Special Issues
Improvements in HPLC column technology continue. Since the last Special Supplement on columns in 2008 (1), the continued need for high-throughput separation, the encountering of more complex samples, the need to analyze very polar compounds more easily, and the increased availability of very high pressure instruments has placed additional demands on the HPLC column. In terms of high throughput, no less than 24 companies have responded and have developed small particle columns of 2 µm and under. In addition, the number of superficially porous particle (SPP) columns has expanded, and users are finding that the high-efficiency-at-low-pressure advantage brings them added advantages. With more complex samples, longer columns packed with sub-2-µm particles require higher pressures with pumps now available to 1300 bar. It will be of interest to see if the lower pressure, high-efficiency SPP columns and monoliths, the latter of which have seen advances in the research of polymeric monoliths for applications to..
