Bio‑based HPLC solvents launched
- Sigma‑Aldrich/Merck introduced a portfolio of bio‑based solvents as drop‑in replacements for HPLC and LC‑MS. - The company says these renewable‑feedstock solvents reduce CO2 by 25.9% versus fossil alternatives. - The announcement positions greener solvents as direct substitutes for established methods, with sourcing and qualification implications for labs (x.com).
High-performance liquid chromatography runs on solvents that carry a sample through a column, and Merck has now launched bio-based versions for that job. (merckgroup.com) Merck announced the portfolio on April 21, 2026, calling it the first bio-based solvent line made specifically for high-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC. The launch covers products sold by MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Sigma-Aldrich elsewhere in Merck’s Life Science business. (merckgroup.com) The company said the new solvents are made from renewable feedstocks and deliver an average 25.9% lower carbon-dioxide-equivalent footprint than conventional fossil-based HPLC-grade solvents. Merck said the products are patent-pending. (merckgroup.com) In plain terms, HPLC is a lab method that separates a chemical mixture into its parts, and the solvent is the liquid stream that pushes the mixture through the instrument. Labs use that process in drug development, quality control, diagnostics, and environmental testing. (sigmaaldrich.com, manufacturingchemist.com) Merck’s first products in the line are drop-in replacements for acetonitrile, methanol, and ethanol, three of the most common solvents in liquid chromatography. The company said labs can use them in existing HPLC and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, or LC-MS, methods without redeveloping those methods from scratch. (sigmaaldrich.com, merckgroup.com) That point matters in regulated labs because changing a solvent can trigger method checks, documentation updates, and supplier qualification work. Merck said the new products are intended to fit routine and regulated environments rather than requiring new instrument setups. (merckgroup.com, sigmaaldrich.com) Merck’s product pages say the solvents are certified for bio-carbon content under ASTM D6866, a standard used to measure how much carbon in a material comes from recent biological sources rather than fossil feedstocks. The company also says the solvents match conventional products on chromatographic resolution, reproducibility, and baseline stability. (sigmaaldrich.com, sigmaaldrich.com) The company has been building a broader “greener alternatives” catalog, including other bio-renewable and lower-hazard solvent options tied to the 12 principles of green chemistry. This launch extends that effort into one of the most heavily used consumables in analytical labs: the bottle of solvent beside the instrument. (sigmaaldrich.com, sigmaaldrich.com) For labs under pressure to cut Scope 3 emissions from purchased materials, Merck is selling a familiar workflow with a different feedstock behind it. The test now is whether procurement teams, quality units, and method owners treat “drop-in” as enough to switch. (merckgroup.com, sigmaaldrich.com)
