Applications and implementation of modern ultrahigh-performance supercritical fluid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Abstract

Chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) are powerful analytical techniques that have seen significant technological advancements over the last 20 years. These have facilitated and enhanced their use as routine tools in many scientific laboratories. Since their introduction, the techniques have been mainly used in isolation with experts specialising in one field only. Recent developments in hyphenating (or coupling) the techniques mean that analysts need to be experts on both sides of the hyphen. i.e., be competent in the fundamental properties of chromatographic separation and all aspects of mass spectrometry. Modern technological advances in the field of ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) mean that modern instrumentation is robust enough to be coupled to atmospheric pressure ionisation mass spectrometers. There is increased control of the pressure of the supercritical fluid and since it exhibits the properties of both a liquid and a gas, the optimum separation properties of both are utilised for chromatography. Sometimes referred to as convergence chromatography, the technology converges between liquid and gas chromatography. UHPSFC-MS is often considered as a replacement for normal phase chromatography as the mobile phase is non-polar, but by combining this solvent with a more polar co-solvent a larger range of compounds can be explored. This also means that SFC has the advantage of using the conventional reversed phase (RP) stationary phases such as the C₁₈ to expand the range of compounds analysed. UHPSFC-MS has proved to be a powerful technique in the following application areas: • As a robust tool to be used in an open access environment to fill the analytical gap between RP UHPLC-MS and GC-MS for those unretained, or solvent incompatible samples • To identify and quantify small organic acids and purines in sweat as early markers for the detection of bedsores • As a rapid quality control screening and quantitation protocol for the active ingredients in home-made facemask testing solutions. Additional application areas include the fuel industry where it has been used as an alternative approach to analyse Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) in Aviation turbine fuel and to detect and quantify a new fuel marker (ACCUTRACE™ S10) in diesel fuel to combat fuel laundering. A further quantitation method was developed to analyse elemental sulfur in mineral oil to help understand sulfur-related power transformer failures.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Julie Herniman: orcid.org/0000-0003-4834-1093

ORCID for Graham Langley: orcid.org/0000-0002-8323-7235

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