Assignment HPLC
Assignment HPLC
Principle:
The principle of separation in normal phase mode and reverse phase mode is Adsorption.
Retention time:
It refers to the time which is required for a compound from the moment of injection until the
moment of detection. It represents the time for which the analyte is in the mobile and stationary
phase. Retention time is substance-specific and should provide the same values under similar
conditions for a substance.
Factors like M.P, flow rate, Temperature, Column packing, Column length make it difficult to
compare retention times because these can influence retention time even if the same column is
used and small difference will remain for the same compound.
According to rule of thumb, RT is shifted during different trials by about 1% to 2% per 1°C.
Mostly the shift is caused by Increase in back-pressure in the column.
2. Sample solvent incompatible with mobile 2. Change solvent; whenever possible, inject samples in
phase mobile phase
3. Contamination on guard or analytical column 3. Remove guard column (if present) and attempt analysis.
inlet. Replace guard column if necessary. If analytical column is
obstructed, reverse and flush. If problem persists, column
4. Partially blocked frit. may be clogged with strongly retained contaminants. Use
appropriate restoration procedure (Table 2). If problem still
5. Small (uneven) void at column inlet. persists, inlet frit is probably (partially) plugged. Change
frit or replace column.
6. Sample solvent incompatible with mobile
phase. 4. Replace frit (see above).
i. Temperature:
Temperature changes can also be effective in peak shifts and is an important factor.
According to rule of thumb (as mentioned above) it is about 1-2% per 1 degree Celsius.
Thermostat can be used in case if temperature is high during some analysis.
ii. Pressure:
Mostly the shift is caused by increase in back-pressure in the column. Increase in back-
pressure indicates contamination in column.
iii. pH:
If your sample is ionic or ionizable the pH of the mobile phase should be controlled very
carefully. As low as 0.1 change in pH can cause 10% change in retention time. So a well
calibrated meter should be used.
In reversed phase the retention of the acids is decreased and bases increased due to
increase in pH.
Column aging, column contamination, poor column mobile phase composition for your
analyte and change in flow rate can also be some factors in changing in retention time.
These problems can be resolved by checking whether all parameters are set correctly in
Chem. Station, remaking the mobile phase and changing the column.