High-performance liquid chromatography with non-aqueous solvents Relative elution strength on a polystyrene—divinylbenzene column

Broad-spectrum separations in metabolomics using enhanced polar LC stationary phases: A dedicated evaluation using plant metabolites

In metabolomics, major efforts are invested in the development of suitable analytical approaches. A tendency towards the use of LC-MS is nowadays very obvious. A great majority of the metabolites of interest are polar to highly polar in nature. We focus on the so-called 'extended polarity' reversed LC phases, developed specifically to allow better retention characteristics for polar compounds. Several of these phases (Atlantis dC18, Inertsil ODS-3, Zorbax XDB, Alltima HP C18) are tested for different column dimension variations (0.5, 1.0, 2.1 mm id) in a specific LC-MS metabolomics setting. Important chromatographic and mass spectrometric quality parameters such as capacity factor, separation efficiency, peak symmetry, sensitivity, and mass accuracy are taken into account. All phases show adequate retention of polar compounds and also perform well with highly aqueous mobile phase compositions. On comparing 1.0 and 2.1 mm id columns, it is clear that the potential gain in sensitivity is not achieved. Using a Lockspray device, accurate mass measurement with a Q-TOF micro is feasible within a mass range of 12 ppm if signal intensities of compound and lockmass are equated. Finally, the extended polarity RP approach in metabolomics experiments is endorsed using real plant extracts.

Hypercrosslinked polystyrene as a novel type of high-performance liquid chromatography column packing material. Mechanisms of retention

An experimental material, Chromalite 5HGN (Purolite, UK), that represents hypercrosslinked polystyrene as a new type of neutral stationary phase for HPLC was examined. The material contains no functional groups, but is compatible with any kind of nonpolar and highly polar mobile phase, and even with water. It is chemically resistant and thermally stable. When using aqueous organic mobile phases, Chromalite 5HGN works similar to standard C18 reversed-phase packings, but is characterized by much greater hydrophobicity and, sometimes, unusual selectivity. When using nonpolar mobile phases, i.e. under "quasi normal-phase" conditions, the retention is mostly governed by the interactions between pi-electronic systems of the adsorbent and adsorbate. Adding highly polar, even hydrophilic solvents into the mobile phase, leads to a shift of retention times toward the "reversed-phase" kind of chromatography, which gives an additional possibility in fine tuning the column selectivity.

Development and substantiation of a liquid chromatographic method for monitoring organic reactions involved in synthesis of 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid

A simple and rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for monitoring the reactions involved in two different processes for the production of 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid (PMPA) was developed. Impurity profiles of PMPA were used for fingerprinting of the two different synthetic processes by HPLC. Impurities were separated and determined on a Hypersil C18 column with acetonitrile-0.1 M potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate-triethylamine (40:59.95:0.05, v/v) (pH 3.0) as the mobile phase and detection at 280 nm at ambient temperature. The method was substantiated with respect to accuracy, precision, linearity, robustness, limit of detection and quantification. The method was found to be suitable not only for monitoring the reactions but also for quality assurance of PMPA as it could detect impurities at the level of 4 x 10(-9) g.

Solid-phase trapping of solutes for further chromatographic or electrophoretic analysis

Because of its simplicity, speed and effectiveness, solid-phase extraction (SPE) has become the preferred technique for concentration of selected analytes prior to chromatographic or electrophoretic analysis. In this review the historical development of SPE is briefly traced. Then the principles of SPE are reviewed in some detail. Numerous references are given on the format, sorbents, elution conditions, online techniques and automation with special emphasis on relatively recent developments. The principles and recent advances in solid-phase microextraction (SPME) are also reviewed. The final section on selected recent applications includes an extensive list of references to work published within the last three years. Future trends and developments are discussed briefly.