Determination of the retention behavior of barbituric acid derivatives in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography by using quantitative structure–retention relationships

Retention parameters of 45 barbituric acid derivatives were determined on an amide embedded RP silica column using non-buffered water–dioxan eluent systems. Linear correlations were calculated between the logarithm of the capacity factor and the dioxan concentration in the eluent. Six different retention parameters of each barbituric acid derivative were correlated with different conventional and quantum chemical structural descriptors using quantitative structure–retention relationship (QSRR). The different parameters were: intercept (log k0) and slope (b) values of the linear, the combined retention parameter (log k0/b), asymmetry factor (AF5) and theoretical plate values (NUSP and NJP, according to the United States and Japanese Pharmacopoeia calculations). Stepwise regression analysis (SRA) and principal component analysis (PCA) followed by two-dimensional nonlinear mapping were used to determine the retention behavior of barbituric acid derivatives. SRA and PCA led to similar results. The results indicated that the retention of barbituric acid derivatives are mainly governed by the polaric and steric parameters of the substituents.