Quantification of ephedrines in urine by column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography

The chromatography technique was first invented in 1901 by Michael S. Tswett, a Russian botanist, to separate plant pigments using organic solvents. Further, in 1941, Archer John Porter Martin and R. L. M. Synge modified the technique by packing silica gel into a column. A mixture of amino acids was then separated on the packed column using chloroform and water mixture as the mobile phase. This was the first report on column chromatography. At present, column chromatography is a widely used...

High-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), formerly referred to as High-pressure liquid chromatography, is a powerful technique used to separate, identify, and quantify components in complex mixtures. The term "high pressure" refers to using high pressure to push the liquid mobile phase through the tightly packed columns.
In HPLC, two phases play a critical role in the separation process:

In High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the elution process is critical to the separation of analytes and the quality of chromatographic results. Elution describes how compounds move through the column and separate based on their interactions with the mobile and stationary phases. This process determines the resolution, peak shape, and retention times in the chromatogram, which are essential for identifying and quantifying components in complex mixtures. Understanding the elution...

High-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC, is an analytical technique that separates liquid samples under high pressures. An HPLC instrument consists of glass bottles for storing solvents called mobile phase reservoirs. HPLC-grade solvents are used to maintain high purity, and the dissolved gases are removed using a degasser, such as a vacuum pumping system or sparging with helium. The solvents are then pumped into the analytical column using a screw-driven syringe or reciprocating pumps.

The role of the detectors in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) is to analyze the solutes as they exit from the chromatographic column. The detector recognizes the solute's property and generates corresponding electrical signals, which are converted into a readable graph of the detector's response versus elution time called a chromatogram at the computer. There are several types of HPLC detectors, each with its own advantages and limitations, depending on the analyte properties and...

Ion-exchange chromatography, or IEC, is a technique for separating ions based on their affinity for the stationary phase. The stationary phase is a cross-linked polymer resin with covalently attached ionic functional groups. The functional groups can be either positively charged (cation exchangers) or negatively charged (anion exchangers). A cation exchanger consists of a polymeric anion and active cations, while an anion exchanger is a polymeric cation with active anions. The choice of...