New trends in chromatography

Chromatography has enjoyed over a century of development, culminating in Martin and Synge's award of the Nobel Prize in 1952. The fast development of liquid chromatographic techniques starting in the early 1970s has made HPLC the workhorse of analysis in various fields, such as biomedical, chemical, environmental and pharmaceutical research and development. Although a mature technology (mostly in theoretical aspects), unrelenting needs for ever more efficient and faster analysis have led to significant new developments in chromatography in recent years, notably ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), monolithic columns and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). UPLC has rapidly grown out of its infancy and moved into the analytical labs. The potential and application of UPLC for fast separation will be discussed in this session. Monolithic columns also hold great potential for very fast separations. The discussion will focus on the fabrication and application of newer monolithic columns. Finally, HILIC is being re-evaluated for its unique ability to retain polar compounds. The discussion on HILIC will focus on various HILIC phases and its application in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields.