HPLC on the Edge

A proud student filling in for his esteemed teacher highlighted the first day of technical sessions as Pittcon returned to the Crescent City.

In a symposium titled "HPLC on the Edge," Jacob N. Fairchild of the University of Tennessee gave a presentation on the “Comparison of the Performance of Some Modern HPLC Columns in the Separation of Complex Mixtures” in the place of Georges Guiochon, who was unable to attend. The talk explored shell particle concept among other subjects.

"There is renewed interest in the shell particle concept, these particles being made of a solid core surrounded with a layer of porous adsorbent. A new brand exhibits impressive properties. Since there is much competition between these different approaches, we can expect further progress in the years ahead."

Stephen G. Weber from the University of Pittsburgh presided over the symposium on Sunday afternoon as the 59th edition of Pittcon got under way on a brilliant winter day that saw temperatures reach the mid 70s.

James W. Jorgenson from the University of North Carolina was the first presenter after brief opening remarks from Weber. Jorgenson discussed "Ultra High Pressure Liquid Chromatography in Capillary Columns."

"The history of HPLC has witnessed a progression in the use of columns packed with particles of ever decreasing size. Decreasing particle size has led to smaller values of the plate height and faster optimum velocities. Due to pressure limitations of existing HPLC equipment however, this trend had translated not into columns of increasing separation efficiency, but instead, into short columns offering faster analysis times."

Pat J. Sandra from Ghent University, Frantisek Svec from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Peter W. Carr from the University of Minnesota also gave presentations.