Patent ID: 7959810

Claim:
A method for selectively adapting a detector to be coupled to a liquid chromatography column to facilitate production of an image of chromatographic efficiency, said method comprising the steps of: providing an apparatus, comprising: a liquid chromatography column including an entry end and an exit end, a nebulizer releasably connected to the exit end and operable to form aerosol droplets from a liquid exiting the exit end, a modified spray chamber in communication with the nebulizer and having a shape adapted for microchromatography, wherein the diameter of the modified spray chamber is smaller than the diameter of a standard spray chamber, wherein the modified spray chamber is configured to obtain a narrow size distribution of aerosol droplets conveyed towards the detector by eliminating the aerosol droplets of largest size, and wherein the nebulizer and the modified spray chamber form a detachable and accessible assembly which can be quickly mounted and dismounted from the liquid chromatography column, and a detector to receive the selected aerosol droplets from the standard spray chamber and the modified spray chamber, attaching the nebulizer and the modified spray chamber to the exit end of the liquid chromatography column; preparing a sample with one or more compounds to be analyzed and one or more compounds forming a mobile phase; loading the sample into the entry end of the liquid chromatography column; transforming the sample into an aerosol as the sample exits the exit end of the column; filtering the aerosol through the standard spray chamber and the modified spray chamber towards the detector; and detecting compounds present in the aerosol using the detector.