Comparison of three development approaches for Stationary Phase Optimised Selectivity Liquid Chromatography based screening methods Part I: A heterogeneous group of molecules (slimming agents in food supplements)

•Comparison of three development approaches for POP-LC screening for slimming agents.•Gradient optimization.•Definition of a generic approach.•Validation of the screening method.•Application to real samples.

Three approaches for the development of a screening method to detect adulterated dietary supplement, based on Stationary Phase Optimised Selectivity Liquid Chromatography were compared for their easiness/speed of development and the performance of the optimal method obtained. This comparison was performed for a heterogeneous group of molecules, i.e. slimming agents (Part I) and a group of structural analogues, i.e. PDE-5 inhibitors (Part II).The first approach makes use of primary runs at one isocratic level, the second of primary runs in gradient mode and the third of primary runs at three isocratic levels to calculate the optimal combination of segments of stationary phases. In each approach the selection of the stationary phase was followed by a gradient optimisation.For the slimming agents, the heterogeneous group of molecules, the method obtained with the first approach was selected as optimal, based on the speed of development and the performance of the method. The method shows a good separation of the compounds, allowing the screening to be performed with diode array detection, and is fully compatible with mass spectrometry. The method was validated for its selectivity following the guidelines as described for the screening of pesticide residues and residues of veterinary medicines in food.

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