High-performance liquid chromatography silica-based supports

SynChropak GPC supports were introduced in 1978 as the first commercial columns for high-performance liquid chromatography of proteins. SynChropak GPC columns were based on research developed by Fred Regnier and coworkers in 1976 (1,2). The first columns were only available in 10-yu,m particles with a 100-A pore diameter, but as silica technology advanced, the range of available pore diameters increased and 5-yu,m particle diameters became available. SynChropak GPC and CATSEC occasionally were prepared on larger particles on a custom basis, but generally these products have been intended for analytical applications. 

Ion-exchange supports based on derivatized cellulose and agarose have been popular since the 1960s, particularly for protein analysis. For high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), less compressible supports, such as silica and cross-Unked polymers, are most commonly used. 

In contrast to silica-based column packings usually used in classical high-performance liquid chromatography, in ion chromatography, organic polymers are often employed as the predominant support material. These resins show a... 

There are a variety of HPLC columns and most of them are based on silica particles. The most popular column used today is the reversed-phase Cl8 column that uses a silica support with a bonded organic surface layer. Traditional HPLC analytical columns are usually 4.6 mm x 250 mm with a 5 pm particle size, as used in the USP official method. Modern columns for HPLC-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) applications are more efficient and offer the same or better resolving power in a much smaller package (2.1 mm x 150 mm with a 3.5 pm particle size or smaller). Ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) columns (sub 2pm particle size, 1-2 mm in diameter and 30-100 mm in length) are becoming more and more popular. 

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