HPLC Separation with Solvent Elimination FTIR Detection of Polymer Additives

Abstract

A mobile phase elimination interface (e.g., LC-Transform) is used in conjunction with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry to assay standard mixtures of polymer additives. Methanol and water mixtures are used as the mobile phase, along with an analytical scale octadecylsilica packed column. Infrared, ultraviolet, and light-scattering detection are applied to the nine-additive mix. Although there is a loss in resolution when the LC-Transform interface is used, each of the nine peaks can be easily discerned in order to generate clean infrared spectra. It is shown that changes in nebulizer flow have little effect on the intensity of the deposited peak. The data indicate that detection limits for these polymer additives fall in the low- to mid-nanogram range.