Characterization of the new CelerisTM Arginine column: Retentive behaviour through a combination of chemometric tools and potential in drug analysis

Abstract

Celeris TM Arginine (ARG) is a mixed-mode stationary phase recently released on the market. To characterize its analytical behavior, the retention factors of a pool ( n = 100, of which 36 neutrals, 26 acids and 38 bases) of pharmaceutically relevant compounds have been measured on this phase over eight percentages (from 10 to 90% v/v) of acetonitrile (MeCN) as organic modifier. The ARG phase exhibited enhanced affinity for the molecules that are in their anionic form at the experimental pH, whilst basic compounds, albeit over a wide range of lipophilicity and pK a values, were on average poorly retained. To dissect the separation mechanism of the ARG phase, the overall analytical retention has been deconvoluted into the individual contributions of intermolecular forces by a QSPR/ Partial Least Square (PLS)/Block Relevance (BR) analysis tool recently developed by us.For the neutrals, the most relevant blocks were found to be Size, describing the interaction due to the dimension of the molecule, and O, representing the solute's hydrogen bond donor properties. The change in sign from positive to negative of the Size block, which occurs between 10% and 20% MeCN, allowed to visually appreciate the switch in the separation mode from reversed phase to normal phase. Some good statistic models for rationalizing the analytical behaviour of neutrals were developed from VS + descriptors. However, their performance in modelling the analytical retention of acids was substandard, probably due to the intrinsic inefficacy of VS + descriptors in handling electric charges. This instance was addressed by a complimentary MLR strategy, which led to successfully model the retention of acids on the ARG column and to shed light into their retention mechanism, which seemed to be substantially driven by electrostatics.

Analytical Strategy for Low-Level Estimation of Unstable Genotoxic Boronate Ester Impurities

“…Consequently, a shift to gradient conditions was deemed necessary to ensure a comprehensive elusion. As the instability of boronate esters in the presence of methanol as a cosolvent was reported, 34 methanol was kept below 25% in the cosolvent combination to minimize the chance of on-column hydrolysis during the run. Given the notable improvement in peak shapes for most compounds when using an ACN/methanol mix and with methanol less than 25%, an ACN/methanol (80:20) mix was chosen for further tests.…”

“…percentages, most compounds did not elute; elution improved with increasing methanol content up to 75:25, where three compounds eluted in subsequent runs. Methanol limited to below 25% to minimize on-column hydrolysis 34.…”

QSRR Approach: Application to Retention Mechanism in Liquid Chromatography

“…Also, with the constructed QSRR model, it is possible to recognize the turning point for modality shifting. The basic substances did not show a sufficient degree of retention, so it was not possible to qualitatively define the retention mechanisms involved in their separation [92].…”