Supercritical Fluid Chromatography: Advances, Applications, and Sustainability

Three leading experts in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC)—John Reilly (Novartis, Basel, Switzerland), Maria Kristina Parr (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany), and Larry Miller (Novartis, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)—discuss the evolution of the technique and where it delivers the most value today. Modern SFC instrumentation has resolved the robustness and sensitivity issues that once confined it to niche use, and the technique now plays an established role in chiral separations, biopharmaceutical workflows, and environmental and anti-doping analysis. According to the panelists, SFC's advantage lies less in a single broad "green" claim and more in specific, demonstrable gains—in solvent reduction, cycle time, and separation power—that continue to expand its reach beyond traditional applications.