Hand-portable liquid chromatographic instrumentation.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Separation Science
• Instrumentation

Background:

• Liquid chromatography (LC) has evolved towards smaller columns, particles, and low flow rates over four decades.
• Miniaturization of pumps and detectors, along with reduced solvent consumption, has hindered the development of portable LC.
• Existing portable ion chromatography (IC) is largely limited to inorganic and small organic ions for field analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advancements enabling the expansion of portable liquid chromatography (LC) and ion chromatography (IC).
• To highlight the development of miniaturized instrumentation for high-performance hand-portable LC.
• To discuss the potential for broader applications of portable chromatographic techniques.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent technological advancements in chromatography instrumentation.
• Focus on miniaturization of key components like pumps and detectors.
• Analysis of new developments in capillary columns and UV-absorption detectors.

Main Results:

• Introduction of small, non-splitting pumping systems and UV-absorption detectors for capillary LC.
• Development of miniaturized instrumentation suitable for high-performance hand-portable LC.
• Successful miniaturization of IC for field analysis, though with current application limitations.

Conclusions:

• Recent advancements facilitate the expansion of portable LC and IC systems.
• Miniaturized instrumentation addresses previous challenges in developing hand-portable LC.
• Further development is needed for fully integrated microfabricated LC systems.