SFE-NMR Coupling

Extraction with supercritical CO2 is a technical process of increasing importance. It provides a mild and rapid technique for the extraction of low- or medium-polarity substances. Supercritical CO2 is used for supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) in important technical processes such as the decaffeination of coffee and the extraction of hops, as well as the extraction of naturally occurring compounds from biomaterials. As many applications are performed in the pharmaceutical, polymer, environmental and nutritional fields, direct on-line SFE-NMR would be an ideal tool to monitor the various extraction processes. 

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On-line SFE-NMR coupling was also reported [151,152], SFE provides some degree of separation by means of solubility and affinity to the matrix. This offers the possibility of transferring analytes directly from the extraction into the NMR probe. Drawbacks in the acquisition of SFE-NMR and SFC-NMR spectra are the elongated spin-lattice relaxation times 7) of protons and the pressure dependence of H NMR chemical shifts [153]. 

Another widely-used extraction technique is supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with supercritical CO2. The extraction capability of supercritical CO2 is dependent upon the applied pressure. For pressures in the range of 40 bar, CO2 has an extraction polarity similar to that of hexane. For pressures near 400 bar, the extraction behavior is similar to that of dichloromethane. Thus, by using a pressure gradient, effective extraction of lipophilic compounds can be performed. Figure 7-10 shows a feasible arrangement for online SFE-NMR coupling [13], [14]. 

SFC-NMR is available from 200 to 800 MHz, and is suitable for all common NMR-detected nuclei. SFC/SFE-NMR requires dedicated probe-heads for high pressure (up to 350 bar) and elevated temperature (up to 100 °C). SFC-NMR is carried out with conventional packed columns, using modifier, pressure and temperature gradients. The resolution of 1H NMR spectra obtained in SFE-NMR and SFC-NMR coupling under continuous-flow conditions approaches that of conventionally recorded NMR spectra. However, due to the supercritical measuring conditions, the 111 spin-lattice relaxation times 7) are doubled. 

This article treats the benefits, possibilities and drawbacks of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) coupled to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. After a general overview and consideration of the motivation for such techniques, the design of high-pressure flow probes, as well as the principle experimental set-ups, are described. By means of several applications and comparison to HPLC-NMR, the utility of these hyphenated techniques is demonstrated. 

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