HPLC 2024 - SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM

Significance of the Topic

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and related separation techniques are fundamental to modern analytical science, underpinning research in pharmaceuticals, biopharma, environmental monitoring, food safety and forensic analysis. Ongoing advances in column technology, miniaturization, automation and AI-driven method development are expanding the capabilities of HPLC, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), capillary electrophoresis (CE) and multidimensional separations. The HPLC 2024 Symposium in Denver gathered world experts to showcase emerging instrumentation and strategies that address real-world challenges such as complex biotherapeutic characterization, high-throughput process monitoring and the resolution of ever more polar and isomeric compounds.

Study Aims and Overview

The HPLC 2024 program featured:

• Four days of plenary talks on single-molecule detection, AI in sample preparation and high-performance protein crystallography.
• More than 150 invited presentations covering pharmaceutical analysis, proteomics, metabolomics, chiral separations, environmental applications and microfluidic implementations.
• Hands-on short courses on two-dimensional chromatography, LC-MS/MS method development, oligonucleotide analysis and capillary LC/CE.
• Vendor workshops by Waters, Shimadzu, Thermo Fisher and others demonstrating the latest flow paths, detection systems and software tools.
• A scientific competition (HPLC Tube), best poster awards and the Csaba Horváth Young Scientist Award to promote emerging talent.

Methodology and Instrumentation

The symposium emphasized a spectrum of methodologies:

• Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD) workflows incorporating design of experiments (DoE) and AI-driven gradient optimization for robust UHPLC method development.
• Integration of UHPLC and supercritical CO₂-based separations for rapid, green analysis of polar and nonpolar analytes.
• Advanced stationary phases including superficially porous particles, zwitterionic chemistries, fibrous silica, polymer grafted media and molecularly imprinted phases for tailored selectivity.
• Micro- and nano-flow LC platforms coupled to high-resolution MS and novel detectors (CAD, VUV, ELSD) for low-picomole proteomics and lipidomics.
• Capillary electrophoresis with on-line MS detection, microfluidic free-flow electrophoresis and 3D-printed microvalves enabling high-throughput single-cell or single-particle analysis.
• Two-dimensional and heart-cut LC/LC techniques for complex sample cleanup, viral vector and antibody-drug conjugate characterization.

Main Results and Discussion

Key advances highlighted:

• Automated AQbD software reduced method development times by >50%, yielding robust isocratic and gradient protocols for challenging small molecules and biomolecules.
• AI-driven retention modeling and reinforcement-learning algorithms improved prediction of separation windows across multiple column chemistries, accelerating 2D-LC screening.
• SFC columns with amine and graphitic carbon stationary phases delivered high resolution of fatty-acid isomers, steroids and polar metabolites in food and environmental matrices.
• Advanced CE architectures with nanoslits and vibrating-sharp edge electrospray enabled single exosome and virus particle characterization at high throughput.
• Integration of online process-analytical UHPLC-MS in continuous biomanufacturing facilitated real-time monitoring of critical quality attributes for monoclonal antibodies and mRNA therapeutics.
• High-throughput 3-channel nanoLC-MS achieved sub-20-minute analysis of intact plasma proteomes (>1,000 proteins), demonstrating scalability for clinical proteomics.

Benefits and Practical Applications

Practitioners gained:

• Strategies for seamless scale-up from analytical to preparative purification using identical column media and matching C18-modified stationary phases.
• Green chromatography workflows leveraging CO₂-based eluents and subcritical water for reduced solvent use and faster run times.
• Protocols for oligonucleotide impurity profiling using ion-pair RPLC and hydrophilic interaction chromatography on porous polymer columns.
• Vendor-agnostic checklists for choosing column I.D., particle size and flow rates tailored to sensitivity, throughput and resolution needs.
• Hands-on troubleshooting guidance for instrument maintenance, peak tailing mitigation, carryover reduction and base-line noise control.

Future Trends and Opportunities

Emerging directions include:

• Wider adoption of AI and machine learning to autonomously design and adjust methods in real time based on data streams.
• Further miniaturization of LC and CE modules for point-of-care diagnostics and field-deployable environmental screening.
• Expansion of multimodal 3D-printed micro-separation devices integrating sample prep, separation and detection in a single chip.
• Increased use of dynamic stationary phases with on-column functionalization for reversible selectivity tuning and rapid method switching.
• Integration with ambient ionization MS techniques and destructive concentration interference approaches to broaden analyte scope.

Conclusion

HPLC 2024 in Denver provided a comprehensive snapshot of the current state and future trajectory of liquid separation science. Breakthroughs in column design, instrumentation and data-driven method development promise greater speed, sustainability and insight. The event reinforced the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration—linking chemists, engineers and data scientists—to solve pressing challenges in pharmaceuticals, clinical diagnostics, environmental safety and beyond.

Reference

The full symposium program and abstracts are available via the HPLC 2024 web app and conference proceedings.