Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Reactive Oxoammonium Cations

Abstract This study presents the first liquid chromatography method for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of highly reactive oxoammonium cations based on a simple derivatization reaction. Rapid 1,2-electrophilic addition reactions with olefins were used to transform these reactive species into analyzable derivates. Three model substances were chosen to represent each of the main application fields of oxoammonium cations and to demonstrate the versatility of the method. The measuring protocol was validated according to the ICH and USP guidelines. The method revealed an excellent linearity ( R 2 = 0.9980–0.9990) with a low limit of detection (0.16–0.14 mmol L −1 ) and a low limit of quantification (0.55–0.43 mmol L −1 ). The protocol was finally used to determine the oxoammonium cations in the presence of their corresponding radical, showing a robustness against impurity concentration of up to approx. 30%.