Oxocarbon separations

[DeniseHeinz]

Hi, This is hopefully an easy question with an obvious answer. I'm come from a world of alkaloids/C18 columns, and I'm working on HPLC chemistry that is new to me. I'm working on a method to separate inositol, rhodizonate and croconate. I'm struggling to find a good column that works with these guys. I had tried using a C18 (compounds are too hydrophillic) and mixed mode anion column (difficult to work with).
I'd prefer to remain at a neutral pH so the compounds are deprotonated for detection by negative mode by ESI-MS. I have a GC or LC available to me. I didn't see much on the GC. I know that they are somewhat unstable molecules, and I prefer to not derivatize the compounds. Is there a better HPLC packing/separation approach I could try? I have lots of references on synthesis and degradation, but I haven't found much on analysis of these compounds.

Thank you in advance.

[tom jupille]

HILIC ?

[Gerhard Kratz]

I agree with Tom - HILIC!!!

[DeniseHeinz]

An update:

Thank you for the good suggestions. We haven't had the cash to purchase a HILIC column as of yet. But, to hobble forward, I found an article on separation of dyes with 10mM TEA, pH=5 on a C18 column. It looks great so far w/ APCI.