What is HPLC Testing?
HPLC stands for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (sometimes called High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography). It's a powerful analytical technique used to separate, identify, and quantify different components in a mixture.
How it works:
The sample is dissolved in a liquid (mobile phase) and pumped through a column packed with tiny particles (stationary phase) under high pressure. Different compounds in the sample interact differently with these particles, causing them to travel through the column at different speeds. This separates the mixture into its individual components, which are then detected and measured.
Common applications:
- Pharmaceuticals: Testing drug purity, identifying impurities, ensuring correct dosage in medications
- Food & beverage: Detecting additives, preservatives, vitamins, or contaminants
- Environmental testing: Analyzing water quality, detecting pollutants
- Forensics: Drug testing, toxicology screening
- Research: Analyzing proteins, peptides, and other biological molecules
Key advantages:
- Very sensitive and accurate
- Can separate complex mixtures
- Works with substances that don't vaporize easily (unlike gas chromatography)
- Provides both qualitative (what's present) and quantitative (how much) information
HPLC is considered a gold standard in many industries because of its reliability and precision. The results typically appear as a chromatogram—a graph showing peaks that represent different compounds, with peak size indicating concentration.