Microbore reversed-phase chromatography of proteins with conventional gradient equipment for high-performance liquid chromatography.

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with microbore columns (50 X 1.0 mm) was used effectively for the separation and analysis of proteins down to 1 ng at flow-rates of 0.1-0.2 ml/min. With the use of standard low-pressure gradient HPLC equipment, the peak volumes were five times smaller when compared with a conventional column at equal chromatographic efficiencies and analysis time. The sensitivity of detection was further increased by a reduction in solvent peaks, resulting in a 20-fold overall increase.