Analyte loss due to membrane filter adsorption as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography

The phenomenon of membrane filter adsorption in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is investigated utilizing 16 brands of filters representing 3 polymeric materials: cellulose acetate (CA), nylon, and polyvinylidene difluoride in a variety of diameters (3, 4, 7, 13, and 25 mm). Sixteen compounds commonly encountered in drug preparations are selected as sample analytes and classified as acidic, basic, and neutral in chemical behavior. Six mobile phase/sample solvent mixtures are included: 3 with methanol-water and 3 with acetonitrile-water as major constituents. When using methanol as the mobile phase organic component, CA, nylon, and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) filters exhibit negligible to moderate adsorption levels with regard to the neutral and basic drug compounds. The acidic drug test compounds are adsorbed by 50% of all 3 filter materials tested in methanol-water. In acetonitrile, neutral compounds are affected by 31.4%, basic compounds are affected by 47.0%, and acidic compounds are affected by 53.6% of the nylon and PVDF filters. CA is incompatible with acetonitrile and is excluded from the study with this solvent.