Microwave assisted high performance liquid chromatography for the separation of triacylglycerols in vegetable oils using an evaporative light scattering detector

Microwave (MW) radiation was applied to perform the separation of triacylglycerols (TGs) in oil samples. The novelty of the work lies in the application of MW radiation to assist the separation of several non-polar compounds employing a totally organic mobile phase. Once the influence of the evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) variables on the sensitivity was optimized, the TGs separation was compared conditioning the column with either a conventional HPLC or a MW oven. Contrary to previous applications in which the mobile phase contained water, the improvement in sensitivity using MW was not as significant in comparison with conventional heating but it allowed a shortening in the retention times of several TGs in about 50% respect elution at room temperature. The method was finally applied for the quantification of most common TGs in almond, tiger nut, and argan oil. Authors wish to thank the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the financial support (Project Ref. PGC2018-100711-B-I00).