Luisa Pereira

What challenges occur when using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC), and what options are available for analysis?

Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] is a broad spectrum, non-selective herbicide, which acts by inhibiting the shikimic acid pathway in plants. Recent studies have raised global health and environmental concerns about glyphosate's use.1 Glyphosate readily breaks down into aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA) in the environment; requiring accurate measurement. Both highly polar compounds present an analytical challenge to the chromatographer (Figure 1). Typical silica based reversed-phase C18 columns experience difficulty with the retention of such polar compounds, and may generate non-resolved co-eluting peaks, often with polar analytes eluting in the void volume. Traditional analytical methods require complex eluents and time consuming derivatization steps to achieve retention on a reversed-phase support.