We can help in Gas Chromatography  (GC), in High Performance Column Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), in Planar Chromatography (TLC, HPTLC, PLC) and in all aspects of how to find, reduce, even avoid serious systematic analytical errors.

Chromatography looks (often) like a simple “push one button” mode of analysis. It looks like clever computer software “does it”. This is not true. Software is the most important helper of the chromatographer, but cleverness is often missing and correct thinking about the best way and found results is an art only humans can manage.

There are very many sources and reasons to get less precise or non accurate analytical data. Precise and complete enough analytical results are basis for correct decision making giving the analyst high responsibility. Sometimes “data readers” are far away from the chromatographer, his sample taking problems (by mode, place, time, frequency....) so that the necessary information chain is broken and miss decision is possible causing serious trouble.

Chromatography data can show an excellent precision and nevertheless be completely wrong. It needs many years of broad experiences in this very wide range of chromatography applicability and it needs very intensive own work in theory, instrumentation and data handling. “Experts” who proudly declare “I have never touched a syringe, I do not need it” are for sure not the best partner to help. Those who declare one theoretical concept as “the ONLY one” had (probably) no time to read, understand and try a next, easier, more practice oriented or even more accurate theoretical concept. This can be based on a completely other background and style, but may help to master chromatography much better.

We had to understand and to use several and most differing theoretical concepts until we found out, that there is no one which is the only one.

What counts is the quality of results.

Institute for Chromatography (IfC) offers the highest quality of information on the market today. Since 1972, we have provided superior service to our customers and have assisted them in achieving their goals. Our over 30 years of experience and commitment to excellence have earned us the reputation as the best Institute for Chromatography in the area. We have trained chromatography newcomers and experts from more than 50 countries in 30 years. Most of the over 6000 course users remember IfC, and the TOP riesling wine palatinate has.

This site shows no any “classical” chromatogram, but chromatography can results in a figure, which looks like a high resolution chromatogram. These are “line chromatograms” which helped us so well to manage and master analytical jobs, that we can recommend their use in practice.

Below are two pictures which show analytical problems (left) and analytical power (right) not known to the chromatographers majority. Therefore in this site the correlation and possible cooperation of GC, HPLC and PLC with each other is a main task as well as the widely underestimated help simple mathematical statistics can give. This site uses “broken english” (sorry, please excuse) but a German version is available in 2006 upon one single mouse click.

Leadership:

At Institute for Chromatography our course attendees received the kind of quality and service they expected from a leader. This were their statement. Our institute was always evolving as the needs changed and as new opportunities were created in chromatography. You can rest assured that, working now with this VIRTUAL  Institute for Chromatography, you will enjoy the latest developments globally. The exclusive speciality is “finding and reducing systematic analytical errors in chromatography”. We know of the sensitivity very many chromatographers have about this topic as they fear too much unnecessarily. They will quickly get in agreement with users of their analytical results in the moment the users understand the problem quantitatively and not only based on costs of reputation and money: all decisions based on data are only as correct and complete as the data they got. Those users may even understand what is the fundamental condition for correct data:

* testing - testing - testing (costs time and money)
* calibration with cleanest substances (is hard work)
* repetition of measurements at the optimum of effort over risk -
   which is N = 4 (N = 2 is standard but much too bad in costs over risk)
* the smallest repetition number N=1 is useless, no standard deviation value is possible

just because the costs of qualified analytical work are incomparably lower than the costs caused by errors. (Have a look into the page “Errors in Chromatography” and into “Statistics“ in this site) even if you as chemist dislike “statistics”. We used the easiest way of providing the smallest necessary background well knowing our 6000 course colleagues and what they could accept or disliked.
The author knows very well what stands behind these statements: A very small repeatability standard deviation may pay back millions of dollars per day in case of mass production in the pharmaceutical and energy industry.
Critical analytical data which are as correct as technically possible may avoid after-costs of millions in case of health and environmental trouble caused by qualitative and quantitative analytical errors. Analysts work for third parties. They carry a huge responsibility. They should have the best tools and optimal conditions to do their duties correct. Bad analytical data are comparable to wrong medical diagnosis. At least the latter is understood by those who may not understand analysis which produces numbers, words, graphics and costs but nothing to fill containers.

To the two pictures above:
“To Detect and Reduce Systematic Analytical Errors”.

The left figure documents avoidable or repairable PLC sampling errors which cost the analyst a factor of up to ten in precision and accuracy for analytical data. Such sampling error is “standard” especially when direct coupling HPLC with HPTLC. It MUST be corrected by focussing the sample lines from differing HPLC peaks - see for instance R. E. Kaiser, A nine part series on Methods of Detecting and Reducing Systematic Errors in Quantitative Planar Chromatography, starting in
the journal J. Planar Chromatogr. 18 (2005) 50 and reaching part three in 2005.

The nice looking right figure above should remind the “HPLC only” user, that it would be an error, not to know about the analytical power of to days accuracy, precision and versatility of modern instrumentalized planar chromatography with tens of stationary phases, hundreds of mobile phases and far more than hundred often highly sensitive, highly selective and easy to use detectors. The only new problem may be: the additional use of this modern analytical technique in HPLC research chromatography may cause quite some trouble. It may drastically change analytical results. The HPLC-ones may be in full disagreement with the data found prior the easily done marriage of HPLC with HPTLC The figure right has been given to IfC by CAMAG, Switzerland, the global Number One in Modern PLC. See www.camag.com .

NOTE: in this site there are proposals which look like out of date as the instruments, materials and concepts on the market are tuned exclusively for the future of GCxGC and LCxLC already discussed at the second “Hindelang” Capillary Chromatography symposium in the last century.
To days practical chromatography however is still far - very far - away from its limits and there is still no theoretical concept accepted which fits to the total of chromatography ranges.

The author of this site uses intensively the power of chromatography combination i.e. GC with GC, HPLC with PLC. All three techniques are of equal capacity in supporting each other. In fact the co-action of these three is analytically unbeatable.