Hamilton Expands the pH Range of Reversed-Phase Chromatography with Highly Efficient HPLC Column

Hamilton’s Laboratory and Sensor Products Division introduces the new Hamilton PRP™-C18 Reversed-Phase HPLC Column, designed to increase the accuracy and quality of separations performed by pharmaceutical companies, environmental scientists, and others.

More than 70% of all drug compounds are amines that are readily separated at high pH. The new Hamilton PRP-C18 Column provides high-efficiency reversed-phase separations over an extended column life in nearly any mobile phase at any pH.

“Mobile phase pH is a powerful tool, particularly for separating neutral forms of amines or other organic bases under alkaline conditions," says Derek Jensen, HPLC product specialist at Hamilton Company. "This greatly simplifies the process of methods development.”

The rigid stationary phase of the PRP-C18 is extremely durable, with excellent mechanical (up to 5,000 psi) and thermal stability (greater than 100°C). The flexibility to perform separations at high temperatures and pressures typically shortens run times, allows researchers to use less organic solvent, and increases productivity.

The exceptional chemical and mechanical stability affords scientists high-efficiency separations and an extra-long column life, which saves time and effort typically spent addressing deteriorating column performance and poor sample recovery.

Unlike traditional octadecylsilane (ODS) columns with pH limitations, the PRP-C18 can be cleaned with 1 molar sodium hydroxide or 1 molar sulfuric acid to remove contaminants that would normally be irreversibly bound to a silica C18 column. Such pH extremes damage traditional ODS columns, leading to anomalous peak shape and shifting retention times, both of which progressively worsen over the life of the column.

“Chromatographers may be concerned that the robustness to pH extremes, high pressures, and high temperature would come with an inevitable trade-off of efficiency, but that is not the case with the PRPC18,” says Mark Carrier, market segment manager at Hamilton Company. “With this column, Hamilton has created a HPLC column outstanding in both performance and durability.