Mobile phase viscosity and velocity dependence on protein retention using nonequilibrium chromatographic techniques

Nonequilibrium chromatography (NEC) is an alternative chromatographic procedure for the separation of macromolecules. The retardation of a protein series is studied using a phosphate buffer as a mobile phase with various concentrations of glycerol fraction (used as a viscosity modifier) at different mobile phase velocities and a C1 column with a very low packing particle diameter as a stationary phase. It is shown that the two factors (viscosity and velocity) of the mobile phase constituted important parameters in the retention mechanism of the proteins in NEC. The retardation velocity domain is divided into two regions. For low velocity regions, the protein retention decreased with a mobile phase velocity increase. This retention is enhanced above a critical value of the mobile phase velocity. The transition between the two well-known NEC methods, slalom chromatography and hydrodynamic chromatography, is clearly visualized for the first time for the protein retention of particular values of the mobile phase velocity.