We studied the run-to-run repeatability of the retention times of both non-ionizable and basic compounds chromatographed using buffered eluents. The effect of flow rate, organic modifier and other additives, buffer type/concentration, stationary phase type, batch-to-batch preparation of the initial eluent, gradient time, sample type and intra-day changes on retention repeatability were examined. We also assessed the effect of column storage solvent conditions on the inter-day repeatability. Although retention repeatability is strongly influenced by many parameters (flow rate, solvent compressibility compensation, precision of temperature control, and buffer/stationary phase type), our primary finding is that with a reasonable size column (15 cm by 4.6 mm (i.d.)) two column volumes of reequilibration with initial eluent suffices to provide acceptable repeatability (no worse than 0.004 min) for both non-ionizable and basic analytes under a wide variety of conditions. Under ideal conditions (e.g. the right buffer, flow rate, etc.) it is possible to obtain truly extraordinary repeatability often as good as 0.0004 minutes. These absolute fluctuations in retention translate to worst case changes in resolution of 0.2 units and average changes of only 0.02 units.
Fourteen judiciously selected reversed-phase columns were tested with 18 cationic drug solutes under the isocratic elution conditions advised in the Snyder-Dolan (S-D) hydrophobic subtraction method of column classification. The standard errors (S.E.) of the least squares regressions of log k′ vs. log k′ REF were obtained for a given column against a reference column and used to compare and classify columns based on their selectivity. The results are consistent with those obtained with a study of the 16 test solutes recommended by Snyder and Dolan. To the extent that these drugs are representative these results show that the S-D classification scheme is also generally applicable to pharmaceuticals under isocratic conditions. That is, those columns judged to be similar based on the S-D 16 solutes were similar based on the 18 drugs; furthermore those columns judged to have significantly different selectivities based on the 16 S-D probes appeared to be quite different for the drugs as well. Given that the S-D method has been used to classify more than 400 different types of reversed phases the extension to cationic drugs is a significant finding.
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