Preparative HPLC Columns

Varian has developed a column phase material that will help pharmaceutical manufacturers quickly and efficiently scale up the purification of experimental compounds through production quantities of active drug ingredients.

The ultra-high purity silica phase material, OmniSpher 10 C18, is designed for preparative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It is optimised for use with Varian's Dynamax preparative HPLC column technology.

Preparative chromatography is a separation technique used for purifying active ingredient pharmaceutical compounds and biomolecules used in drug discovery and manufacture. Mixtures are injected through a column containing specially sized and shaped silica particles, known as stationary phase. The results of this process are recovered or purified compounds. The technique is used in three different drug discovery and manufacturing steps: rapid or flash purification of experimental compounds during laboratory research; recovery of compounds in sufficient quantities for drug testing and clinical trials; and the high-volume purification of small organic molecules and biomolecules for pharmaceutical manufacture. Generally speaking, the methods for preparative chromatography are first developed on analytical HPLC systems.

Varian is a single-source supplier of total preparative chromatography solutions. These solutions encompass stationary phases, column technology, and a complete range of preparative chromatography systems - from flash through high-volume manufacture.

OmniSpher 10 C18 is Varian's most recent development in stationary phase technology. The 10 µm spherical particles are designed specifically for the analysis and purification of mixtures containing either acidic, basic, and neutral compounds that can prove difficult for more traditional bonded material. OmniSpher separates compounds with good column stability and reproducibility.

OmniSpher's superior chromatogram is due to the use of ultra-high purity silica with extremely low concentrations of metals and salts. Higher concentrations of metals lead to most of the secondary reactions that cause unresolved separation.

Linear scale up can be improved with Dynamax columns. For pharmaceutical companies, preparative chromatography typically involves large injections of precious material. As a result, manufacturers want purification with good recovery. With OmniSpher phase material coupled with Varian's Dynamax column technology, linear scale up - moving from analytical separation to preparative purification - is a quick and simple process.

With this combination, users can develop a method with an OmniSpher-based analytical column and then scale up to larger Dynamax preparative (10, 21.4 and 41.4 mm inside diameter) columns, also using the OmniSpher material.