SHARC™ HPLC columns are the latest innovation from SIELC Technologies, the inventors of Primesep®. SHARC columns are the first commercially available columns with separation based primarily on hydrogen bonding. SHARC stands for  Specific Hydrogen-bond Adsorption Resolution Chromatography.

Hydrogen bonding is an interaction between hydrogen atom bound to electronegative atoms in a molecule, such as oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine. This is typically a weak interaction, especially when separation is performed in aqueous solutions. Liquid chromatography techniques evolved as tool for separation of different molecules based on their physico-chemical properties. Most common techniques of the separation are:

• Hydrophobic separation based on degree of hydrophobicity of the molecule
• Ion-exchange separation based on number, nature, and distribution of charges in the molecule.
• Normal phase separation based on hydrophilic properties of the molecules including molecule dipoles value and dipoles position
• Size exclusion separation (SEC) based on molecule size and shape