The new Halo range of HPLC columns manufactured by Advanced Materials Technology are available from UK distributor Hichrom Ltd. These 2.7um materials are prepared using Fused-Core(TM) particle technology, whereby a 0.5um porous silica layer is ?fused' on to a 1.7um solid silica particle, followed by bonding with C18 or C8 ligands. The resulting columns provide faster separations and higher sample throughput, without compromising column ruggedness and reliability. A key advantage of these columns is that they do not require specialised ultra-high pressure instrumentation and can be used in conventional HPLC systems.