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C18 Column

Meaning

A C18 Column is a specific type of stationary phase utilized in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), an essential analytical technique in clinical laboratories for measuring hormones. The column packing material is silica chemically bonded with octadecyl (18-carbon) chains, creating a highly non-polar, hydrophobic surface. This configuration is critical for separating complex biological mixtures, enabling the precise isolation of various steroid hormones and their metabolites from a patient’s sample matrix.