Optimal packing characteristics of rolled, continuous stationary-phase columns

Rolled, continuous stationary phases were constructed by tightly rolling and inserting a whole textile fabric into a chromatography column. This work reports the column performance, in terms of plate height, void fraction, and resolution, of 10 cellulose-based fabrics. The relation between fabric structural properties of yarn diameter, fabric count, fabric compressibility, and column performance are quantitated. General requirements, including reproducibility of packing, for choosing fabrics to make a good SEC column are identified. This research showed that the packed columns have an optimal mass of fabric that minimizes plate height and maximizes resolution, in a manner that is consistent with chromatography theory. Mass of material packed is then an important column parameter to consider when optimizing columns for the rapid desalting of proteins. Proteins were completely separated from salt and glucose in less than 8 min at a pressure drop less than 500 psi on the rolled, continuous stationary-phase columns. These results, together with stability and reproducibility, suggest potential industrial applications for cellulose-based rolled, continuous stationary-phase columns where speed is a key parameter in the production process.     

Mathematical Modeling of Size Exclusion Chromatography

A mathematical model of the size exclusion chromatography (SEC) process in chromatographic columns has been developed. It considers the following three mass transfer processes in the SEC column: axial dispersion in the bulk‐fluid phase, interfacial film mass‐transfer between the stationary and mobile phases, and diffusion of solutes within the macro pores of the packing particles. Differential equations of the process model were solved by the finite difference method. Characteristics of the column and the packing particles (bed void volume fraction, particle porosity, accessible particle porosity) were obtained experimentally, as well as retention times of different molecules with known molecular weights. Experiments were performed with two different columns containing two different packing materials, Superdex 75 HR 10/30 and BioSep SEC S2000, respectively. The model has been validated by comparing theoretical and experimental retention times for the different columns.     

Purification of Escherichia coli 30S ribosomal proteins by high performance liquid chromatography

High performance liquid chromatography was applied to the separation of proteins derived from the Escherichia coli 30S ribosomal subunit. Several methods of separating this protein mixture has been tested: size-exclusion chromatography on hydrophilic phases; ion exchange and reversed phase chromatography (on C2 to C18 hydrocarbon-bonded supports). Various elution systems were examined in order to obtain pure proteins suitable for micro-sequence analysis. The resolution and yields of the proteins varied considerably, depending on the type of support and gradient system used. The best results were achieved with uniformly globular-shaped supports of large pore size, and by combining high performance size exclusion with rechromatography on reversed phase columns. Purification conditions for the individual proteins are listed. The methods employed avoid any precipitation step and allow easy identification of the proteins by one or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, amino-acid analysis or direct manual or automatic micro-sequencing. Since the isolation time is much reduced compared with conventional purification procedures, the proteins obtained by the techniques described here are well suited for topographical and immunological studies or reconstitution assays. Ribosomal proteins of other organisms can be separated under similar conditions.     

Synthesis and evaluation of polymeric continuous bed (monolithic) reversed-phase gradient stationary phases for capillary liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography

There is a demand of novel high resolution separation media for separation of complex mixtures, particularly biological samples. One of the most flexible techniques for development of new separation media currently is synthesis of the continuous bed (monolithic) stationary phases. In this study the capillary format gradient stationary phases were formed using continuous bed (monolith) polymerization in situ. Different reversed-phase stationary phase gradients were tailored and their resolution using capillary liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography at isocratic mobile phase conditions was evaluated. It is demonstrated, that efficiency and resolution of the gradient stationary phases can be substantially increased comparing to the common (isotropic) stationary phases. The proposed formation approach of the gradient stationary phase is reproducible and compatible with the capillary format or microchip format separations. It can be easily automated for the separation optimizations or mass production of the capillary columns or chips.     

Synthesis and evaluation of polymeric continuous bed (monolithic) reversed-phase gradient stationary phases for capillary liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography

There is a demand of novel high resolution separation media for separation of complex mixtures, particularly biological samples. One of the most flexible techniques for development of new separation media currently is synthesis of the continuous bed (monolithic) stationary phases. In this study the capillary format gradient stationary phases were formed using continuous bed (monolith) polymerization in situ. Different reversed-phase stationary phase gradients were tailored and their resolution using capillary liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography at isocratic mobile phase conditions was evaluated. It is demonstrated, that efficiency and resolution of the gradient stationary phases can be substantially increased comparing to the common (isotropic) stationary phases. The proposed formation approach of the gradient stationary phase is reproducible and compatible with the capillary format or microchip format separations. It can be easily automated for the separation optimizations or mass production of the capillary columns or chips.     

Study on the HPLC‐based separation of some ezetimibe stereoisomers and the underlying stereorecognition process

The enantioseparation of ezetimibe stereoisomers by high‐performance liquid chromatography on different chiral stationary phases, ie, 3 polysaccharide‐based chiral columns, was studied. It was observed that cellulose‐based Chiralpak IC column exhibited the best resolving ability. After the optimization of mobile phase compositions in both normal and reversed phase modes, satisfactory separation could be obtained on Chiralpak IC column, especially in normal phase mode. The use of prohibited solvents as nonstandard mobile phase gave rise to better resolution than that of standard mobile phases (n‐hexane/alcohol system). In addition, the presence of ethanol in nonstandard mobile phase has played an important role in enhancing chromatographic efficiency and resolution between ezetimibe stereoisomers. Various attempts were made to comprehensively compare the chiral recognition capabilities of immobilized versus coated polysaccharide‐based chiral columns, amylose‐based versus cellulose‐based chiral stationary phases, reversed versus normal phase modes, and standard versus nonstandard mobile phases. Moreover, possible solute‐mobile phase‐stationary phase interactions were derived to explain how stationary and mobile phases affected the separation. Then the method validation with respect to selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and robustness was carried out, which was demonstrated to be suitable and accurate for the quantitative determination of (RRS)‐ezetimibe impurity in ezetimibe bulk drug.     

Benzoylcellulose derivatives as chiral stationary phases for open tubular column chromatography

The application of cellulose-based stationary phases for chiral separations has been extended to open tubular column chromatography. Efficient columns were obtained by coating the capillaries with mixtures of chiral cellulose materials and conventional achiral stationary phases for gas chromatography. In this study, various siloxane and polyethylene glycol polymers were used as achiral components and mixed with different substituted benzoylcellulose derivatives as chiral components. Systematic investigations were carried out to determine the optimal ratio for the components of the stationary phase. Depending on the chromatographic mode—gas chromatography (GC) or supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)—the stationary phases were found to behave differently. The applicability of the technique was demonstrated by the resolution of various racemic compounds. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Chromatographic performance of large-pore versus small-pore columns in micellar liquid chromatography

Micellar liquid chromatography (MLC) is useful in bioanalysis because proteinaceous biofluids can be directly injected onto the column. The technique has been limited in part because of the apparently weak eluting power of micellar mobile phases. It has recently been shown [Anal. Chem. 72 (2000) 294] that this may be overcome by the use of large pore size stationary phases. In this work, large-pore (1000 A) C(18) stationary phases were evaluated relative to conventional small-pore (100 A) C(18) stationary phases for the direct sample injection of drugs in plasma. Furthermore, the difference between the large and small pore phases in gradient elution separations of mixtures of widely varying hydrophobicities was investigated. Large-pore stationary phases were found to be very effective for eluting moderately to highly hydrophobic compounds such as ibuprofen, crotamiton, propranolol, and dodecanophenone, which were highly retained on the small-pore stationary phases typically used in MLC. The advantages of direct introduction of biological samples (drugs in plasma) and rapid column re-equilibration after gradient elution in MLC were maintained with large-pore phases. Finally, recoveries, precision, linearity, and detection limits for the determination of quinidine and DPC 961 in spiked bovine plasma were somewhat better using MLC with wide pore phases.     

Separation of plasmid DNA from protein and bacterial lipopolysaccharides using displacement chromatography

The preparation of plasmid DNA at large scale constitutes a pressing problem in bioseparation. This paper describes a first investigation of displacement chromatography as a means to separate plasmid DNA (4.7 kb) from E. coli lipopolysaccharides and protein (holo transferrin), respectively. Displacement chromatography has advantages in this regard, since the substance mixture is resolved into rectangular zones of the individual components rather than into peaks. Thus a higher total concentration can be maintained in the pooled product fractions. Hydroxyapatite (type I and II) and anion exchange stationary phases were included in the experiments. In addition to a conventional anion exchange column packed with porous particles, the recently introduced continuous bed UNOTM anion exchange column was investigated. No DNA purification was possible with either hydroxyapatite material. Conventional particle based columns in general were not suited to the separation of any two substances varying considerably in molecular mass, e.g. plasmid DNA and standard protein. Presumably, the direct competition for the binding sites, which is essential in displacement chromatography, was restricted by the size dependency of the accessible stationary phase surface area in this case. Better results were obtained with the continuous bed column, in which the adsorptive surface coincides with the walls of the flow through pores. As a result the accessible surface does not vary as much with the size of the interacting molecules as for the conventional stationary phase materials. Sharper transitions were also observed between substance zones recovered from the UNOTM column. The steric mass action model was used to aid method development in case of the anion exchange approach. While further research in obviously necessary, displacement chromatography on continuous bed columns has been shown to be capable of separating plasmid DNA from typical impurities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High-throughput liquid chromatography for drug analysis in biological fluids: investigation of extraction column life

A novel method was developed and assessed to extend the lifetime of extraction columns of high-throughput liquid chromatography (HTLC) for bioanalysis of human plasma samples. In this method, a 15% acetic acid solution and 90% THF were respectively used as mobile phases to clean up the proteins in human plasma samples and residual lipids from the extraction and analytical columns. The 15% acetic acid solution weakens the interactions between proteins and the stationary phase of the extraction column and increases the protein solubility in the mobile phase. The 90% THF mobile phase prevents the accumulation of lipids and thus reduces the potential damage on the columns. Using this novel method, the extraction column lifetime has been extended to about 2000 direct plasma injections, and this is the first time that high concentration acetic acid and THF are used in HTLC for on-line cleanup and extraction column lifetime extension.     

Surfactant-aided size exclusion chromatography

The flexibility and selectivity of size exclusion chromatography (SEC) for protein purification can be modified by adding non-ionic micelle-forming surfactants to the mobile phase. The micelles exclude proteins from a liquid phase similar to the exclusion effect of the polymer fibers of the size exclusion resin. This surfactant-aided size exclusion chromatography technology (SASEC) is demonstrated on the separation of two model proteins; bovine serum albumin (BSA) and myoglobin (Myo). The effect of the added surfactants on the distribution behavior of the proteins is predicted adequately by a size exclusion model presented in this paper.     

Use of cellulose-based stationary phases for chiral separation in open tubular column chromatography

Application of cellulose-based chiral stationary phases was extended to open tubular columns. These chiral materials were mixed with achiral matrix stationary phases. Compromises were found among the polarity and the ratio of achiral matrix polymers against the content of the chiral cellulose derivative in order to optimize the resolution of the investigated racemates. In GC, the high efficiency feature of open tubular columns allows fast analysis, however, compounds which express strong H-bond interaction with cellulose derivatives elute with a bad peak shape. The application of these stationary phases for open tubular SFC was more successful, because the solvation power of the mobile phase can compensate the strong interaction between the solute and the cellulose derivative. Immobilization of the stationary phases were achieved for SFC purposes. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Simple and effective technical procedures for the packing and application of nanospray PicoFrit HPLC columns for proteomic analyses

A simple procedure was developed for packing PicoFrit HPLC columns with chromatographic stationary phase using a reservoir fabricated from standard laboratory HPLC fittings. Packed columns were mounted onto a stainless steel ultra-low volume precolumn filter assembly containing a 0.5-microm pore size steel frit. This format provided a conduit for the application of the nanospray voltage and protected the column from obstruction by sample material. The system was characterised and operational performance assessed by analysis of a range of peptide standards (n = 9).     

Chiral HPLC with carbohydrate carbamates: Influence of support structure on enantioselectivity

The effect of particle size and pore size of the aminopropylated silica support for cellulose tris(phenylcarbamate) and tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) chiral HPLC phases was investigated. It was necessary to reduce phase loading below 20% w/w as pore size and particle size were reduced, but high efficiency columns could be prepared at a 15% w/w loading on 5 and 2.5 μm supports with 120-Å-diameter pores. The 2.5 μm phase permits the use of relatively high flow rates and very efficient enantioselective separations of a range of chiral compounds could be achieved in less than 3 min. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

HPLC columns partition by chemometric methods based on peptides retention

In recent years, multivariate techniques have been utilized to evaluate reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic data. In the present study, 11 high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns were divided into several groups according to the retention factors of 12 peptides. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used in column and peptides' comparison and grouping. CA results indicated that all stationary phases may be generally grouped into several clusters, due to stationary phase structure and properties. On the other hand, interesting results were obtained with the use of PC. There is almost linear relationship between classified HPLC columns in the space of new PCs, which is connected with meaning of the PC's reflected in their loading values. The first component describes non-polar properties of peptides, whereas the second component is loaded with polar peptides having much lower logP values. PCA and CA were also used in peptides comparison however, complete explanation of peptides grouping still remains unclear.     

Separation of both fibrous and globular proteins on the basis of molecular weight using high-performance size exclusion chromatography

A high-performance size exclusion liquid chromatographic system has been used to separate proteins with different shapes solely on the basis of their molecular weights. After the effects of ionic and hydrophobic interactions with the stationary phase have been overcome, protein elution is normally governed by their effective size in solution. Conditions are described under which proteins, with isoelectric points within the normal operating pH range of the columns, are eluted independent of their Stokes' radii. Even fibrous proteins with axial ratios of 50 elute according to their known molecular weights over the range 2000–2,000,000.     

Enantioseparations with cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) in nano-liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography

Cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) was coated onto native and aminopropylsilanized silica in order to prepare chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for enantioseparations using nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The effect of the chiral selector loading onto silica, mobile phase composition and pH, as well as separation variables on separation of enantiomers was studied. It was found that CSPs based on cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) can be used for preparation of very stable capillary columns useful for enantioseparations in nano-LC and CEC in combination with polar organic mobile phases.     

Scanning molecular sieve chromatography of interacting protein systems. III. Effect of kinetic parameters on the large zone boundary profiles for local equilibration between mobile and stationary phases.

Large zone reaction boundary profiles for molecular sieve chromatography as affected by kinetic parameters have been simulated for local equilibration between the mobile and stationary phases. Our studies of monomer-dimer and monomer-tetramer systems indicate that in a slowly equilibrating system, the kinetic controls operating between the mobile and stationary phases contribute most significantly to the overall boundary profile. In a rapidly equilibrating system, however, the kinetic parameters kij and kji operating in the mobile phase are the principal determinants of the reaction boundary, while the kinetic effects of kii and k-ii between the mobile and stationary phases are minimal.     

Dynamics of limiting cell wall porosity in plant suspension cultures

Changes in the limiting porosity of cell walls, i.e. the size limit for permeation of neutral molecules through the wall, were studied in several higher-plant cell-suspension cultures. For this purpose, samples of biomass fixed at different cultivation times were investigated using a method based on size-exclusion chromatography of polydisperse dextrans before and after equilibration with the extracted cell clusters. In suspension cultures of Chenopodium album L., Dioscorea deltoidea Wall. and Medicago sativa L., the mean size limit (MSL; critical Stokes' radius for exclusion of neutral polymers from half of the intracellular space) was found to vary between 2.4 and 3.8 nm. It decreased significantly during transition from the growth phase to the stationary phase. In the case of the C. album culture this change was found to be irrespective of whether sucrose in the medium was completely depleted at the end of the growth phase or not. The MSL was kept constant for long periods of the stationary phase if cell viability was maintained by repeated sucrose supplement. In a suspension strain of Triticum aestivum L., the MSL of cell wall permeation was comparatively small (1.75 nm) and remained constant during all cultivation phases. Relations between limiting porosity and cell wall growth, loss of pectic compounds to the medium, cross-linking activities and cell wall stiffening are discussed. Received: 19 December 1996 / Accepted: 23 April 1997