High perfomance liquid chromatography
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a technique used to separate, identify, and quantify components in a mixture. It is a form of chromatography that relies on the interaction between the sample components and a stationary phase in a liquid medium.
In HPLC, a liquid mobile phase (solvent) is pumped through a column packed with a stationary phase. As the mobile phase flows through the column, it interacts with the sample components, causing them to separate based on their different affinities to the stationary phase. The separated components are then detected and analyzed.
HPLC offers high resolution and sensitivity, making it a popular analytical technique in various fields such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, environmental analysis, and forensic science. It can be used to determine the presence and concentration of various compounds within a sample, as well as to identify unknown compounds by comparing their retention times with those of known standards.
Different types of HPLC techniques exist, including normal phase, reversed phase, ion exchange, size-exclusion, and affinity chromatography. These variations allow for the separation of different types of compounds based on their chemical properties, such as polarity, size, or charge.
Overall, HPLC is a powerful analytical tool that plays a critical role in research, quality control, and regulatory compliance in various industries.