Shown below is an example of the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the sweeteners aspartame and saccharine, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, and glycyrrhetinic acid in soft drinks. The soft drink was directly injected and analyzed.
A high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) measures the content of various components in a sample. A liquid medium flows through the HPLC flow channel. When a sample is introduced into the instrument, the components of the sample are separated in a column and the amount of each component is measured by a detector. HPLC can handle a much wider range of target samples and components than GC, including difficult-to-vaporize and heat-sensitive components.