On December 16, 2015, CSW and the Washington Chromatography Discussion Group will hold a joint meeting at the US Pharmacopeia. Details about the meeting can be found on the WCDG website.
Speaker: Ronald E. Majors, LCGC North America, West Chester, PA
Title: Top Ten HPLC/UPLC Column Myths
Abstract: In any field there are often “misconceptions” or “myths” that are perpetuated and passed on to the next generation. These myths are often driven by a lack of understanding by practitioners of the real issues. And these myths can change as time moves on. Since HPLC is approaching its 50th year, many column myths have already been passed down to 2 generations of liquid chromatographers. Recently, ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) has come into its own and a new set of myths are arising. The purpose of this tutorial is to try to dispel some of these myths before they get further perpetuated. Some of the myths to be discussed are: “all C18 columns are the same”; “it takes a minimum of 10 column volumes to re-equilibrate an LC column”; “you can’t reverse an HPLC column to flush out particulates”; “UHPLC packed columns plug easier than conventional HPLC packed columns” and the list goes on. With help of a team of myth-busters, notables in the chromatography field, I will provide proof statements and literature references that showed that these myths are unjustified. There are many myths that are still around but didn’t make the top ten. However, most likely old myths will continue, some will fade away, and new myths will arise as more practitioners enter the chromatography community. Those new arrivals to this community may have to discover these myths on their own (since they don’t necessarily listen to the old timers anyway). Perhaps new myth-busters will take on the next generation of myths.
Speaker Bio: In November, 2013, Ron Majors retired from Hewlett-Packard/Agilent Technologies after 45 years of working in the area of sample preparation and chromatography column and instrumentation technology. He currently serves as a consultant. Ron received his B.S. in chemistry at California State University, Fresno, in 1963 and his Analytical Chemistry Ph.D. degree in 1968 from Purdue University under the direction of L.B. Rogers. His Ph.D. thesis was in the area of molecular-imprinted phases for chromatography and sample preparation. He is the author of over 150 publications in HPLC, GC, sample preparation and surface chemistry. Among his current activities, he has been editor for the monthly feature, “Column Watch” in LC/GC Magazine (33 years) for which he is also serves on the Editorial Board. Dr. Majors has served as Chairman of HPLC ’86 and Anabiotec ’90 and as a member of the Instrumentation Advisory Board of Analytical Chemistry. His current interests include sample preparation especially solid-phase extraction and automation, and HPLC and GC column technology. Ron is a lifetime member of The Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley, a member of the American Chemical Society, and The Chromatography and Separations Chemistry Sub-division of the Analytical Division of the ACS where he had served as Chairman and Secretary. He has also been a member of the Chromatographic Society (U.K.) and Board of Directors for the California Separations Society (CaSSS). Ron has been an invited lecturer, session organizer, and session chairman at many national and international symposia. Dr. Majors has received many awards from chromatography societies, the most recent being the Chromatographic Society’s 2007 Martin Gold Medal from the United Kingdom, named for the Nobel Prize winner, A.J.P. Martin. Ron and his wife Carol are avid birdwatchers and travel all over the world in search of these feathered creatures.
