Corporate Retrospective 2007: Regis

Regis Technologies, Inc. has a long-standing history of collaborating with leading scientists in the development of innovative chromatographic technology. Our entry into the chromatography business began in 1966 with a reagent kit that made it possible to analyze natural protein amino acids by gas chromatography (GC). Developed by Charles Gehrke and David Stalling at the University of Missouri, this derivatization technology enabled the GC analysis of non-volatile biomolecules. The line of derivatization reagents grew with kits for urinary steroids and carbohydrates, and has expanded into a full line of derivatization products.

Regis began to develop HPLC columns and packings after John Perry joined Regis in 1970. With the idea of developing high performance thin-layer chromatography, Perry innovated programmed multiple development and short bed continuous development. Although these developments created significant interest at the time, they were soon dwarfed by the growing interest in HPLC. John brought Regis into the HPLC business with the first reversible HPLC columns.

William Pirkle at the University of Illinois became interested in Regis' efficient HPLC columns and began developing methods for separating enantiomers by HPLC. Working with Pirkle, Regis developed and marketed a line of HPLC columns and packings. These chiral columns continue to offer advantages in efficiency, stability, and the useful advantage of reversing enantiomer elution.

Two more research scientists, this time from Purdue University, came to Regis. Tom Pinkerton's restricted access media (RAM) columns permit the direct injection of serum for drug analyses, while Charles Pidgeon's immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) columns enabled the prediction of drug membrane permeability.

More recently, Regis added supercritical fluid chromatography services to its stable of separation capabilities. This environmentally friendly technique, using liquid CO₂ as the primary mobile phase, is being applied at Regis in kilo quantity separations, following the GMP guidelines of the FDA.

Today, Regis Technologies manufactures HPLC columns for conventional and specialty separations. Regis manufactures derivatization reagents for GC and ion pair reagents and buffers for HPLC.

Congratulations to LCGC North America on their 25th Anniversary.

Louis J. Glunz

Louis J. Glunz III

Chairman

Regis Technologies, Inc.