INVERSE GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY – A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO CHARACTERIZATION OF SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS

Matjaž Kunaver,^a* Jernej Zadnik,^b,c Odon Planinšek,^b and Stane Srčič^b 
a National Institute of Chemistry Slovenia, Hajdrihova 19, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
^b Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 7, SI-1000  Ljubljana, Slovenia
^c Krka, d.d., Šmarješka 6, SI-8501 Novo mesto, Slovenia 

Abstract 

IGC has become powerful technique in evaluating the properties of solids and liquids. It provides access to several physico-chemical properties of such materials including their surface energy, phase transitions, crystallinity and acid-base characteristics. Kinetic parameters such as diffusion coefficients can be determined. IGC is used to characterize a wide range of product types including pharmaceuticals, natural and synthetic polymers, food ingredients and products, minerals etc.

Key words: inverse gas chromatography, acid base interactions, surface free energy, surface characterization