The origins of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) date back to the invention of chromatography in the early 20th century, then to partition and paper chromatography in the 1940s, and finally to the introduction of liquid chromatography in the early 1960s.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns are considered the “heart” of the instrument used to transport the analyte and the mobile phase and provide the environment in which separation is achieved. 

UHPLC – ultra high performance liquid chromatography – systems have been around since 2003 and continue to grow. These systems, while having better performance than traditional HPLC, have more limited surface chemistries than HPLC.

Our six experts from both industry and acadmia provide their thoughts on HPLC systems in this Q&A, commenting on which systems work best for them, and more.

Nowhere is the controversy over instrument upgrades more animated than in HPLC, or more correctly, in the debate over switching from HPLC to UHPLC.

Although by no means the only operational issue involved in HPLC, cost of ownership is something everyone considers and ultimately comes to grips with. 

Unlike many other mature analytical technologies, HPLC seems to have entered a period of intense innovation and competition.