In this study, an
external cavity-quantum cascade laser-based mid-infrared
(IR) spectrometer was applied for in-line monitoring of proteins from
preparative ion-exchange chromatography. The large optical path length
of 25 μm allowed for robust spectra acquisition in the broad
tuning range between 1350 and 1750 cm
–1
, covering
the most important spectral region for protein secondary structure
determination. A significant challenge was caused by the overlapping
mid-IR bands of proteins and changes in the background absorption
of water due to the NaCl gradient. Implementation of advanced background
compensation strategies resulted in high-quality protein spectra in
three different model case studies. In Case I, a reference blank run
was directly subtracted from a sample run with the same NaCl gradient.
Case II and III included sample runs with different gradient profiles
than the one from the reference run. Here, a novel compensation approach
based on a reference spectra matrix was introduced, where the signal
from the conductivity detector was employed for correlating suitable
reference spectra for correction of the sample run spectra. With this
method, a single blank run was sufficient to correct various gradient
profiles. The obtained IR spectra of hemoglobin and β-lactoglobulin
were compared to off-line reference measurements, showing excellent
agreement for all case studies. Moreover, the concentration values
obtained from the mid-IR spectrometer agreed well with conventional
UV detectors and high-performance liquid chromatography off-line measurements.
LC–QCL–IR coupling thus holds high potential for replacing
laborious and time-consuming off-line methods for protein monitoring
in complex downstream processes.