Separation Of Nucleobases Research Articles

An on-line SPE-LC-MS/MS method for quantification of nucleobases and nucleosides present in biological fluids.

Solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatographic (LC) separation of nucleobases and nucleosides are challenging due to the high hydrophilicity of these compounds. Herein we report a novel on-line SPE-LC-MS/MS method for their quantification after pre-column derivatization with chloroacetaldehyde (CAA). The method proposed is selective and sensitive with limits of detection at the nano-molar level. Analysis of urine and saliva samples by using this method is demonstrated. Adenine, guanine, cytosine, adenosine, guanosine, and cytidine were found in the range from 0.19 (guanosine) to 1.83 μM (cytidine) in urine and from 0.015 (guanosine) to 0.79 μM (adenine) in saliva. Interestingly, methylation of cytidine was found to be significantly different in urine from that in saliva. While 5-hydroxymethylcytidine was detected at a very low level (<0.05 μM) in saliva, it was found to be the most prominent methylated cytidine in urine at a high level of 3.33 μM. Since on-line SPE is deployed, the proposed LC-MS/MS quantitative assay is convenient to carry out and offers good assay accuracy and repeatability.

The effect of charged groups on hydrophilic monolithic stationary phases on their chromatographic properties

In order to investigate the effect of charged groups present in hydrophilic monolithic stationary phases on their chromatographic properties, three charged hydrophilic monomers, i.e. N,N-dimethyl-N-acryloyloxyethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium betaine (SPDA), [2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride (AETA), and 3-sulfopropyl acrylate potassium salt (SPA) were co-polymerized with the crosslinker N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), respectively. The physicochemical properties of the three resulting charged hydrophilic monolithic columns were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, ζ-potential analysis and micro-HPLC. High column efficiency was obtained on the three monolithic columns at a linear velocity of 1mm/s using thiourea as test compound. Comparative characterization of the three charged HILIC phases was then carried out using a set of model compounds, including nucleobases, nucleosides, benzoic acid derivatives, phenols, β-blockers and small peptides. Depending on the combination of stationary phase/mobile phase/solute, both hydrophilic interaction and other potential secondary interactions, including electrostatic interaction, hydrogen-bonding interaction, molecular shape selectivity, could contribute to the over-all retention of the analytes. Because of the strong electrostatic interaction provided by the quaternary ammonium groups in the poly (AETA-co-MBA) monolith, this cationic HILIC monolith exhibited the strongest retention for benzoic acid derivatives and small peptides with distorted peak shapes and the weakest retention for basic β-blockers. The sulfonyl groups on the poly (SPA-co-MBA) hydrophilic monolith could provide strong electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding for positively charged analytes and hydrogen-donor/acceptor containing analytes, respectively. Therefore, basic drugs, nucleobases and nucleotides exhibited the strongest retention on this anionic monolith. Because of the weak but distinct cation exchange properties of the zwitterionic poly (SPDA-co-MBA) hydrophilic monolith, it exhibited the best separation for most test analytes (including phenols, β-blockers and small peptides) in terms of selectivity, peak shape and analysis time. The poly (AETA-co-MBA) hydrophilic monolithic column provides the best separation of nucleobases and nucleosides. These results could guide the selection and application of these charged HILIC monoliths in the future.

Diazonium modification of porous graphitic carbon with catechol and amide groups for hydrophilic interaction and attenuated reversed phase liquid chromatography

Porous graphitic carbon (PGC) is an increasingly popular and attractive phase for HPLC on account of its chemical and thermal stability, and its unique separation mechanism. However, native PGC is strongly hydrophobic and in some instances excessively retentive. As part of our effort to build a library of hydrophilic covalently modified PGC phases, we functionalized PGC with catechol and amide groups by means of aryl diazonium chemistry to produce two new phases. Successful grafting was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Under HILIC conditions, the Catechol-PGC showed up to 5-fold increased retention relative to unmodified PGC and selectivity that differed from four other HILIC phases. Under reversed phase conditions, the Amide-PGC reduced the retentivity of PGC by almost 90%. The chromatographic performance of Catechol-PGC and Amide-PGC is demonstrated by separations of nucleobases, nucleosides, phenols, alkaline pharmaceuticals, and performance enhancing stimulants. These compounds had retention factors (k) ranging from 0.5 to 13.

Deep eutectic solvent: a new kind of mobile phase modifier for hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were used as a new kind of mobile phase modifier in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). In our experiment, a SiO2 column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 3 µm) was selected to separate several nucleobases and nucleosides by using the mixed solution of acetonitrile and DES (choline chloride-ethylene glycol (1:3, mol/mol) ) as mobile phase. Subsequently, the concentrations of DESs in acetonitrile and the column temperature on the effect of separation were investigated. According to the experimental results, better separation of nucleobases and nucleosides was obtained by using acetonitrile and DESs mixed solution as mobile phase than that using traditional water-based solution. For example, a baseline separation between cytosine and cytidine cannot be achieved by HILIC with water-based mobile phase, however, greater improvement was gained by HILIC with modified DES-acetonitrile mobile phase. Meanwhile, the retention times of nucleobases and nucleosides decreased as the proportion of DESs in acetonitrile increased, the most significant decrease of which was with cytidine. Similar retention behavior took place with the effect of column temperature. Decreased retention times of the analytes were observed as column temperature increased. The experimental results indicated that this new method may solve some separation difficulties in traditional water-based HILIC, which also successfully verify the feasibility of DESs as mobile phase modifiers.

Separation of nucleobases, nucleosides, and nucleotides using two zwitterionic silica-based monolithic capillary columns coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

The capability of employing synthesized zwitterionic silica-based monolithic capillary columns (140mm×0.1mm) for separation of highly polar and hydrophilic nucleobases, nucleosides, and nucleotides in hydrophilic interaction chromatography is reported. The suitability of the columns for on-line conjunction with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was explored. Our results show that the grafted layer of zwitterionic monomer ([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)-ammonium hydroxide or 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) on the silica monolithic surface significantly improved the separation selectivity and reproducibility, as compared to the bare silica monolith. The stepwise elution from 90% to 70% of acetonitrile enabled separation of a complex sample mixture containing 21 compounds with a total analysis time less than 40min.

Use of individual retention modeling for gradient optimization in hydrophilic interaction chromatography: Separation of nucleobases and nucleosides

In this study, the separation of twelve nucleobases and nucleosides was optimized via chromatogram simulation (i.e., prediction of individual retention times and estimation of the peak widths) with the use of an empirical (reversed-phase) non-linear model proposed by Neue and Kuss. Retention time prediction errors of less than 2% were observed for all compounds on different stationary phases. As a single HILIC column could not resolve all peaks, the modeling was extended to coupled-column systems (with different stationary phase chemistries) to increase the separation efficiency and selectivity. The analytical expressions for the gradient retention factor on a coupled column system were derived and accurate retention time predictions were obtained (<2% prediction errors in general). The optimized gradient (predicted by the optimization software) included coupling of an amide and an pentahydroxy functionalized silica stationary phases with a gradient profile from 95 to 85%ACN in 6min and resulted in almost baseline separation of the twelve nucleobases and nucleosides in less than 7min. The final separation was obtained in less than 4h of instrument time (including equilibration times) and was fully obtained via computer-based optimization. As such, this study provides an example of a case where individual retention modeling can be used as a way to optimize the gradient conditions in the HILIC mode using a non-linear model such as the Neue and Kuss model.

Preparation of a Novel Amino-Phosphate Zwitterionic Stationary Phase for Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography

A new stationary phase which contains both negatively charged phosphate groups and positively charged amino groups was successfully synthesized by modification of amino-functionalized silica particles with trichlorophosphine oxide (POCl3) for hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). The composition of the surface grafts was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Various parameters, such as column temperature, water content, pH values and ionic strength of the mobile phase were investigated to study the retention mechanism. The results demonstrated that the stationary phase involved a complex retention process including surface adsorption, partitioning and electrostatic interactions. Under optimized conditions, the separation of nucleobases and nucleosides, water-soluble vitamins, organic acids on the novel stationary phase could be achieved in the HILIC mode.

Separation of nucleobases and their derivatives with organic-high ionic strength aqueous phase systems by spiral high-speed counter-current chromatography

A set of nucleic acid constituents were separated with ultra polar two-phase solvent systems by a spiral multilayer coil mounted on the rotary frame of a type-J coil planet centrifuge. These two-phase systems were composed of 1-butanol/ethanol/50% saturated aqueous ammonium sulfate at various volume ratios. Nucleobases including adenine, cytosine, uracil, and thymine; nucleosides including adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, and uridine; and nucleotides including, AMP, GMP, CMP, UMP, and TMP are partitioned in each group with suitable solvent ratios. Adenine derivatives such as adenosine, AMP, ADP, and ATP were well resolved in the most polar solvent system composed of ethanol/50% saturated aqueous ammonium sulfate at a volume ratio of 1:2. It was found that cytosine and cytidine peaks showed some irregular two peaks probably due to their keto and enol isomers, while the separation of AMP forms two peaks especially when TMP was added in the sample solution, the mechanism of which is now under investigation in our laboratory.

Tetrazole-Functionalized Silica for Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography of Polar Solutes

In this work, tetrazole-functionalized stationary phase was prepared with nitrile-modified silica by an ammonium-catalyzed (3 + 2) azide-nitrile cycloaddition reaction. The prepared stationary phase was used for separation of nucleobases and nucleosides by hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) mode. A typical HILIC mechanism was observed at higher content of acetonitrile (>85%, v/v) in the mobile phase. The retention mechanism of the column was investigated by the models used for describing partitioning and surface adsorption through adjustment ratio of water in the mobile phase, and by the influence of salt concentration, buffer pH, and temperature on the retention of solutes. The results illustrated that the surface adsorption through hydrogen bonding dominated the retention behavior of nucleobases/nucleosides under HILIC mode. From the separation ability, the tetrazole-functionalized stationary phase could become a valuable alternative for the separation of the compounds concerned.

Novel Polymer Monolithic Column for Hydrophilic Compounds

A hydrophilic polymer-based monolithic column was prepared from water-soluble crosslinking agents for liquid chromatography. The column media were prepared with a diacrylate monomer, aqueous polyethylene glycol, methanol, and a water-soluble radical initiator. A fused silica capillary column, which was significantly modified by vinyl groups, was utilized as the outer column in order to control polymer shrinkage. We optimized the modification of the capillary column, composition of the monomer and porogen, and polymerization condition. The optimized column exhibited high hydrophilicity and achieved the baseline separation of nucleobases by using only a buffered solution as the mobile phase. Additionally, another column prepared from binary water-soluble crosslinking agents exhibited lower nonspecific adsorption of several proteins. Basically, we would show the possibility of a new type of polymer monolith prepared from water-soluble crosslinker and water-soluble porogenic solvent, and they can be used for chromatographic separation without non-specific hydrophobic interaction.

An original way to use a β-cyclodextrin-bonded silica stationary phase in electrochromatography. Application to the achiral separation of nucleobases and nucleosides

Although β-cyclodextrin-bonded silica stationary phases are usually dedicated to the separation of enantiomers, they can also be used for achiral purposes, taking advantage of the complex interactions between the solutes and the cyclodextrins. The work described in this paper was intended to show how such stationary phases can be used in short-end injection capillary electrochromatography (CEC) for rapid (<6 min) resolution of a mixture of purines and pyrimidines. Several experimental conditions (mobile-phase composition, voltage and temperature) were investigated to determine the optimum operating conditions for the method, which can also be applied to the analysis of nucleosides. Quantitative analysis was also performed; theophylline was used as internal standard to assess the linearity and the repeatability of the method. Limits of detection ranged from 4 to 13 μm and repeatability was good (RSD never exceeded 2.6%).

Electrically driven capillary liquid chromatography at ambient pressure

The applicability of electrochromatography at ambient pressure is demonstrated on capillaries packed with 3-μm reversed phase particles. The efficiency of the columns is good; reduced plate heights close to 2 were found. The effects of the buffer concentration on the plate height, the electroosmotic flow, and the current were investigated. The plate height appears to increase with decreasing buffer concentration. From this behaviour and from the relative large obstruction factors found, it can be concluded that considerable flow arises through the interconnected pores of the particles under electro drive. The performance under pressure and electrically driven conditions was compared, which revealed that with capillary electrochromatography (CEC) two times more plates can be generated than with pressure drive in the same time. The applicability of CEC for ion pair systems is demonstrated with the separation of nucleobases and nucleosides using sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Micro Sep 10: 41–49, 1998

Separation of nucleobases on polar amino cyano high-performance liquid chromatography columns

Separation of nucleobases on polar amino cyano high-performance liquid chromatography columns