Abstract:
This article surveys the research activities and contributions of the Department of
Analytical Chemistry (first at the Institute of Chemical Technology, later at the Faculty
of Chemical Technology of the University of Pardubice), to the field of High
Performance Liquid Chromatography in the half a century period between 1969 and
2018. The research topics investigated include various theoretical and practical
analytical or preparative techniques, in agreement with the general development trends
in the field. The attention is focused on the mechanism and predictive modelling of the
retention and separation selectivity in the reversed-phase, organic and aqueous normal
phase, ion-pairing, salting-out, micellar and mixed-mode liquid chromatography
modes. The effects of the stationary phase, of the mobile phases, and of the sample
structure on the retention were investigated in detail. The principal point of the research
was the development and verification of the new theory of gradient elution. An important
part of the recent research activities has been oriented on the theory and practical
applications of the new two-dimensional liquid chromatography technique. During the
past half a century, new applications of liquid chromatography were developed in the
environmental analysis, in the analysis of drugs and their metabolite products,
industrial dyes, intermediates, surfactants, of the phenolic antioxidants and plant oils in
food and beverages; some attention being also paid to the separation of chiral
compounds.
