Post-column photochemical derivatization in high-performance liquid chromatography

Chromatographic separation techniques in combination with selective and sen sitive detection systems have gained an enormous popularity in all fields o f analytical chemistry. However, even with this variety of available separa tion-detection systems it is not always possible to achieve the desired det ection limit with the necessary precision without, any analyte manipulation or derivatization, When the added reagent is light, the procedure is calle d photochemical reaction or photoderivatization, As for any derivatization reaction, it can be performed off-line or on-line with the latter being the preferred mode. Any common detector in chromatography can be used to show up the derivatization products, Both custom-built and commercial photoreact ors are being used currently, enabling a great variety of derivatization sc hemes, each one suitable For a particular sample type. Several applications in HPLC and FIA are shown here, involving the analysis of different groups of compounds, as well as some new developments and current trends in the f ield, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.