Application space for SFC in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development

Leveraging the power of supercritical fluid chromatography for eco-conscious solutions in pharmaceutical analysis

“…Its widespread use is based on its applicability for analytes with certain hydrophobicity, quantified by a logP value ranging from -1 to 6. RP-LC uses a non-polar stationary phase (such as C18, C8 or phenyl) and a polar mobile phase consisting of a mixture of buffered water and organic solvents such as acetonitrile (ACN), methanol (MeOH) or tetrahydrofuran (THF) (1). For pharmaceuticals with lipophilicity falling outside the specified logP range, alternative analytical techniques become necessary.…”

“…hexane). However, NP-LC comes with disadvantages, including the use of toxic and pricey solvents, limited suitability for ionizable compounds and poor compatibility with MS (1).…”

“…HILIC utilizes a polar stationary phase and a mobile phase composed of buffered water (5-40% v/v) mixed with a solvent (usually aprotic ACN). However, HILIC is not as versatile and robust as RP-LC and requires longer equilibration times (1).…”

“…Besides analytical convenience, these capabilities conserve resources and ultimately ensure compliance with the suitability principles (4,8). Apart from being environmentally friendly, SFC offers the capability to cover a wider range of (a)chiral active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and their impurities across varying polarities (1,9). This is due to the fact that in SFC operating modes are mutually compatible.…”