HPLC is a powerful, but extraordinarily complex tool. With so many important experimental variables under the operator's control, it is often difficult to get a feel for how each variable will affect a separation, especially when many of them are interrelated. An HPLC simulator offers a way for users to learn about and experience the fundamental principles of HPLC quickly and cheaply. Unfortunately, existing HPLC simulators are expensive and/or lack many important features. Here, we present a new website, www.hplcsimulator.org, that is home to a free, open-source HPLC simulator. The simulator features controls and indicators for a wide variety of experimental parameters and displays a graphical, simulated chromatogram. In addition, the simulator features online help to explain the function of the controls and how values are calculated. On the website, we also provide a number of example problem sets that can be used by educators to more easily incorporate the simulator into their curriculum. Comments from students who used the simulator in an undergraduate Analytical Chemistry class were very positive. Finally, we also present an Android version of the HPLC simulator that we more recently developed.

Sophisticated, interactive, open-source HPLC simulator (www.hplcsimulator.org)

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.