HPLC

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HPLC

High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)is a technique for separating components in a sample on the basis of interactions between the component, a liquid mobile phase and a solid stationary phase.

HPLC or high performance liquid chromatography is a technique for separating components in a sample on the basis of interactions between the component, a liquid mobile phase and a solid stationary phase. Both individual compounds and more complex fractions of a sample can be separated in this manner with detection possible using UV absorption, refractive index measurement, evaporative light scattering or mass spectrometry. The sample is introduced into a metal column coated with a stationary phase through which the mobile phase flows under pressure. The stronger the interaction with the stationary phase, the longer the component will be retained on the column and the stronger the interaction with the mobile phase the shorter will be its residence time on the column and vice versa. A typical separation may require 5 minutes to an hour. HPLC has found its greatest applicability in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology areas in the last 20 years due to its ability to separate complex molecules like proteins and drugs.