Journal of Chromatography & Separation Techniques
Open Access

Development of Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Techniques

Daido Ishii^{* *}Correspondence: Daido Ishii, Department of Analysis, University of Shiraz, Fars Province, Shiraz, Iran, Email:

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About the Study

Super Critical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) is a chromatographic technique that uses supercritical fluids as the mobile phase to separate and analyze chemical compounds. SFC is a relatively new analytical technique compared to other chromatographic techniques, such as Gas Chromatography (GC) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), but it is gaining popularity due to its unique advantages over these techniques. Supercritical fluids are substances that are heated and pressurized beyond their critical point, where they exhibit both gas-like and liquid-like properties. Carbon dioxide is the most commonly used supercritical fluid in SFC due to its relatively low critical temperature and pressure, non-toxicity, and non-flammability.

SFC has several advantages over other chromatographic techniques. Firstly, SFC allows for the separation of non-volatile and thermally labile compounds that are difficult to analyze using GC. SFC can also separate compounds with similar polarities that are not easily separable using HPLC. Secondly, SFC has a faster analysis time than HPLC and is suitable for highthroughput analysis. Thirdly, SFC uses less toxic and environmentally friendly solvents compared to HPLC.

The principle of SFC is similar to that of HPLC. A sample is injected into the supercritical fluid mobile phase, which flows through a stationary phase packed in a column. The stationary phase can be polar, nonpolar, or a combination of both, depending on the separation requirements. The separated compounds are then detected and quantified using a detector, such as UV-visible or mass spectrometry. The choice of stationary phase is critical for the separation and analysis of compounds in SFC. Commonly used stationary phases include silica, alumina, and modified silica particles with polar or nonpolar functional groups. The choice of stationary phase depends on the nature of the compounds being analyzed, and the separation requirements. For example, polar stationary phases are suitable for the separation of polar compounds, while nonpolar stationary phases are suitable for the separation of nonpolar compounds.

The choice of mobile phase is also important in SFC. Carbon dioxide is the most commonly used supercritical fluid in SFC due to its relatively low critical temperature and pressure, nontoxicity, and non-flammability. However, other supercritical fluids such as ethane, propane, and nitrous oxide have been used as alternative mobile phases in SFC. The choice of mobile phase depends on the nature of the compounds being analyzed and the separation requirements. For example, carbon dioxide is suitable for the separation of nonpolar and moderately polar compounds, while methanol and ethanol are suitable for the separation of polar compounds. SFC has been used in a wide range of applications, including pharmaceuticals, natural products, food analysis, and environmental analysis.

Conclusion

In the pharmaceutical industry, SFC is used for the separation and analysis of chiral compounds, which are molecules that exist in two mirror-image forms.

The separation of chiral compounds is important as they can have different pharmacological properties, and SFC is a powerful tool for the separation of chiral compounds due to its high selectivity. In natural product analysis, SFC has been used for the separation and analysis of terpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, and other natural products. SFC is suitable for the analysis of natural products as it uses environmentally friendly solvents and allows for the separation of thermally labile compounds. In food analysis, SFC has been used for the separation and analysis of fatty acids, sterols, and other lipid compounds.