Best of the Week: SFC Takes the Spotlight

This week's Chromatography Online coverage centers on LCGC International's new "Beyond the Critical Point" series, a multi-part exploration of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) that traces the technique's evolution from a niche method into a genuine complement to liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC), with expert interviews spanning greener separation science, chiral analysis applications (including a cancer-fighting ruthenium complex), cost and adoption barriers relative to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and advances in preparative and hyphenated SFC methods—making it essential reading for anyone tracking where separation science is headed. Rounding out the week, Part 2 of the “GC Connections” column’s terminology series offers a practical, IUPAC-grounded refresher on reading and reporting chromatographic data (retention time, plate number, selectivity, and more), while a study on detecting rare pesticides in tap water highlights chromatography's continued role in environmental monitoring. Together, these pieces offer both forward-looking technique development and grounded, applied methodology relevant to working analytical chemists.

This is the Best of the Week.

LCGC International Unveils "Beyond the Critical Point: Expert Insights in SFC"

LCGC International is proud to present a new topic takeover series on supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC). Once considered a niche technique, SFC has become an established alternative and complement to liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC). Built around carbon dioxide as the primary mobile phase, its adoption reflects progress in instrumentation, column chemistry, and method development, alongside growing interest in reduced solvent consumption and orthogonal selectivity for separations that are difficult to resolve by conventional means.

This series presents conversations in which LCGC International speaks with specialists in SFC, including researchers, instrument developers, and practicing analysts, on how the technique has developed, current practice, and where research and development efforts are concentrated. Discussion connects the underlying separation science with the practical considerations that influence adoption, including the capabilities and limitations of modern SFC relative to LC and GC.^1-7

The Evolution of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography SFC Points to Greener Path for Chromatography Chirality Under the Microscope: What SFC Reveals About a Cancer-Fighting Ruthenium Complex SFC: Perception, Cost, and the Path Beyond HPLC
Sequential SurrogateOptimization for Supercritical Fluid Extraction–Supercritical Fluid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method Development
Supercritical Fluid Chromatography: Advances, Applications, and Sustainability “One Shot” Solutions for Preparative Chiral Sub/Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Using Chiroptical Detection

Terminology and Nomenclature for Gas Chromatography, Part 2: Reading Chromatograms and Presenting the Data

Part 2 of this series applies IUPAC nomenclature to core gas chromatography data analysis, defining and explaining key parameters—retention time, hold-up time, peak width, retention factor, selectivity, and plate number—used to interpret and report chromatograms.⁸

Using Chromatography to Detect Rare Pesticides in Water

Researchers are using chromatography methods to track elusive pesticides in French tap water.⁹

References

1. West, C.; Jones, K.; Matheson, A. The Evolution of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/evolution-supercritical-fluid-chromatography (accessed 2026-09-18)
2. Faure, K.; Chasse, J. SFC Points to Greener Path for Chromatography. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/sfc-points-to-greener-path-for-chromatography (accessed 2026-09-18)
3. Armstrong, D. W.; Chasse, J. Chirality Under the Microscope: What SFC Reveals About a Cancer-Fighting Ruthenium Complex. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/chirality-under-the-microscope-what-sfc-reveals-about-a-cancer-fighting-ruthenium-complex(accessed 2026-09-18)
4. De Phillipo, T.; Jones, K. SFC: Perception, Cost, and the Path Beyond HPLC. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/sfc-perception-cost-and-the-path-beyond-hplc(accessed 2026-09-18)
5. Schug, K. A.; Matheson, A.Sequential SurrogateOptimization for Supercritical Fluid Extraction–Supercritical Fluid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method Development. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/sequential-surrogate-optimization-for-supercritical-fluid-extraction-supercritical-fluid-chromatography-tandem-mass-spectrometry-method-development (accessed 2026-09-18)
6. Reilly, J.; Parr, M. K.; Miller, L. et al. Supercritical Fluid Chromatography: Advances, Applications, and Sustainability. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/supercritical-fluid-chromatography-advances-applications-and-sustainability (accessed 2026-09-18)
7. Welch, C. J.; Reilly, J.; , A.“One Shot” Solutions for Preparative Chiral Sub/Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Using Chiroptical Detection. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/-one-shot-solutions-for-preparative-chiral-sub-supercritical-fluid-chromatography-using-chiroptical-detection(accessed 2026-09-18)
8. Snow, N. Terminology and Nomenclature for Gas Chromatography, Part 2: Reading Chromatograms and Presenting the Data. Chromatography Online website.https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/terminology-and-nomenclature-for-gas-chromatography-part-2-reading-chromatograms-and-presenting-the-data (accessed 2026-09-18)
9. Chasse, J. Using Chromatography to Detect Rare Pesticides in Water. Chromatography Online website. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/using-chromatography-detect-rare-pesticides-water (accessed 2026-09-18)