Do You Know All the Basics of Flash Columns?
Definition of Flash Column
Flash column is a cost-effective technique to separate mixtures of molecules into their individual constituents, and it is more frequently used in the drug discovery process. It is able to separate substances based on the differential adsorption of compounds to the adsorbent; compounds move through the column at different rates, allowing them to be separated into fractions. Hawach provides Empty Flash Columns, Spherical SAX Flash Column, Neutral Alumina Flash Columns, Standard Silica Gel Flash Columns, and other flash columns for your choice.
Principle of Flash Column
The principal behind flash column is simple-due to their particular chemistry-polarity differences, compounds in solution will separate from each other, given the right conditions and technique. These chemical differences are based on each compound’s solubility in a particular solvent. Compounds with lower solubility can be removed from those with greater solubility using the same solvent.
Separation Process of Flash Column
To separate, it uses a column filled with a pure, solid medium such as synthetic silica onto which the chemical mixture is introduced. The solvent is introduced into the column by a pump after the mixture is added to the top of the column. Those compounds that have higher solubility will migrate through the column faster than those with less solubility and can be collected individually. The collected materials will be purer than before.
The Basic Knowledge of Selecting the Most Suitable Flash Column
The most important process of the whole purification is selecting the most suitable Flash column. And now we will talk about the key content of the column: stationary phase. The stationary phase, commonly known as filler, is the most central part of chromatography. When we choose the variety of the stationary phase for the chromatography, we should define three aspects: a substrate, a bonded phase, and substrate parameters.
The substrate is the basic material of the stationary phase. There are three kinds of materials used to obtain substrates, which are inorganic materials, organic materials, and composite materials. The inorganic materials include silica gel, alumina, etc.
The organic materials are mainly polymer materials such as gelatin. And the composite materials usually refer to the materials which are combined inorganic materials and organic materials by means of hybridization, coating, and coating. Silica gel is the most widely used substrate in flash purification.
The bonded phase is used to modify the substrate or bonding the different groups, which forms different types of stationary phases.
The substrate parameters contain the shape, particle size, and pore size. For instance, the widely applied silica gel substrate is usually divided into the spherical and the amorphous. And the two types of silica gel have different particle sizes. All the parameters should be referred to according to the requirements of purification.
