Per-Aqueous Liquid Chromatography for the Separation of Polar Compounds Preparation and Characterization of Poly(ethylene oxide co dimethylsiloxane) Based Stationary Phase

Poly(ethylene oxide-co-dimethylsiloxane) was thermally immobilized on silica particles-Si(PEO)-to separate small polar compounds with water-rich mobile phases. Poly(ethylene oxide-co-dimethylsiloxane) content on Si(PEO) stationary phase was optimized using a central composite design. Infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis morphologically and structurally characterized the optimized material. Separation of standard test mixtures showed that the Si(PEO) phase had a typical reversed-phase elution order. However, the Si(PEO) phase retained polar compounds better than C₁₈ or aqueous C₁₈ phases under water-rich mobile phases. Under this condition, small changes in the acetonitrile fraction resulted in a marked increase in the retention of some polar drugs on the Si(PEO) phase. A typical condition observed in per aqueous liquid chromatography separations, a more environmentally friendly liquid chromatography approach. On the other hand, hydrophobic compounds showed lower mass transfer rates due to their low solubility in the aqueous mobile phase. Thus, the Si(PEO) phase was more suitable and efficient for separating polar or hydrophilic compounds.

Keywords:
HPLC; stationary phase; poly(ethylene oxide-co-dimethylsiloxane); polar compounds; aqueous mobile phase