Band broadening, HPLC compared with

In cases where mass transfer is rapid, as is the case with most small molecule separations, then isocratic elution can offer advantages such as automatic fraction reprocessing and solvent recycle. However, with larger synthetic objectives the rate of mass transfer is comparatively low so isocratic elution leads to band broadening and subsequently to recovery of the peptide at high dilution. Most preparative HPLC based peptide separations are carried out under gradient and overload conditions that allow for maximum throughput in terms of time and quantity. 

Safety devices such as air sensors and pressure transducers are built into preparative HPLC units, together with a series of valves. These devices create dead volume and contribute to the extra column volume. A large-scale chromatography unit is composed of valves for selection of buffers and feed solutions, at least two pumps, the separation column, and, in most cases, at least one detector. Instead of a fraction collector, a combination of valves is often used. These sources of dead volume create typical washout kinetics, which contribute exponentially to the band-broadening processes. For the industrial scale, the equipment is mainly customer designed. For medium scale, modular units are available [51]. Attention should be paid to extra column volume when systems are compared. Extra column effects are an important parameter of the quality of a system and should be considered when a system is purchased. 

Compared with HPLC, CEC uses electroosmotic flow (EOF) rather than high pressure to force the mobile phase through the capillary. The advantage of EOF for CEC is that the flow profile is fiat and thus precludes band broadening by trans-channel of radial diffusion. The result is that the number of plates is at least double that of HPLC. Another advantage of CEC is that the packing particles are smaller than those of today s HPLC systems. 

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