High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a separation technique that can be used for the analysis of organic molecules and ions. HPLC is based on mechanisms of adsorption, partition and ion exchange, depending on the type of stationary phase used. HPLC involves a solid stationary phase, normally packed inside a stainless-steel column, and a liquid mobile phase. Separation of the components of a solution results from the difference in the relative distribution ratios of the solutes between the two phases.
HPLC has been used for medical (e.g. detecting vitamin D levels in blood serum), legal (e.g. detecting performance enhancement drugs in urine), research (e.g. separating the components of a complex biological sample, or of similar synthetic chemicals from each other), and manufacturing (e.g. during the production process of pharmaceutical and biological products) purposes.
Chromatography can be described as a mass transfer process involving adsorption. HPLC relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid and a sample mixture through a column filled with a sorbent, leading to the separation of the sample components. The active component of the column, the sorbent, is typically a granular material made of solid particles (e.g. silica, polymers, etc.), 2-50 micrometres in size. The components of the sample mixture are separated from each other due to their different degrees of interaction with the sorbent particles. The pressurized liquid is typically a mixture of solvents (e.g. water, acetonitrile and/or methanol) and is referred to as a "mobile phase". Its composition and temperature play a major role in the separation process by influencing the interactions taking place between sample components and sorbent. These interactions are physical in nature, such as hydrophobic (dispersive), dipole-dipole and ionic, most often a combination.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography has brought desirable advantages in the field of food analysis. Food matrices are generally complex and extraction of analytes is not an easy task. To further complicate matters both desirable and undesirable components are often found in trace levels and classical extraction and analysis does not provide the required levels of accuracy and precision. HPLC offers viable solutions due to vast choice of stationary phases and mobile phase options.
Increasingly, food analysis methods are built around high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which has proven to be an optimal technology for detecting and/or quantifying the vast majority of food analytes. These methods employ a stepwise approach that first removes the sample matrix, then isolates the analytes of interest and individually resolves them on a chromatographic column. The efficiency of the separation depends on, among other things, the differential interaction of analytes of interest with both mobile and column stationary phases. Of course, classifying food analytes according to their relative volatility and polarity are factors that must be considered when selecting an appropriate analytical method for their determination. Keeping track of the increasing diversity of food products with their ever-expanding profusion of additives is a daunting analytical challenge; one that must be continually met if we are to ensure the quality and safety of our food supply. HPLC is powerfully current because it's fundamental principle-selection through differential molecular interaction-is based on fundamental variations in classes of properties across all chemical species. This selection principle continues to be a rich source of methodological innovation for analytical separation, detection and quantification.
HPLC has been used for medical (e.g. detecting vitamin D levels in blood serum), legal (e.g. detecting performance enhancement drugs in urine), research (e.g. separating the components of a complex biological sample, or of similar synthetic chemicals from each other), and manufacturing (e.g. during the production process of pharmaceutical and biological products) purposes.
Chromatography can be described as a mass transfer process involving adsorption. HPLC relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid and a sample mixture through a column filled with a sorbent, leading to the separation of the sample components. The active component of the column, the sorbent, is typically a granular material made of solid particles (e.g. silica, polymers, etc.), 2-50 micrometres in size. The components of the sample mixture are separated from each other due to their different degrees of interaction with the sorbent particles. The pressurized liquid is typically a mixture of solvents (e.g. water, acetonitrile and/or methanol) and is referred to as a "mobile phase". Its composition and temperature play a major role in the separation process by influencing the interactions taking place between sample components and sorbent. These interactions are physical in nature, such as hydrophobic (dispersive), dipole-dipole and ionic, most often a combination.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography has brought desirable advantages in the field of food analysis. Food matrices are generally complex and extraction of analytes is not an easy task. To further complicate matters both desirable and undesirable components are often found in trace levels and classical extraction and analysis does not provide the required levels of accuracy and precision. HPLC offers viable solutions due to vast choice of stationary phases and mobile phase options.
Increasingly, food analysis methods are built around high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which has proven to be an optimal technology for detecting and/or quantifying the vast majority of food analytes. These methods employ a stepwise approach that first removes the sample matrix, then isolates the analytes of interest and individually resolves them on a chromatographic column. The efficiency of the separation depends on, among other things, the differential interaction of analytes of interest with both mobile and column stationary phases. Of course, classifying food analytes according to their relative volatility and polarity are factors that must be considered when selecting an appropriate analytical method for their determination. Keeping track of the increasing diversity of food products with their ever-expanding profusion of additives is a daunting analytical challenge; one that must be continually met if we are to ensure the quality and safety of our food supply. HPLC is powerfully current because it's fundamental principle-selection through differential molecular interaction-is based on fundamental variations in classes of properties across all chemical species. This selection principle continues to be a rich source of methodological innovation for analytical separation, detection and quantification.
About the Author:
Kaira G. Tafoya has spent the past 30 years helping entrepreneurs and organizations with their laboratory start-up endeavors. He now uses his experience and expertise to help groups choose the best laboratory compliance consultant for them. If you would like to learn more about Top Laboratory Start Up in Dallas he suggests you click here for more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment