General
More than 80% of the RP-HPLC analyses are accomplished on octyl- or octadecyl-phases. Because of this overwhelming majority, many chromatographers neglect other selectivities that might be better suited to their separation, such as butyl phases. With Pro C4, YMC offers a stationary phase based on the well-known ultra pure silica of the ProFamily. Compared to a C18-phase with the same eluent, this less hydrophobic material gives shorter retention times for non-polar compounds while the retention time of polar analytes are virtually unaffected. This makes the Pro C4 an interesting alternative especially when short analysis times are required.
For this reason, mixtures with a wide range of component polarity are best analysed by short chains, such as YMC-Pack Pro C4.
The comparison shown on the right demonstrates that YMC-Pack Pro C4 is the column of choice when fast HPLC is required. There is almost no difference in retention times for the first three compounds whilst Ibuprofen elutes faster on YMC-Pack Pro C4 due to its lower polarity.