We have researched the use of the green solvent dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as a mobile phase modifier for different forms of chromatography, such as hydrophilic liquid interaction chromatography (HILIC), normal phase liquid chromatography, and reversed phase liquid chromatography. Our lab’s recent publication demonstrates the utility of non-toxic and biodegradable DMC as a replacement for the toxic solvent acetonitrile (MeCN) for the HILIC separation of polar aromatic acids with UV-Vis detection. The goal of this project is to determine if DMC as a mobile phase modifier solvent could be used for the separation of non-aromatic compounds with charged aerosol detection (CAD). CAD is particularly suited for detection of nonvolatile organic compounds. Therefore, we studied the use of DMC as the modifier solvent for separating carbohydrates using HILIC-CAD. The separation of mixtures of monosaccharides and disaccharides were compared using DMC or MeCN as the modifier solvent in ammonium acetate buffer. The carbohydrates studied were galactose, maltose, dextrose, mannose, dextrose, fructose, sucrose, arabinose, xylose, ribose, fucose, lactose, and cellobiose. It was determined that chromatographic parameters such as peak resolution and plate count were comparable between the two organic solvents, indicating that DMC is a viable green replacement solvent for MeCN for the CAD-HILIC separation of sugars. In conclusion, the human health and environmental risk of the use of MeCN in chromatography can be reduced through replacement by DMC.
Author(s): Sophie Elleman, Chemistry and Neuroscience Major
Advisor(s): Neil Danielson, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Philip Boes, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
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