Silica hydride based phases for small molecule separations using automated liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method development

- Model analyte set to screen retention of silica hydride stationary phases.
- Retention in reversed phase and aqueous normal phase mode explored.
- Automated method scouting software and hardware to streamline investigation.

Silica hydride, or Type C silica, has been developed as an alternative chromatographic support material for liquid chromatography. There are various bonded phases available with this new support. For four such phases (Cholesterol, Bidentate C18, Diamond Hydride, and Diol), retention and selectivity behavior were investigated using liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. A set of small molecules from several chemical classes of interest, and varying in their physicochemical properties, were chromatographed under both reversed-phase and aqueous normal phase modes. To screen the columns, column switching was performed using an automated platform controlled by associated software and an additional valve. A typical scouting gradient was implemented. The separation conditions were not further optimized since the goal was simply to evaluate the variable retention behavior of the phases and selectivity under generic conditions. Further, retention of the analytes were evaluated under isocratic conditions with varying percentages of organic phase to visualize the potential for dual retention modes on the same column for certain analytes. Four analytes (fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and matrine) showed dual mode retention behavior with all four phases. Especially, fentanyl exhibited dramatic “U-shaped” retention profiles on Cholesterol and Bidentate C18 phases. Overall, changes in the retention order between reversed phase and aqueous normal phases emphasized the potential for altered selectivity. Results showed that the Cholesterol phase provided the highest retention for most analytes compared to the other phases. The more polar Diol phase still provided good retention in reversed phase mode. Retention and selectivity were all highly reproducible.