Comparison of UPLC and HPLC for the determination of salvianolic acid B in Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae

Objective:To compare the methods——ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) and HPLC for the determination of salvianolic acid B in Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae.Method:A Waters ACQUITY UPLC~(TM) BEH C_(18) column (2.1 mm×50 mm,1.7 μm) was applied,using acetonitrile-methanol-water-formic acid (8:25 :66:1)as mobile phase,with a flow rate of 0.4 mL·min~(-1);detective wavelength was set at 286 nm and column temperature was 30 ℃ in UPLC.A Waters X-Bridge~(TM) BEH C_(18) column(4.6 mm×250 mm,5 μm)was applied, using acetonitrile methanol-water-formic acid(10:30:59:1) as mobile phase,with a flow rate of 1 mL·min~(-1); detective wavelength was set at 286 nm and column temperature was 30 ℃ in HPLC.Results:Both of the two meth- ods for the determination had the same results.Conclusion:UPLC can replace HPLC for the determination of salvi- anolic acid B in Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae.UPLC can increase separation speed and efficiency.The major advanta- ges of UPLC,using 1.7 μm particles,over HPLC are the speed of analysis,the narrower peaks (giving increased sig- nal-to-noise ratio).