Improved resolution of mono- and divinyl chlorophylls a and b and zeaxanthin and lutein in phytoplankton extracts using reverse phase C-8 HPLC

A reverse phase HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) technique using a binary solvent system with a linear gradient on a Hypersil® MOS2 C-8 column is described. As well as the resolution of key chemotaxonomic chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments, baseline separation of mono- and divinyl chlorophyll a and of lutein and zeaxanthin, and partial separation of mono- and divinyl chlorophyll b are achieved in a total analysis time of less than 30 min. The method provides an optimal balance between analyte resolution and sample throughput and is hence well suited to the analysis of oceanographic samples.