ABSTRACT
This chapter emphasizes capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), the relative merits of capillary and packed column (1–4 mm diameter) SFC and the practical considerations of operation for both approaches are reviewed. The low flow rates with capillary columns provide easier interfacing to mass spectrometry, but application of such columns also requires strict attention to the elimination of dead volume. The compromises necessary in this approach were discussed in the last section, and it was shown that at very low flow rates heating may be advantageous for transfer or "less volatile" analytes to the ion source, but is less appropriate for truly nonvolatile compounds. Fundamental studies are required to understand nucleation processes relevant to the transport and detection of truly nonvolatile analytes, although our understanding of the phenomena has advanced rapidly. The flexibility offered by the various mass spectrometry ionization methods coupled with the wide variety of SFC analysis methods that are available provides tremendous analytical potential.
