Quantitative structure-retention relationships with model analytes as a means of an objective evaluation of chromatographic columns

The performance of several previously designed model series of test analytes has been tested to characterize in an objective, quantitative manner modern stationary phases for reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using quantitative structure-retention relationships (QSRRs). Three QSRR approaches and three respective series of test analytes recommended for studies of the molecular mechanism of chromatographic retention are employed: the reduced linear solvation energy relationship (LSER)-based model of Abraham, a model employing structural descriptors from molecular modeling, and a model relating retention to the n-octanol-water partition coefficient log P. All of the models and test analytes proposed provide reliable QSRR equations. Those equations discriminate in quantitative terms individual columns and chromatographic systems and can be interpreted in straightforward rational chemical categories. In view of QSRRs, the differences in the intermolecular interactions between a given stationary phase and a structurally defined analyte rationalize the observed differences in retention. The QSRR models (previously derived retrospectively) are demonstrated to work well on new sets of RP-HPLC data. At the same time, it has been confirmed that the three test series of analytes have properly been designed and can be recommended for comparative studies of analytical columns. QSRRs once derived on a given column for model analytes can be used to predict the retention of other analytes of a defined structure. That in turn can facilitate the procedure of the rational optimization of chromatographic separations.