Eric Lesellier

The many faces of packed column supercritical fluid chromatography--a critical review.

Packed column sub- and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is a versatile separation method: on the one hand the number of parameters acting on the quality of a separation is very large, and the effects of these parameters can be complex (and not always fully understood). But on another hand, due to numerous advantageous properties of CO2-based mobile phases, method development is a fast task. This paper is a review of the main features of SFC, focusing essentially on achiral separations. However, several fundamental aspects discussed here are also relevant to chiral SFC separations. This is not intended to be an extensive review, as the way to practice SFC has somewhat evolved with time. We rather wished to provide an expert opinion on the characteristics of the method, pointing at the sources of difficulty and displaying the wide possibilities that it offers. A large number of selected applications concerning several different areas are also presented.

Modern analytical supercritical fluid chromatography using columns packed with sub-2 μm particles: a tutorial.

This tutorial provides an overview of the possibilities, limitations and analytical conditions of modern analytical supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using columns packed with sub-2 μm particles. In particular, it gives a detailed overview of commercially available modern SFC instrumentation and the detectors that can be employed (UV, MS, ELSD, FID, etc.). Some advice on the choice of the stationary phase dimensions and chemistries, the nature of the mobile phase (choice of organic modifier and additives) and its flow rate as well as the backpressure and temperature are also provided. Finally, several groups of potentially problematic compounds, including lipophilic compounds, hydrophilic substances and basic drugs, are discussed in detail. All these families of analytes can be resolved with SFC but require specific analytical conditions.

Retention mechanisms in super/subcritical fluid chromatography on packed columns

Whereas the retention rules of achiral compounds are well defined in high-performance liquid chromatography, on the basis of the nature of the stationary phase, some difficulties appear in super/subcritical fluid chromatography on packed columns. This is mainly due to the supposed effect of volatility on retention behaviours in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and to the nature of carbon dioxide, which is not polar, thus SFC is classified as a normal-phase separation technique. Moreover, additional effects are not well known and described. They are mainly related to density changes of the mobile phase or to adsorption of fluid on the stationary phase causing a modification of its surface. It is admitted that pressure or temperature modifications induce variation in the eluotropic strength of the mobile phase, but effects of flow rate or column length on retention factor changes are more surprising. Nevertheless, the retention behaviour in SFC first depends on the stationary phase nature. Working with polar stationary phases induces normal-phase retention behaviour, whereas using non-polar bonded phases induces reversed-phase retention behaviour. These rules are verified for most carbon dioxide-based mobile phases in common use (CO(2)/MeOH, CO(2)/acetonitrile or CO(2)/EtOH). Moreover, the absence of water in the mobile phase favours the interactions between the compounds and the stationary phase, compared to what occurs in hydro-organic liquids. Other stationary phases such as aromatic phases and polymers display intermediate behaviours. In this paper, all these behaviours are discussed, mainly by using log k-log k plots, which allow a simple comparison of stationary phase properties. Some examples are presented to illustrate these retention properties.

A unified classification of stationary phases for packed column supercritical fluid chromatography.

The use of supercritical fluids as chromatographic mobile phases allows to obtain rapid separations with high efficiency on packed columns, which could favour the replacement of numerous HPLC methods by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) ones. Moreover, despite some unexpected chromatographic behaviours, general retention rules are now well understood, and mainly depend on the nature of the stationary phase. The use of polar stationary phases improves the retention of polar compounds, when C18-bonded silica favours the retention of hydrocarbonaceous compounds. In this sense, reversed-phase and normal-phase chromatography can be achieved in SFC, as in HPLC. However, these two domains are clearly separated in HPLC due to the opposite polarity of the mobile phases used for each method. In SFC, the same mobile phase can be used with both polar and non-polar stationary phases. Consequently, the need for a novel classification of stationary phases in SFC appears, allowing a unification of the classical reversed- and normal-phase domains. In this objective, the paper presents the development of a five-dimensional classification based on retention data for 94-111 solutes, using 28 commercially available columns representative of three major types of stationary phases. This classification diagram is based on a linear solvation energy relationship, on the use of solvation vectors and the calculation of similarity factors between the different chromatographic systems. This classification will be of great help in the choice of the well-suited stationary phase, either in regards of a particular separation or to improve the coupling of columns with complementary properties.

Orthogonal screening system of columns for supercritical fluid chromatography

The application of supercritical fluid chromatography is expanding nowadays, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry and for natural extracts. In order to select appropriate columns from the continuously increasing number of potentially suitable ones, a test that evaluates stationary phases properties, based on the solvation parameter model, was performed earlier. In this study, it is investigated whether the number of stationary phases can be reduced to an optimized set with only highly orthogonal systems. Such a set of orthogonal chromatographic systems having different selectivities may provide the initial separation for method development. Moreover, it was considered important to include systems with good overall separation performance in our final set. Thus the columns are also selected based on their ability to provide sharp and symmetric peaks. An example application based on the analysis of seven sunscreen molecules is presented as a validation of the suggested column set.

Second-Generation Iminoxylitol-Based Pharmacological Chaperones for the Treatment of Gaucher Disease

A series of O‐alkyl iminoxylitol derivatives was synthesized and evaluated as β‐glucocerebrosidase (GCase) inhibitors. This structure–activity study shows a dramatic influence of the position of the alkyl chain (α‐C1, O2, O3, or O4) on human GCase inhibition. Remarkably, 1,2‐shift of the alkyl chain from C1 to O2 was found to maintain high inhibitory potency toward GCase as well as chaperone activity at sub‐inhibitory concentration (10 nM). Removal of the stereogenic center at the pseudo‐anomeric position led to shorter and more practical synthetic sequences. 2‐O‐Alkyl iminoxylitol derivatives constitute a new promising class of leads for the treatment of Gaucher disease by means of pharmacological chaperone therapy.

Response enhancement for the evaporative light scattering detection for the analysis of lipid classes and molecular species

SummaryThe response of an evaporative light scattering detector for the analysis of lipids is enhanced by the addition of triethylamine and an equimolar amount of formic acid to the mobile phase. The generality of this phenomenon was demonstrated for different chromatographic techniques and various classes of lipids: for non-aqueous liquid chromatography with a porous graphitic carbon packing for wax esters, fatty acid methyl esters and ceramides; for normal phase liquid chromatography with a PVA-Sil® stationary phase for cerebrosides, digalactosyl-diacylglycerols and phospholipids; and for subcritical chromatography with an octadecyl grafted silica column for ceramides. The response enhancement was quantified with cholesterol in non-aqueous liquid chromatography with a porous graphitic carbon packing. This response modifier enhances the detection response of lipids and does not significantly alter retention excepts in case of zwitterionic phospholipids.

Efficiency in supercritical fluid chromatography with different superficially porous and fully porous particles ODS bonded phases

The chromatographic efficiency, in terms of plate number per second, was dramatically improved by the introduction of sub-two microns particles with ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC). On the other hand, the recent development of superficially porous particles, called core-shell or fused-core particles, appears to allow the achievement of the same efficiency performances at higher speed without high pressure drops. CO₂-based mobile phases exhibiting much lower viscosities than aqueous based mobile phases allow better theoretical efficiencies, even with 3-5 μm particles, but with relative low pressure drops. They also allow much higher flow rates or much longer columns while using conventional instruments capable to operate below 400 bar. Moreover, the use of superficially porous particles in SFC could enhance the chromatographic performances even more. The kinetic behavior of ODS phases bonded on these particles was studied, with varied flow rates, outlet (and obviously inlet) pressures, temperatures, by using a homologous series (alkylbenzenes) with 10% modifier (methanol or acetonitrile) in the carbon dioxide mobile phase. Results were also compared with classical fully porous particles, having different sizes, from 2.5 to 5 μm. Superior efficiency (N) and reduced h were obtained with these new ODS-bonded particles in regards to classical ones, showing their great interest for use in SFC. However, surprising behavior were noticed, i.e. the increase of the theoretical plate number vs. the increase of the chain length of the compounds. This behavior, opposite to the one classically reported vs. the retention factor, was not depending on the outlet pressure, but on the flow rate and the temperature changes. The lower radial trans-column diffusion on this particle types could explain these results. This diffusion reduction with these ODS-bonded superficially porous particles seems to decrease with the increase of the residence time of compounds.

Characterization and use of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography type stationary phases in supercritical fluid chromatography

All stationary phase chemistries are useful to achiral packed-column supercritical fluid chromatography (pSFC), but the majority of recent applications are based on polar stationary phases of the type used in normal-phase HPLC. Some manufacturers have recently introduced pSFC-tailored stationary phases, while others simply advocate the use of selected HPLC columns among their brands for SFC use. Indeed, any column developed for HPLC use can be used with supercritical fluids. Besides, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) is facing an increasing interest. Consequently, a number of HILIC-devoted stationary phases are now commercialized by most column manufacturers. As HILIC stationary phases are polar, their possible use in pSFC seems obvious, although literature examples are not numerous. However, whether they provide acceptable peak shapes in SFC conditions is a serious concern for them to find applicability. Indeed, columns optimized for HILIC mobile phases may not be optimum for SFC mobile phases. We present the characterization of eleven HILIC-type stationary phases used with carbon dioxide-methanol mobile phases in the isocratic mode. The columns are compared in terms of their retention and separation characteristics assessed by the solvation parameter model, and based on peak shapes. For this purpose, hundred and forty-six low molecular weight molecules, comprising neutral, basic and acidic compounds, were eluted on each column. Data analysis is carried out with hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis in order to define three clusters of columns with similar selectivity: the first cluster comprises neutral stationary phases like amide and diol phases; the second one comprises basic stationary phases like aminopropyl-bonded silica; the last cluster comprises bare silica stationary phases. Sample applications with three different test mixtures relevant to pharmaceutical applications (barbiturates, benzodiazepines and propionic acids) are presented to assess the complementarity of some selected columns.

Ultra high efficiency/low pressure supercritical fluid chromatography with superficially porous particles for triglyceride separation

This paper reports the development of the separation of vegetable oil triglycerides (TG) in supercritical chromatography (SFC), using superficially porous particles (SPPs). The SPP, having a small diameter (2-3μm), provide a higher theoretical plate number (N), which allows to improve separation of critical pairs of compounds. However, compared to fully porous particles of larger diameter (5μm), the pressure drop is also increased. Fortunately, supercritical fluids have a low viscosity, which allows coupling several columns to achieve high N values, while maintaining flow rate above 1ml/min, ensuring a ultra high efficiency (UHE) at low pressure (LP) (below 40MPa), with regards to the one reached with liquid and sub-two micron particles (around 100MPa). The use of two detector systems (UV and ELSD) connected in series to the UHE-LP-SFC system provides complementary responses, due to their specific detection principles. Working in a first part with three coupled Kinetex C18 columns (45cm total length), the effect of modifier nature and percentage were studied with two reference oils, argan and rapeseed, chosen for their different and well-known TG composition. The analytical method was developed from previous studies performed with fully porous particles (FPP). Optimized conditions with three Kinetex were as follows: 17°C, 12% of ACN/MeOH (90/10; v/v). With these conditions, and by using an increased length of Kinetex C18 column (60cm), another additional column was selected from ten different commercial SPP C18 bonded phases, by applying a Derringer function on varied parameters: theoretical plate number (TPN), separation index (SI) for critical pairs of peaks (the peaks of compounds difficult to separate due to subtle structural differences), the analysis duration, and the total peak number. This function normalizes the values of any parameters, between 0 and 1, from the worst value to the better, allowing to take account of various parameters in the final choice. Finally, by using four Kinetex C18 plus one Accucore C18 (75cm total column length), a high-performance separation of triglycerides was achieved, with reasonable analysis duration and isocratic conditions. These conditions can be applied to varied vegetable oils. Identification of the numerous separated peaks of rapeseed oil was achieved by using published data and chromatographic retention behaviour.