Evaluation of sequential Bayesian‐based method development procedures for chromatographic problems involving one, two, and three analytes

Abstract In this work, various sequential Bayesian‐based method development procedures associated with a search of isocratic chromatographic conditions ensuring baseline separation of one, two, and three analytes within the pre‐specified retention time window were evaluated. The accuracy and total analysis time of tested procedures were experimentally and theoretically verified and compared with the usual approaches utilizing one or two preliminary organic modifier gradients. The possession of strong and weakly informative priors about analytes was considered. The overall success rate of tested procedures was high with a small number of mistakes. It was shown that for simple problems considered here one is able to use a sequence of isocratic conditions to find the desired chromatogram. The use of one preliminary gradient was shown to be of similar accuracy and time requirements. Interestingly, the use of two preliminary gradients almost always required more time than procedures involving no or one preliminary gradient. Prior knowledge of analytes considerably shortened method development times for procedures involving no or one preliminary gradient. The sequential Bayesian‐based method development allows us to achieve a desired chromatographic separation by proper weighting of information available to the analyst at each stage of the method development process.