Conventional C18 Silica Research Articles

Ethyl-bridged hybrid column as an efficient alternative for HPLC analysis of plasma amino acids by pre-column derivatization with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate.

Conventional C18 silica columns have proven to be useful for the analysis of amino acids (AA) from protein hydrolysates but undesirable peak overlapping is usually found when analyzing body fluids given that a large number of AAs are present in the samples. As an alternative to silica packings, an ethyl-bridged packing for reversed-phase liquid chromatography of derivatized AAs with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) has been evaluated. The new packing material improves the separation efficiency allowing better separations when analyzing biological fluids. Moreover, this packing has advantages for routine AA analysis, such as a decrease in the total running time and an increase in the life-time of the columns. The pH of the mobile phase has a significant effect on the elution behavior of the AQC hydrolysis product (AMQ) and on the AA derivatives. It is not possible to elute AMQ before detecting the first AA derivative, which requires an accurate adjustment of the pH in the range of 5.30-5.35 to obtain good separation and resolution for the most polar compounds. Under the conditions proposed, it is possible to separate all AAs except the Gly-Gln pair, which is not a problem when hydrolyzed samples are analyzed. The AMQ-Ser pair requires either the use of a different mobile phase pH for its baseline separation or the use of fluorescence detection. Two different procedures for protein removal from plasma samples have been evaluated, solvent precipitation and ultrafiltration (UF) and it has been found that UF gives better results as no significant losses of AAs were observed. The validation of the proposed method with UV detection gives method detection limits in the range of 8-12μM, with repeatability values<8% (n=6) and inter-day precision in plasma samples ranging from 4 to 13% (n=4).

HPLC determination of cefprozil in tablets using monolithic and C18 silica columns

Cefprozil (CPZ) is a second-generation semi-synthetic cephalosporin antibiotic that commonly exists as the mixture of Z and E diastereoisomers, at the ratio of approximately 9:1. A novel reversed-phase HPLC method for the determination of CPZ in tablets was described. The separation of CPZ diastereoisomers and caffeine (internal standard) was carried out by applying the same analytical and instrumental conditions on two stationary phases, which have different surface chemistries. The columns used in the study were monolithic silica Merck Chromolith Performance RP-18e and conventional C18 silica Phenomenex Synergi Hydro RP columns. In total, 10 μL aliquots of samples were injected into the system and eluted using water-acetonitrile (90:10, v/v) solution, which was pumped through the column at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The analyte peaks were detected at 200 nm using diode array detector with high specificity. CPZ diastereoisomers and caffeine were measured within 13 min using the C18 column, whereas <5 min was required for the monolithic one. Validation studies were performed according to official recommendations. Value of a monolithic column for the assay of diastereoisomers in pharmaceutical tablets was evaluated for the first time and found as a powerful alternative to highly efficient C18 columns.

Reversed-Phase HPLC Analysis of Levetiracetam in Tablets Using Monolithic and Conventional C18 Silica Columns

Development and validation of an RP-HPLC method for determination of levetiracetam in pharmaceutical tablets is described. The separation and quantification of levetiracetam and caffeine (internal standard) were performed using a single analytical procedure with two different types of stationary phases, conventional Phenomenex Gemini C18 (100 x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) and Merck Chromolith Performance RP18e (100 x 4.6 mm, macropore size 2 mm, micropore size 13 nm) monolithic silica. Five-microliter aliquots of samples were injected into the system and eluted using water-acetonitrile (90 + 10, v/v) mobile phase pumped at the rate of 1 mL/min. The analyte peaks were detected at 200 nm using a diode array detector with adequate resolution. Validation studies were performed using the method recommended by the International Conference on Harmonization, the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and AOAC INTERNATIONAL, which includes accuracy, precision, range, limits, robustness, and system suitability parameters. Levetiracetam and caffeine were detected in about 7 min using the conventional column, whereas less than 5 min was required when the monolithic column was used. Calibration plots had r values close to unity in the range of 0.8-8.0 microg/mL. Assay of levetiracetam in a tablet formulation was demonstrated as an application to real samples.

Development of different comprehensive two dimensional systems for the separation of phenolic antioxidants

Three different comprehensive 2-D HPLC systems for the separation of phenolic antioxidants have been developed on the basis of different selectivities of a PEG-silica column in the first dimension and a packed or monolithic C18 or a ZR-CARBON column, respectively, in the second dimension. Two-dimensional comprehensive liquid chromatography using a serially connected short PEG-silica column and a conventional C18-silica or a ZR-CARBON column in the second dimension was tested to improve the resolution of the earlier eluting compounds in the first dimension. Various types of interface were used to connect the columns in the first and in the second dimension: i) two injection sampling loops of 100 microL in conventional arrangement; ii) a 10-port 2-position valve equipped with two trapping X-Terra columns instead of loops; and iii) two analytical D2 columns in parallel. The mobile phase in the first dimension has a lower elution strength than in the second dimension, allowing band compression of the solutes transferred from the first to the second dimension. This effect was enhanced using trapping columns instead of sampling loops as the interface between the two dimensions, thus allowing a decrease in the time of analysis. These systems were used for the analysis of beer samples. The relative location of the components in the 2-D retention plane varied in relation to their chemical structure in each instrumental set-up and allowed positive peak identification.

Two‐dimensional and serial column reversed‐phase separation of phenolic antioxidants on octadecyl‐, polyethyleneglycol‐, and pentafluorophenylpropyl‐silica columns

The separation selectivity of octadecyl-silica (C18) and of bonded pentafluorophenylpropyl-silica (F5) and PEG-silica columns was compared for natural phenolic antioxidants. The separation selectivities for phenolic antioxidants on C18 and F5 columns are strongly correlated, but low selectivity correlation indicating strong differences in the retention mechanism was observed between the C18 and PEG columns. Hence, the combination of a C18 and a PEG column is useful for separation of phenolic antioxidants that are not fully separated on single columns. Two-dimensional comprehensive liquid chromatography using a short PEG-silica column in the first dimension and a conventional C18-silica in the second dimension has the advantage of on-column focusing of the fractions transferred onto the C18 column in the second dimension, as a weaker mobile phase is used in the first dimension than in the second dimension. However, a stop-flow set-up in the first dimension system is necessary after the transfer of each fraction to the second dimension. Peak capacity is considerably larger but the separation time is much longer than with serially coupled PEG and C18 columns, which were employed for separation of beer and hop extract samples in connection with coulometric detection.

Uniform-sized molecularly imprinted polymers for 2-arylpropionic acid derivatives selectively modified with hydrophilic external layer and their applications to direct serum injection analysis.

Uniform-sized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for (S)-naproxen and -ibuprofen selectively modified with hydrophilic external layer, restricted access media (RAM)-MIPs, have been prepared. First, the MIP for (S)-naproxen or -ibuprofen was prepared using 4-vinylpyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively, by a multistep swelling and thermal polymerization method. Next, a 1:1 mixture of glycerol monomethacrylate and glycerol dimethacrylate was used for hydrophilic surface modification, and it was added directly to the MIP for (S)-naproxen or -ibuprofen 4 h after the start of molecular imprinting. The obtained RAM-MIP material for (S)-naproxen or -ibuprofen was applied for direct serum injection assays of the drug by a column-switching system, consisting of a RAM-MIP material and conventional C18-silica column. However, leakage of the imprint molecule prevented accurate and precise assays of the drug. This problem has been overcome by using the RAM-MIP for (S)-naproxen for the assays of ibuprofen in rat plasma. The optimized column-switching system was applied successfully to the assay of ibuprofen in rat plasma after oral administration.