REPRODUCIBLE PACKING TECHNIQUE FOR CHROMATOGRAPHIC SILICA-GEL COLUMNS (5-10MUM)

A simple packing technique for silica gel is described that yields efficient HPLC columns with good reproducibility. The isopropanol/methanol (35/15, v/v) suspending medium used is relatively nontoxic, and the packing times can be kept short. Close adherence to the recommended procedure permits columns, 20-50 cm long, to be packed with comparable efficiency, even with silicas from different commercial sources. Their performance corresponds to that of well-packed columns as described in the literature between 1972 and 1978, which is reviewed chronologically. It is shown experimentally that the efficiency of columns of typical dimensions packed with 5 μm silica frequently cannot be fully exploited with current commercial instruments. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.