Expanding the term “Design Space” in high performance liquid chromatography (I)

The current article presents a novel approach to applying Quality by Design (QbD) principles to the development of high pressure reversed phase liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Four common critical parameters in HPLC – gradient time, temperature, pH of the aqueous eluent, and stationary phase – are evaluated within the Quality by Design framework by the means of computer modeling software and a column database, to a satisfactory degree. This work proposes the establishment of two mutually complimentary Design Spaces to fully depict a chromatographic method; one Column Design Space (CDS) and one Eluent Design Space (EDS) to describe the influence of the stationary phase and of the mobile phase on the separation selectivity, respectively. The merge of both Design Spaces into one is founded on the continuous nature of the mobile phase influence on retention and the great variety of the stationary phases available.