The Benefits of Capillary-Scale Separations

In his talk at analytica USA, Jim Grinias, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Rowan University and a member of the LCGC International Editorial Advisory Board, emphasized that the movement toward more sustainable and environmentally responsible techniques is gaining momentum across many industries. This trend is closely tied to the broader global effort to achieve net-zero emissions and reduce the overall environmental footprint of research, development, and manufacturing processes (1). Although the energy use and waste production associated with measurement science may appear modest compared with larger aspects of industrial production, every step of the workflow contributes to the cumulative impact (1). For this reason, even seemingly small improvements in analytical practices can play an important role in advancing sustainability goals.

In his presentation entitled “Greener and Faster Separations with Capillary Liquid Chromatography,” Grinias explored the advantages of moving from traditional analytical-scale high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to capillary-scale separations. This shift reduces solvent consumption and waste generation without compromising analytical quality (1). He highlighted how compact instrument platforms, designed with lower power requirements, support greener practices (1). These systems achieve efficiency by incorporating reduced pumps and LED-based absorbance detection, offering substantial energy savings compared with conventional equipment (1).

Importantly, these innovations do not require analysts to sacrifice data quality. For many pharmaceutical applications, results produced by capillary-scale separations on compact, energy-efficient platforms are comparable to those obtained using larger, higher-flow instruments (1).

LCGC International sat down with Grinias to talk about capillary-scale LC and green analytical chemistry. In this clip, Grinias discusses how capillary-scale separations compare to analytical-scale HPLC and the barriers for industry-wide adoption of green analytical technologies.

This interview segment is part of our conversation with Grinias. Throughout the next week, we will be publishing our coverage of the Analytica USA conference. To stay up to date with all the latest from our coverage of Analytica USA, click here.

Reference

1. Analytica USA, James Grinias. Analytica USA. Available at: https://aus2025.mapyourshow.com/8_0/sessions/session-details.cfm?scheduleid=31 (accessed 2025-09-10).