[Development of a portable micro-liquid chromatograph]

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Instrumentation Science

Background:

• Portable analytical instruments are crucial for on-site analysis due to convenience and efficiency.
• Existing portable systems often have limitations in performance or versatility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a portable micro-liquid chromatograph (p-μLC).
• To integrate key components for mobile phase delivery, analyte separation, and online detection in a compact form factor.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a p-μLC system incorporating dual large-thrust syringe pumps, a capillary polymer monolithic column (C-18), and a dual-functional optical-fiber microflow-cell.
• Development of a light source module with LED and xenon flash lamp, coupled to a grating spectrometer for UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence detection.
• Integration of all components into a suitcase weighing less than 8 kg, powered by battery or DC supply and controlled via custom software.

Main Results:

• The p-μLC system demonstrated isocratic elution and gradient capabilities with flow rates from 0.025 μL/min to 5.6 mL/min and pressure up to 4.5 MPa.
• The C-18 monolithic column effectively separated small organic molecules and biomacromolecules.
• The integrated detector enabled online detection of absorption and fluorescence spectra from 220 to 700 nm.
• Separation of mixed alkylbenzenes was achieved with efficiency comparable to commercial HPLC.

Conclusions:

• The developed p-μLC is a highly portable and versatile analytical instrument for on-site applications.
• The system offers robust performance for analyte separation and detection, comparable to laboratory-based HPLC.
• The compact design, low power consumption, and integrated detection capabilities make it suitable for field analysis.