ABSTRACT
The basic principles surrounding the preparation of mobile phase for HPLC analysis are, on the whole, independent of the separation mechanism used. The HPLC column and sample type will determine the mobile phase choices discussed in Chapter 6. All of the solvents and chemicals used in the preparation of mobile phases should be of a sufficiently high quality depending on the nature of the separation. General purpose reagents are available as analytical reagent (AR) or laboratory reagent (LR) grade; however, for HPLC there is a need for a higher quality reagent for use as a solvent and as a chemical reagent used in the preparation of buffers. Most solvents and chemicals are available as ‘HPLC grade’, which generally means that they have been through at least one additional purification step; this might include submicron filtration, glass distillation, and rigorous specification testing. An example of the type of information and testing that might be expected to be included in the accompanying certificate of analysis for HPLC grade materials is given in Table 3.1.
