Troubleshooting em HPLC: uma abordagem sobre problemas comuns vivenciados no laboratório

Abstract

The technique of liquid chromatography, by means of a separation mechanism, makes it possible to perform analyses to detect and quantify certain substances in a given sample. In a differential migration process, sample components interact in different ways with a mobile phase and a stationary phase until they are detected. In high performance liquid chromatography, these analyses are performed by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) equipment, whose system is basically composed of a solvent pump, sample injector, column, and detector. To identify and solve the common problems presented by the equipment, a troubleshooting technique was developed. The "Troubleshooting tree", a kind of troubleshooting guide, was published by researchers Snyder and Dolan with the objective of facilitating the identification of equipment problems. Many common problems such as pressure oscillation, retention time variation, area variation, peak shape change, and system leakage could be more easily identified and solved by following the method proposed by the "Troubleshooting tree".