Comprehensive characterization of oligolactide architecture by multidimensional chromatography and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry
Publication date
2026-01-16
Document type
Forschungsartikel
Author
Lal, Amit
Eselem Bungu, Paul Severin
Luetzow, Karola
Kirchhecker, Sarah
Apostel, Regine
Lettau, Olaf
Hannemann, Monique
Pasch, Harald
Organisational unit
Scopus ID
Publisher
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Series or journal
ACS Omega
ISSN
Periodical volume
11
Periodical issue
4
First page
5295
Last page
5305
Peer-reviewed
✅
Part of the university bibliography
✅
Language
English
Abstract
Oligolactides (OLA) are increasingly finding applications in drug delivery systems, implant coating, and tissue engineering. The most common synthetic route to OLA, ring-opening polymerization, produces polymer chains with complex architecture, including cyclic structures, chains with acid end groups, and initiator-bound oligomeric species. This inherent molecular heterogeneity presents significant challenges in analytical characterization. To address this complexity, it is essential to develop a robust separation method for comprehensive analysis. In this study, we developed a novel and robust high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using ethanol-modified chloroform as an eluent on a normal-phase column, which effectively separates the OLA chains. Additionally, the impact of different initiators on the molecular heterogeneity of OLA chains was investigated. To elucidate the separation mechanism, the HPLC method is hyphenated with size exclusion chromatography in a two-dimensional liquid chromatography setup. The results indicate that OLA chains are separated based on increasing degree of polymerization or increasing lactide incorporation. Furthermore, online coupling of HPLC with mass spectrometry provided deeper insight into the heterogeneity of the bulk. This study highlights the importance of correlative characterization techniques as a preferred approach for determining microstructural heterogeneity in low molar mass OLA samples.
Description
This publication is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Version
Published version
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