are demonstrated.

Preparation and Application of Acryla-mide-β-cyclodextrin chiral Monolithic Column for Capil-lary Electrochromatography

以丙烯酰胺-β-环糊精和聚甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯为交联剂,采用原位聚合法制备了聚丙烯酸酯-β-环糊精手性毛细管整体柱。通过红外和扫描电子显微镜表征了整体柱固定相的结构和形貌。并以苯丙氨酸为考察物考察了柱子的稳定性和重现性,柱效达到47701 plates/m,获得了良好的分离效果。在毛细管电色谱模式下,采用丙烯酰胺-β-环糊精整体柱首次拆分盐酸依替福林对映体,结果使盐酸依替福林对映体达到了基线分离。

Preparation and evaluation of ionic liquid-gold nanoparticles functionalized silica monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography

This paper describes the development of silica monolithic column modified with ionic liquids-gold nanoparticles (ILs-GNPs) for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The novel ILs (1-methyl-2-mercapto-3-butylimidazolium bromide) were synthesized and used to modify GNPs functionalized silica monolithic column via the formation of a Au-S bond. The morphology of the GNPs and ILs-GNPs functionalized silica (ILs-GNPs-silica) monolithic column were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscope, respectively. A cathodic electroosmotic flow was observed at pH above 6.4 on ILs-GNPs-silica monolithic column, which was reversed at acidic pH. The electrochromatographic performance of ILs-GNPs-silica monolithic column was evaluated by separation of different kinds of analytes such as hydrophobic, polar and basic compounds. The ILs-GNPs-silica monolithic column displayed enhanced hydrophobic retention characteristics in the separation of five hydrophobic n-alkylbenzenes when compared to the ILs bonded silica monolithic column. The column efficiencies for the n-alkylbenzenes were from 62,000 to 110,000 N m(-1). The ILs-GNPs-silica monolithic column exhibited reversed-phase electrochromatographic behavior toward neutral solutes. Separation of polar compounds was demonstrated on ILs-GNPs-silica monolithic column in reversed-phase CEC mode using high aqueous mobile phases. The relatively good peak shape and high separation efficiency on ILs-GNPs-silica monolithic column was obtained for basic solutes when compared to silica monolithic column modified GNPs.

Development of a fritless packed column for capillary electrochromatography–mass spectrometry

A novel procedure was developed for the fabrication of a fritless packed column for the coupling of capillary electrochromatography (CEC) to mass spectrometry (MS). The process involved the formation of internal tapers on two separate columns. Once the internal tapers are formed and the columns are packed, the untapered ends of each column were joined together by a commercially available connector. Several advantages of the fritless columns are described. First, the design used here eventually eliminates the need for any frits thus reducing the possibility of bubble formation seen with fritted packed columns. In addition, this is the first report in which the internal tapers are formed at both the inlet and outlet column ends making the fritless CEC-MS column more robust compared to only one report with externally tapered counterparts. Second, a comparison of internally tapered single frit packed CEC-MS (previously developed in our laboratory) column versus fritless CEC-MS column reported here shows that the latter provides better efficiency, suggesting no dead volume with equally good sensitivity and chiral resolution of (±)-aminoglutethimide. The fritless column procedure is universal and was used to prepare a series of columns with a variety of commercially available packing material (mixed mode strong cation exchange, SCX; mixed mode strong anion exchange, SAX; C-18) for the separation and MS detection of short chain non-chromophoric polar amines, long chain nonchromophic anionic surfactant as well as oligomers of non-chromophoric non-ionic surfactants, respectively. The fritless columns showed good intra-day repeatability and inter-day reproducibility of retention times, chiral and achiral resolutions and peak areas. Very satisfactory column-to-column and operator-to-operator reproducibility was demonstrated.

The Preparation and Characterization of Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Material Amino Monolithic Column for Capillary Electro Chromatography

In this paper a novel hybrid organic–inorganic amino hybrid material monolithic column for capillary electro chromatography (CEC) is preparation and characterization. The amido hybrid material monolithic column was prepared in situ co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) with 3-aminoproplytriethoxysilane (3-APTES) via sol-gel procedure. The all kinds of factors that effect the morphology of monolith column were investigated. The results showed that the structure of monolithic column could be adjusted easily through altering the composition of sol solution.

Evaluation of a methacrylate-bonded cyclodextrins as a monolithic chiral stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography (CEC)-UV and CEC coupled to mass spectrometry.

Glycidyl methacrylate-bonded β-cyclodextrin (GMA-β-CD) is synthesized as a new chiral monomer by direct chemical bonding with GMA using a fast and simple alternative procedure. Next, rigid and homogenous monolithic columns were prepared by polymerization of GMA-β-CD monomer with ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), in the presence of commonly used porogens and a charged achiral monomer to form a versatile chiral monolith. This is the first report in which a preparation procedure for a methacrylate-bonded CD is introduced for chiral separations in CEC. The degree of substitution of GMA-β-CD monomer and mobile-phase parameters were optimized to achieve the highest enantioselectivity and plate number. To evaluate the GMA-β-CD monolithic column, different classes of chiral compounds were screened. Under the optimized β-CD monolith phase and the optimum mobile-phase conditions, 30 neutral and basic chiral compounds and two acidic compounds could be separated. The high chemical and mechanical stability, homogenous microflow and no loss of material at the interface allows for the first time the feasibility of applying this polymer-based monolithic column for CEC coupled to ESI-MS. Compared with CEC-UV, CEC-ESI-MS showed higher sensitivity and lower resolution. However, resolution greater than 1.0 can still be obtained for majority of the select tested compound in CEC-ESI-MS with at least three out of seven compound providing Rs≥1.5. The results reinforce the potential of GMA-β-CD monolithic columns for chiral separations with high sensitivity in CEC-ESI-MS. Finally, using hexobarbital as the model chiral analyte, the monolithic column demonstrated excellent stability and reproducibility of retention time and enantioselectivity.

“One‐pot” preparation of basic amino acid–silica hybrid monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography

A novel "one-pot" strategy was developed for the preparation of amino acid (AA)-silica hybrid monolithic column. The basic AA (L-Arginine, L-Lysine and L-Histidine) was covalently incorporated into the silica hybrid skeleton via the epoxy ring-opening reaction between the amine group and the glycidyl moiety in γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS), which was confirmed by elemental analysis and FT-IR studies, while the basic AA was also found to catalyze the polycondensation of tetramethoxysilane and GPTMS. The average mesopore and macropore sizes of the prepared basic AA-silica hybrid monolithic columns were 3.86 nm and 1.71 μm for the L-Lysine-silica hybrid monolith, 5.38 nm and 4.24 μm for the L-Arginine-silica hybrid monolith, and 6.38 nm and 1.24 μm for the L-Histidine-silica hybrid monolith. The hybrid monolith afforded a zwitterionic stationary phase for CEC, the direction and magnitude of EOF can be controlled by the pH of the mobile phase used. Besides an electrophoretic mechanism, the monoliths behave in a typical hydrophilic interaction with the analytes when ACN percentage in the mobile phase is over 40%. Four polar compounds (toluene, DMF, formamide and thiourea) were tested on the three AA-silica hybrid monolithic columns, and the best separation efficiency was observed in the L-Lysine-silica hybrid monolithic column, its theoretical plate height was down to 5.7 μm for thiourea when 20 mM HCOOH-HCOONH4 containing 20% ACN (pH 4.1) was used as a running buffer. The corresponding theoretical plate number for toluene, DMF, formamide and thiourea were 123,385, 103,620, 121,845 and 105,345 plates/m, respectively. Effective separation of phenols and peptides on the L-Lysine-silica hybrid monolithic column was achieved using CEC. We believe that this strategy paves a way for the easy preparation of various functional silica hybrid monolithic columns, aiming at different separation purposes.

Monolithic poly(butyl methacrylate–ethylene dimethacrylate–methacrylic acid) column for capillary electrochromatography

A butyl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate-methacrylic acid (MAA) monolithic column was prepared for capillary electrochromatography. The effect of MAA weight percentage on the EOF mobility and column efficiency was studied. BMA-EDMA-MAA monolith with higher content of MAA provided higher EOF mobility as well as higher efficiency. The effect of mobile-phase composition and buffer pH was also investigated. The monolithic columns exhibited a good repeatability and reproducibility of column preparation with relative standard deviation values below 16% in the studied chromatographic parameters.

Analysis of phospholipids using an open‐tubular capillary column with a monolithic layer of molecularly imprinted polymer in capillary electrochromatography‐electrospray ionization‐tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, an open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) column with a monolithic layer of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based on methacrylic acid, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and 4-styrenesulfonic acid was utilized for the simultaneous separation and characterization of phospholipid (PL) molecular structures by interfacing with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS-MS). Introducing an MIP-based monolith along with charged species at the OT column made it possible to separate PL molecules based on differences in head groups and acyl chain lengths in CEC. For the interface of OT-CEC with ESI-MS-MS, a simple nanospray interface utilizing a sheath flow was developed and the resulting OT-CEC-ESI-MS-MS was able to separate PL standards (phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylglycerols, phosphatidic acid, and lysophosphatidylglycerols). The developed method was applied to human urinary lipid extracts, and resulted in the separation and structural identification of 18 molecules by data-dependent collision-induced dissociation.

Synthesis of ionic liquid‐bonded organic‐silica hybrid monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography

An ionic liquid (IL) was introduced into the organic-silica hybrid monolithic column as the stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The monolithic silica matrix containing chloropropyl functional group was prepared by the in situ co-condensation of tetramethoxysilane and (3-chloropropyl)-trimethoxysilane via a sol-gel process and chemical modification with N-methylimidazole. The electroosmotic flow of the IL-modified hybrid monolithic column was reversed at acidic pH and the morphology of the column was characterized by scanning electron microscope. Four aromatic hydrocarbons were completely separated with 40% acetonitrile phosphate buffer as the mobile phase and seven inorganic ions were efficiently separated with the phosphate buffer on the column in CEC. Reproducibilities of migration time for four aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, chrysene) were acceptable on IL-modified hybrid monolithic columns. Relative standard deviations of run-to-run (n=5), peak area-to-peak area (n=5), day-to-day (n=3) and column-to-column (n=3) were in the range of 0.72-0.88, 1.47-5.40, 2.44-4.99 and 3.01-8.11%, respectively.

Recent developments and applications of molecularly imprinted monolithic column for HPLC and CEC

As a new generation of stationary phases, monolithic supports have attracted significant interest in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC) because of their ease of preparation, high reproducibility, versatile surface chemistry and rapid mass transport. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthetic materials with high specific recognition ability to template molecule. The combination of monolithic column and MIPs integrates the high efficiency of modern chromatography and the high selectivity provided by MIPs. This review focuses on the recent developments and applications of all kinds of monolithic matrix, i.e. organic polymer-based and silica-based MIP monolith in HPLC and CEC mode.