e-Chronicle – Chromatography Updates
e-Chronicle – February 2026
Your Chromatography Update – Liquid Chromatography
In this month's e-Chronicle Newsletter, we've featured a variety of LC-related topics,
including new products, green initiatives, instrumentation, technical resources, and more!
CSI is now using the 12 point SIGNIFICANCE mnemonic to assess greener analytical chemistry technology.
FEATURED PRODUCTS
Stationary Phases for Selection and Selectivity
The latest generations of HPLC columns tend to share a common theme of launching a new column family with a package of chosen complementary or orthogonal stationary phases. The goal is to offer good separation for as many compounds as possible on the minimum number of columns.
When selectivity between key analytes is small, even modest improvements in selectivity make for large reductions in column length / run-time / mobile phase consumption needs.
enerating as little waste as possible.Here are some of the phases that are mostly commonly chosen and their applications:
C18
- The classic reversed phase column.
- Noted for its predictable retention patterns and stable chemistry.
- Both the most used and the most overused HPLC stationary phase.
- Best when the only retention / selection mechanism you have is hydrophobicity or simple separations.
Phenyl
- This may be a phenyl(propyl), a phenyl-hexyl, a diphenyl or a biphenyl phase.
- Great for selection between analytes with aromatic groups.
- Biphenyl, diphenyl or hexyl-phenyl all add more hydrophobic retention.
- Avoid acetonitrile based mobile phases – having a pi-electron rich mobile phase reduces the aromatic selectivity of the stationary phase.
C8
- Ideal for very hydrophobic analytes, too strongly retained by C18.
Pentafluorophenyl
- The phenyl ring donates so much electron density to its fluorine groups they can act as cation exchangers.
- The polarity of the C-F bond also makes PFP columns effective for HILIC based separations.
HILIC
- Silica or other highly polar phases are ideal for retaining highly polar analytes.
- Manufacturers typically include one or more HILIC phases, but there is no consensus on which HILIC phases are most useful.
Recommended Column Families for New Method Development
Chromatographic Specialties Inc. supports columns for well established methods, as well as for new method development.
The column families below provide a good combination of established and reliable production technology, and modern
chemistry for best performance and long-life into the future.
YMC Triart
Highly inert and durable hybrid organo-silica, fully porous particles. Suitable for HPLC and UHPLC analysis.
Restek Force
Fully porous silica particles for HPLC and UHPLC analysis.
Restek Raptor
Superficially porous (core-shell) particles in 1.8 µm to 5 µm sizes for increased throughput without lower backpressures.
GL Sciences Inertsil and InertSustain
Fully porous silica packings for reversed phase, HILIC, normal phase and size exclusion chromatography.
Macherey-Nagel Nucleodur
High purity fully porous silica with a broad range of surface chemistries, including polar modifications.
Shodex
Polymer based packings with phases for reversed phase, HILIC, ion chromatography and size exclusion chromatography.
Chromatographic Specialties has many HPLC Column options available - see below for ordering information.
Reach out to our Technical Team if you require assistance selecting the best column for your application.
20 Years of Restek Biphenyl and Counting
In the spring of 2005, Restek launched a new LC phase. With two adjacent phenyl rings, the Biphenyl phase simultaneously
provides C18-like levels of hydrophobic retention and column stability and increased aromatic selectivity.
Their stability and selectivity have earned biphenyl columns a home in fields wherever you find aromatic rings.
Clinical or Forensic Drug Screens
JUNIOR SCIENTIST
Paper Chromatography
It’s hard to believe we are writing this in January, but by the time you see this, March break will be on the horizon.
Here’s a great chromatography experiment for grades 1-8 (and with some extensions, on to high school).
It uses coffee filters and rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol to separate pigments from green plants.
This experiment comes from Let’s Talk Science, a great program where undergraduate and sometimes graduate
students volunteer their time to show real science at schools or to community groups such as Scouts or Guides.
