Sense and nonsense of high-temperature liquid chromatography.

High-temperature liquid chromatography (HTLC) is recognized today as a valuable technique in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Column temperature can play a role in reducing analysis time, modifying retention, controlling selectivity, changing efficiency or improving detection sensitivity. The different effects of high temperatures on reversed-phase separations, the practical limitations due to the instrumentation, the limits and the main advantages of HTLC, especially for the separation of polar and ionized compounds, are reviewed.