Applications of Fast High Performance Liquid Chromatography in Pharmaceutical Analysis

Fast HPLC offers a definite time advantage for analyses such as content uniformity which requires, in general, a routine analysis of as many as 30 samples and for the analysis of dosage forms of developmental drugs. The columns for Fast HPLC can be used with a minimal amount of modification to conventional HPLC hardware. The resolution obtainable with a Fast HPLC column is poorer than that of a conventional column. (All references to conventional columns in the article imply, unless otherwise indicated, those columns 15-30 cm in length and 3.9-4.6 mm i.d.) Attempts to modify a mobile phase to improve the resolution of a closely eluting peak resulted in retention times not too different from typical conventional columns. Although microbore columns offered improved resolution and a savings in both solvent and sample consumption, the utility of these columns is limited by the need for specialized hardware. Since the sample volume is not a limiting factor in a typical pharmaceutical analysis and overall cost savings from lesser solvent consumption are not significant in a majority of cases as solvent can be recycled, it is concluded that the Fast HPLC columns can play a more important role than the currently available microbore columns in laboratories engaged in pharmaceutical analysis, particularly at the product development stage.