Open Tubular Capillary Column Research Articles

Preparation of open tubular capillary columns by in situ ring-opening polymerization and their applications in cLC-MS/MS analysis of tryptic digest

An open tubular (OT) column (25 μm i.d.) was prepared by in situ ring-opening polymerization of octaglycidyldimethylsilyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS-epoxy) with 4-aminophenyl disulfide (APDS) in a binary porogenic system of ethanol/H2O. It was found that porogenic composition played an important role in the formation of OT stationary phases. The ratio of ethanol/H2O at 6/1 (v/v) would lead to the fabrication of hybrid monoliths, while the ratio of ethanol/H2O at 13/1 (v/v) would result in the synthesis of OT phases. In addition, the effects of precursor content and reaction duration on the thickness of OT stationary phases were investigated. Either lower precursor content or shorter reaction duration would produce thinner layer of OT column. The repeatability of OT columns was evaluated through relative standard deviation (RSD%) with benzene as the analyte. The run-to-run, column-to-column and batch-to-batch repeatabilities were 1.7%, 4.8% and 5.6%, respectively, exhibiting satisfactory repeatability of the OT column. Then tryptic digest of mouse liver proteins was used to evaluate the performance of the resulting OT columns (25 μm i.d. × 2.5 m in length) by cLC-MS/MS analysis, demonstrating their potential in proteome analysis.

Nanocellulose crystals derivative-silica hybrid sol open tubular capillary column for enantioseparation

Broad spectrum separation of chiral compounds is a challenge task for analysts. It is significant for preparation of chiral stationary phase and selection of separation technology in the field. Here, we present a novel nanocellulose crystals (NCCs) which were derivation with 3,5-dimethylphenyl isocynate (DMPC) and silane with 3-triethoxysilylpropylisocyanate form sol in tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and layer-by-layer self-assembly in the inner of capillary to fabricate the organic-inorganic hybrid open tubular capillary column (DMPC/NCCs-OTC) for enantiomers separation by capillary electrochromatography technology (CEC). The experimental results verified that this coating column has the broad spectrum separation ability and high resolution efficiency for thirteen different enantiomers at the optimal CEC conditions. The mechanizations of DMPC/NCCs-OTC modified layer numbers and structure effect on chiral separation performance have been investigated and compared. Although the limitation and difficulty in fabrication of open tubular coating column, this work provided the preparation method of stability, controlled, long column life, adequate repeatability and satisfied enantioseparation performance.

A capillary coated with a metal-organic framework for the capillary electrochromatographic determination of cephalosporins

The authors have developed a rapid and reliable method for the capillary electrochromatographic determination of cephalosporin antibiotics in environmental waters. An open-tubular capillary column was modified with the complex [Cu(mal)(bpy)], a copper(II) complex with malic acid and 4,4′-bipyridyl, by an amide coupling method to act as the stationary phase. The simultaneous determination of the cephalosporins formulations, namely cefapirin (CP), ceftiofur (EFT) and cefixime (CFM) in environmental water samples was accomplished in buffer of pH 5.0 by applying a voltage of 8 kV and with DAD detection. Detection limits typically are 0.1 μg⋅mL−1.The method was applied to the analysis of cephalosporins in spiked water samples from Kunming Lake to give recoveries betwen 88 and 106%.

Preparation and evaluation of β-cyclodextrin functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica open tubular capillary columns

This study describes the preparation and electrochromatographic application of a chiral β-cyclodextrin functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica bonded open tubular capillary column.

Isotopic separation of acetaldehyde and methanol from their deuterated isotopologues on a porous layer open tubular column allows quantification by stable isotope dilution without mass spectrometric detection

An isotopic separation of acetaldehyde and acetaldehyde-2,2,2-d3 was achieved in a temperature programmed run on a porous layer open tubular (PLOT) capillary column coated with particles of divinylbenzene ethylene glycol/dimethylacrylate (Rt®-U-BOND). This is the prerequisite for the development of quantitative analytical methods based on a stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) without a mass spectrometric detection (non-MS SIDA). For routine analysis a flame ionization detector (FID) can thus be applied as a robust and low-cost alternative. In a preliminary study, static headspace extraction and gas chromatographic separation (HS-GC-FID) of acetaldehyde in aqueous solutions was shown as an application. Good linearity was obtained in a calibration range from 0.4 to 40mgL−1, with peak integration benefitting from the inverse isotope effect encountered on the specific porous polymer. Furthermore, separation of methanol and deuterated methanol (d3) could also be achieved under the same chromatographic conditions. The achieved isotopic separation of these important volatile compounds now allows non-MS SIDA-based methods that are still to be developed.

Very High Efficiency Porous Silica Layer Open-Tubular Capillary Columns Produced via in-Column Sol-Gel Processing.

It is demonstrated that 5 μm i.d. capillaries can be coated with mesoporous silica layers up to 550 nm thickness. All the columns produced using in-column sol-gel synthesis with tetramethoxysilane provide plate height curves that closely follow the Golay-Aris theory. In 60 cm long columns, efficiencies as high as N = 150 000 and N = 120 000 were obtained, respectively, for a 300 and 550 nm thick porous layer. An excellent retention and plate height reproducibility was obtained when the recipes were subsequently applied to produce very long (1.9 and 2.5 m) capillaries. These columns produced efficiencies up to N = 600 000 plates for a retained and around N = 1 000 000 plates for an unretained component. Given the good reproducibility on the long capillaries, and considering that mesoporous silica is still the preferred support for LC, it is believed the present study could spur a renewed interest in open-tubular LC.

Preparation and evaluation of 3 m open tubular capillary columns with a zwitterionic polymeric porous layer for liquid chromatography.

A 3 m zwitterionic polymeric porous layer open tubular column (3 m × 25 μm id × 375 μm od) with a polymeric porous layer thickness of 4 μm was fabricated by the copolymerization of [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide and N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide). The effects of the diameter of the capillary, reaction temperature, and polymerization time on the preparation of the open tubular column were investigated. Characterized by scanning electron microscopy, the zwitterionic layer was observed to be rough and throughout the fused-silica capillary homogenously, which increased the phase ratio. The separation of neutral, basic, and acidic compounds demonstrates the strong hydrophilicity of the poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide coating. In addition, the poly[2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl] dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide porous layer open tubular column was applied for the analysis of flavonoids from the rootstalk of licorice, revealing the potential in separating complex samples. The relative standard deviation of retention time for run-to-run (n = 5), day-to-day (n = 3), and column-to-column (n = 3) of toluene, N,N-dimethylformamide, formamide, and thiourea were below 1.2%, exhibiting good repeatability.

High Efficiency Robust Open Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography Column for the Separation of Peptides

High Efficiency Robust Open Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography Column for the Separation of Peptides

Water Determination in Solid Pharmaceutical Products Utilizing Ionic Liquids and Headspace Gas Chromatography

A rapid, accurate, and precise headspace gas chromatographic (HSGC) analytical method was developed for the detection and quantification of water in drug products. The analysis is able to be performed in 10 min and automated. The HSGC method used an ionic liquid (IL) based open tubular capillary gas chromatographic column to increase the ruggedness of this method and provide improved peak shapes for water. Due to the ionic liquids low vapor pressure, unique physiochemical properties, and high thermal stability, they also make idea solvents for HSGC. Unlike Karl Fischer titration methods, this HSGC method is not affected by side reactions. The developed method was shown to be broadly applicable. The water content in 12 different samples was found to range from 1%-7% water. The use of HSGC was highly sensitive and only required 10 mg of sample. In addition, it was found to have greater precision and accuracy than Karl Fischer titration and greater precision and speed than loss on drying.

Layer-by-layer assembly of zeolite imidazolate framework-8 as coating material for capillary electrochromatography.

In this work, open-tubular capillary column coated with zeolite imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanocrystals was prepared by a layer-by-layer method. The coating was formed by growing ZIF-8 nanocrystals on either bare fused silica capillary wall or the capillary column premodified with amino groups. The shape and the thickness of the coating formed by using these two methods were almost the same. However, the coverage of the ZIF-8 crystals on the bare fused silica capillary wall was higher than that on the capillary column premodified with amino groups. The ZIF-8 coated capillary column was evaluated for open-tubular capillary electrochromatography. The effect of pH value, buffer concentration, and applied voltage on the separation of phenols was investigated. Good separation of nine phenolic isomers was achieved because of the strong interaction between unsaturated Zn sites and phenols. The column performance for o-nitrophenol was as high as 208 860 plates m(-1) . The run-to-run, day-to-day, and column-to-column reproducibility of retention time and resolution for p-nitrophenol and o-nitrophenol were very good with RSDs of less than 6.5%.

Preparation of a β-Cyclodextrin-Based Open-Tubular Capillary Electrochromatography Column and Application for Enantioseparations of Ten Basic Drugs.

An open-tubular capillary electrochromatography column was prepared by chemically immobilized β-cyclodextrin modified gold nanoparticles onto new surface with the prederivatization of (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane. The synthesized nanoparticles and the prepared column were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy. When the column was employed as the chiral stationary phase, no enantioselectivity was observed for ten model basic drugs. So β-cyclodextrin was added to the background electrolyte as chiral additive to expect a possible synergistic effect occurring and resulting in a better separation. Fortunately, significant improvement in enantioselectivity was obtained for ten pairs of drug enantiomers. Then, the effects of β-cyclodextrin concentration and background electrolyte pH on the chiral separation were investigated. With the developed separation mode, all the enantiomers (except for venlafaxine) were baseline separated in resolutions of 4.49, 1.68, 1.88, 1.57, 2.52, 2.33, 3.24, 1.63 and 3.90 for zopiclone, chlorphenamine maleate, brompheniramine maleate, dioxopromethazine hydrochloride, carvedilol, homatropine hydrobromide, homatropine methylbromide, venlafaxine, sibutramine hydrochloride and terbutaline sulfate, respectively. Further, the possible separation mechanism involved was discussed.

Wall modified photonic crystal fibre capillaries as porous layer open tubular columns for in-capillary micro-extraction and capillary chromatography

Wall modified photonic crystal fibre capillary columns for in-capillary micro-extraction and liquid chromatographic separations is presented. Columns contained 126 internal parallel 4 μm channels, each containing a wall bonded porous monolithic type polystyrene-divinylbenzene layer in open tubular column format (PLOT). Modification longitudinal homogeneity was monitored using scanning contactless conductivity detection and scanning electron microscopy. The multichannel open tubular capillary column showed channel diameter and polymer layer consistency of 4.2 ± 0.1 μm and 0.26 ± 0.02 μm respectively, and modification of 100% of the parallel channels with the monolithic polymer. The modified multi-channel capillaries were applied to the in-capillary micro-extraction of water samples. 500 μL of water samples containing single μg L−1 levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons were extracted at a flow rate of 10 μL min−1, and eluted in 50 μL of acetonitrile for analysis using HPLC with fluorescence detection. HPLC LODs were 0.08, 0.02 and 0.05 μg L−1 for acenaphthene, anthracene and pyrene, respectively, with extraction recoveries of between 77 and 103%. The modified capillaries were also investigated briefly for direct application to liquid chromatographic separations, with the retention and elution of a standard protein (cytochrome c) under isocratic conditions demonstrated, proving chromatographic potential of the new column format, with run-to-run retention time reproducibility of below 1%.

Open tubular capillary column for the separation of cytochrome C tryptic digest in capillary electrochromatography.

A silica capillary of 50 μm internal diameter and 500 mm length (416 mm effective length) was chemically modified with 4-(trifluoromethoxy) phenyl isocyanate in the presence of dibutyl tin dichloride as catalyst. Sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate was reacted with the terminal halogen of the bound ligand to incorporate the initiator moiety, and in situ polymerization was performed using a monomer mixture of styrene, N-phenylacrylamide, and methacrylic acid. The resultant open tubular capillary column immobilized with the copolymer layer was used for the separation of tryptic digest of cytochrome C in capillary electrochromatography. The sample was well eluted and separated into many components. The elution patterns of tryptic digest of cytochrome C were studied with respect to pH and water content in the mobile phase. This preliminary study demonstrates that open tubular capillary electrochromatography columns with a modified copolymer layer composed of proper nonpolar and polar units fabricated by reversible addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization can be useful as separation media for proteomic analysis.

Study of UltraHigh Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography to measure free fatty acids with out fatty acid ester preparation.

Most lipids are best characterized by their fatty acids which may differ in (a) chain length, (b) degree of unsaturation, (c) configuration and position of the double bonds, and (d) the presence of other functionalities. Thus, a fast, simple, and quantitative analytical technique to determine naturally occurring free fatty acids (FFA) in different samples is very important. Just as for saponified acylglycerols, the determination of FFA's has generally been carried out by high resolution gas chromatography (HRGC). The use of an open tubular capillary column coupled with a flame ionization or mass spectrometric detector provides for both high resolution and quantification of FFA's but only after conversion of all free fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or pentafluorobenzyl esters. Unfortunately, volatilization of labile ester derivatives of mono- and poly-unsaturated FFA's can cause both thermal degradation and isomerization of the fatty acid during HRGC. The employment of a second generation instrument (here referred to as UltraHigh Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatograph, UHPSFC) with high precision for modified flow and repeated back pressure adjustment in conjunction with sub-2μm various bonded silica particles (coupled with evaporative light scattering, ELSD, and mass spectrometric, MS, detection) for separation and detection of the following mixtures is described: (a) 31 free fatty acids, (b) isomeric FFA's, and (c) lipophilic materials in two real world fish oil samples. Limits of detection for FFA's via UHPSFC/MS and UHPSFC/ELSD versus detection of FAME's via HRGC/MS are quantitatively compared.

Chiral ligand-exchange separation and determination of malic acid enantiomers in apple juice by open-tubular capillary electrochromatography

This study describes the application of an open tubular capillary column for chiral ligand-exchange separation and determination of malic acid enantiomers in apple juice by open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). The open tubular column was prepared by in-situ grafting polymerization of 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA-Cl) and followed by l-Histidine (l-His) modification. l-His was used as a chiral ligand-exchange selector and copper (II) as a central ion. The electrochromatographic characterization of the open tubular column was performed with the use of thiourea as an electroosmotic flow (EOF) marker. Factors affecting electrochromatographic enantioseparation of malic acid were also studied. The running buffer conditions for optimum enantioseparation of malic acid were found to be ACN/5.0mM CuSO4, 20.0mM (NH4)2SO4 (60/40%, v/v) adjusted to pH 3.0. The separation and determination of the enantiomers of malic acid in the apple juice solution diluted 10- to 40-folds were successfully achieved.

Partitioning of organics between ionic liquids and supercritical CO2: Limiting K-factors in [bmim][N(CN)2]–scCO2 system and generalized correlation with cation- and anion-specific LSERs

Infinite dilution partition coefficients (K-factors) of a selection of organic solutes in biphasic 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([bmim][dca])–supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) system were obtained from retention measurements by open tubular capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with [bmim][dca] serving as the stationary liquid and scCO2 as the carrier fluid. Therefore, the SFC-based route to solute K-factors in ionic liquid (IL)–scCO2 systems is feasible even with low viscosity ILs such as [bmim][dca].The experimental K-factors in [bmim][dca]–scCO2 system were used to test an earlier generalized correlation of solute K-factors in IL–scCO2 systems. Further, another version of the generalized correlation was introduced and tested. In the linear solvation energy (LSER) part of the former correlation the IL has been treated as a single species whereas, in the new version, the IL cation- and anion-specific LSER part has been employed. The introduction of the ion-specific LSERs resulted in some performance improvement of the correlation.

Layer-by-layer self-assembly of polydopamine/gold nanoparticle/thiol coating as the stationary phase for open tubular capillary electrochromatography.

Much attention has been paid to utilizing polydopamine (PDA) as the stationary phase in open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) owing to its diverse properties, such as strong adhesion to various surfaces, latent reactivity toward amine and thiol groups and metal ion chelating/redox activities. In this study, a novel open-tubular capillary column coated with polydopamine/gold nanoparticles/thiols (PDA/Au NPs/thiols) has been fabricated based on the multiple properties of PDA for the first time. The capillary inner surface was firstly functionalized with a layer of PDA/Au NPs using the strong adhesive and metal ion redox properties of PDA. Thiols were then introduced and covalently reacted with the hybrid coating based on the Michael addition reaction of PDA and thiols and also Au-S bonds. Moreover, benefitting from the porosity of PDA, layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly was further applied to increase the amounts of stationary phase (Au NPs and thiols), which can significantly enhance the separation effectiveness and stability of the coated column. The formation of the PDA/Au NP/thiol coating in the capillary was confirmed and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) and AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy). Then the separation effectiveness of the PDA/Au NP/thiol@capillary was verified by the separation of alkylbenzenes, which can achieve baseline separation easily with high column efficiency. In addition, the column showed long lifetime and good stability. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for intra-day and inter-day repeatability of the PDA/Au NP/thiol@capillary were lower than 5%. Therefore, the layer-by-layer self-assembly of PDA/Au NPs/thiols on the capillary inner-surface could be an effective capillary modification strategy.

Open-tubular CEC with a new triethanolamine bonded stationary phase for biomolecule separation.

This study describes the preparation and electrochromatographic application of a new open-tubular capillary column with triethanolamine functionalized stationary phase. The stationary phase was synthesized by in situ grafting polymerization with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate based reactive monomer, and followed triethanolamine functionalization. The different 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate contents on the separation efficiency were studied. The results indicated that the 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate content (e.g., 15.3v/v%) on the inner surface of the capillary was very important for final preparation of the polymer stationary phase. The electrochromatographic characterization of the stationary phase was performed using alkylbenzene derivatives. The pH effect on the electroosmotic flow was also investigated. The open tubular column functionalized with triethanolamine allowed to operate in the anodic electroosmotic flow mode in the system. With anodic electroosmotic flow mode, favorable separations of the amino acids and the nucleosides were successfully achieved with high column efficiens ranging from 142000 to 257000 plates/m. Good repeatability was gained with relative standard deviation of the migration time and peak areas less than 2.2% for run to run (n=5) and less than 3.2% day to day (n=3). Furthermore, real sample applicability of this column to the separation of amino acids in white tea sample was demonstrated.

Recent advances on capillary columns, detectors, and two-dimensional separations in capillary electrochromatography.

As a typical miniaturized analytical technique, CEC has attracted much attention because of its low sample and solvent consumption, high efficiency, high selectivity, high resolution, and fast speed. In this review, we mainly cover the development of capillary columns and detection techniques in the CEC since 2009. Herein, three types of capillary columns, namely, open-tubular capillary columns, monolithic columns and packed columns, and several types of detectors are reviewed in detail. Moreover, a 2D separation system based on CEC is also reported.

Preparation and evaluation of open tubular C18-silica monolithic microcartridges for preconcentration of peptides by on-line solid phase extraction capillary electrophoresis

In this study, C18-silica monoliths were synthesized as a porous layer in open tubular capillary columns, to be cut later into microcartridges for the analysis of neuropeptides by on-line solid-phase extraction capillary electrophoresis with UV and MS detection (SPE-CE-UV and SPE-CE-MS). First, several types of C18-silica monolithic (MtC18) microcartridges were used to analyse standard solutions of five neuropeptides (i.e. dynorphin A (1–7), substance P (7–11), endomorphin 1, methionine enkephalin and [Ala]-methionine enkephalin). The MtC18 sorbents were especially selective against endomorphin 1 and substance P (7–11)). The best results in terms of sensitivity and inter-microcartridge reproducibility were achieved with the microcartridges obtained from a 10-cm open tubular capillary column with a thin monolithic coating with large through-pores (1–5μm). Run-to-run repeatability, microcartridge durability, linearity ranges and LODs were studied by MtC18-SPE-CE-MS. As expected due to their greater selectivity, the best LOD enhancement was obtained for End1 and SP (7–11) (50 times with regard to CE-MS). Finally, the suitability of the methodology for analysing biological fluids was tested with plasma samples spiked with End1 and SP (7–11). Results obtained were promising because both neuropeptides could be detected at 0.05μgmL−1, which was almost the same concentration level as for the standard solutions (0.01μgmL−1).