The use of ultrashort monolithic porous columns and an eluent flow gradient for chromatographic separation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

An important task of state-of-the-art high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is to decrease the time of analysis. There exist several approaches to solving this task. The first one implies the use of short (3 − 5 cm long) columns packed with particles 1.5–3 μ m in diameter [1]. These tiny particles ensure an effective mass transfer and rather high column efficiency. Complete separation of five inorganic anions requires 2 min at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. However, the high pressure at the column inlet precludes the possibility of increasing the eluent flow rate and thus of reducing additionally the time of analysis. For separation at higher flow rates, it is necessary to raise the column temperature.