HPLC system, or High Pressure Liquid Chromatography system, is used to characterize and purify various liquid samples. Our HPLC system is used primarily in Dr. Zehfus' fisheries research, where samples from fish tissues are injected onto the machine to purify and quantitate the thiamine, thiamine monophosphate, and thiamine pyrophosphate found in these tissues. Next year the HPLC system will also be used to purify peptides synthesized as part of Dr. Zehfus' hydrogen bond project. This instrument is available for use in Chemistry 434, Instrumental Analysis.

Our Waters HPLC system consists of two 501 pumps, a 486 tunable absorbance detector, a 474 scanning fluorescence detector, and a 717 autosampler so the machine can run many samples unattended. A computer using the Waters Millennium software package controls the entire system. Other added components to this system include an Eppendorf TC-45 Temperature control unit and a CH-30 column heater unit. Solvents are degassed using an Alltech NO-OX vacuum degassing system.