HPLC in analytical chemistry is a chromatographic method used to separate the components of a mixture.
An HPLC simulator is a valuable educational tool that replicates these processes virtually, allowing learners and researchers to understand instrument design, functionality, and chromatographic principles without requiring a physical lab setup.
The typical design of an HPLC usually involves these elements.
- A filtered solvent reservoir for mobile phase
- Degassing system to prevent bubbles in the mobile phase
- A pump to maintain a constant flow of mobile phase in HPLC despite the backpressure applied by the resistance of flow through the packed column.
- An injector to inject samples. This can be manual or automatic.
- A column (solid phase). Length, internal diameter, and stationary phases in HPLC are to be chosen.
- A detector/data system to plot the chromatogram. includes UV, diode, and fluorescent detectors.
- Samples are forced to flow under high pressure through the column (solid phase). Solvents (mobile phase) allow the flow of the sample into the column, where it is separated into its components according to their interaction with the solid phase.
- Components are detected and recorded on a chromatogram. The resolution of various components is determined by the extent of interaction between the solute components and the stationary phase.
- In normal phase chromatography, the mobile phase is nonpolar while the stationary phase is polar. In reversed-phase chromatography, the mobile phase is polar while the stationary phase is nonpolar.