High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was born half a century ago, and has since become one of the most widely used analytical techniques in the world. The demand for higher separation efficiency, faster analyses and greater throughput has been the driving force for extraordinary advances in stationary phases. One of the secrets of HPLC’s success is that column technology caters for all tastes, and it is capable of continuous renewal.

The versatility of stationary-phase chemistry, or surface modification, allows for the design of efficient and selective packing materials for the separation of nonpolar, polar, ionizable, or chiral analytes, small molecules or large biomolecules. Particle sizes have decreased from 50 µm to less than 2 µm. Core-shell particles have become the favorite packing materials for many users, and not only for the separation of macromolecules (even though those particles were originally developed for the efficient separation of biomolecules). Silica-based monolithic columns have become a popular alternative for efficient separations at moderate pressure drops. We are going to see many more exciting new developments in the field of monoliths, as the short columns developed for fast HPLC can be operated at higher pressures than the conventional silica-based monoliths.