Comparative evaluation of three alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids for the separation of lanthanides by dynamically modified reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

The resolution for the three homologues of alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids viz. lactic acid, alpha-hydroxyisobutyric acid (alpha-HIBA) and alpha-hydroxy-alpha-methylbutyric acid (alpha-H-alpha-MBA), was compared for the individual separation of 14 lanthanide elements under identical experimental conditions. Alpha-HIBA was found to be the best for separation of heavier lanthanides (Tb to Lu) while alpha-H-alpha-MBA led to a better separation for lighter lanthanides (La to Eu). All the 14 lanthanides were separated by gradient HPLC employing both alpha-HIBA and alpha-H-alpha-MBA so that there was reasonable resolution among all the peaks and the separation was completed in a short time.