Capillary Electrochromatography Column Research Articles

ChemInform Abstract: Preparation and Application of Organic—Silica Hybrid Monolithic Capillary Columns

AbstractReview: 54 refs.

Chitosan–silica hybrid‐coated open tubular column for hydrophilic interaction capillary electrochromatography

A novel and convenient protocol for the preparation of an open-tubular column coated with chitosan-silica hybrid using chitosan and silane-coupling agent (γ-glycidoxy-propyltrimethoxysilane) was developed for CEC, in which, chitosan was covalently bonded to the inner wall of a fused-silica capillary using γ-glycidoxy-propyltrimethoxysilane as a cross-linking agent. The stationary phase was hydrophilic due to the chitosan-silica hybrid with abundant amine and hydroxyl functional groups. The chromatographic characteristics of the column were evaluated by the separation of some organic acids and inorganic anions. The column showed good selectivity for nucleotides, aromatic acids, and inorganic anions. The mechanism for the separation of these compounds was primarily based on the hydrophilic and electrostatic interactions combined with the electrophoretic mechanism. The CEC method on the column for the separation of these compounds was compared with CE method in a bare capillary.

Polyethylenimine-modified metal oxides for fabrication of packed capillary columns for capillary electrochromatography and capillary liquid chromatography

The need for novel packing materials in both capillary electrochromatography (CEC) and capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) is apparent and the development towards more selective, application-oriented chromatographic phases is under progress world-wide. In this study we have synthesized new polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized Mn 2O 3, SiO 2, SnO 2, and ZrO 2 particles for the fabrication of packed capillary columns for CEC and CLC. The nanocasting approach was successful for the preparation of functionalized metal oxide materials with a controlled porosity and morphology. PEI functionalization was done using ethyleneimine monomers to create particles which are positively charged in aqueous solution below pH 9. This functionalization allowed the possibility to have both hydrophobic (due to its alkyl chain) and ionic interactions (due to positively charged amino groups) with selected compounds. For comparison aminopropyl-functionalized silica was also synthesized and tested. Both slurry pressure and electrokinetic packing procedures used gave similar results, but fast sedimentation of the material caused some problems during the packing. The high stability and wide pH range of PEI-functionalized SiO 2 material, with potential for hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, proved to be useful for the CEC and CLC separation of some model acidic and neutral compounds.

Preparation and application of organic‐silica hybrid monolithic capillary columns

Organic-silica hybrid monolithic columns have drawn more and more attention due to the ease of preparation and good mechanical stability in recent years. Many synthetic approaches have been developed and a variety of hybrid monolithic capillary columns have been prepared. The sol-gel process is well recognized in the fabrication of hybrid monolithic columns, which can be mainly classified as one-step, acid/base two-step procedures. The new approaches such as the "one-pot" and nano-scaled inorganic-organic hybrid reagent of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane used as a cross-linker have also emerged for the preparation of hybrid monolithic columns. The applications of the organic-silica hybrid monolithic capillary columns for capillary electrochromatography, micro high-performance liquid chromatography, solid-phase micro-extraction and enzymatic reactor etc. are included in this review.

Carboxymethylchitosan covalently modified capillary column for open tubular capillary electrochromatography of basic proteins and opium alkaloids

A novel open tubular (OT) column covalently modified with hydrophilic polysaccharide, carboxymethylchitosan (CMC) as stationary phase has been developed, and employed for the separations of basic proteins and opium alkaloids by capillary electrochromatography (CEC). With the procedures including the silanization of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS) and the combination of glutaraldehyde with amino-silylated silica surface and CMC, CMC was covalently bonded on the capillary inner wall and exhibited a remarkable tolerance and chemical stability against 0.1 mol/L HCl, 0.1 mol/L NaOH or some organic solvents. By varying the pH values of running buffer, a cathodic or anodic EOF could be gained in CMC modified column. With anodic EOF mode (pH < 4.3), favorable separations of basic proteins (trypsin, ribonuclease A, lysozyme and cytochrome C) were successfully achieved with high column efficiencies ranging from 97,000 to 182,000 plates/m, and the undesired adsorptions of basic proteins on the inter-wall of capillary could be avoided. Good repeatability was gained with RSD of the migration time less than 1.3% for run-to-run ( n = 5) and less than 3.2% for day-to-day ( n = 3), RSD of peak area was less than 5.6% for run-to-run ( n = 5) and less than 8.8% for day-to-day ( n = 3). With cathodic EOF mode (pH > 4.3), four opium alkaloids were also baseline separated in phosphate buffer (50 mmol/L, pH 6.0) with column efficiencies ranging from 92,000 to 132,000 plates/m. CMC-bonded OT capillary column might be used as an alternative medium for the further analysis of basic proteins and alkaline analytes.

One-step preparation and properties of allyl-&amp;beta;-cyclodextrin chiral monolithic capillary electrochromatography column

Allyl-β-cyclodextrin chiral monolithic capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by one- step reaction with allyl-β-cyclodextrin (allyl-β-CD), glycidyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as functional monomers. In capillary electrochromatography (CEC) mode, 18 kinds of amino acid enantiomers were separated successfully. The study found that the capillary monolithic column prepared by modified CD derivatives as the functional monomer had good retention ability to hydrophobic chiral compounds containing amido or benzene ring. Meanwhile, it had good stability and reproducibility. The new column had also been applied to separation of chiral drugs.

Naphthyl methacrylate‐phenylene diacrylate‐based monolithic column for reversed‐phase capillary electrochromatography via hydrophobic and π interactions

A neutral naphthyl methacrylate-phenylene diacrylate-based monolith (NPM) was introduced for RP-CEC of various neutral and charged solute probes via hydrophobic and π interactions. The NPM column was prepared by the in situ polymerization of naphthyl methacrylate as the functional monomer and 1,4-phenylene diacrylate (PDA) as the crosslinker in a ternary porogenic solvent containing cyclohexanol, dodecanol and water. The NPM column exhibited cathodal EOF despite the fact that it was devoid of any fixed charges. NPM exhibited stronger EOF than its counterpart naphthyl methacrylate monolith (NMM) made from the in situ polymerization of naphthyl methacrylate and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM). As for NMM, it is believed that the EOF arises from the adsorption of mobile phase ions onto the monolith surface. The higher EOF exhibited by NPM may be attributed to the acrylate nature of PDA as compared to the methacrylate nature of TRIM, and therefore PDA has a higher binding capacity for mobile phase ions due to its higher polarity than TRIM. The adsorption of mobile phase ions together with the additional π interactions offered by the aromatic rings of the NPM matrix modulated solute retention and separation selectivity. The applications of NPM were demonstrated by the separation of a wide range of small and large solutes including peptides, tryptic peptide maps and proteins.

Electrochromatographic characterization of methacrylate ester-based monolith and capillary electrochromatography separation of flavonoids

A porous polymethacrylate ester-based monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) was designed by mean of in situ co-polymerizing lauryl methacrylate (LMA), ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) in a ternary porogenic solvent including cyclohexanol, 1,4-butanediol and water. After investigating the influence factors of the CEC monolithic columns, four flavonoids (i.e., Rutin, Quercetin, Kaempferol, and Quercitrin) were separated and assayed to evaluate this monolithic column with CEC method. Under optimum conditions, the CEC method exhibited high separation efficiency, with rapid separation time of 3–4 min, for the four flavonoid samples using 10 mM phosphate buffer containing 70% acetonitrile (pH 9.0). Importantly, the proposed method could provide a promising approach for rapid separation and detection in biomedicine.

Preparation of hydrophilic interaction monolithic column and its application in the analysis of melamine in dairy products using pressurized capillary electrochromatography

The hydrophilic monolithic column was prepared in 100 microm i. d. capillary in situ using ethylene dimethacrylate as crosslinker, butyl methacrylate and 3-[dimethyl-[2-(2-methyl-prop-2-enoyloxy) ethyl] azaniumyl] propane-1-sulfonate as monomers. In the study, the hydrophilic interaction behavior of the monolithic column was demonstrated. The application of the column in pressurized capillary electrochromatography (pCEC) for the separation of melamine with ultraviolet detection has been studied. The effects of the composition of mobile phase, pH value, the concentration of the buffer, the flow rate of pump and voltage were investigated. The optimum separation for melamine was achieved with the mobile phase of 10 mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) and acetonitrile (20: 80, v/v), voltage at 3 kV and UV detection at 215 nm. The limits of detection (LODs) (S/N = 3) for melamine standard was 0.05 mg/L. The method is simple, accurate and works well without using the ion-pairing agent. The powdered milk and liquid milk were analyzed quantitatively by pCEC using the hydrophilic interaction monolithic column. It is shown that this method is promising in the routine analysis of melamine in dairy products.

Recent advances in column for hydrophilic interaction capillary electrochromatography

Hydrophilic interaction capillary electrochromatography (HI-CEC) is one of the hot spots in micro-separation technique, and the research of HI-CEC stationary phase has attracted much attention. In this paper, the research progress of open-tubular column, the particle-packed column and the monolithic column for HI-CEC are reviewed, especially for the recent progress of the monolithic CEC.

A strong inorganic acid‐initiated methacrylate polymerization strategy for room temperature preparation of monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography

A facile strong inorganic acid-initiated methacrylate polymerization strategy was developed for fabricating monolithic columns at room temperature. The prepared monoliths were characterized by FTIR spectrometry, mercury intrusion porosimeter and SEM, while their performance was evaluated by CEC for the separation of various types of compounds including alkyl benzenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anilines, and nitrophenol isomers. The column-to-column and batch-to-batch reproducibility for the prepared monoliths in terms of the RSD of EOF flow velocity, retention factor, and the minimum plate height of naphthalene ranged from 3.4 to 12.4%. The fabricated monoliths gave excellent performance for the separation of the test neutral compounds with the theoretical plates of 170,000-232,000 plates per meter for thiourea, and 77,400-112,300 plates per meter for naphthalene. The proposed strong inorganic acid-initiated methacrylate polymerization strategy is a promising alternative for fabricating organic polymer-based monoliths.

Preparation and Characterization of Butylaminopropyl Silica Monolithic Column for Capillary Electrochromatography

Preparation and Characterization of Butylaminopropyl Silica Monolithic Column for Capillary Electrochromatography

Preparation and Characterization of Butylaminopropyl Silica Monolithic Column for Capillary Electrochromatography

Abstract A novel silica monolithic stationary phase functionalized with butylaminopropyl ligands for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) has been presented. The monolithic capillary columns were prepared by a sol-gel process and a subsequent chemical modification followed. The amino groups on the surface of the stationary phase generate a substantial anodic electroosmotic flow (EOF) and the butyl groups together with propyl groups provide sufficient hydrophobic properties. To evaluate the column performance, effects of buffer pH on the EOF and electrochromatographic retention behavior of alkylbenzenes, organic acids, and anilines were investigated. The monolithic stationary phase exhibited reversed-phase (RP) chromatographic behavior toward neutral solutes. The standard organic acid anion solutes were separated by a mixed mode mechanism, which comprised of RP interaction, weak anion-exchange, and electrophoresis. Basic compounds such as anilines were well separated on the butylaminopropyl silica monolithic column without peak tailing.

Preparation and characterization of mixed-mode monolithic silica column for capillary electrochromatography

A silica-based monolithic stationary phase with mixed-mode of reversed phase (RP) and weak anion-exchange (WAX) for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) has been prepared. The mixed-mode monolithic silica column was prepared using the sol-gel technique and followed by a post-modification with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS). The amino groups on the surface of the stationary phase were used to generate a substantial anodic EOF as well as to provide electrostatic interaction sites for charged compounds at low pH. A cathodic EOF was observed at pH above 7.3 due to the full ionization of residual silanol groups and the suppression in the ionization of amino groups. A variety of analytes were used to evaluate the electrochromatographic characterization and column performance. The monolithic stationary phase exhibited RP chromatographic behavior toward neutral solutes. The model anionic solutes were separated by the mixed-mode mechanism, which comprised RP interaction, WAX, and electrophoresis. Symmetrical peaks can be obtained for basic solutes because positively charged amino groups can effectively minimize the adsorption of positively charged analytes to the stationary phase.

Preparation and evaluation of the highly cross‐linked poly(1‐hexadecane‐co‐trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate) monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography

In this paper, a novel highly cross-linked porous monolithic stationary phase having a long alkyl chain ligand (C16) was introduced and evaluated in CEC. The monolithic stationary phase was prepared by in situ copolymerization of 1-hexadecene, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) in the presence of ternary porogenic solvent (cyclohexanol/1,4-butanediol/water). In preparing monoliths, the ternary cross-linker trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate was usually applied to preparing molecularly imprinted polymers or molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction, instead of binary cross-linker ethylene dimethacrylate. 1-Hexadecene was introduced to provide the non-polar sites (C16) for chromatographic retention, while AMPS was used to generate the EOF for transporting the mobile phase through the monolithic capillary. Monolithic columns were prepared by optimizing proportion of porogenic solvent and AMPS content in the polymerization solution as well as the cross-linkers. The monolithic stationary phases could generate a strong and stable EOF in various pH values and exhibit an RP-chromatographic behavior for neutral compounds. For charged compounds, the separation was mainly based on the association of hydrophobic, electrostatic and electrophoretic interaction.

Comparison on photo-initiators for the preparation of methacrylate monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography

The synthesis of lauryl methacrylate monoliths for capillary electrochromatography by UV polymerization using several free-radical initiators (α,α′-azobisisobutyronitrile, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO) and lauroyl peroxide (LPO)) has been investigated. Using a 1,4-butanediol/1-propanol mixture as porogenic solvent, the influence of each initiator and its content on the morphological and electrochromatographical properties of beds was evaluated. Under their respective optimum content, satisfactory separations of a test mixture of PAHs with similar efficiencies (minimum plate heights of 8.0–12.7 μm obtained from Van Deemter plots) were achieved for the four investigated photo-initiators. The columns photo-polymerized with LPO provided the best compromise between chromatographic performance and analysis time. Moreover, this initiator showed a fine control in the column retention properties. The resulting monolithic columns exhibited a good run-to-run repeatability in the tested chromatographic parameters (RSD < 2.4%) for all initiators investigated; and satisfactory column-to-column repeatability (RSD < 6.0%), except for beds photo-polymerized with BPO (RSD < 10.8%).

Study of peak shape and efficiency in butyl acrylate-based monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography

The study and modelling peak shape of in capillary electrochromatography (CEC), obtained using butyl acrylate (BA)-based monolithic columns, is described in this article. A modified-Gaussian model, which is a function of conventional experimental parameters: retention time ( t R), peak height ( H 0) and standard deviation ( σ 0) at the peak maximum, and left ( A) and right ( B) halfwidths, was used to describe the peaks of thiourea and several polyaromatic hydrocarbons compounds, which were eluted under several applied voltages. A mean relative error below 2% in the prediction of peak shape is obtained. Based on peak parameters, an easy and reliable estimation of global chromatographic performance, efficiency and peak capacity of BA-based monoliths was also considered. A comparison in terms of chromatographic performance of BA-based monoliths in CEC with CE mode and RPLC microparticulate columns was also performed.

A capillary electrochromatography–electron spray ionization-mass spectrometry method for simultaneous analysis of charged and neutral constituents of a hepatocarcinoma cell metabolome

Although metabolome research is a rapidly expanding field in the postgenomic era, no single method exists for complete analysis of all the constituents of a metabolome. In this study, we developed a metabolome analysis method using a combination of capillary electrochromatography and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. The capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by surface modification of silica compounds (tetraethoxysilane and octyltriethoxysilane) in a fused-silica capillary column. The method was used to separate more than 100 charged and neutral compounds simultaneously. When 1 mM formic acid was used as the eluent, the cationic compounds were eluted rapidly, and then neutral and anionic compounds were eluted (in that order). The developed system was used to analyze the metabolome of a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2). Thirty-three peaks were detected, and eighteen compounds were identified, including marker compounds of hepatocellular cell activity, such as creatinine and homocysteine. Thus, the system was useful not only for metabolome analysis but also for diagnostic measurements of cell function.

Novel β-cyclodextrin derivative functionalized polymethacrylate-based monolithic columns for enantioselective separation of ibuprofen and naproxen enantiomers in capillary electrochromatography

A novel enantioselective polymethacrylate-based monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography was prepared by ring-opening reaction of epoxy groups from poly(glycidyl methacrylate- co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith with a novel β-cyclodextrin derivative bearing 4-dimethylamino-1,8-naphthalimide functionalities. Conditions for the ring-opening reaction with respect to different reaction parameters were thoroughly optimized to obtain high electroosmotic flow, separation efficiency and enantioselectivity for the analytes. The nonaqueous mobile phase composition regarding acetonitrile–methanol ratio and the concentration of electrolyte were examined to manipulate the hydrophobic inclusion and anion-exchange interaction between the analytes and chiral stationary phase. It was observed that in addition to β-cyclodextrin cavity, the electrostatic interaction exhibited pronounced influence on the enantioseparation of acidic analytes. Acidic enantiomers (ibuprofen and naproxen) could be separated with separation factor ( α) values up to 1.08 and a maximum separation efficiency of 86 000 plates/m could be achieved.

Sulfated and sulfonated polysaccharide as chiral stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography and capillary electrochromatography–mass spectrometry

The applications of polysaccharide phenyl carbamate derivatives as chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) are often hindered by longer retention times, especially using a normal-phase (NP) eluent due to very low electroosmotic flow (EOF). Therefore, in this study, we propose an approach for the aforementioned problems by introducing two new types of negatively charged sulfate and sulfonated groups for polysaccharide CSPs. These CSPs were utilized to pack CEC columns for enantioseparation with a NP eluent. Compared to conventional cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) or CDMPC CSPs, the sulfated CDMPC CSP (sulfur content 4.25%, w/w) shortened the analysis time up to 50% but with a significant loss of enantiomeric resolution (∼60%). On the other hand, the sulfonated CDMPC CSP (sulfur content 1.76%, w/w) not only provided fast throughput but also maintained excellent resolving power. In addition, its synthesis is much more straightforward than the sulfated one. Furthermore, we studied several stationary phase parameters (CSP loading and silica gel pore size) and mobile phase parameters (including type of mobile phase and its composition) to evaluate the throughput and enantioselectivity. Using the optimized conditions, a chiral pool containing 66 analytes was screened to evaluate the enantioselectivity under three different mobile phase modes (i.e., NP, polar organic phase (POP) and reversed-phase (RP) eluents). Among these mobile phase modes, the RP mode showed the highest success rate, whereas some degree of complementary enantioselectivity was observed with NP and POP. Finally, the feasibility of applying this CSP for CEC–MS enantioseparation using internal tapered column was evaluated with NP, POP and RP eluents. In particular, the NP-CEC–MS provided significantly enhanced sensitivity when methanol was replaced with isopropanol in the sheath liquid. Using aminoglutethimide as model chiral analyte, all three modes of CEC–MS demonstrated excellent durability as well as excellent reproducibility of retention time and enantioselectivity.