Dr. James Grinias (Presenter)
Trends in miniaturization have revolutionized the consumer electronics industry. Analogous advancements have been observed in analytical chemistry by implementing microfabrication and microfluidic techniques, but traditional laboratory equipment is often still required if chemical separations are integrated into these devices. In this presentation, the use of a completely portable liquid chromatography system that overcomes this barrier will be demonstrated with a number of applications. To achieve portability, this system utilizes small, high-pressure pumps coupled to a cartridge that contains a capillary LC column and on-column LED-UV absorbance detectors. Integrated software that combines system control, data acquisition, and data processing can be accessed by other portable electronic devices. Initial use of the system focused on potency and impurity testing of over-the-counter analgesic drugs. Method development for high-throughput separations of illicit drugs that could be implemented for substance abuse monitoring in point-of-care settings was also conducted. Bench-scale reaction monitoring can be achieved by coupling the system to a simple sampling mechanism. Finally, the exploration of various column types to increase the analytical throughput that can be achieved using this system will be discussed.
