Investigation of the retention behaviour of steroids with calixarene-based stationary phases by modern NMR spectroscopy A separation of four structurally similar steroids was performed on two calix[8]arene based stationary phases. It was observed that two of the steroids had a reversed retention order when the columns were changed. This implies that two different retention mechanisms are taking place when the analytes are separated. In order to evaluate the mechanism responsible for the reversal of the retention order an extensive study of the interactions between the stationary phases and the analytes was undertaken. By performing a series of transferred NOESY measurements in the suspended state valuable information was obtained about the strengths of the interactions between the analytes and the stationary phases. The magnitudes of the integrals from the trNOESY measurements showed a good correlation with the k9 values obtained from the chromatographic evaluation. The retention mechanism is based mainly on hydrophobic interactions. However, the reversal of the elution order was mainly due to an additional p-p interaction between one of the analytes and the stationary phase.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.