Alternative Column for Acrylamide and Acrylic Acid Analysis under Aqueous Conditions

Record: 603

Category: Column Selection
Product: DE-413
Sample: Acrylamide and Acrylic Acid 

Question

A laboratory is analyzing residual acrylamide and acrylic acid at concentrations below 100 ppm using an isocratic HPLC system. The current method uses an Agilent PLRP-S (100 Å, 5 µm, 150 × 4.6 mm) column with 0.08 M sodium phosphate as the mobile phase. The run time is approximately 3.5 minutes, but the column appears to have a short lifetime, and the lab is open to trying an alternative approach. Do you have a column recommendation?

Answer

For the analysis of acrylamide and acrylic acid under highly aqueous, buffered conditions, Shodex RSpak DE-413 is a suitable alternative to evaluate.

DE-413 is a polymer-based reversed-phase column packed with polymethacrylate-based material. Compared to PS/DVB-based reversed-phase columns such as PLRP-S, DE-413 is more hydrophilic and demonstrates improved tolerance to aqueous and salt-containing mobile phases, which can help address short column lifetime when operating with buffered eluents.

Because the current method achieves a very fast run time (approximately 3.5 minutes), switching columns may change retention and selectivity, particularly for acrylic acid, which can show stronger retention under some conditions. If maintaining a short run time is a priority, mobile-phase optimization (including buffer concentration and ionic strength) may be required to shorten elution while preserving resolution and sensitivity.

It is also worth noting that 0.08 M phosphate is relatively high and may contribute to reduced column life. If method constraints allow, reducing buffer concentration (for example, to ≤ 50 mM) may help extend column usability while maintaining adequate separation.

Recommended Applications:

• Lactic Acid and Acrylic Acid (DE-413)
  Demonstrates separation of acrylic acid under aqueous conditions using a polymer-based mixed-mode column.
• Amides (DE-413)
  Shows suitability of DE-413 for small, polar amide compounds, supporting acrylamide analysis.

Final performance depends on buffer composition, ionic strength, and sample matrix. DE-413 is well suited as a screening and routine analysis column when conventional reversed-phase columns show limited durability under aqueous, buffered conditions.

For method optimization while targeting a short run time, please contact Shodex Technical Support at support@shodexhplc.com.

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