Tetrahydrofuran is used as a solvent in Grignard reagent formation processes, pharmaceutical steroids and in the preparation of organometallic reagents. It is used for HPLC, spectrophotometry and environmental testing.
In normal phase chromatography, two organic solvents are used, one of which has a higher chemical affinity for the stationary phase than the other and is therefore used to displace analytes and acts like the organic modifier in reversed phase chromatography
Normal Phase HPLC separates the analytes using their varying degree of affinity to the phase which is polar by nature. Non-polar solvents like chloroform, cyclohexane, benzene, carbon tetrachloride etc. are used.
In the early days of HPLC, THF was commonly used as a mobile phase solvent. It has eluting strength similar to acetonitrile, but just slightly stronger. Since it technically is an ether and is very miscible with water, it is sometimes useful with reverse phase HPLC
