Retention elution order

Electrostatic effects have long been recognized in commercial HPLC columns for SEC of proteins (15,21,22). The usual remedy is to add 100 mM salt to the mobile phase. This works here too the Lys and Asp peaks collapse into the Gly peak with 100 mM salt (Eig. 8.8). High concentrations of sodium sulfate were added to determine the role played in SEC by hydrophobic interactions (sodium sulfate, a structure-forming salt, strengthens such interactions). Sodium sulfate increased the retention only of the most hydrophobic amino acids to any extent, and then only when the concentration approached 1 M. Clearly, hydrophobic interaction cannot account for the elution order of amino acids on PolyHEA. 

Similar to the new polar organic mode, the retention of analytes in normal phase is not difficult to predict. For all the compounds, the average of the retention on individual columns is fairly close to the retention on the coupled columns. The selectivity of most compounds on coupled columns is an average of the selectivities of individual columns (Fig. 2-9). However, it was found that the elution order for some compounds was reversed on ristocetin A and teieoplanin or vancomycin. As a result. 

We use the second-dimension separation from Fig. 6.6 with a 25 pL injection volume and 2.5 min sampling time the separation is an RPLC method that uses a monolithic column. Thus, 10 pL/min is the maximum flow rate in the first-dimension. Fig. 6.7 shows the development of the first-dimension column that utilizes a hydrophilic interaction (or HILIC) column for the separation of proteins at decreasing flow rates. The same proteins were separated in Fig. 6.6 (RPLC) and 6.7 (HILIC) and have a reversed elution order, which is known from the basics of HILIC (Alpert, 1990). It is believed that HILIC and RPLC separations are a good pair for 2DLC analysis of proteins as they appear to have dissimilar retention mechanisms, much like those of NPLC and RPLC it has been suggested that HILIC is similar in retention to NPLC (Alpert, 1990). Because the HILIC column used in Fig. 6.7 gave good resolution at 0.1 mL/min and no smaller diameter column was available, the flow was split 10-fold to match the second-dimension requirement... 

From the theoretical viewpoint, acetonitrile is the most suitable solvent to study the correlation of retention times and log P values of analytes, since the dipole moment (2.44) is nearly equal to that of water (2.55) (Figure 4.4). The electron donor effect can therefore be eliminated, and the elution order is not changed on modification of the acetonitrile-water mixture ratio. The first choice of an eluent should therefore be an acetonitrile-water mixture for non-ionic compounds in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Methanol, acetone, THF, or DMF can then be added to improve the resolution. 

The elution order of phthalic esters is related to the carbon chain length. The longer the chain length, the shorter the retention time in normal-phase liquid chromatography, and the elution order is reversed in reversed-phase liquid... 

One of the component mechanisms is, of course, hydrophobic interactions. Retention is proportional to column hydrophobicity, and elution order is expected to generally follow solute hydrophobicity. However, it is important to keep in mind that proteins bind preferentially to columns by their dominantly hydrophobic surface. Two proteins with very similar average surface hydrophobicity may exhibit very different retention characteristics due to differences in their respective distribution of hydrophobic residues.1,2... 

Initial screening conditions are suggested in Table 6.1. Multiple pH values are included because mobile-phase pH can significantly affect retention. Major selectivity shifts such as transpositions in elution order are fairly common changes in resolution are much more so.2,14-16 Changes in retention due to pH variation relate to protein hydration. Proteins are minimally charged at their isoelectric points (pis). This means that they carry the minimum of electrostricted hydration water. Both protein surface hydrophobicity and HIC retention should therefore reach their maximum at a protein s pi.6 As pH is either increased or... 

Knowledge of the sample composition and the structure of its components simplifies the choice of the eluent and facilitates the prediction of the approximate elution order. Additionally, reference can be made to literature of classical column chromatography (7, 9, 66, 67). The exploitation of such results in HPLC represents no difficulties provided the eluent can be used with the detector of the liquid chromatograph. It should be kept in mind that the classical results are useful only to establish the chromatographic system for a particular separation but not to predict the exact retention data. 

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