Mobile phase organic modifier

Variations in retention and selectivity have been studied in cyano, phenyl, and octyl reversed bonded phase HPLC columns. The retention of toluene, phenol, aniline, and nitrobenzene in these columns has been measured using binary mixtures of water and methanol, acetonitrile, or tetrahydrofuran mobile phases in order to determine the relative contributions of proton donor-proton acceptor and dipole-dipole interactions in the retention process. Retention and selectivity in these columns were correlated with polar group selectivities of mobile-phase organic modifiers and the polarity of the bonded stationary phases. In spite of the prominent role of bonded phase volume and residual silanols in the retention process, each column exhibited some unique selectivities when used with different organic modifiers [84],... 

Fig. 25. Effect of percentage of acetonitrile (A) and methanol (B) on electroosmotic mobility in a packed column. (Reprinted with permission from [56]. Copyright 1997 Elsevier). Conditions capillary column 100 pm i. d., total length 33.5 cm, active length 25 cm packed with 3 pm CEC Hypersil C18, mobile phase organic modifier-water+4% 25 mmol/1 TRIS pH = 8, voltage 30 kV, temperature 20 °C, marker thiourea... 

In a similar way, the use of formic acid/ammonium formate was shown to be superior to the use of acetic acid/ammonium acetate in the RP HPLC-ESI MS/MS analysis of a number of heterocyclic aromatic amines [7]. It is clear from numerous other examples in the literature that HPLC resolution and MS sensitivity can be dramatically influenced by the correct selection of mobile phases, organic modifiers, and ion-pairing additives. 

P. Zhuang, R. Thompson, and T. O Brien, A retention model for polar selectivity in reversed phase chromatography as a function of mobile phase organic modifier type, /. Liq. Chrom. Rel. Technol. 28 (2005), 1345-1356. 

Figure 3.2 Rapid surfactant desorption with the increase of mobile phase organic modifier content, same experimental conditions as Figure 3.1.

Mobile phases commonly used in reversed-phase HPLC are hydro-organic mixtures. The most common reversed-phase organic modifiers include methanol and acetonitrile and/or combinations of these two modifiers. Other mobile-phase modifiers such as tetrahydrofuran, IPA, and DMSO [32] have been also used for minor selectivity adjustment however, they are not common due to their high backpressure limitations and/or high background UV absorbance. 

One of the major advantages of SFC is its compatibility with both GC and HPLC detectors. GC flame detectors, such as the flame ionization detector (FID) [11,12], nitrogen thermionic detector [12,13], and flame photometric detector [14] have all been interfaced with SFC systems using a capillary restrictor which, while maintaining supercritical conditions in the column, also effectively decompresses the fluid to ambient pressure just before it enters the flame tip [10,15]. HPLC detectors such as ultraviolet and fluorescence detectors are employed when pure organic mobile phases or modified mobile phases are used. With these detectors, analytes are detected spectroscopically in a flow-through cell prior to decompression [16]. 

Shepherd [312] compared the selectivity effects of various mobile phase organic components on the separation of aflatoxins B, Bj, G, and Gj. The column was (X = 360 nm) and the mobile phases were 60/40 methanol/water, 40/60 acetoni-trile/water, and 20/80 THF/water. All mobile phases eluted the aflatoxins in <15 min, but the acetonitrile- and methanol-containing mobile phases gave incomplete resolution of the analytes. The THF-modified mobile phase not only baseline resolved all the aflatoxins but also gave better peak shape. 

Different mobile phase organic solvents have different selectivity for neutral, acidic, and basic compounds. Therefore, different mobile phase organic solvents are tested as modifiers during method development. In addition, mobile phase buffer pH affects selectivity of acidic and basic compounds. Therefore, different buffer pHs are investigated during method development for acidic and basic compounds. 

The most common mobile phase for supercritical fluid chromatography is CO2. Its low critical temperature, 31 °C, and critical pressure, 72.9 atm, are relatively easy to achieve and maintain. Although supercritical CO2 is a good solvent for nonpolar organics, it is less useful for polar solutes. The addition of an organic modifier, such as methanol, improves the mobile phase s elution strength. Other common mobile phases and their critical temperatures and pressures are listed in Table 12.7. 

Nonpolar organic mobile phases, such as hexane with ethanol or 2-propanol as typical polar modifiers, are most commonly used with these types of phases. Under these conditions, retention seems to foUow normal phase-type behavior (eg, increased mobile phase polarity produces decreased retention). The normal mobile-phase components only weakly interact with the stationary phase and are easily displaced by the chiral analytes thereby promoting enantiospecific interactions. Some of the Pirkle-types of phases have also been used, to a lesser extent, in the reversed phase mode. 

Mass-action model of surfactant micelle formation was used for development of the conceptual retention model in micellar liquid chromatography. The retention model is based upon the analysis of changing of the sorbat microenvironment in going from mobile phase (micellar surfactant solution, containing organic solvent-modifier) to stationary phase (the surfactant covered surface of the alkyl bonded silica gel) according to equation ... 

The influence of NH., and CO, on the chromatographic behaviour of benzoic acid and its derivatives (o-, m-, p-hydroxybenzoic, nitrobenzoic, aminobenzoic, chlorobenzoic acids) was studied. The work was carried out by means of upgoing TLC on Sorbfil plates. Isopropanol- and ethyl acetate-containing water-organic eluents were used as mobile phases in the absence or presence of gaseous modifiers in the MP. The novel modification of TLC has been found to separate benzoic acids with different values of their dissociation constants more effectively than water-organic mobile phases. 

Zorbax PSM packings are produced in three forms unmodified, trimethyl-silane modified, and diol modified. Modified Zorbax PSM packings are produced by chemically bonding a layer on the silica surface through siloxane bonds (Table 3.1). Silanized Zorbax PSM packings suppress adsorption effects and are the preferred choice when the mobile phase contains organic solvents. Unsilanized and diol modified Zorbax PSM packings should be used when the mobile phase consists of aqueous solvents. 

Generally, Ultrahydrogel columns are compatible with aqueous mobile phases from pH 2 to pH 12. The addition of organic modifiers such as acetonitrile is recommended up to 50%, but most common applications do not require such a high concentration of organic modifier. These columns have been tested in applications from 10 to 80°C using aqueous mobile phases. 

Underivatized PDVB gels arc generally unsuitable, however, for work in aqueous mobile-phase systems because (1) the gels cannot be wetted to pack in water and (2) organic materials will absorb irreversibly to the gels in aqueous systems. Work on this problem is continuing by first trying to modify the... 

Even with mobile-phase modifiers, however, certain polymer types cannot be run due to their lack of solubility in organic solvents. In order to run aqueous or mixed aqueous/organic mobile phases, Jordi Associates has developed several polar-bonded phase versions of the PDVB gels as discussed earlier. Figures 13.60 thru 13.99 detail examples of some polar and ionic polymers that we have been able to run SEC analysis of using the newer bonded PDVB resins. 

Flash chromatography is widely employed for the purification of crude products obtained by synthesis at a research laboratory scale (several grams) or isolated as extracts from natural products or fermentations. The solid support is based on silica gel, and the mobile phase is usually a mixture of a hydrocarbon, such as hexane or heptane, with an organic modifier, e.g. ethyl acetate, driven by low pressure air. (Recently the comparison of flash chromatography with countercurrent chromatography (CCC), a technique particularly adapted to preparative purposes, has been studied for the separation of nonchiral compounds [90].)... 

The macrocyclic glycopeptides CSPs arc capable of operating in three different mobile phase systems reversed phase, normal phase, and the new polar organic mode. The new polar organic mode refers to the approach when methanol is used as the mobile phase with small amounts of acid and/or base as the modifier to control... 

Comparisons of LC and SFC have also been performed on naphthylethylcar-bamoylated-(3-cyclodextrin CSPs. These multimodal CSPs can be used in conjunction with normal phase, reversed phase, and polar organic eluents. Discrete sets of chiral compounds tend to be resolved in each of the three mobile phase modes in LC. As demonstrated by Williams et al., separations obtained in each of the different mobile phase modes in LC could be replicated with a simple CO,-methanol eluent in SFC [54]. Separation of tropicamide enantiomers on a Cyclobond I SN CSP with a modified CO, eluent is illustrated in Fig. 12-4. An aqueous-organic mobile phase was required for enantioresolution of the same compound on the Cyclobond I SN CSP in LC. In this case, SFC offered a means of simplifying method development for the derivatized cyclodextrin CSPs. Higher resolution was also achieved in SFC. 

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