Occasionally, LCGC North America surveys its readers to obtain a current profile of users of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The last survey on HPLC columns was conducted in 2007 (1). In the past, I have used results from these surveys to chart trends in column technology and in the practice of HPLC. In mid-2009, a web-based survey was conducted by LCGC North America. The survey was sent to subscribers whose primary chromatography technique was HPLC. The total number of subscribers who were sent the survey totaled 7428 and of those, 322 readers responded for a 4.3% response rate. This number of respondents was statistically sufficient to allow comparisons to previous survey data. The maximum statistical error at the 95% confidence level was 5.3%.

To ensure that the results of the current survey were compatible with those of previous surveys, I used the same methodology to report the results. Because many of the questions allowed respondents to give more than one answer, in some cases, I normalized response totals. Normalizing the results to a base of 100% makes it easier to compare the results of previous surveys with those of the present survey and to identify trends in the use of HPLC columns, modes, and packings. Questions pertaining to mode usage, column life, particle size usage, purchasing considerations, and possible future needs were explored to understand selection criteria.

Instrumentation Used

Table I: Types of HPLC instruments used by survey respondents

According to the survey results, a user of conventional HPLC instruments is responsible for an average of 3.6 units. This number was derived from looking at the total number of instruments of the type identified by all respondents and then dividing this number of the total number of respondents. For example, some respondents reported that they have only one conventional HPLC system while others reported that they have five instruments for which they are responsible. Based upon the relative numbers of Table I, for every one of these respondents who uses a conventional LC system, only 1 in 9 would possess a capillary or nano LC system, 1 in 4 might have an instrument capable of working with microbore columns, and 1 in 5 could have a preparative instrument in his or her laboratory. These numbers are up from the 2007 survey (1), which could mean that through mergers and layoffs, there are more LC units available for those remaining in the laboratory or that laboratory managers responsible for multiple instruments and chemists who completed the survey skewed the results. According to the demographics, about 1/6 of the respondents reported that their job title was laboratory manager.