Abstract
Chromatography is a widely used analytical tool for separating a mixture of compounds into individual component. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is one of the most important methods used for the separation, identification and quantification of a compounds present in a mixture. It meets many criteria of analysis but its main drawbacks are it is relatively time consuming to run a chromatogram and consumes high amount of solvent compared to other analytical methods. There is a need to develop a method which can overcome these drawbacks of HPLC. Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) is the new approach which opens novel direction in the field of liquid chromatography. It works on similar principle but shows better performance than conventional HPLC. UPLC is a technique of liquid chromatography with improved runtime and sensitivity with less than 2 mu m particle size. The UPLC separation process is carried out under very high pressure (up to100 MPa). Additionally, it reduces the cost of reagent with shorter run time as compared to conventional HPLC. This article updated until 2020, provides a general review on the principle, instrumentation and application of UPLC in different fields of science.