The use of Element-Specific Detectors Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatographs

摘要

Element-specific detectors (ESDs) provide an excellent means of determining the molecular character and elemental composition of complex column effluents, when used in tandem with HPLC systems. General purpose flame and electrothermal AA units along with inductively coupled and direct current plasma detectors are discussed in terms of the inherent advantages, difficulties and detection limits associated with using such systems. Other, more limited ESDs, such as flame photometric detectors are also compared. The HPLC-ESD interface remains the largest hurdle to increased utilization of this new analytical probe and attempts to solve or minimize this problem are reviewed. Recent applications involving HPLC-ESD systems illustrate the important role that these detectors can and will play in solving a wide variety of specification problems with biological, environmental, and energy-related matrices. Over 100 literature citations are provided. (Author)