(429e) Development of a Stationary Phase for Continuous Annular Electro-Chromatography (CAEC)

The pharmaceutical industry is currently attempting a transition towards continuous manufacturing in several areas. In this context especially continuous chromatographic separations are very challenging, as they require specialized engineering skills and high-precision manufacturing techniques.

In cooperation with an international consortium of industrial and university research partners a novel continuous annular electro-chromatography (CAEC) process, including an immobile annular bed with rotating feed and sampling lines above and beneath, is developed. The concept of this CAEC prototype combines the advantages of electrophoresis and chromatographic separation, thus leading to an increase of the throughput whilst maintaining high separation efficiency.

We present the development of the stationary phase for this CAEC process. The stationary phase is based on a functionalized silica-based monolithic material, which is covalently bond to the inner wall of the outer cover. The preparation and functionalization of the continuous piece of macroporous material can be carried out in one step at room temperature and permits a high versatility due to multiple functionalization possibilities. Thus, the material provides a powerful tool for the separation of neutral and charged components.

In a further step the stationary phase is implemented in continuous flow setups, which can be used for the separation of pharmaceutical substances, such as triterpenes and macrolides. Preliminary results using a planar test cell show that the developed continuous set-up leads to improved practicability and flexibility of the chromatographic processes. Thus, the novel separation system constitutes promising alternatives to existing batch applications and belongs to the new generation of high-performance process equipment that allows for the small-scale production of extremely high-value added products in chemical, biochemical and pharmaceutical industries.