High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Courses: Which Sector Is Calling Your Name?

Are you considering taking high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) courses? One of the advantages of this kind of training, which teaches scientifically minded students how to separate the compounds in a solution using a pump under high pressure, is that it can lead to careers in various industries. What kind of job might you be destined for?

HPLC programs can prepare you for a career in the following sectors:

• the pharmaceutical industry
• the food industry
• the environmental assessment industry
• the public sector

How do HPLC courses prepare you to work in the pharmaceutical industry?

Some students enroll in high-performance liquid chromatography courses out of a desire to develop or enhance a career in the pharmaceutical industry:

• performing product trials
• working on product research and development
• overseeing production
• preparing samples for testing
• explaining analytical results to clients
• overseeing testing
• performing quality control
• maintaining and calibrating instruments
• complying with government and industry regulation
• managing a lab like the ones used in HPLC classes

How do HPLC courses prepare you to work in the food industry?

HPLC courses can prepare students to fulfill a variety of roles in the food industry:

• graduates of HPLC courses can test meat products for residues of veterinary medication, e.g., antibiotics.
• they can test food products for mold or fungi, i.e., mycotoxins. This public health issue touches many foods, including wheat, rice, nuts and other staples.
• HPLC classes can prepare students for a future in food authentication, i.e., verifying that a food product contains only the products that it is said to contain on its label, e.g., assessing the fruit content in a jar of jam, the sugar content in a granola bar.
• assessing the health claims of "neutraceuticals" (foods with chemical compounds thought to have health benefits)
• HPLC courses can prepare students to assess the safety of ingredients meant to enhance the appearance of food products, e.g., food colouring
• testing food for other additives, e.g., vitamin content

How do HPLC courses prepare you to work in the environmental assessment industry?

Some graduates of HPLC programs may be headed for a career in environmental assessment, using ion chromatography to identify contaminants in drinking water, groundwater, river water, etc.

Graduates of HPLC may test for traces of chlorophenols in environmental samples. They may look for diphenylarsinic acid. They may look for nitrates.

How do HPLC courses prepare you to work in the public sector?

Public agencies - public health agencies, environmental agencies, food and safety agencies - rely on graduates of HPLC programs to perform checks on the pharmaceutical, food and other industries.

One task of all students pursuing high-performance liquid chromatography courses is to decide once and for all which sector most appeals to them.

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