Characterization of a centrifugal partition chromatographic column with spherical cell design

A new centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) column with spherical cells, insignificant duct (channel) volume, and without PTFE plates between the disks was evaluated. Due to the reduced duct volume, almost the entire column volume is available for the separation. This allows operation at higher pressure drop and thus increased rotational speed and flow rates. The new column was characterized in terms of stationary phase retention, column efficiency and resolution as a function of flow rate and rotational speed. The separation performance was compared to that of two conventional twin-cell CPC columns of the same total volume. The new column leads to an increased productivity especially at higher flow rates and outperforms columns with smaller cells in terms of higher separation factors and reduced purity or recovery requirements.