HPLC in Separation-Determination of Heavy Metal Complexes

By using reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and chelating agents, it was possible to separate a range of metal ions [1,2]. This paper review the utilization of 8-Hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ), 2-thiophenaldehyde-3-thiosemicarbazone2-(8-Quinolylazo)-4,5-(diphenylimidazole), 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol (PAR), Hexamethyl eneammonium Hexamethylenedithiocarbamat (HMA-HMDC) as a chelating reagent for in-column derivatization and the determination of trace heavy metal ions such as Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Fe, Zn and Pb ions in reversed-phase with UV detection [3-6]. A good separation of heavy metal chelates can be achieved by using C18 column as nonpolar stationary phase. The other parameter affecting efficiency of separation were length of column [5,6], type of mobile phase [7-9], temperature of column oven and flow rate [10,11]. The results in articles show that this method has good characteristic such as high repeatability for retention times and peak areas and low detection limit. HPLC can be used as an instrument for simultaneous metals measurement with approval accuracy and sensitivity.