Advantages:
High Resolution: Can separate complex mixtures into individual components.
Versatility: Suitable for a vast range of compounds, from ions to large biomolecules.
Precision: Offers accurate and reproducible quantitative analyses.
Speed: Faster analyses compared to traditional liquid chromatography, especially with the development of UHPLC (Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography).
Disadvantages:
Cost: Instruments and columns can be expensive.
Maintenance: Columns and parts need regular maintenance or replacement.
Skill Requirement: Requires skilled operators for method development, troubleshooting, and interpretation.
Solvent Consumption: Can use significant amounts of solvents, raising cost and environmental concerns.
Application:
Quality Control: Determining purity and content of pharmaceuticals.
Drug Development: Identifying and quantifying drugs and their metabolites in biological matrices.
Impurity Profiling: Identifying and quantifying impurities and degradation products.
Formulation Studies: Assessing the stability, dissolution, and other attributes of drug formulations.
Bioanalysis: Analysis of biomolecules like proteins and nucleic acids.