High performance liquid chromatography column efficiency enhancement by zero dead volume recycling and practical approach using park and recycle arrangement

A new instrumental approach to recycling HPLC is described. The concept is based on fast reintroduction of incremental peak sections back onto the separation column. The re-circulation is performed within a closed loop containing only the column and two synchronized switching valves. By having HPLC pump out of the cycle, the method minimizes peak broadening due to dead volume. As a result the efficiency is dramatically increased allowing for the most demanding analytical applications. In addition, a parking loop is employed for temporary storage of analytes from the middle section of the separated mixture prior to their recycling.