Recent Advances in Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

One of the most significant techniques for column chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), combines the principles of gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). As the mobile phase, a supercritical fluid is utilised. The mobile phase is mostly CO₂. Supercritical fluids combine advantageous characteristics of the liquid and gas phases. The equipment required for Supercritical Fluid Chromatography is versatile as it is compatible with multiple detectors. Mainly Flame Ionization Detector is used in Supercritical Fluid Chromatography. Recently, a number of researchers have demonstrated that the use of alternative solvents or the addition of modifiers to SC-CO₂ improves the performance of supercritical fluid technology. UHPSFC-MS (Ultra-High Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry) is one of the recent advances in Supercritical Fluid Chromatography. For separations involving non-volatile or thermolabile species that cannot be separated by GC or LC, supercritical fluid chromatography is frequently utilised. SFC has been applied to a wide range of materials including natural products, pharmaceuticals, foods, pesticides, herbicides, surfactants, polymers and polymer additives, fossil fuels, petroleum, explosives, and propellants.