April 4th 2025
Here is some of the most popular content posted on LCGC International this week.
Tips for Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Charged Aerosol Detection
December 1st 2020Charged aerosol detection is a powerful complement to UV and MS, but successful implementation requires understanding a few key factors, including response dependencies on temperature, nebulization process, analyte volatility, and mobile-phase composition.
The LCGC Blog: 12 Tips for a Chromatography Christmas
November 30th 2020As we approach the holiday season, in what has a been the most challenging of years both inside and outside of the laboratory, I wanted to produce a more light-hearted yet inspiring review of 2020 within the Arch Sciences Group laboratories.
Not (Only) Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry: Alternative LC–MS Approaches
November 1st 2020Reversed-phase LC–MS has limitations in numerous analytical applications. Alternative MS-compatible chromatographic techniques separate analytes in the liquid phase based on different retention mechanisms compared with reversed-phase LC. This article describes these alternative chromatographic approaches, relevant applications, and the future of these techniques.
Troubleshooting for Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography: Breakthrough in the Second Dimension
November 1st 2020A common problem encountered in the development of 2D-LC methods is that the first dimension mobile phase properties can negatively affect the quality of subsequent second dimension separations. This installment reviews the origin of this problem and discusses potential solutions.
Evaluating the Goodness of Instrument Calibration for Chromatography Procedures
November 1st 2020How good are your calibration procedures for environmental analysis methods using GC or LC? We demonstrate the overall value of a calibration measured by RSD. We also demonstrate the use of relative standard error (RSE) as a way of evaluating the quality or goodness of calibration methods.
The Impact of Column Hardware on Efficiency in Liquid Chromatography (LC)
October 1st 2020Column hardware in liquid chromatography—that is, the tubing, the frits, and fitting—has a strong influence on separation performance or the reproducibility of chromatographic data. Flow distributors and frits can introduce serious band broadening when separation is performed in short, narrow-bore columns. The kinetic performances of packed and monolithic columns are usually similar for well-retained analytes. However, monolithic columns may show significantly better performance for early-eluting compounds, which can be attributed to the moderate mobile phase dispersion caused by the simpler column hardware because no frits are required.
Some Essential Principles of Effective Troubleshooting
October 1st 2020When we are focused on resolving a particular problem, it can be easy to lose sight of important steps in troubleshooting problems with liquid chromatography (LC) instruments. Taking a systematic and disciplined approach to troubleshooting can improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of our troubleshooting efforts.
What is on Your HPLC Particle? Looking at Stationary Phase Chemistry Synthesis
September 1st 2020This article will review historical bonding techniques still in use for manufacturing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) stationary phases today, and also examine some emerging technologies that may be able to tackle unmet needs in novel platforms and phase construction.
Rules of Thumb for Reversed-Phase LC: What’s In Your Chromatographic Mind?
September 1st 2020A critical part of troubleshooting is understanding how the system should behave so that irregular behavior can be spotted. The more rules we know, the easier troubleshooting becomes. Learning these six rules is a great place to start.
What Is on Your HPLC Particle? A Look at Stationary Phase Chemistry Synthesis
September 1st 2020The traditional bonding techniques used to manufacture silica-particle-based HPLC stationary phases provide many benefits, but can emerging technologies tackle unmet needs? We assess current approaches and the potential for improvements.
Rules of Thumb for Reversed‑Phase LC: What’s In Your Chromatographic Mind?
August 31st 2020A handful of approximate rules about the behaviour of reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) can facilitate more efficient work, both during method development and in troubleshooting problems that arise with LC systems.
Development of Stability-Indicating Analytical Procedures by HPLC: An Overview and Best Practices
August 1st 2020Here we provide an overview of the fundamentals and best practices on the development of stability-indicating HPLC methods for drug substances and products. We explain both traditional and easier modern approaches to developing stability-indicating HPLC methods—including using a universal generic method for new chemical entities—and address regulatory considerations and life cycle management strategies.
Troubleshooting LC Separations of Biomolecules, Part II: Passivation and Mobile-Phase Additives
August 1st 2020If you are analyzing metal-sensitive biomolecules, and a bioinert instrument is unavailable, or insufficient, passivation or mobile-phase additives may help. Here’s how to use those solutions, with tips for avoiding potential pitfalls.
The LCGC Blog: Silica for HPLC Stationary Phases – A Five Minute Guide
June 4th 2020The nature of surface silanol groups is very important to determine the selectivity of a stationary phase. This article illustrates what analysts should be looking at on the silanol surface to asess the separation mechanism.
The Potential for Portable Capillary Liquid Chromatography
June 2nd 2020Is the desired goal of “shrinking down” capillary liquid chromatography (LC) from large laboratory systems to accurate portable field instruments realistic? This article explores recent progress in the miniaturization of LC components-such as capillary LC columns, micro- and nano-flow pumps, detectors, and other essential system components-and the future outlook for operating capillary LC instruments in remote settings.
Biocompatible Microextraction Devices for Simple and Green Analysis of Complex Systems
June 2nd 2020Pretreatment of complex samples remains a key step in the analytical workflow, critically impacting the overall accuracy of results. Pretreatment methods have been a challenge for food, biofluids, and environmental samples. Here, the development and evolution of biocompatible solid-phase microextraction (bio-SPME) as a sample pretreatment method are discussed for use in liquid chromatography and direct mass spectrometry applications.
Recovering from a COVID-19 Shutdown: Tips and Tricks for Starting Up, Part I
June 1st 2020When you restart liquid chromatography (LC) instrumentation that was idle during the COVID-19 shutdown, you need to follow a systematic approach. Otherwise, problems may appear in days or weeks following startup.
Moore’s Law in Liquid Chromatography: An Overview of 50 Years of (U)HPLC
June 1st 2020This article quantifies the progress in speed and efficiency that has been made in the area of liquid chromatography (LC) over the past 50 years. After a decade of groundbreaking advances in the 1970s, the progress in chromatographic performance over the ensuing four decades (1980–now) follows Moore’s law relatively closely. This is characteristic of technological fields that are of an evolutionary nature (that is, driven by the need for better performance).
Next Generation of Chromatographic Columns and Systems: From Theories to Possible Future Practices
May 1st 2020A series of theoretical, visualization, and simulation tools that are used to improve the structure and chemistry of the next generation of liquid chromatography (LC) columns is briefly reviewed.