Advantages and limitations of HPLC in environmental analysis

Summary The application of HPLC to environmental analysis is often hindered by difficulty not experienced in other areas of analysis. Usually the components being determined are at parts per million levels or less and are usually in sample matrices that can yield many interferences. In order to develop successful methodology the prime requirements for an HPLC system are column efficiency and the sensitivity and selectivity of the detection system. In this presentation, examples are given to illustrate how HPLC can be used to advantage by comparing it to gas chromatographic (GC) methods and even TLC methods. For many classes of compounds, such as halogenated hydrocarbons (pesticides, PCB’s, dioxins), the GC methods may be preferred. However, for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) HPLC with fluorescence detection has proven to be excellent for trace environmental analysis. Comparisons of HPLC with TLC for aflatoxins and with bioassays for paralytic shellfish toxins are made. Novel combinations such as headspace-HPLC analyses for SO₂ and HPLC-AA for organometallic compounds are discussed.