Scale-Up of Chromatography Columns

The scale-up of chromatography separation means increasing the recovered amount of a target that satisfies the required purity per unit time. This can be achieved by simply increasing the column diameter, and also by shortening the time required for separation, and/or by increasing the sample volume applied to a column [9]. 

The scale-up of chromatography operated in isocratic elution can be carried out as follows. 

The simplest way of scaling-up of chromatography is to simply increase the column diameter. In this case, good care must be taken of the distribution of the mobile phase liquid over the cross section of the column. When particles of the same dimension and characteristics are packed in a larger-diameter column with the same height, the linear velocity and the sample volume per unit cross-sectional area should be kept unchanged to obtain the same resolution. 

When the radius of particles packed and/or the column height are changed, the number of theoretical plates of a large-scale column must be kept equal to that of a small column that is, 

In chromatography separations operated under gradient elution, one simple method of obtaining an equal peak width of a specific solute in columns of different dimensions is to keep the numbers of theoretical stages of both columns equal. 

When particles of the same dimension and characteristics are packed in a larger-scale column, the linear velocity and the sample volume per unit cross-sectional area should be kept unchanged. 

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