from typing import List


def split_at_comparator(item: str) -> List:
    """str->List
    Splits a string representation of a quantitative comparison into its parts
    i.e. 'eg_protein>=50' -> ['eg_protein', '>=', '50']
    If there is no comparator in the string, returns an empty list"""

    comparator_list = ["<=", ">=", ">", "<", "==", "!="]
    for comparator in comparator_list:
        if comparator in item:
            item_split = item.split(comparator)
            item_split.insert(1, comparator)
            return item_split
    return []