HPLC and GC Flashcards
Chromatography
- The most important technique for isolating and purifying biomolecules
- Sample interacts with two physically distinct entities: mobile phase andstationary phase.
- The components in the sample will interact differently with the two phases which forms the basis for separation.
- HPLC and GC can be linked to mass spectrometers for mass analysis of the column effluent.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography
•Ideally suited for separation and identification of biologically active molecules.
- egAmino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, proteins, pigments
•Highly versatile technique: many different chromatographic separations can be effected by using the appropriate column.
- eg. Partition, adsorption, ion exchange, gel exclusion, affinity etc
HPLC - Instrumentation
- Solvent Reservoir
- Capacity at least 500mL
- Must be degassed and filtered
- Typically MeOH, CH3CN, Water
- Isocratic system – only one solvent used orsolvent mixture of one composition
- Gradient system– mixture of 2 solvents that changes during expt
2. Pump
- 500-5000psi
- 1mL/min (analytical) and 100mL/min (preparative)
- Pulse-free solvent flow
- Small holdup volume
3. Injector
- Sample must be introduced onto column in an efficient and reproducible manner
- Usually via microsyringeinjected into a neoprene/Teflon septum
- Typical volume :
Analytical- 1mL-5 mL
Preparative- 100mL-20mL
4. Column
- Prepared from stainless steel or glass-Teflon tubing
- Analytical columns: diameter 2.1, 3.2, 4.5 mm
- Preparative columns: up to 30 mm diameter
- Length typically 10 cm or 20 cm (range 5-100 cm)
- Prepared from stainless steel or glass-Teflon tubing
- Analytical columns: diameter 2.1, 3.2, 4.5 mm
- Preparative columns: up to 30 mm diameter
- Length typically 10 cm or 20 cm (range 5-100 cm)
5. Detector
- The column effluent is continuously monitored
- Must have a high sensitivity as small sample sizes
- Most common detector used is photometric detector: measures UV absorption (sensitivity 1 ng)
- Fluorescence detector is more sensitive (100X) but does not have a linear response
6. Collector
- Column effluent can be collected for further chemical and physical analysis
- Egsent to MS
- Preparative HPLC effluent is collected, solvent removed to isolate compound of interest
HPLC - Output
Each chromatographic peak represents a separated compound
Analysis of Output: capacity factor
Capacity Factor (k’)
k’ = (tR– t0)/t0
The capacity factor is a measure of where the peak of interest is located with respect to the void volume
Analysis of Output: Resolution
Resolution (RS)
RS= 2(tR2– tR1)
(tW1+ tW2)
Rsis a measure of how well two peaks are separated.
The greater the value of Rs, the better the resolution. Large values of Rsindicate a significant time difference between the two peaks and Rsvalues of 1.5 are ideal
Analysis of Output: Tailing factor T
Tailing Factor T
T = Wx/2f
The accuracy of quantitation decreases with increase in peak tailing due to the integrator experiencing problems with where/when the peak starts and ends.
Ideally:
tW= 2f
ieGuassiandistribution
Analysis of Output: Theoretical Plate Number (N)
N = 16(tR/tW)2
The theoretical plate number is a measure of column efficiency and is based on the number of equilibria that may have taken place during the process. The greateseparationr the value of N the more efficient the column.
Quantitative vsQualitative HPLC
Qualitative analysis
Identification of a component in a mixture by retention time tR; can be coupled to MS for m/z
Quantitative analysis
An integrator is used to calculate the area under the peak orpeak height is used.
This is compared to a standard of known concentration which can be run in a separate experiment to give a standard curve (external standardization) oran internal standard is added to the sample.
Preparative vs Analytical HPLC
The purpose of analytical HPLC is to identify components in a mixture and quantify their relative amounts.
Sample size ug
Mass ratio of compound to stationary phase is less than 1:100,000.
Preparative HPLC is used as a purification step and the effluent is collected and solvent removed to isolate the compounds of interest.
Preparative HPLC columns are larger (length and width) and it is possible to separate mg-g.
Stationary Phase
Small diameter, porous materials are used as the adsorbants.
This is where the separation takes place and it is the most important part of the system.
Porous layer beads
- Inert solid core
- Thin porous outer shell of silica, alumina or ion-exchange resin
- 20-45 um
- Used for analytical purposes
- Capacity too low for preparative applications
High Pressure Adsorption Chromatography (Normal Phase)
- Silica or Alumina column (polar stationary phase)
- Analytes adsorbwith different affinities to binding sites in the stationary phase (polar molecules adsorb more strongly than nonpolar molecules)
- Use a non-polar mobile phase (eghexane, EtOAc, MeOH, MeCN, CH2Cl2)
- Steroids, Alcohols, Organic Acids, Vitamins, Pesticides
High Pressure Partition Chromatography (Reverse Phase)
- Non-polar stationary phase and a polar mobile phase
- Separates components according to hydrophobicity
- The active stationary phase is chemically bonded to the inert support (typically silica)
- Most popular column is octadecylsilane(ODS, n-C18H37, C18) – there are ca300 commercial C18columns available.
- Widely used to separate biomolecules including peptides, nucleotides, carbohydrates, amino acids and their derivatives
Normal vsReverse Phase HPLC
Ion-exchange HPLC
- Column is packed with charged functional groups prepared by chemically bonding the ionic groups to the support via silicon atoms.
- Used to separate proteins, peptides and other charged molecules.