Fabrice Gritti

Accurate measurement of dispersion data through short and narrow tubes used in very high-pressure liquid chromatography

An original method is proposed for the accurate and reproducible measurement of the time-based dispersion properties of short L< 50cm and narrow rc< 50μm tubes at mobile phase flow rates typically used in very high-pressure liquid chromatography (vHPLC). Such tubes are used to minimize sample dispersion in vHPLC; however, their dispersion characteristics cannot be accurately measured at such flow rates due to system dispersion contribution of vHPLC injector and detector. It is shown that using longer and wider tubes (>10μL) enables a reliable measurement of the dispersion data. We confirmed that the dimensionless plot of the reduced dispersion coefficient versus the reduced linear velocity (Peclet number) depends on the aspect ratio, L/rc, of the tube, and unexpectedly also on the diffusion coefficient of the analyte. This dimensionless plot could be easily obtained for a large volume tube, which has the same aspect ratio as that of the short and narrow tube, and for the same diffusion coefficient. The dispersion data for the small volume tube are then directly extrapolated from this plot. For instance, it is found that the maximum volume variances of 75μm×30.5cm and 100μm×30.5cm prototype finger-tightened connecting tubes are 0.10 and 0.30μL(2), respectively, with an accuracy of a few percent and a precision smaller than seven percent.

Achieving quasi-adiabatic thermal environment to maximize resolution power in very high-pressure liquid chromatography: Theory, models, and experiments.

A cylindrical vacuum chamber (inner diameter 5 cm) housing a narrow-bore 2.1 mm×100 mm column packed with 1.8 μm HSS-T3 fully porous particles was built in order to isolate thermally the chromatographic column from the external air environment. Consistent with statistical physics and the mean free path of air molecules, the experimental results show that natural air convection and conduction are fully eliminated for housing air pressures smaller than 10(-4) Torr. Heat radiation is minimized by wrapping up the column with low-emissivity aluminum-tape (emissivity coefficient ϵ=0.03 vs. 0.28 for polished stainless steel 316). Overall, the heat flux at the column wall is reduced by 96% with respect to standard still-air ovens. From a practical viewpoint, the efficiency of the column run at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min at a constant 13,000 psi pressure drop (the viscous heat power is around 9 W/m) is improved by up to 35% irrespective of the analyte retention. Models of heat and mass transfer reveal that (1) the amplitude of the radial temperature gradient is significantly reduced from 0.30 to 0.01 K and (2) the observed improvement in resolution power stems from a more uniform distribution of the flow velocity across the column diameter. The eddy dispersion term in the van Deemter equation is reduced by 0.8±0.1 reduced plate height unit, a significant gain in column performance.

Impact of the column hardware volume on resolution in very high pressure liquid chromatography non-invasive investigations

The impact of the column hardware volume (≃ 1.7 μL) on the optimum reduced plate heights of a series of short 2.1 mm × 50 mm columns (hold-up volume ≃ 80-90 μL) packed with 1.8 μm HSS-T3, 1.7 μm BEH-C18, 1.7 μm CSH-C18, 1.6 μm CORTECS-C18+, and 1.7 μm BEH-C4 particles was investigated. A rapid and non-invasive method based on the reduction of the system dispersion (to only 0.15 μL(2)) of an I-class Acquity system and on the corrected plate heights (for system dispersion) of five weakly retained n-alkanophenones in RPLC was proposed. Evidence for sample dispersion through the column hardware volume was also revealed from the experimental plot of the peak capacities for smooth linear gradients versus the corrected efficiency of a weakly retained alkanophenone (isocratic runs). The plot is built for a constant gradient steepness irrespective of the applied flow rates (0.01-0.30 mL/min) and column lengths (2, 3, 5, and 10 cm). The volume variance caused by column endfittings and frits was estimated in between 0.1 and 0.7 μL(2) depending on the applied flow rate. After correction for system and hardware dispersion, the minimum reduced plate heights of short (5 cm) and narrow-bore (2.1mm i.d.) beds packed with sub-2 μm fully and superficially porous particles were found close to 1.5 and 0.7, respectively, instead of the classical h values of 2.0 and 1.4 for the whole column assembly.

Quasi-adiabatic vacuum-based column housing for very high-pressure liquid chromatography

A prototype vacuum-based (10(-6)Torr) column housing was built to thermally isolate the chromatographic column from the external air environment. The heat transfer mechanism is solely controlled by surface radiation, which was minimized by wrapping the column with low-emissivity aluminum tape. The adiabaticity of the column housing was quantitatively assessed from the measurement of the operational pressure and fluid temperature at the outlet of a 2.1mm×100mm column (sub-2 μm particles). The pressure drop along the column was raised up to 1kbar. The enthalpy balance of the eluent (water, acetonitrile, and one water/acetonitrile mixture, 70/30, v/v) showed that less than 1% of the viscous heat generated by friction of the fluid against the packed bed was lost to the external air environment. Such a vacuum-based column oven minimizes the amplitude of the radial temperature gradients across the column diameter and maximizes its resolving power.

Intrinsic advantages of packed capillaries over narrow-bore columns in very high-pressure gradient liquid chromatography

250μm×100mm fused silica glass capillaries were packed with 1.8μm high-strength silica (HSS) fully porous particles. They were prepared without bulky stainless steel endfittings and metal frits, which both generate significant sample dispersion. The isocratic efficiencies and gradient peak capacities of these prototype capillary columns were measured for small molecules (n-alkanophenones) using a home-made ultra-low dispersive micro-HPLC instrument. Their resolution power was compared to that of standard 2.1mm×100mm very high-pressure liquid chromatography (vHPLC) narrow-bore columns packed with the same particles. The results show that, for the same column efficiency (25000 plates) and gradient steepness (0.04min(-1)), the peak capacity of the 250μm i.d. capillary columns is systematically 15-20% higher than that of the 2.1mm i.d. narrow-bore columns. A validated model of gradient chromatography enabled one to predict accurately the observed peak capacities of the capillary columns for non-linear solvation strength retention behavior and under isothermal conditions. Thermodynamics applied to the eluent quantified the temperature difference for the thermal gradients in both capillary and narrow-bore columns. Experimental data revealed that the gradient peak capacity is more affected by viscous heating than the column efficiency. Unlike across 2.1mm i.d. columns, the changes in eluent composition across the 250μm i.d. columns during the gradient is rapidly relaxed by transverse dispersion. The combination of (1) the absence of viscous heating and (2) the high uniformity of the eluent composition across the diameter of capillary columns explains the intrinsic advantage of capillary over narrow-bore columns in gradient vHPLC.

Determination of the solvent density profiles across mesopores of silica-C18 bonded phases in contact with acetonitrile/water mixtures: A semi-empirical approach.

The local volume fractions of water, acetonitrile, and C18-bonded chains across the 96Åmesopores of 5μm Symmetry particles were determined semi-empirically. The semi-empirical approach was based on previous molecular dynamics studies, which provided relevant mathematical expressions for the density profiles of C18 chains and water molecules, and on minor disturbance experiments, which measured the excess amount of acetonitrile adsorbed in the pores of Symmetry-C18 particles. The pore walls of the Symmetry-C18 material were in thermodynamic equilibrium with a series of binary mixtures of water and acetonitrile. The results show that C18 chains are mostly solvated by acetonitrile molecules, water is excluded from the C18-bonded layer, and acetonitrile concentrates across a 15-25Åthick interface region between the C18 layer and the bulk phase. These actual density profiles are expected to have a direct impact on the retention behaviour of charged, polar, and neutral analytes in RPLC. They also provide clues to predict the local mobility of analytes inside the pores and a sound physico-chemical description of the phenomenon of surface diffusion observed in RPLC.

General theory of peak compression in liquid chromatography

A new and general expression of the peak compression factor in liquid chromatography is derived. It applies to any type of gradients induced by non-uniform columns (stationary) or by temporal variations (dynamic) of the elution strength related to changes in solvent composition, temperature, or in any external field. The new equation is validated in two ideal cases for which the exact solutions are already known. From a practical viewpoint, it is used to predict the achievable degree of peak compression for curved retention models, retained solvent gradients, and for temperature-programmed liquid chromatography. The results reveal that: (1) curved retention models affect little the compression factor with respect to the best linear strength retention models, (2) gradient peaks can be indefinitely compressed with respect to isocratic peaks if the propagation speed of the gradient (solvent or temperature) becomes smaller than the chromatographic velocity, (3) limitations are inherent to the maximum intensity of the experimental intrinsic gradient steepness, and (4) dynamic temperature gradients can be advantageously combined to solvent gradients in order to improve peak capacities of microfluidic separation devices.

Maximizing performance in supercritical fluid chromatography using low-density mobile phases.

The performance of a 3.0mm×150mm column packed with 1.8μm fully porous HSS-SB-C18 particles was investigated in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with low-density, highly expansible carbon dioxide. These conditions are selected for the analysis of semi-volatile compounds. Elevated temperatures (>100°C) were then combined with low column back pressures (<100bar). In this work, the inlet temperature of pure carbon dioxide was set at 107°C, the active back pressure regulator (ABPR) pressure was fixed at 100bar, and the flow rate was set at 2.1mL/min at 12°C (liquefied carbon dioxide) and at an inlet column pressure close to 300bar. Nine n-alkylbenzenes (from benzene to octadecylbenzene) were injected under linear (no sample overload) conditions. The severe steepness of the temperature gradients across the column diameter were predicted from a simplified heat transfer model. Such conditions dramatically lower the column performance by affecting the symmetry of the peak shape. In order to cope with this problem, three different approaches were experimentally tested. They include (1) the decoupling and the proper selection of the inlet eluent temperature with respect to the oven temperature, (2) the partial thermal insulation of the column using polyethylene aerogel, and (3) the application of a high vacuum (10-5Torr provided by a turbo-molecular pump) in a housing chamber surrounding the whole column body. The results reveal that (1) the column efficiency can be maximized by properly selecting the difference between the eluent and the oven temperatures, (2) the mere wrapping of the column with an excellent insulating material is insufficient to fully eliminate heat exchanges by conduction and the undesirable radial density gradients across the column i.d., and (3) the complete thermal insulation of the SFC column under high vacuum allows to maximize the column efficiency by maintaining the integrity of the peak shape.

Unexpected retention and efficiency behaviors in supercritical fluid chromatography: A thermodynamic interpretation

Experimental conditions leading to unexpected shift in retention, band compression, and to band enlargement of small molecules in supercritical fluid chromatography are reported. The stationary phase is a 3.0mm×150mm column packed with 1.8μm fully porous high strength silica (HSS) StableBond (SB) C18 particles. The mobile phase is pure carbon dioxide preheated at 107°C and the column back pressure is set at 100bar. The column was thermally insulated in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of 10-5Torr in order to maintain the integrity of the peak symmetry. The sample solution was prepared by dissolving seven n-alkylbenzenes (from benzene to dodecylbenzene) in pure acetonitrile. The injected sample volume (1μL) was three orders of magnitude smaller than the column volume. Remarkably, the retention time of octylbenzene is found 15% smaller than that expected for this series of homologous compounds. Most strikingly, the plate counts change from about 20000 for the three least retained analytes (benzene, ethylbenzene, and butylbenzene) to 60000 for hexylbenzene and to only 5000 for the three most retained compounds (octylbenzene, decylbenzene, and dodecylbenzene). These unexpectedly high (reduced plate height of 1.3) and low (reduced plate height of 15) column efficiencies observed for closely related compounds are consistent with the overlap between the spatial concentration zone of the sample solvent (acetonitrile, Langmuir isotherm, k≃2) and those of the analytes (competitive linear isotherms, 0<k<10). The present observations are fully supported by chromatogram simulations which assume that the Henrys constants of the infinitely diluted analytes are strongly dependent on the concentration of the sample solvent in the mobile phase.

Ideal versus real automated twin column recycling chromatography process

The full baseline separation of two compounds (selectivity factors α<1.03) is either impractical (too long analysis times) or even impossible when using a single column of any length given the pressure limitations of current LC instruments. The maximum efficiency is that of an infinitely long column operated at infinitely small flow rates. It is determined by the maximum allowable system pressure, the column permeability (particle size), the viscosity of the eluent, and the intensity of the effective diffusivity of the analytes along the column. Alternatively, the twin-column recycling separation process (TCRSP) can overcome the efficiency limit of the single-column approach. In the TCRSP, the sample mixture may be transferred from one to a second (twin) column until its band has spread over one column length. Basic theory of chromatography is used to confirm that the speed-resolution performance of the TCRSP is intrinsically superior to that of the single-column process. This advantage is illustrated in this work by developing an automated TCRSP for the challenging separation of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) isomers (benzo[a]anthracene and chrysene) in the reversed-phase retention mode at pressure smaller than 5000psi. The columns used are the 3.0mm×150mm column packed with 3.5μm XBridge BEH-C18 material (α=1.010) and the 3.0mm or 4.6mm×150mm columns packed with the same 3.5μm XSelect HSST3 material (α=1.025). The isocratic mobile phase is an acetonitrile-water mixture (80/20, v/v). Remarkably, significant differences are observed between the predicted retention times and efficiencies of the ideal TCRSP (given by the number of cycles multiplied by the retention time and efficiency of one column) and those of the real TCRSP. The fundamental explanation lies in the pressure-dependent retention of these PAHs or in the change of their partial molar volume as they are transferred from the mobile to the stationary phase. A revisited retention and efficiency model is then built to predict the actual performance of real TCRSPs. The experimental and calculated resolution data are found in very good agreement for a change, Δvm=-10cm3/mol, of the partial molar volume of the two PAH isomers upon transfer from the acetonitrile-water eluent mixture to the silica-C18 stationary phase.