Abstract
Ion chromatography (IC), which was introduced in 1975, has become widely used for the sensitive and simultaneous determination of ions. In the early stage, the IC system consisted of two ion-exchange columns (separator and suppressor, respectively) and a conductivity detector. Although this combination is still the most popular, new forms of separation and suppression have been developed. On the other hand, an indirect photometric detection using a UV detector has become popular in IC and other detectors commonly used in HPLC also have been used. Each of them has specific advantages for different types of analyses. Thus, IC is now defined as a form of liquid chromatography of ions. This article reviews new developments of the different forms of IC and their applications, especially to environmental samples, foods, biological materials and drugs, from reports published since 1990.
