On the 3-dimensional effects in etched chips for high performance liquid chromatography-separations

In an attempt to quantify the potential of photolithographically etched micro-pillar arrays as a perfectly ordered alternative for the packed bed of spheres, the additional band broadening originating from the top and bottom plate has been investigated using computational fluid dynamics simulations. These calculations provide insight in the theoretical expectations that can be made for the experimental work that is currently being conducted by a number of groups. The calculations show that the additional band broadening contribution can be expected to go through a transient regime as a function of the axial distance along the array. In its fully developed regime and in the most relevant velocity range, the top and bottom wall contribution almost doubles the band broadening compared to the band broadening in a perfectly ordered array of non-porous, non-retentive pillars without top and bottom wall. Compared to the band broadening in an array of porous, retentive pillars on the other hand, the top and bottom wall-effect can be expected to become negligible. A simplified, phenomenological model yielding a first principles prediction of both the transient and the steady-state top and bottom wall band broadening as a function of the inter-pillar distance and the pillar height is proposed and shows good qualitative agreement with the exact calculations.