Separation and determination of the two components of glycerol formal by high-performance liquid chromatography

The two isomeric components of glycerol formal, 1,3-dioxan-5-ol and 1,3-dioxolane-4-methanol, are marginally separated (R_s = 1.0) by polar-bonded-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a cyanopropyl column with acetone—hexane as the eluent. Esterification of these components with 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride produces derivatives which are, however, completely resolved (R_s > 2) by normal-phase HPLC on silica; derivatization has the added advantage of introducing an ultraviolet-absorbing chromophore into each component. Preparative scale chromatography is used to isolate each of the derivatives, which are characterized by their UV, NMR and mass spectral properties. These esters are used as reference standards for an analytical method based on derivatization and normal-phase chromatography. In this way a sample of glycerol formal is calibrated for use as a standard in the direct determination of the two components by polar-bonded-phase HPLC.