The facility has several HPLC and GC instruments, these are capable of operating with different detectors and a range of columns that cover different selectivities and polarities, allowing for a variety of analyses.
For HPLC columns available include:
- C18 or octadecylsilane (ODS). This stationary phase is the most retentive alkyl phase and is used for >70% of all HPLC applications.
- Pentafluorophenyl (PFP). This stationary phase is predominantly used for analysing polar and moderately polar compounds and can be used in HILIC mode (high organic starting conditions useful for very polar componds).
- Amino. Amino columns offer a variety of modes of interaction. In HILIC mode, amino or amide phases are very good for sugar analysis, but they can also be run in reversed-phase and normal-phase modes.
The majority of our GC analysis has been by GC-FID with a 5% diphenyl siloxane/ column. We also have a wax column that can be used for more polar analysis and specialised columns for volatile fatty acids, fatty acid methyl esters, haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes.
Examples of analyses we have carried out include:
- QC Purity checks. We have analysed over 500 samples for purity for a chemical company by GC-FID and HPLC-UV.
- Quantitative analysis examples. Menthol analysis in creams, terpene content of frankinsense, nicotine in e-cigarettes, insect repellent content of formulations over time, capsaicin content of chilli oils, free fluoride analysis by GC-FID, volatile fatty acids including (Acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and caproic acids) and haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes by GC-ECD (EPA method).
- Impurity analysis. By using chromatography with mass spectrometry (Mass spec) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy we can identify and quantify previously unknown impurities.