Extended thermodynamic approach to ion-interaction chromatography: influence of organic modifier concentration

The influence of organic modifier and ion interaction reagent (IIR) concentrations on analyte retention in ion interaction chromatography (IIC) was investigated via a bivariate approach. The system examined is as follows: ODS-Hypersils was used as stationary phase; the eluent was a variable mixture of a phosphate buffer pH 2.1 and methanol ranging 0%–40% (v/v). The organic modifier decreases both the analyte and the IIR free energy of adsorption hence their interaction is lower when the organic modifier concentration is higher. Retention equations describe how these two factors interact with each another. The estimated equilibrium constant for the IIR adsorption corresponds to ΔG° = −17.3 KJ mol−1. This value is reliable because it makes sense physically. The chi-squared ∑(k calc − k exp)2 is 1.11E + 00 and 2.85E-02, for octopamine and 2-naphthalenesulfonate, respectively. Retention equations were compared with those obtained from the outstanding retention models in IIC. For the modelled system, the extended thermodynamic approach is able to explain experimental evidence that cannot be rationalised by existing retention models: it proves superior for fitting experimental data and is also able to predict when the purely electrostatic approach may work properly. In the absence of IIR the present retention equation reduces, as expected, to the relationship that describes the influence of organic modifier on retention behaviour in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.