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Advanced Chromatography
Provider: Faculty of Science

Activity no.: 5841-25-00-00There are 15 available seats 
Enrollment deadline: 20/10/2025
PlaceDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Date and time17.11.2025, at: 00:00 - 12.12.2025, at: 16:00
Regular seats15
Activity Prices:
  - 1 Participant fee (all participants in add. to course fee)4,000.00 kr.
  - 2 Course fee PhD student enrolled at UCPH SCIENCE0.00 kr.
  - 3 Course fee PhD student at Danish Universities (except CBS)0.00 kr.
  - 4 Course fee PhD student at Copenhagen Business School3,000.00 kr.
  - 5 Course fee PhD student at foreign university3,000.00 kr.
  - 6 Course fee Master's student at Danish university0.00 kr.
  - 7 Course fee Master's student at foreign university3,000.00 kr.
  - 8 Course fee Employee at university (e.g., postdocs)3,000.00 kr.
  - 9 Course fee Others (e.g., from a private company)8,400.00 kr.
LecturersNikoline Juul Nielsen
ECTS credits2.50
Contact personNikoline Juul Nielsen    E-mail address: njn@plen.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserPhD Administration SCIENCE    E-mail address: phdcourses@science.ku.dk
Enrolment guidelines
This is a toolbox course where 80% of the seats are reserved to PhD students enrolled at the Faculty of SCIENCE at UCPH and 20% og the seats are reserved to PhD students from other Danish Universities/faculties (except CBS).

Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university (except CBS), you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list.

The course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except CBS).

All other participants must pay the course fee (except if you are a master’s student from a Danish University).


Aim and Content
Today, chromatography is by far the most commonly used separation techniques in analytical science. A thorough understanding of the chromatographic theory, retention mechanisms, different types of chromatography, retention behavior modelling and how to operate chromatographic equipment is essential for method selection, development and optimization. This is an advanced course in chromatography applied to chemical analysis of organic compounds. The course is a natural extension of any basic course in analytical chemistry for everybody who is going to use modern hyphenated techniques such as gas-, liquid- or supercritical fluid chromatography in hyphenation with selective detectors such as diode array- or mass spectrometry detectors for analysis of complex mixtures.

The course covers chromatographic separation of small molecule organic compounds with special emphasize on the molecular mechanism and theory of analyte-column interactions for gas-, liquid-, and supercritical fluid chromatography as well as their application domain. We also touch upon ion exchange chromatography, ion pairing chromatography, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, and normal phase chromatography and their application domain through colloquia sessions. The theory is supplemented with theoretical exercises incl. computer simulation, and laboratory exercises.
Multi-dimensional chromatography is not covered by this PhD course, and we refer interested PhD students to our specialized PhD course “Multi-dimensional Chromatography”.


Learning outcomes
Intended learning outcome for the students who complete the course:

Knowledge
• A solid theoretical understanding of chromatography at an advanced level.
• Some experience in addressing complex analytical problems, and acquaintance with tools to solve them.
• Hands-on experience with reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) and supercritical fluid chromatographic systems at an advanced level.

Skills
• Describe and use the rate theory, the plate theory, the linear solvent strength model and the hydrophobic subtraction model to optimize chromatography, select and characterize columns and to explain experimental data.
• Use chromatographic theory to predict retention behavior.
• Describe, compare and contrast, operate common chromatographic techniques.
• Optimise in a time- and cost effective manner any chromatographic separation.
• Critically assess reported chromatographic research.
• Select a suitable analytical platform for the separation, detection and quantification of small molecule organic analytes from complex matrices including selection and assessment of column, mobile phase and chromatographic parameters, and selection of detector.

Competences
• This course enables the student to plan and perform separation of complex mixtures using modern chromatographic techniques, including the selection of method, columns and mobile phase, as well as optimization of chromatographic conditions for all common instrumental analytical separation methods.


Target Group
PhD students who need to use chromatographic techniques or handle these types of data during or after their PhD study.


Recommended Academic Qualifications
As prerequisite a course in instrumental analysis, like the BSc/MSc course “Analytical Chemistry” or the PhD course “Analytical Chemistry for Non-Analytical Chemists”, is strongly recommended, since all basic theory of separation, chromatographic instruments and common detectors is assumed to be known.
Please me (njn@plen.ku.dk) directly before registering online and if you have any questions.


Research Area
Analytical chemistry and applied analytical chemistry (food science, environmental science, biotechnology, natural products research, bioanalysis)


Teaching and Learning Methods
Lectures, student presentations of curriculum, hands-on laboratory experiments and reporting, theoretical exercises, computer simulations.


Type of Assessment
Oral exam graded by pass/non-pass.
In order to be allowed at the exam active participation in student colloquia (1 out of 1); laboratory exercises (2 out of 3) and approved laboratory reports (2 out of 3) is required, individually or group-wise.
Internal censor. The examination format is a 20 min oral exam without preparation. The questions will be on chromatographic techniques; chromatographic optimization; theoretical models and/or a case, that the student should solve using chromatographic knowledge.



Literature
These are examples, but course literature will be decided from year to year:
1) “Introduction to Modern Liquid Chromatography”, by Lloyd R. Snyder, Douglas Kirkland and John W. Dolan, Wiley 2009.
2) “High-Performance Gradient Elution. The Practical Application of the Linear-Solvent-Strength Model”, by Lloyd R. Snyder and John W. Dolan, Wiley 2007.
3) “Analytical Separation Science”, by B. Pirok and P. Schoenmakers, RSC 2025.
4) Furthermore, selected articles will be included.


Course coordinator
Nikoline Juul Nielsen, Associate Professor, njn@plen.ku.dk


Dates
Start date Monday 17th November 2025.
End date Friday 5th December 2025.
Oral exam in the week 8th – 12th December 2025.


Expected frequency
The course takes place every year.


Course location
Frederiksberg Campus


Registration
Deadline for registration
20 October 2025.

Requirements for signing up
The PhD-student should contact course responsible Nikoline Juul Nielsen directly (njn@plen.ku.dk) before signing up, so that she can evaluate if prerequisites are meet.


Seats to PhD students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.
Applications from other participants will be considered after the deadline for registration.




Cancellation policy
• Cancellations made up to two weeks before the course starts are free of charge.
• Cancellations made less than two weeks before the course starts will be charged a fee of DKK 3.000
• Participants with less than 80% attendance cannot pass the course and will be charged a fee of DKK 5.000
• No-show will result in a fee of DKK 5.000
• Participants who fail to hand in any mandatory exams or assignments cannot pass the course and will be charged a fee of DKK 5.000

Course fee and participant fee
PhD courses offered at the Faculty of SCIENCE have course fees corresponding to different participant types.
In addition to the course fee, there might also be a participant fee.
If the course has a participant fee, this will apply to all participants regardless of participant
type - and in addition to the course fee.

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