Laser-light-scattering detection for high-speed countercurrent chromatography

Abstract

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) is a powerful separation technique increasingly used in natural products chemistry. Evaporative laser light-scattering detection (ELSD) represents a universal detection method based on the following principle: the eluate [e.g. from a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) column] is nebulized and vaporized, leaving fine particles of solute in a carrier gas stream. These particles pass through a laser beam, scatter the light, and the scattered light is detected. The response is a function of the mass of solute passing through the detector