What Column Should I Use for Carbohydrate Analysis?

Why Is Carbohydrate Analysis Important?

The food science industry relies on HPLC analysis to ensure the quality, taste, and concentration of food products. Accurate carbohydrate analysis is essential, and selecting the right HPLC column is key. But which column should you use for carbohydrate analysis? At Chrom Tech, we offer a range o HPLC columns and are here to help you find the perfect fit. In this blog, we'll explore the best columns for carbohydrate analysis.

What Columns Are Best for Carbohydrate Analysis?

For carbohydrate analysis, ligand exchange is often the preferred separation method, as it allows for the use of a simple water eluent. Ligand exchange columns utilize positively charged metal-loaded groups on the column’s substrate to interact with the negatively charged hydroxyl groups on carbohydrate molecules. Consistency is critical in any analysis. To ensure reliable results from column to column and batch to batch, we recommend Concise Separations carbohydrate analysis columns. These columns are designed to provide consistent performance, helping you achieve reproducible results with each run.

Concise offers a wide range of columns that work for a variety of sugar analyses. By combining ligand exchange (metals), size exclusion, partitioning (cross-linkage of polymer), particle size (column efficiency), and column size (speed vs. resolution), Concise has developed the most complete line of carbohydrate analysis columns on the market. Benefits of these columns include:

• Various particle cross linkages optimize mono, di, tri, and oligosaccharide detection
• Multiple Metal ligands are offered to efficiently separate complex sugar matrices
• Moieties: Ca2+, Na+, K+, Pb2+ and mixed-mode

These columns can be used with PAD Detection, which is the detection mode used for electrochemical detection of carbohydrates. Reach out to our support team for assistance choosing the best column for your assay.

Extending Column Lifetime

As with any column, the lifetime of Concise columns can vary greatly depending on how the columns are used. Because polymers are chemically stable, as long as the columns are used within the operating parameters, they last for a very long time. One benefit of these high-quality columns is the ability to use a simple water eluent. By using pure water (minimum purity of 18 Mohm), you will extend the lifetime of the column significantly. Sample preparation, as well as the use of guard columns and in-line filters, will reduce the possibility for contaminants to enter the column (as is the case with any analytical column). With polymeric gels, keeping the column below the pressure max will also stretch out the column lifetime. The carbohydrate analysis columns are stable at temperatures up to 95 ºC. Make sure to let the column reach operating temperature before starting the flow, since temperature is a key component of pressure and flow rate.