HPLC

A pharmaceutical company is trying to develop a new formulation for a drug that has low solubility in water. They want to increase the solubility of the drug in the liquid phase during analysis. Which laboratory technique should they employ to achieve better separation and analysis? Consider the effects of different methodologies.

A team is investigating a separation technique to resolve a mixture of closely-related corticosteroids. They use High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with a methanol/water gradient. What factor could most significantly affect their resolution of the peaks for these closely eluting compounds?

During an analysis using thin-layer chromatography (TLC), a researcher notices that the Rf values for their compounds are much lower than expected. What could be a likely cause of this issue affecting their analysis?

In a quality control laboratory, a chemist is tasked with ensuring the consistency of the concentration of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in a series of formulations. What approach should they use to validate their findings against an external standard?

A laboratory is working on optimizing the separation of a complex mixture containing both polar and non-polar substances. They consider using gradient elution techniques in their HPLC setup. Which advantage does gradient elution provide in this context?

A researcher is using thin-layer chromatography to analyze a mixture of dyes in food products. They note that some spots do not appear under UV light due to low sensitivity. What would be the most effective strategy to visualize these compounds better?

A pharmaceutical laboratory is facing an issue with poor peak symmetry in their HPLC analysis. They suspect that the problem arises from sample loading. Which action would most effectively mitigate this issue?

In a laboratory setting, a researcher needs to determine the concentration of a new natural product extracted from plants. The extraction method is highly variable. What is the most suited approach to improve the reliability of the quantitative results?

A pharmaceutical formulation contains a mixture of active ingredients with varying polarities. The chemist is faced with the challenge of optimizing the HPLC method for effective separation. What parameter should they prioritize adjusting first?

In preparing a TLC analysis, a student improperly applied more than 1µl of solution at the origin spot. Subsequently, the chromatogram showed significant streaking instead of well-defined spots. What was the primary issue affecting the TLC results?

A researcher is conducting an experiment to analyze the effect of different buffer pH levels on the elution of ionizable compounds using HPLC. They specifically adjust the pH to ensure the compounds are in their proper ionized forms. What is the key outcome they should expect from this strategy?

During routine testing of a drug formulation using HPLC, a chemist discovers that the detected peak areas are significantly lower than expected. After validating the method, they consider a number of potential issues. Which factor should they investigate first to identify the root cause of this discrepancy?

A laboratory technician is tasked with creating a new stationary phase for liquid chromatography using silanised silica gel. What is the primary advantage of using silanised silica over conventional silica gel in chromatography?

A chemist is analyzing a series of antibiotics known for varying potencies. They find one compound does not adhere to the expected retention profile in their HPLC tests. What is the most plausible underlying reason for this discrepancy?

A team of researchers is developing a method for detecting a new drug in blood plasma using HPLC. Which strategy would most effectively enhance their detection limits for the low concentration analytes?

A researcher is tasked with validating HPLC methods for a new pharmaceutical compound. They aim to ensure that their method is robust across varying environmental conditions. What is the best initial consideration to help achieve this goal?

In a pharmaceutical laboratory, researchers are tasked with purifying a new antihypertensive drug using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). They notice that their chromatograms consistently show broad peaks rather than sharp, defined ones. What might be the most effective adjustment they can make to improve the column efficiency and sharpness of the peaks?

A quality control analyst is evaluating a new formulation of a pain relief drug using Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC). The analyst applies the standard procedure but observes that the spots of the drug separate poorly and do not reach the solvent front. What is the most likely cause of this poor separation?

A research chemist is investigating the separation of two closely related compounds using a reverse-phase HPLC method. During their experiments, they observe that varying the pH of the mobile phase significantly affects the retention times of the analytes. What strategy should the chemist employ to optimize elution times while maintaining resolution?

A pharmaceutical company is investigating the use of modified silica gel for advanced chromatographic separations. They wish to analyze samples containing basic compounds. What approach should the chemist take to ensure the compounds are accurately analyzed without significant interference?