Correction: Evaluation of separation performance for eggshell-based reversed-phase HPLC columns by controlling particle size and application in quantitative therapeutic drug monitoring.

Correction for 'Evaluation of separation performance for eggshell-based reversed-phase HPLC columns by controlling particle size and application in quantitative therapeutic drug monitoring' by Tomoka Yoshii et al., Anal. Methods, 2023, 15, 1790-1796, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3AY00219E.

Evaluation of separation performance for eggshell-based reversed-phase HPLC columns by controlling particle size and application in quantitative therapeutic drug monitoring.

Eggshell-based reversed-phase packing materials were applied to an analytical column for high-performance liquid chromatography. Commercially available eggshell powder was classified by a cyclone system to obtain three types of particles with different diameters (arithmetic mean ± standard deviation: 4.3 ± 3.8, 5.6 ± 3.3, and 9.5 ± 5.5 µm). Sedimentation separation removed tiny particles from each sample, resulting in particles with arithmetic means of 6.6 ± 5.5, 7.3 ± 4.5, and 10.2 ± 5.0 µm, respectively. The unclassified particles and three particle types treated with sedimentation separation were subsequently packed into analytical columns (150 mm × 4.6 mm I.D.), and their separation efficiencies were evaluated by comparing their height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP). The column without sedimentation separation exhibited the highest HETP, whereas the columns with sedimentation separation showed better separation efficiency and lower back pressure. The column with the best separation efficiency was applied for the separation of 10 alkylbenzenes and 5 steroids, and all peaks were observed with complete separation (peak resolution: RS > 1.5). Finally, the column was used for quantitative analysis of voriconazole, an azole antifungal agent, and imatinib, a first-generation molecularly targeted drug for cancer treatment, in spiked whole blood. Excellent accuracy (99.1-102.8%) and precision (0.6-1.9%) were observed for the spiked drugs and long-term stability (>3000 column volumes of mobile phase flow) indicated good applicability of the developed eggshell-based column as an analytical column for routine analyses of therapeutic drugs in blood.

Fabrication process development and basic evaluation of eggshell-based column packing material for reversed-phase preparative separation.

Purification of basic drugs in reversed-phase mode is often difficult, mainly due to adsorption of positively charged compounds to the silica gel-based stationary phase. Since this adsorption can be suppressed under alkaline condition, columns with alkali-resistance are required. In addition, compounds with acid-sensitive structures are sometimes degraded during separation on silica gel-based columns which exhibit acidity due to their surface structure. We prepared an alkali-resistant reversed-phase packing material, Eggshell-PMAcO based on eggshells modified with an amphiphilic copolymer, poly(maleic acid-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAcO). The height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) of the Eggshell-PMAcO column was improved by surface treatment with ammonium acetate buffer (900 mM, pH = 3.7), which is an inexpensive reagent, and the retention behavior for hydrophobic compounds was compared to a typical ODS column based on silica gel, resulting in sufficient selectivity of the eggshell-based column for hydrophobic compounds, as indicated by the ratio of retention factors of pentylbenzene and butylbenzene (Eggshell-PMAcO column: 1.55, ODS column: 1.65). Column temperature-dependent retention behavior of naphthalene was investigated in the temperature range from 25 °C to 45 °C, followed by the calculation of thermodynamic parameters. There was little difference in the standard molar enthalpy (Eggshell-PMAcO: -19.6 kJ/mol, ODS: -21.7 kJ/mol). The absolute value of the standard free Gibbs energy for the Eggshell-PMAcO column was much smaller than that of the ODS column (Eggshell-PMAcO: -0.284 kJ/mol, ODS: -13.0 kJ/mol), indicating that the Eggshell-PMAcO column had a weaker retention strength for naphthalene than the ODS column mainly due to the large difference in the standard molar entropy (Eggshell-PMAcO: -64.9 J/mol K, ODS column: -29.2 J/mol K). The retention capacities for imipramine under neutral (water/methanol) and alkaline (0.1% triethylamine water/methanol) conditions were 0.2 mg and 5 mg, respectively, based on injection mass-dependent HETP, retention factor and symmetry factor. Finally, the prepared column was applied to the purification of a building block for nucleic acid drugs. This study demonstrated that reversed-phase columns, which can be fabricated from eggshells and an amphiphilic copolymer in an inexpensive and eco-friendly way, have the ability to purify basic compounds and acid-sensitive compounds.