RETENTION CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYPYRROLE AS A STATIONARY-PHASE FOR THE ELECTROCHEMICALLY MODULATED LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC (EMLC) SEPARATIONS OF DANSYL AMINO-ACIDS
Rs. Deinhammer et al., RETENTION CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYPYRROLE AS A STATIONARY-PHASE FOR THE ELECTROCHEMICALLY MODULATED LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC (EMLC) SEPARATIONS OF DANSYL AMINO-ACIDS, Journal of electroanalytical chemistry [1992], 387(1-2), 1995, pp. 35-46
An approach for the dynamic modification of the separations of dansyl
amino acids (DAAs) both prior to and during elution using a novel elec
trochemically modulated liquid chromatographic (EMLC) system is descri
bed. The EMLC system consists of polypyrrole (PPy)-coated glassy carbo
n spheres which are connected as the working electrode in a three-elec
trode electrochemical cell arrangement. Electrochemical switching of P
Py between its oxidized (cationic) and reduced (neutral) forms allowed
for alteration of the anion-exchange capacity of the stationary phase
over a wide range. Modification of the voltage applied to the PPy pri
or to injection was used to alter the capacity factors of the DAAs by
at least an order of magnitude. Voltage steps applied to the column du
ring elution were used to optimize the separation of a mixture of thre
e DAAs. In a manner directly analogous to gradient elution in conventi
onal liquid chromatography, both band half-widths and retention times
could be significantly decreased using this technique. A detailed char
acterization of the ion-transport properties of the PPy stationary pha
se is also provided to aid in the development of an electrochemical re
tention mechanism. The ion-transport properties were investigated thro
ugh analysis of the PPy films using both energy-dispersive X-ray analy
sis and quartz crystal microbalance techniques. Both the ion-transport
and chromatographic studies provided evidence for the preferential in
teraction of PPy in its fully oxidized, partially oxidized and reduced
forms with hydrophobic, pi-electron containing anions via hydrophobic
and donor-acceptor interactions. The application of EMLC to the preco
ncentration of dilute (ca.1 ppm) solutions of the DAAs is also briefly
discussed.