Prediction of chromatographic retention, pKa values and optimization of the separation of polyphenolic acids in strawberries

Polyphenolic acids are a complex group of compounds that have attracted enormous attention in the last few years because of their biological properties. In this work, the proportion of organic modifier and the pH of acetonitrile–water mixtures used as mobile phases were optimized in order to separate a series of polyphenolic compounds. The linear solvation energy relationship formalism based on the single solvent polarity parameter, ENT, was used to predict their chromatographic behavior as a function of the percentage of acetonitrile in the eluent. Moreover, the correlation established between retention and the pH of the aqueous–organic mobile phase was used to optimize the pH of the mobile phase. The optimized mobile phase is composed of acetonitrile and formic acid buffer adjusted to pH 4.25, with 12% (v/v) acetonitrile. Also, the pKa values of polyphenolic acids in acetonitrile–water mixtures were determined using chromatographic data, and in order to validate the optimized conditions, a series of polyphenolic compounds was studied in strawberries.