Aqueous normal-phase chromatography using silica-hydride-based stationary phases

Aqueous normal-phase chromatography utilizing silica-hydride-based stationary phases provides unique selectivities for the separation of polar and non-polar compounds and offers new avenues to solve difficult analytical separations. By varying the amount of water in the mobile phase, all silica-hydride-based separation materials can operate in the reversed-phase mode, the normal-phase mode or, in some instances, a combination of both.This review describes some of the fundamental properties of silica-hydride materials and applications that encompass a broad range of separation challenges. Moreover, exemplars are provided that illustrate many of the prominent features that lead to the selection of such stationary phases for solving a particular analytical problem.

► The unique separation properties of silica-hydride materials are described.
► Silica-hydride materials can retain both polar and non-polar compounds.
► Applications to pharmaceuticals, peptides and polar metabolites are presented.