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Fractionation of Dissolved Organic Matter on Coupled Reversed-Phase Monolithic Columns and Characterisation Using Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

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Abstract

Eleven Onyx monolithic C18 columns (100 x 3 mm) were connected in series to obtain a high-capacity reversed-phase HPLC column providing 110,000 theoretical plates. The column was used to fractionate a complex mixture of semi-polar and apolar components within marine dissolved organic matter (DOM), isolated using solid-phase extraction (SPE) on poly(styrene–divinylbenzene) cartridges, and Suwannee River natural organic matter, isolated by reverse osmosis. In each case, 15 isolated fractions were further separated using a second-dimension reversed-phase HPLC coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Successful fractionation of the major compositional materials within DOM (i.e. carboxylic-rich alicyclic molecules, CRAM) in order of decreasing polarity was confirmed. Upon formulae assignment, homologous series of compounds were fractionated according to decreasing O/C ratio and increasing H/C ratio. Different compounds with the same exact masses were separated across six fractions, highlighting the immensely complex nature of the material, with the presence of potentially hundreds of molecules for each molecular formula. Both samples showed clear compositional differences not only related to source (seawater or freshwater), but also to the extraction method applied (SPE or reverse osmosis).

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported under Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (Project Number DP130101518).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Centre for Research on Separation Sciences, School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    Sara Sandron, Alfonso Rojas Cardona, Paul R. Haddad, Pavel N. Nesterenko & Brett Paull

  2. Central Science Laboratory, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    Noel W. Davies & Richard Wilson

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  1. Sara Sandron
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  2. Noel W. Davies
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  3. Richard Wilson
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  4. Alfonso Rojas Cardona
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  6. Pavel N. Nesterenko
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  7. Brett Paull
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Correspondence to Brett Paull.

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Published in the topical collection 2nd ACROSS International Symposium on Advances in Separation Science (ASASS 2016) with guest editors Pavel Nesterenko and Brett Paull.

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Sandron, S., Davies, N.W., Wilson, R. et al. Fractionation of Dissolved Organic Matter on Coupled Reversed-Phase Monolithic Columns and Characterisation Using Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Chromatographia 81, 203–213 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-017-3324-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-017-3324-0

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