Can you crack a lock?

[sandra-rontree]

A combination lock annoyingly doesn’t open until the correct sequence of numbers is used. You know when you are inputting the code and it won’t open, that the numbers are in the wrong position. So, you persistently push the 6-4-2 combo, which doesn’t open the lock until, eventually, you realise that it was 6-2-4 you needed all along. In a similar way, the analytical chromatographic method resolves the compounds through an aligned, reliable and easily reproducible sequence of peaks. For method development, C18 columns may not be the right answer, so by selecting an alternative chemistry such as biphenyl, you may just crack the code and resolve co-eluting peaks with ease.

When alternative chemistry is required for the separation of aromatic and moderately polar analytes, the new Thermo Scientific™ Accucore™ Biphenyl Reversed Phase LC columns offer complementary selectivity to a C18 column, as well as the ability to resolve isomeric compounds, such as drugs of abuse and steroid hormones, by taking advantage of π-π interactions between the analyte and stationary phase. This can help separate critical peaks from matrix interferences.

The Accucore™ Biphenyl  provides an optimized packing procedure, which offers chromatographers a rugged platform for a variety of matrices. Cost per sample is minimized as the column has been demonstrating outstanding lifetimes. Based on core enhanced technology, Accucore liquid chromatography reversed phase columns provide fast, high-resolution separations without the elevated backpressures seen using sub-2µm particles.

Accucore Biphenyl LC columns are designed for robust and reliable separations with many benefits

• Fast separations with excellent resolution and sensitivity


• Lower backpressures so that UHPLC is not required


• Mixed-mode selectivity for aromatic and moderately polar analytes


• Enhanced π-π interactions with aromatics


• Excellent lot-to-lot reproducibility


• Great column lifetime


• Compatibility with 100% aqueous conditions


• A rugged column suitable for a variety of matrices

Robust extraction, separation, and quantitation of structural isomer steroids from human plasma by SPE-UHPLC-MS/MS

Accurate measurement of steroid hormones in plasma is an important requirement in clinical research laboratories. This technical note describes the robust extraction, separation, and quantitation of structural isomer steroid hormones from human plasma using the alternative Accucore Biphenyl column combined with Vanquish Horizon UHPLC and Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS/MS) system. The accurate and precise analytical method achieved a separation of 12 steroid hormones across 1000-fold concentration range with an increase in overall resolution of structural isomers.

Finally, you can now stop struggling with unresolved peaks, long run times, and poor lot-to-lot consistency. Alternative Biphenyl chemistry can be a useful tool for difficult separations of structurally similar compounds such as steroid hormones panel. This tool is guaranteed to help crack combination locks in chromatograms, delivering unambiguous identification, confirmation and quantification.

Additional Resources:

• Find out more at thermofisher.com/biphenyl


• Speak to a Specialist about the NEW Accucore Biphenyl LC Column


• Search thermofisher.com/appslab for the latest analytical application repository and download one-click eWorkflows. Search methods by the compound, column, instrument or any key method parameter.