Question:

Pump used in HPLC should deliver

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In High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the mobile phase has to be pushed through a tightly packed column at a very steady rate.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
  • Pulsatile flow
  • Low pressure
  • High constant pressure
  • Intermittent flow
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Concept:
In High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the mobile phase has to be pushed through a tightly packed column at a very steady rate. The whole separation depends on the solvent moving at a constant, reproducible flow rate, and the column packing offers a lot of resistance, so the pump must work against a high back-pressure.

Step 1: Think about what would happen if the flow were pulsing or coming in bursts. The detector baseline would become noisy and the retention times of peaks would shift, ruining the analysis. So pulsatile and intermittent flow are exactly what we want to avoid.

Step 2: Low pressure is also not suitable, because the fine particles packed in an HPLC column will not let the solvent through unless the pump pushes firmly. A good HPLC pump is designed to give a smooth, continuous, pulse-free flow while maintaining a high and constant pressure.

Answer: Option (3) — The HPLC pump should deliver a high constant pressure. (3)
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