Evaluation and comparison of very high pressure liquid chromatography systems for the separation and validation of pharmaceutical compounds

Chromatography using sub-2 mu m. particles is becoming increasingly popular due to the potential for increased speed, resolution, sensitivity, and peak capacity. To meet the demand, various vendors have re-engineered traditional LC systems to operate at pressures of up to 15 000 psi to accommodate the elevated backpressures associated with using sub-2 mu m particles. This report investigates and compares the performance of three very high pressure LC (VHPLC) systems: Waters Acquity, Agilent 1200 SL, and Thermo Accela. Specifications for the pump, autosampler, column compartment, detector, and software for each instrument are presented. To assess the chromatographic performance of the three instruments, method development and validation were performed for three pharmaceutical compounds and the results are compared and discussed. The material presented herein serves to highlight the different features of the VHPLC instruments, and assess their suitability for the analysis of pharmaceutical compounds.