Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography (Hilic)

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography or HILIC is a powerful analytical technique for the separation and analysis of polar and hydrophilic compounds, including small molecules, peptides, and proteins. HILIC is a variation of normal phase chromatography. It is also called as “Reverse reversed-phase” or “Aqueous normal-phase” chromatography. This chromatographic method capitalizes on the unique interactions between analytes and a polar stationary phase, which enhances the retention of hydrophilic compounds through mechanisms such as partitioning, hydrogen bonding and ion-exchange. The benefits of HILIC include significantly better solute diffusivity, enhanced sensitivity with ESI-MS, and very symmetrical peak shapes. However, a major downside is the heavy dependence on the aprotic solvent acetonitrile. This article mainly discusses the type of stationary phase, mobile phases, applicability and future prospective of HILIC in pharmaceuticals and biochemical research.