HPLC is an abbreviation for High Performance Liquid Chromatography. “Chromatography” is a technique for separation, “chromatogram” is the result of chromatography, and “chromatograph” is the instrument used to conduct chromatography.
Among the various technologies developed for chromatography, devices dedicated for molecular separation called columns and high-performance pumps for delivering solvent at a stable flow rate are some of the key components of chromatographs. As related technologies became more sophisticated, the system commonly referred to as High Performance Liquid Chromatography, simply became referred to as “LC”. Nowadays, Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC), capable of high-speed analysis, has also become more wide-spread.
Only compounds dissolved in solvents can be analyzed with HPLC. HPLC separates compounds dissolved in a liquid sample and allows qualitative and quantitative analysis of what components and how much of each component are contained in the sample.