This work presents a study of the sorption of a pre-synthesized polysiloxane, poly(methyltetradecylsiloxane) - PMTDS, onto zirconized and titanized-silica particles that results in efficient stationary phases for reversed phase liquid chromatography. The sorbed materials, after 6 days at room temperature without any chemical or physical agent, denominated as self-immobilized stationary phase, present appropriate polymeric layer thicknesses that cover the metalized silica surfaces. The self-immobilization of polymer onto titanized silica particles produces more homogeneous polymeric coatings and stationary phases without silanophilic activity. Zirconized silica-based phases were more chemically resistant, despite their strong retention of basic solutes. In general, the chromatographic performance and chemical stability of metalized silica-based self-immobilized PMTDS phases were similar to conventional chemically bonded stationary phases.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) has been gaining increased attention for its effective separation of highly polar compounds, which include carbohydrates, amino acids, pharmaceutical compounds, proteins, glycoproteins, nucleosides, etc. Polar compounds are usually poorly retained on reverse-phase liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) columns or have poor solubility in the apolar mobile phase of normal-phase high performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC). Since HILIC uses organic solvents such as ACN or MeOH ( > 70%), also used in RP-HPLC and polar stationary phases similar to NP-HPLC (bare silica, diol, amino, amide, saccharide, zwitterionic stationary phases, etc.), it represents a hybrid of the two separation modes. The high organic content in the MP leads to good compatibility with mass spectrometry (MS), increasing the detectivity. This review describes the fundamentals of HILIC and highlights some interesting applications.

Separations using supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with packed columns have been re-discovered and explored in recent years. SFC enables fast and efficient separations and, in some cases, gives better results than high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This paper provides an overview of recent advances in SFC separations using packed columns for both achiral and chiral separations. The most important types of stationary phases used in SFC are discussed as well as the most critical parameters involved in the separations and some recent applications.

This work describes three C8-stationary phases for high performance liquid chromatography based on silica metallized with ZrO2, TiO2 or Al2O3 layers, having poly(methyloctylsiloxane) immobilized onto their surfaces. The stationary phases were characterized using XRF, XAS, FTIR, SEM and elemental analysis to determine the physical characteristics of the oxide and polysiloxane layers formed on the surfaces and chromatographically to evaluate the separation parameters. The results show the changes on the silica surface and allowed proposing a structure for the oxide layer, being observed tetrahedral and octahedral structures, what is completely new in the literature. The formation of a homogeneous layer of metallic oxide (TiO2 and ZrO2) was observed on the silica. The C8-titanized and C8-aluminized stationary phases presented good chromatographic performances, with good values of asymmetry and efficiency. All stationary phase presented few loss of the polymeric layer after the HPLC, indicating that this layer is well attached on the metalized support.

This review considers some of the difficulties encountered with the analysis of basic solutes using reversed-phase chromatography, such as detrimental interaction with stationary phase silanol groups. Methods of overcoming these problems in reversed-phase separations, by judicious selection of the stationary phase and mobile phase conditions, are discussed. Developments to improve the chemical and thermal stability of stationary phases are also reviewed. It is shown that substantial progress has been made in the manufacturing of stationary phases, enabling their use over a wide variety of experimental conditions. In addition, general measures to significantly extend their lifespan are discussed.

Emerging organic pollutants (EOP) include many environmental contaminants based on commercial products such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, detergents, gasoline, polymers, etc. EOP may be candidates for future regulation as they offer potential risk to environmental and human health due to their continual entrance into the environment and to the fact that even the most modern wastewater treatment plants are not able to totally transform / remove these compounds. High performance liquid chromatography is recommended to separate emerging organic pollutants with characteristics of high polarity and low volatility, especially pharmaceuticals, from environmental matrices.

This review describes the advantages and disadvantages of using capillary liquid chromatography (CLC), which is considered the newest member in the analytical separation science arsenal. Although CLC has tremendous potential for being the next major innovation in separatory analysis, it has not yet obtained great popularity compared to conventional high performance (and ultra-high performance) liquid chromatography. Comparisons are made between these techniques and some of the reasons that CLC has not yet reached its potential will be advanced.

This review first discusses the limitations of many of the supports and stationary phases used in reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography and then describes those, developed more recently, that present better stabilities and more versatile selectivities. Emphases will be given to stationary phases that use higher purity silicas, hybrid silicas, monolithic silicas, metallic oxides and mixed oxides as supports and those that have embedded polar groups or contain phenyl or fluoro groups as the stationary phase as well as the phases used for mixed mode or hydrophilic interaction separations. These modern stationary phases facilitate the analysis of complex mixtures.

O aumento da estabilidade química e a redução da alta atividade de grupos residuais têm sido, nas últimas quatro décadas, os principais focos de pesquisas na preparação de fases estacionárias para cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência na modalidade de fase reversa (CLAE-FR). Novas e eficientes estratégias de modificação da superfície da sílica e a introdução de novos materiais como suportes cromatográficos têm minimizado estas limitações e possibilitado uma crescente popularização da CLAE-FR. Neste trabalho será apresentada uma visão geral do estado da arte de uma das estratégias de preparo de fases estacionárias que vem contornando tais limitações da CLAE-FR; as fases estacionárias baseadas na imobilização de polímeros orgânicos pré-sintetizados sobre partículas de sílica e sílica metalizada (zirconizada e titanizada). Uma consideração especial será dada ao desenvolvimento destas fases estacionárias ocorrido no Brasil nos últimos 15 anos.

Increasing stability and reducing the high activity of residual groups from stationary phases have been the main focuses of research on the preparation of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) phases over the last four decades. New and more efficient strategies for modifying the silica surface as well as the introduction of new chromatographic supports have minimized these effects and have enabled the increasing popularization of RP-HPLC. In this paper, an overview will be given of the state-of-the-art in stationary phases for RP-HPLC based on immobilization of pre-synthesized organic polymers on both silica and metalized-silica supports. Special consideration is given to the development of HPLC stationary phases in Brazil in the past 15 years.

As separações por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE) são realizadas, na maioria das vezes, em condições de fase reversa empregando fases estacionárias a base de sílica. Um problema sério com estas fases reversas é a tendência da sílica dissolver em soluções de pH elevado, frequentemente necessárias para separar compostos básicos. A literatura reporta várias maneiras diferentes de tentar solucionar este problema. Este artigo relata os resultados obtidos com fases estacionárias desenvolvidas no nosso laboratório, utilizando suportes de sílica, contendo uma camada de um óxido metálico (zircônia ou titânia) ligada à sua superfície, seguido por imobilização de um polissiloxano ou por organofuncionalização com um trimetóxialquilsilano. Testes de estabilidade, também desenvolvidos no nosso laboratório, indicaram que a camada de óxido metálico aumenta o tempo de vida da coluna cromatográfica, por tornar a fase estacionária menos susceptível à dissolução.

High performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separations are largely carried out using reversed phase conditions with stationary phases based on silica. A serious problem with these stationary phases is the tendency of silica to dissolve in high pH solutions often needed to separate basic compounds. The literature reports many different ways that have been tried to resolve this problem. This paper reports the results obtained in our laboratory with stationary phases prepared using silica supports having a layer of a metal oxide (zirconia or titania) attached on their surfaces, followed by immobilization of a polysiloxane or by organofunctionalization with a trimethoxyalkylsilane. Stability tests, also developed in our laboratory, indicate that the metal oxide layer increases the HPLC column lifetimes by making the stationary phase less susceptible to dissolution.

Chromatography combined with several different detection systems is one of the more used and better performing analytical tools. Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection gives highly selective and sensitive analyses and permits obtaining structural information about the analites and about their molar masses. Due to these characteristics, this analytical technique is very efficient when used to detect substances at trace levels in complex matrices. In this paper we review instrumental and technical aspects of chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and the state of the art of the technique as it is applied to analysis of toxic substances in food.

This paper presents a simple and practical thermogravimetric method for determining the layer thickness of immobilized polymer stationary phases used in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. In this method, the weight loss of different polysiloxanes immobilized onto chromatographic supports, determined over the temperature range 150-650 ºC, demonstrated excellent agreement with the sum of carbon and hydrogen content obtained by elemental analysis. The results presented here suggest that the thermogravimetric procedure is an accurate and precise method to determine the polymeric material content on polymer-coated stationary phases.

The first days of radioactivity, the discoveries of X-rays, radioactivity, of alpha- and beta- particles and gamma- radiation, of new radioactive elements, of artificial radioactivity, the neutron and positron and nuclear fission are reviewed as well as several adverse historical marks, such as the Manhattan project and some nuclear and radiological accidents. Nuclear energy generation in Brazil and the world, as an alternative to minimize environmental problems, is discussed, as are the medicinal, industrial and food applications of ionizing radiation. The text leads the reader to reflect on the subject and to consider its various aspects with scientific and technological maturity.