High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

Chromatography is a technique used to separate components of a mixture to isolate them for further use in synthesis (preparative chromatography) or for identification (analytical chromatography). In HPLC, the separation is achieved by pumping the mixture over an immobilized chemical system in a column by means of a liquid solvent stream. The solutes in the mixture partition between the moving and immobilized phases, and different solutes travel at different rates down the column. By the time the mixture exits the column, the solutes are spatially separated and can be collected or analyzed. The Agilent 1100 shown in the picture is equipped with a diode array detector which allows multiple wavelengths to be monitored simultaneously. This system can be used for determining the amount of organic substances, at low concentrations, in environmental, food, drug, or biological samples. For example, it can be used for the determination of caffeine in soft drinks and analgesics.

The system purchased is an Agilent 100 series HPLC (purchased 2003). We also have a Shimadzu LC-20AB HPLC (purchased 2010) that is typically run in normal phase and is outfitted with a chiral column.