3.3 The Liquid Chromatography

3.3.1 Overview

In recent decades the modern HPLC system has become increasing complex. Automatic injection systems have all but replaced manual injections, manual six-port values are now pressure actuated, the instrument is usually computer controlled, and data are collected and processed via a specified computer method. It should come as no surprise that the cost of a basic HPLC system (without mass spectrometry detection) has risen from $10 000 a few decades ago to nearly $40 000 today. In this section, each component of an HPLC will be presented. Figure 3.2 illustrates an overview of a modern HPLC-MS system.

Figure 3.2 An Overview of a Modern HPLC-MS System.

©Dunnivant & Ginsbach, 2008