Characterization and Classification of Pseudo-Stationary Phases in Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography Using Chemometric Methods

Two types of chemometric methods, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, are employed to characterize and classify a total of 70 pseudostationary phases (54 distinct systems and 16 decoy systems) in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). PCA excels at removing redundant information for micellar phase characterization and retaining principal determinants for phase classification. While PCA is useful in the characterization of micelle selectivities, it is ineffective in defining the grouping of micellar phases. Hierarchical clustering yields a complete dendrogram of cluster structures but provides only limited cluster characterizations. The combination of these two chemometric methods leads to a comprehensive interpretation of the micellar phase classification. Moreover, the k-means analysis can further discern subtle differences among those closely located micellar phases. All three chemometric methods result in similar classifications with respect to the similarities and differences of the 70 micelle systems investigated. These systems are categorized into 3 major clusters: fluoro-surfactants represent cluster I, identified as strong hydrogen bond donors and dipolar but weak hydrogen bond acceptors. Cluster II includes sulfonated acrylamide/acrylate copolymers and surfactants with trimethylammonium head groups, characterized by strong hydrophobicity (v) and weak hydrogen bond acidity (b). The last cluster consists of two subclusters: clusters III and IV. Cluster III includes siloxane-based polymeric micelles, exhibiting weak hydrophobicity and medium hydrogen bond acidity and basicity (a), and the cluster IV micellar systems are characterized by their strong hydrophobicity and medium hydrogen bond acidity and basicity but rather weak dipolarity. Cluster III differs from cluster IV by its slightly weaker hydrophobicity and hydrogen bond donating capability. The classification by chemometric methods is in good agreement with the classification by the micellar selectivity triangle (MST) (Fu, C.; Khaledi, M. G. J. Chromatogr., A 2009, 1216, 1891−1900).