Video · + 1 min read
HPLC stands for High Performance Liquid Chromatography. It is used to identify the chemical species in a mixture and determine the amount of each one by separating them. The mixture, which can be any type of liquid solution--even beverages--is injected into a solvent called the mobile phase and the solution is pumped through a column made of a solid material called the stationary phase. The mobile phase can be polar and the stationary phase non-polar, or vice versa. Each species in the mixture will interact with the stationary phase to a different degree. Species that have a polarity similar to the stationary phase will interact more with it, and take longer to elute through the column. The species are identified based on their retention time, or the amount of time it takes for them to elute completely. After exiting the column, they pass through a detector which can determine their concentration. Watch the video to see how the HPLC instrumentation works.