Advancements to allow fast HPLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Advancements to allow fast HPLC - Essay Example One of the major domains of chemistry that promises lots of advancements due to extensive research is Analytical Chemistry. Analytical Chemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the analysis of the chemical nature of matter. Analysis of chemical composition of matter is the supporting pillar to the development of any new product or structure. The collective term used for the various laboratory procedures available to separate matter into its constituent compositions to analyze their chemical nature is known as Chromatography. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is a type of Column Chromatography, which is used to separate a mixture into its constituent components with the use of chemical interactions. A series of chemical interactions are used in between the substance of subject and the chromatography column.Although the concept of Liquid Chromatography dates back to 1940s, the path breaking research, in the field of HPLC is being carried out on a large scale even t oday. More samples of matter are being analyzed for their chemical behavior than ever before in the recent times. Chemists, researchers and pharmaceutical companies need to perform chromatography on large quantities of samples. The call of the day is to speed up the process of HPLC while at the same time not forsake its accuracy. The solution is to speed up the process of HPLC by a magnitude. This process known as Fast HPLC is a boon to all people and organizations concerned. The most common principle behind Fast HPLC is rapid analysis using short columns. The particles filled in the columns are also short. Various developments are taking place in the HPLC technology to aid Fast HPLC and in all cases it is observed that Fast HPLC operate nearly five times faster while at the same time not sacrificing performance, reliability and simplicity. This report aims to enumerate the various developments that are being carried out in the field of HPLC that aid Fast HPLC. The HPLC process is described with relevant terms. Several research works being carried out are explained with the intended purpose of the research. Particular topics covered in this report include advancements in monolithic columns, small particle columns and high pressure and high temperature modes and relevant developments in other methods. The report aims at understanding the advantages brought about by these advancements in the field of HPLC. Specific concentration of the report is the developments in the field of columns used in HPLC. An analysis is made as to how, advances in the columns speeds up the process of chromatography. The applications of these developments are enumerated and an analysis is provided as to how the modern developments have changed the way the process is conducted. [1][2][3] Etc. The Process The performance of HPLC is affected by a number of factors. The most important among the factors are 'Column Efficiency', 'Performance of Mobile Phase', 'Performance of Stationary Phase', 'Injectors', 'Pumps', 'Detectors', 'Columns and Column Packing' and 'Automation'. Advancements in several of these factors have led to the development of Fast HPLC. Advancements: Fast HPLC Monolithic columns: A method popularly used as a separation media for liquid chromatography has been that of monolithic stationary phases and columns. These have not taken much time to become popular however some of their features have yet to be clearly studied. Researchers comment that chromatographic behavior of these columns should be studied along with their physico-chemical and structural properties to attain progress in their design and production. Recently a technique known as fast high performance LC is becoming popular for laboratory. Here shorter columns that have higher flow rates are used thereby analysis time is