ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Performance and lifetime of slurry packed capillary columns for high performance liquid chromatography

Martin Franc, Jiří Vojta, Jana Sobotníková, Pavel Coufal, and Zuzana Bosáková

Faculty of Science, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Charles University in Prague, Albertov 2030, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic

E-mail: pcoufal@natur.cuni.cz

Abstract: Fused silica capillary columns of the internal diameter of 320 μm were packed with the Nucleosil C18 stationary phase of 5 μm using the slurry packing method. The time of the bed compaction phase, packing pressure, and the use of ultrasound varied to study their influence on the column performance. Van Deemter curves were measured and separation impedance values were calculated in order to assess both separation efficiency and kinetic performance of the columns. Selected columns were tested again after nine months to evaluate the stability of their beds. Separation efficiencies of all columns were similar, but a major difference, caused by the use of ultrasound, was observed in the bed stability. Columns sonicated for 25 minutes during the bed compaction phase exhibited unchanged performance in the course of several months, while the performance of non-sonicated columns decreased.

Keywords: high performance liquid chromatography – slurry packing – Van Deemter curve – separation impedance

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-013-0422-9

Chemical Papers 68 (1) 22–28 (2014)