Hplc Essay

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HPLC
HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is an analytical technique which separates a complex mixture of components into its specific individual components. It is a powerful tool in analysis, as it combines high speed with extreme sensitivity compared to traditional methods of chromatography because of the use of a pump which creates a high pressure and forces the mobile phase to move with the analyte in high speed. It is been used as a principle technology in various automated analyzers used for diagnostic purpose.
Principle:
HPLC technology works on the principle of conventional chromatography where in there is a stationary phase and a mobile phase. The sample containing the mixture of components is introduced in a column packed …show more content…

Mobile phase:
The choice of mobile phase depends on the chemical nature of the compound of interest and could be purely organic, inorganic or a mixture of both in gradient. Most commonly used mobile phases are organic solvents like acetonitrile or methanol. Some HPLC analysis require the use of water free solvents as mobile phase and in such cases acids like formic acid, phosphoric acid, trifluoroacetic or salts which will assist in separation of components in the sample are used.
Stationary phase:
Stationary phase is of extreme importance in an HPLC analysis, as the chemical nature of the same and its compatibility with the analyte of interest is extremely significant for efficient separation. The most commonly used stationary phase is silica packed column which acts as a adsorbent. Each component in the sample interacts with these silica particles and gets eluted out in different time intervals. These silica columns may be of C14 or C18 type depending on the component of interest and also the columns themselves come in various dimensions each with a specific purpose of analysis. …show more content…

The working begins with an auto-sampler which picks up a definite amount of sample as programmed from the defined tube and passes in to the pump wherein it is mixed with the mobile phase in definite proportion. This is followed by entry of the mixture into the column under high pressure which aids in separation. The individual analytes in the mixture will interact with the stationary phase and finally be eluted out at a definite retention time. The retention time of each eluting component is recorded and based on this data the output is displayed in the graphical format. Peaks are seen on the graph and each peak corresponds to a particular component in the mixture, while the area under the curve of the peak denotes the concentration of the analyte. The higher the number of peaks, more is the number of analytes present in the

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