Capillary ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for fast and high resolution metabolomics separations

•Capillary columns 15 – 50 cm long packed with 1.1 and 1.7 µm C18 particles operated up to 35,000 psi•Chromatographic peak capacities over 500 in less than 2 h•1.1 µm particle packed columns allow faster separation while maintaining efficiency•Flow rates down to 700 nL/min evaluated for feature detection in human plasma extracts LC-MS is an important tool for metabolomics due its high sensitivity and broad metabolite coverage. The goal of improving resolution and decreasing analysis time in HPLC has led to the use of 5 – 15 cm long columns packed with 1.7 – 1.9 µm particles requiring pressures of 8 – 12 kpsi. We report on the potential for capillary LC-MS based metabolomics utilizing porous C18 particles down to 1.1 µm diameter and columns up to 50 cm long with an operating pressure of 35 kpsi. Our experiments show that it is possible to pack columns with 1.1 µm porous particles to provide predicted improvements in separation time and efficiency. Using kinetic plots to guide the choice of column length and particle size, we packed 50 cm long columns with 1.7 µm particles and 20 cm long columns with 1.1 µm particles, which should produce equivalent performance in shorter times. Columns were tested by performing isocratic and gradient LC-MS analyses of small molecule metabolites and extracts from plasma. These columns provided approximately 100,000 theoretical plates for metabolite standards and peak capacities over 500 in 100 min for a complex plasma extract with robust interfacing to MS. To generate a given peak capacity, the 1.1 µm particles in 20 cm columns required roughly 75% of the time as 1.7 µm particles in 50 cm columns with both operated at 35 kpsi. The 1.1 µm particle packed columns generated a given peak capacity nearly 3 times faster than 1.7 µm particles in 15 cm columns operated at ~10 kpsi. This latter condition represents commercial state of the art for capillary LC. To consider practical benefits for metabolomics, the effect of different LC-MS variables on mass spectral feature detection was evaluated. Lower flow rates (down to 700 nL/min) and larger injection volumes (up to 1 µL) increased the features detected with modest loss in separation performance. The results demonstrate the potential for fast and high resolution separations for metabolomics using 1.1 µm particles operated at 35 kpsi for capillary LC-MS.