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Dec 2, 2005 ✔
e-Separations Solutions | Monthly
By: Xiaodong Liu, Andrea Heckenberg, Chris Pohl
THE APPLICATION NOTEBOOK
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LCGC Europe news update | Weekly
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Surfactants are widely used in industrial, agricultural, pharmaceutical and consumer products (e.g., Name:
cleaning agents, pesticides, pharmaceutical formulations, laundry detergents, cosmetics, etc.).
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Their separation and identification can be challenging because of the diversity of surfactants and
complexity of the sample matrix. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the preferred more info
technique because it both characterizes surfactants according to their compositions and quantifies
individual surfactants in a complex mixture. Surfactant analysis can be performed by reversed-
phase, normal phase, ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography, depending on the
surfactants of interest,1 but existing methods often suffer from problems such as poor peak shape
for cationic surfactants, complex detection schemes, or the need for multiple methods to
characterize all the surfactants in a sample. This application note describes the separation of
cationic, nonionic and anionic surfactants with a single method, a single column and
chromatographic run, and with no derivatization, using the new Acclaim Surfactant specialty
column.
Experimental
Separations were performed on a modular Summit HPLC System (Dionex, Sunnyvale, California,
USA) equipped with a P680 gradient pump, ASI-100 Autosampler, TCC-100 column oven and
UVD 340 detector. Chromeleon 6.5 Chromatography Management Software (Dionex, Sunnyvale,
California, USA) was used for system control and data processing. A Sedex 85 evaporative light-
scattering detector (Sedere, Alfortville, France) was used as the universal detector. An Acclaim CURRENT ARTICLES MOST READ
Surfactant column (5 µm, 4.6 × 150 mm) was used for all separations with an acetonitrile-
Extreme Leaks
ammonium acetate mobile phase system. Gradient elution was generated in situ with the
Kinetic Plots Made Easy
proportioning valve in P680 gradient pump from solvent 'A' (acetonitrile) and solvent 'B' (0.1 M
ammonium acetate, pH 5.4). The 30th Anniversary of the Minnesota
Chromatography Forum
Results Analytical Method Validation: Back to
Basics, Part I
Figure 1 shows the analysis of a mixture of one hydrotrope (sodium xylene
Trends in HPLC Column Usage
sulphonate), two cationic surfactants (octylphenoxyethoxyethyl dimethylbenzyl
Buffer Considerations for LC and LC–MS
ammonium chloride and lauryl benzyldimethyl ammonium chloride), one
nonionic surfactant (Triton X-100), and three anionic surfactants (sodium salts MORE ARTICLES
of decyl sulphate, dodecyl sulphate and LAS). All compounds were separated
with excellent resolution and peak shapes on an Acclaim Surfactant column
using a linear gradient. This separation demonstrates the ideal selectivity of the
Acclaim Surfactant column for simultaneous separation of different surfactant
Figure 1: Separation of classes. Under the same conditions, a conventional C18 column provided a
cationic, nonionic and
anionic surfactants and a vastly inferior separation for the same mixture, with no retention for xylene
hydrotrope in a single
run. sulphonate, poor resolution between anionic and nonionic surfactants, severe
SURVEY
peak tailing, and excessively long retention times for cationic surfactants.
Which stationary phase do you use in RP
Conclusion chromatography?
C18
The Acclaim Surfactant column offers unprecedented capability for analysing different types of
http://chromatographyonline.findanalytichem.com/lcgc/App+Notes+General/A-Speciality-Column-for-Surfactant-Analysis/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/211508[13-02-2010 11:14:45]
A Speciality Column for Surfactant Analysis - - Chromatography Online
C8
surfactants. The column is compatible with volatile mobile phases for separating anionic, cationic
and nonionic surfactants within a single chromatographic run, and detecting them by ELSD. Its C4
excellent peak shape for cationic surfactants, superior resolution of ethoxylated surfactant C1/C2
oligomers and compatibility with highly aqueous mobile phases, make the Acclaim Surfactant Phenyl
column ideal for quality assurance of individual surfactants, and suitable for the analysis of a
Cyano
variety of surfactant-containing formulations. These formulations include consumer products,
pharmaceuticals, plating baths for semiconductor manufacturing and environmental samples. Other
References
1. T.M. Schimit, Analysis of Surfactants, 2nd ed., Surfactant Science Series 96, Marcel Dekker,
Inc., New York, USA (2001).
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A Speciality Column for Surfactant Analysis - - Chromatography Online
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