Comparison of Diode Array and Electrochemical Detection in the C-30 Reverse Phase HPLC Analysis of Algae Carotenoids

Qualitative and quantitative determination of carotenoids pigments can provide valuable information about the organisms in which this important class of compounds is found. In the HPLC analysis of pigments, diode array (DAD), electrochemical (ED) and other kinds of detector may be used. The aim of this work is to develop an HPLC method using a C-30 column to identify and quantify sixteen different pigments from algae. A further aim is to compare precision and accuracy obtained by DAD and ED. ED is normally more sensible than DAD. On the other hand, the highest precision and accuracy was obtained with DAD. In conclusion, the method was efficient for quantitative and qualitative analyses of pigments from cyanobacteria and different microalgae classes. Their pigment patterns for several organisms are also discussed.