Components of a Chromatography System

Modern HPLC (high pressure/performance liquid chromatography) or IC (ion chromatography) systems consist of the following components:

The pump (b) draws up to four solvents from one or several reservoirs (a), mixes them as defined, and then directs this mixture through the system. The solution of interest (the sample) is injected into this flow via an Autosampler (c) and separated into its individual fractions or substances on the column (d). A thermostatted column compartment may be used to optimize the separation process. When a substance reaches the detector flow cell (e), a signal is produced that is proportional to the concentration of the substance. A signal with a profile that corresponds to a Gaussian distribution is referred to as a peak. The exact quantity of each substance can be calculated by determining the peak area and by means of a previously acquired calibration curve (quantitative analysis).

In suppressed conductivity mode IC, a Suppressor is installed before the detector. As an option, a fraction collector (f) can be installed after the detector to distribute individual substances or fractions to different containers (g).

The peak area is determined by the chromatography data system that is installed on a PC (h). In addition, the data system

The chromatography instruments communicate with the computer and the data system via special interfaces, such as the UCI Universal Chromatography Interface, or via serial interfaces.

If several PCs are connected via a network, the systems can be controlled from remote locations on the network. In addition, data can be managed centrally and/or retrieved from any workstation.

For more information about the components of a chromatography system, refer to:

 The Chromatography Data System

 The Operating System

 The Network