SFC Europe 2026: A Preview

SFC Europe 2026—the 21st International Conference on Packed Column Supercritical Fluid Chromatography and Related Techniques—will be held in Basel, Switzerland, on October 4–6, 2026.

Chromatographers worldwide can look forward to SFC Europe 2026—the 21st International Conference on Packed Column Supercritical Fluid Chromatography and Related Techniques—to be held in Basel, Switzerland, on October 4–6, 2026. The conference has been held annually in the USA, Europe, or Asia since 2007. The European conference returns to Basel because of its central location in Europe, ease of access, and wide range of accommodation. The conference is an excellent opportunity for scientists who are using or considering supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) as green technologies to confer with leading experts in the field.

The conference kicks off with a full-day short course on SFC on October 4, 2026. The course will be of interest to scientists with little SFC experience, as well as those who are more experienced in the field. Past short courses have proven to be a valuable introduction to SFC for experienced separation scientists who are looking to expand their knowledge base beyond high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). The course will be taught by Larry Miller (associate director, Discovery Analytical, Novartis), J. David Pinkston (SuperSep Consulting, LLC), and Caroline West (professor of analytical chemistry, University of Orleans, France), with over 70+ years of combined experience in SFC.

Two days of oral and poster presentations will follow on October 5 and 6. Invited speakers include: Karine Faure (Institute of Analytical Sciences, University of Lyon; Online LC-SFC Hyphenation for Complex Natural Product Analysis), Paul Ferguson (Seda Pharmaceutical Development & CMS, University of Amsterdam; Practical Approaches Towards Green and Sustainable Chromatographic Methods), Miroslav Lisa (University of Hradec Králové; Chiral SFC-MS: A Powerful Tool for the Analysis of Stereoisomers of Biologically Significant Lipids), David Speybrouck (Oril Industrie; Comparative Assessment of SFC, Batch LC, and SMB for Preparative Chiral Resolution: Productivity, Economics, and Green Metrics), David Touboul (CNRS, École Polytechnique; SFC Coupled to High Resolution Tandem MS: From Untargeted Metabolomics to Structural Analysis), and Charlotta Turner (Lund University, Substitution of Hexane with Supercritical CO₂ as Extraction Solvent in Food Applications).

Nineteen other speakers from industry and academia, poster sessions, and vendor workshops will fill out the balance of the two-day program.

The advantages of SFC are well known to those in pharmaceutical research and development. Indeed, many of the presentations will be focused on the pharmaceutical and the biological applications of lipidomics. However, presentations and discussions will range far beyond pharmaceutical: from fundamental studies of SFC and SFE, to environmental analysis, flavors and fragrances, doping analysis, personal care products, food and beverage analysis, natural products, and forensic science.

In addition to scientific content, SFC 2026 will also include social events where attendees can rub elbows with leading experts in the field. Attendees will also enjoy vendor exhibits and workshops where they will learn about the latest advances in SFC and SFE equipment and SFC stationary phases.

Why should you attend SFC Europe 2026? Because you'll meet scientists who've embraced green methods across a wide range of applications—and not just for the environmental advantages or cost savings. Techniques like SFC and SFE deliver real technical advantages over conventional methods, too. In SFC, lower viscosities and higher diffusion coefficients allow more rapid separations at equivalent theoretical plates and/or the use of longer columns (higher resolutions) at equivalent separation times. SFC also provides dramatically different selectivities compared to reversed-phase HPLC. Removing the mobile phase in preparative separations is far easier with SFC. These advantages have led to the worldwide adoption of SFC in preparative chiral and achiral separations. SFE provides similar advantages: rapid and selective extraction using little, if any, organic solvent, and easy removal of the extraction fluid from isolated products.

Come explore the world of SFC and SFE with experts from across the world. All conference information, including venue and accommodation, can be found at https://web.cvent.com/event/8847bdec-c6af-4339-a9ae-09c11c82f03d/summary