Jenő Fekete

Comparative study of new shell-type, sub-2 μm fully porous and monolith stationary phases, focusing on mass-transfer resistance

Today sub-2 microm packed columns are very popular to conduct fast chromatographic separations. The mass-transfer resistance depends on the particle size but some practical limits exist not to reach the theoretically expected plate height and mass-transfer resistance. Another approach applies particles with shortened diffusion path to enhance the efficiency of separations. In this study a systematical evaluation of the possibilities of the separations obtained with 5 cm long narrow bore columns packed with new 2.6 microm shell particles (1.9 microm nonporous core surrounded by a 0.35 microm porous shell, Kinetex, Core-Shell), packed with other shell-type particles (Ascentis Express, Fused-Core), totally porous sub-2 microm particles and a 5 cm long narrow bore monolith column is presented. The different commercially available columns were compared by using van Deemter, Knox and kinetic plots. Theoretical Poppe plots were constructed for each column to compare their kinetic performance. Data are presented on polar neutral real-life analytes. Comparison of a low molecular weight compounds (MW=270-430) and a high molecular weight one (MW approximately 900) was conducted. This study proves that the Kinetex column packed with 2.6 microm shell particles is worthy of rivaling to sub-2 microm columns and other commercially available shell-type packings (Ascentis Express or Halo), both for small and large molecule separation. The Kinetex column offers a very flat C term. Utilizing this feature, high flow rates can be applied to accomplish very fast separations without significant loss in efficiency.

Efficiency of the new sub-2 μm core-shell (Kinetex™) column in practice, applied for small and large molecule separation.

At present sub-2 μm packed columns are very popular to accomplish rapid and efficient separations. Applying particles with shortened diffusion path to improve the efficiency of separation performs higher efficiency than it is possible with the totally porous particles having the same size. The advantages of sub-2 μm particles and shell particles are combined in the new Kinetex 1.7 μm particles. In this study a systematical evaluation of the efficiency and achievable analysis time obtained with 5 cm long narrow bore column packed with sub-2 μm core-shell particles (1.25 μm core diameter and 0.23 μm porous silica layer), and other type very efficient columns is presented. The efficiency of separation was investigated also for small pharmaceutical and large molecules (proteins). Van Deemter, Knox and kinetic plots are calculated. The results obtained with low molecular weight polar neutral analytes (272 g/mol, 875 g/mol), with a polypeptide (4.1 kDa) and with different sized proteins (18.8 kDa, 38.9 kDa and 66.3 kDa) are presented in this study. Moreover, particle size distribution, and average pore size (low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, LTNA) of the new very fine core-shell particles were investigated. According to this study, increased flow rates can be applied on sub-2 μm core-shell columns to accomplish very fast separations without significant loss in efficiency. The new sub-2 μm shell particles offer very high efficiency both for small and large molecule separation.

The impact of extra-column band broadening on the chromatographic efficiency of 5 cm long narrow-bore very efficient columns

Small columns packed with core-shell and sub-2 μm totally porous particles and monolith columns are very popular to conduct fast and efficient chromatographic separations. In order to carry out fast separations, short (2-5 cm) and narrow-bore (2-2.1 mm) columns are used to decrease the analyte retention volume. Beside the column efficiency, another significant issue is the extra-column band-spreading. The extra-column dispersion of a given LC system can dramatically decrease the performance of a small very efficient column. The aim of this study was to compare the extra-column peak variance contribution of several commercially available LC systems. The efficiency loss of three different type 5 cm long narrow bore, very efficient columns (monolith, sub-2 μm fully porous and sub-2 μm core-shell packing) as a function of extra-column peak variance, and as a function of flow rate and also kinetic plots (analysis time versus apparent column efficiency) are presented.

Method development for the separation of monoclonal antibody charge variants in cation exchange chromatography, Part II: pH gradient approach

Ion exchange chromatography (IEX) is a historical technique widely used for the detailed characterization of therapeutic proteins and can be considered as a reference and powerful technique for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of charge variants. When applying salt gradient IEX approach for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) characterization, this approach is described as time-consuming to develop and product-specific. The goal of this study was to tackle these two bottle-necks. By modeling the retention of several commercial mAbs and their variants in IEX, we proved that the mobile phase temperature was not relevant for tuning selectivity, while optimal salt gradient program can be easily found based on only two initial gradients of different slopes. Last but not least, the dependence of retention vs. pH being polynomial, three initial runs at different pH were required to optimize mobile phase pH. Finally, only 9h of initial experiments were necessary to simultaneously optimize salt gradient profile and pH in IEX. The data can then be treated with commercial modeling software to find out the optimal conditions to be used, and accuracy of retention times prediction was excellent (less than 1% variation between predicted and experimental values). Second, we also proved that generic IEX conditions can be applied for the characterization of mAbs possessing a wide range of pI, from 6.7 to 9.1. For this purpose, a strong cation exchange column has to be employed at a pH below 6 and using a proportion of NaCl up to 0.2M. Under these conditions, all the mAbs were properly eluted from the column. Therefore, salt gradient CEX can be considered as a generic multi-product approach.

Shell and small particles; Evaluation of new column technology

The performance of 5 cm long columns packed with shell particles was compared to totally porous sub-2 microm particles in gradient and isocratic elution separations of hormones (dienogest, finasteride, gestodene, levonorgestrel, estradiol, ethinylestradiol, noretistherone acetate, bicalutamide and tibolone). Peak capacities around 140-150 could be achieved in 25 min with the 5 cm long columns. The Ascentis Express column (packed with 2.7 microm shell particles) showed similar efficiency to sub-2 microm particles under gradient conditions. Applying isocratic separation, the column of 2.7 microm shell particles had a reduced plate height minimum of approximately h=1.6. It was much smaller than obtained with totally porous particles (h approximately = 2.8). The impedance time also proved more favorable with 2.7 microm shell particles than with totally porous particles. The influence of extra-column volume on column efficiency was investigated. The extra-column dispersion of the chromatographic system may cause a shift of the HETP curves.

Facts and myths about columns packed with sub-3 μm and sub-2 μm particles

Increasing the separating efficiency enhances the separation power. The most popular solution for improving chromatographic performance is to employ columns packed with small particle diameters (i.e., sub-2 microm particles) to induce a simultaneous improvement in efficiency, optimal velocity and mass transfer, albeit the cost of pressure. In this study a systematic evaluation of the possibilities and limitations of the separations obtained with 5 cm long narrow bore columns packed with 1.5-3.0 microm particles is presented. Several commercially available different sub-3 microm and sub-2 microm packed columns were evaluated by using van Deemter, Knox and kinetic plots. Theoretical Poppe plots were constructed for each column to compare their kinetic performance. Data are presented on different polar neutral real life analytes, to show that the separation time is not obviously shorter if the particle size is reduced. Comparison of low-molecular weight compounds (one steroid and one non-steroid hormone, with molecular weights lower than 500) and a high-molecular weight one (MW approximately 1000) was conducted. Same efficiency can be achieved with columns packed with 1.9-2.1 microm particles as with smaller particles. The column packed with 3 microm particles had the lowest reduced plate height minimum (h=2.2) while the column with the smallest particles (1.5 microm) gave the highest reduced plate height minimum (h approximately 3.0). According to this study, the theoretically expected efficiency of very fine particles (diameter <2 microm) used in practice today is compromised. Investigation of this phenomenon is presented.

Quantitative determination of corticosteroids in bovine milk using mixed-mode polymeric strong cation exchange solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A new method was developed to identify and quantify corticosteroids (prednisolone, methylprednisone, flumetasone, dexamethasone, and methylprednisolone) in raw bovine milk by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) utilizing mixed-mode polymeric strong cation exchange and reversed-phase (MCX) solid-phase extraction (SPE) to reduce ion effects in a multimode ion (MMI) source. The main advantage of this method over other commonly used methods includes the use of a single SPE cartridge with a low volume for sample preparation and fast separation on the HPLC system with reduced ion suppression. This study is the first to report the determination of methylprednisone, a metabolite of methylprednisolone, in bovine milk. This method was validated in accordance with the European Union (EU) Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The recoveries vary between 90% and 105%. The within-laboratory reproducibility (precision) is less than 30%. The decision limits and detection capabilities were calculated along with LODs, which ranged from 0.02 to 0.07 microg/kg. The method was further enhanced by its successful adaptation to other LC-MS/MS systems equipped with the newly developed ion source, Agilent Jet Stream (AJS). After optimization of the AJS ion source and MS parameters, even lower LOD values were achieved (0.001-0.006 microg/kg) for the corticosteroids. Analytical results obtained with the AJS were characterized by an enhanced area response and similar noise level comparable to those obtained with conventional orthogonal atmospheric ionization (API).

Characterization of new types of stationary phases for fast liquid chromatographic applications

The performance of a narrow bore silica based monolith column (5 cm x 2 mm) was compared to 5 cm long narrow bore (internal diameter < or = 2.1 mm) columns, packed with shell particles (2.7 microm) and totally porous sub-2 microm particles (1.5 microm, 1.7 microm and 1.9 microm) in gradient and isocratic elution separations of steroids. The highest peak capacity could be achieved with the column packed with 1.5 microm totally porous particles. The columns packed with porous 1.7 microm and shell 2.7 microm particles showed very similar capacity. The monolith column provided the lowest capacity during gradient elution. The plate height (HETP) of the 2.7 microm Ascentis Express column was very similar to the HETP obtained with 1.5 microm and 1.7 microm totally porous particles. The Chromolith monolithic column displayed an efficiency that is comparable to that of columns packed with spherical particles having their diameter between 3 microm and 4 microm. A kinetic plot analysis is presented to compare the theoretical analysis speed of different separation media. At 200 bar, the monolith column provided the highest performance when the required plate number was higher than 5000 (N>5000), however the efficiency drifted off faster in the range of N<5000 than in the case of packed columns. If the possibility of maximum performance was utilized (1000 bar for sub-2 microm particles, 600 bar for shell particles and 200 bar for monolith column) the monolith column would provide the poorest efficiency, while the column, packed with 1.5 microm particles offered the shortest impedance time.

Rapid high performance liquid chromatography method development with high prediction accuracy, using 5 cm long narrow bore columns packed with sub-2 μm particles and Design Space computer modeling

Many different strategies of reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method development are used today. This paper describes a strategy for the systematic development of ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatographic (UHPLC or UPLC) methods using 5cmx2.1mm columns packed with sub-2microm particles and computer simulation (DryLab((R)) package). Data for the accuracy of computer modeling in the Design Space under ultrahigh-pressure conditions are reported. An acceptable accuracy for these predictions of the computer models is presented. This work illustrates a method development strategy, focusing on time reduction up to a factor 3-5, compared to the conventional HPLC method development and exhibits parts of the Design Space elaboration as requested by the FDA and ICH Q8R1. Furthermore this paper demonstrates the accuracy of retention time prediction at elevated pressure (enhanced flow-rate) and shows that the computer-assisted simulation can be applied with sufficient precision for UHPLC applications (p>400bar). Examples of fast and effective method development in pharmaceutical analysis, both for gradient and isocratic separations are presented.

Development of a rapid method for the determination and confirmation of nitroimidazoles in six matrices by fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method was developed to identify and to quantify nitroimidazoles, metronidazole (MNZ), ronidazole (RNZ) and dimetridazole (DMZ) and their corresponding hydroxy metabolites, MNZ-OH and 2-hydroxymethyl-1-methyl-5-nitroimidazole (HMNNI) in plasma, milk, muscle, egg, honey and feed samples. The same sample clean-up procedure including a novel solid-phase extraction (SPE) on polymeric Strata-SDB cartridges was used for each matrix. The analytes were separated on Kinetex XB C-18 core-shell type HPLC column using isocratic elution mode with a mobile phase containing 0.1% formic acid in water/methanol (88/12, v/v, pH 2.6) at a flow rate of 0.7 ml/min. The main advantage of the developed method is that the analysis time of only 3 min, which is about three to ten times shorter than in other reported HPLC methods. The developed method was validated using a matrix-comprehensive in-house validation strategy. The matrix effect of LC-MS/MS analysis was also investigated. Results are presented from the successful application of the developed method to an incurred pork meat certified reference material and to incur porcine plasmas in a proficiency test in year 2011.