Chiral SFC Columns

The ability to identify, quantify, and purify enantiomers is necessary to many application fields, and this can be easily achieved by chromatographic methods using chiral stationary phases (CSPs). Among the chromatographic methods, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), a chromatographic technique using supercritical fluid as the mobile phase, is one of the most effective methods at the analytical and preparative scales.

Supercritical fluid is a fluid exists when the temperature and pressure are above the critical values. This fluid has an intermediate state between gas and liquid, that is, its diffusion coefficient and viscosity are between those of gas and liquid, and its density is close to that of liquid. These characteristics of supercritical fluids allow SFC to achieve fast and efficient separation at high flow rates and low pressure drops. The high flow rates are beneficial for high productivity and low energy consumption. The low viscosity and high diffusivity of SFC mean that the system equilibrium is reached very quickly, ensuring rapid method development and the possibility of using ballistic gradients of mobile phase composition.

Compared with gas chromatography (GC), SFC enables a wider selection of operating conditions and can efficiently separate heat-labile compounds. In addition, SFC requires less organic solvent and has a narrower peak broadening than liquid chromatography (LC). This decrease in solvent consumption makes it easier and faster to recover the products from the small modifier volumes. The most commonly used supercritical fluid in SFC is carbon dioxide (scCO2), which has a similar polarity to hexane or pentane. The advantages of scCO2 as a mobile phase include low critical temperature and pressure value, non-flammability, non-explosion, relative inertness, large supply, sufficient purity, low price, no waste generation, and low toxicity.

Features of Supercritical Fluid Mobile Phase

Supercritical fluid as a mobile phase has some characteristics of gas and liquid phases, but is different from them.

• Low viscosity: quick separation with low pressure
• High diffusivity: high unit productivity
• Low solvent consumption: environmentally friendly
• Acidic behavior of CO2: no additive such as TFA is required.

Chiral Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Columns

SFC is an environmentally friendly and efficient method for the separation, identification, and analysis of chiral compounds. Amerigo Scientific offers chiral SFC columns specifically for both preparative and semi-preparative applications, enabling fast, efficient separation and high productivity.

Coating Type

The stationary phases in the coating type chiral SFC columns are silica gel coated with amylose or cellulose derivatives.

Immobilized Type

Immobilized type chiral SFC columns are packed with silica gel immobilized with polysaccharide derivatives. These columns with excellent solvent tolerance are designed for the separation and analysis of compounds with limited solubility.