Normal phase chromatography is a type of chromatographic separation technique used in analytical chemistry to separate compounds based on their polarity. In normal-phase chromatography, the stationary phase is polar, while the mobile phase is non-polar. This means that compounds with higher polarity tend to interact more strongly with the stationary phase, causing them to move more slowly through the column, while less polar compounds move more quickly.
Normal phase chromatography (NPC) uses normal-phase HPLC columns to separate hydrophobic compounds and matrices that are retained too strongly by reversed phase and have minimal solubility in aqueous mobile phases. Stationary phases in normal-phase liquid chromatography typically include polar functional groups (silica, amino, and cyano) that interact with analytes primarily via dipole-dipole and hydrogen bonding interactions.