Pharmeuropa: New Chapter on Evaporative Light-Scattering Detection published for Comment

The latest issue of Pharmeuropa (37.2) includes a draft for a new chapter 2.2.62 Evaporative Light-Scattering Detection.

The chapter begins with an explanation of the technique’s principle: "Evaporative light-scattering detection is a detection mode used in liquid chromatography (2.2.29). It allows the detection of substances regardless of whether they contain a chromophore in their structure, provided that they are less volatile than the mobile phase and thermally stable under the analytical conditions employed."

The chapter describes the principle of detection, which consists of three main steps occurring successively within an evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD): nebulisation, evaporation, and light scattering. It also provides practical guidance on equipment, suitable mobile phase compositions, performance parameters, system suitability tests, as well as validation and quantification requirements.

The chapter is structured into the following subsections:

• Principle
• Equipment (including gas and mobile phase composition)
• ELSD performance (gas flow rate, temperature, and system suitability tests)
• Procedure (including the relationship between response and injected mass)
• Validation requirements

The full text and further details are available on the Pharmeuropa website after registration. Comments on the draft can be submitted until 30 June 2025.