Development of an Automated All-Teflon HPLC System for the Analysis of Precious Geological and Extraterrestrial Materials

With the recent success of sample return missions such as Genesis (solar wind; e.g., [1-2]), Stardust (cometary dust particles; e.g., [3-5]) and Hayabusa (asteroid; e.g., [6-7]), as well as the recently announced OSIRIS-REx mission (estimated to collect more than 60 g of asteroidal material), it is clear that a new frontier of solar system research has been entered. Given the precious nature of these samples, it is also apparent that laboratory techniques need to be made as efficient as possible in order to maximize the information that we can gain from these unique and invaluable specimens. To determine the chemical and isotopic compositions of these samples, it is often necessary to separate and purify elements of cosmochemical interest from the host rocks. A widely used method for the chemical separation of elements, following sample digestion, is through column chromatography techniques.