High performance liquid chromatography with mid-infrared detection based on a broadly tunable quantum cascade laser

Autors de IIS La Fe

• Julia Kuligowski

  Autor

Autors aliens a IIS La Fe

• Beskers TF
• Brandstetter M
• Quintás G
• Wilhelm M
• Lendl B

Grups d'Investigació

• Perinatología

  

  Leader

  Máximo Vento Torres

Abstract

This work introduces a tunable mid-infrared (mid-IR) external cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) as a new molecular specific detector in liquid chromatography. An EC-QCL with a maximum tunability of 200 cm(-1) (1030-1230 cm(-1)) was coupled to isocratic high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the separation of sugars with a cation exchange column (counter ion: Ca2+) and distilled water as the mobile phase. Transmission measurements in a 165 mm thick flow cell allowed for on-line coupling and independent quantification of glucose, fructose and sucrose in the concentration range from 5 mg mL(-1) to 100 mg mL(-1) in several beverages. The results obtained with the EC-QCL detector were found to be in good agreement with those obtained using a differential refractive index detector as a reference. The standard deviation of the method for the linear calibration was better than 5 mg mL(-1) for all sugars and reached a minimum of 1.9 mg mL(-1), while the DRI detector reached a minimum of 1 mg mL(-1). Besides the quantification of sugars for which a calibration was performed, also chromatographic peaks of other components could be identified on the basis of their IR absorption spectra. This includes taurine, ethanol, and sorbitol.