Guest authors Nagayanagi, Takimoto, and Saito review the development and manufacturing of gas chromatography instrumentation from Shimadzu Corp., Japan's leading scientific instrument company. They also provide a brief history of the company to explain the company's design and marketing philosophies. 

Articles

The guest authors summarize the history of this Japanese scientific instrument company and events in the development of its products.

Development of Gas Chromatography Instruments at Shimadzu

Data management using database management system software has become a mainstream desktop application. Desktop database management software is easier to use in many ways than spreadsheet programs.

Data management using database management system software has become a mainstream desktop application because of its ease compared with spreadsheet programs.

Getting Started with Database Management System Software

In this month's "GC Connections," guest columnist Dean Rood writes about optimizing separations using combinations of two columns connected in a series. These coupled column systems produce peak separations that are a combination of separations achieved on each column individually. He describes the geographical window diagramming approach to determining the optimal combination of column lengths for several separations and column combinations and compares the results with those obtained using mixed stationary-phase chemistry.

Analysts can optimize their separations by using combinations of two columns connected in series. This type of coupled column system produces peak separations that are a combination of separations obtained on each column.

Optimizing Separations Using Coupled Columns and Window Diagramming

This month's "Column Watch" takes us to HPLC '99 in Grenada, Spain. Ron Majors describes some of the more interesting paper and poster presentations and new developments and technologies in columns, sample preparation, and genetic research.

In this month's "Column Watch," Majors recounts some of the more interesting paper and poster presentations given at HPLC '99, held May 30–June 4, in Grenada, Spain.

A Special Report on HPLC '99

Inadequate mobile-phase gassing may be the single largest cause of LC problems.

Inadequate mobile-phase gassing may be the single largest cause of LC problems. Columnist Dolan examines bubble-problem sources and techniques that analysts can use to eliminate excess gas in the mobile phase.

Mobile-Phase Degassing – Why, When, and How

The authors propose using water superheated to 100–240 ºC as an alternative liquid eluent for reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to overcome many of the problems of toxicity, flammability, and cost associated with organic modifiers. Superheated water has been demonstrated as an eluent with a number of stationary phase materials, including poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) and porous graphitic carbon both isothermally and in thermal gradient mode. It is compatible with conventional HPLC spectroscopic detectors and also can be used with flame ionization, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry detectors. The authors provide examples of separation applications, including aromatic compounds, pharmaceutical compounds, and vitamins.

The authors describe the results they've achieved by using water heated to 100–240 ºC as a liquid eluent for reversed-phase HPLC instead of an organic modifier. They point out that this alternative avoids many of the problems – toxicity, flammability, and cost – associated with organic modifiers.

Superheated Water: A New Look at Chromatographic Eluents for Reversed-Phase HPLC

The sensitivity and ruggedness of chiroptical detectors have improved considerably during the past decade. In this article, the authors examine more than 230 chiral compounds using the latest laser-based polarimetry detector for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). They also examine the relationship between optical rotation at the detector wavelength of 675 nm and the sodium D line. In addition, the authors consider the sensitivity, linear dynamic range, and effect of solvent composition on rotation and its general use as an HPLC detector for chiral compounds.

The authors evaluate a new chiroptical detector's sensitivity for various chiral compounds, linear dynamic range, and relative response with different solvents.