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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Simple In-House Ultra-High Performance Capillary Column Manufacturing with the FlashPack Approach
Published on: December 4, 2021
Shell and small particles; evaluation of new column technology
Szabolcs Fekete1, Jeno Fekete, Katalin Ganzler
1Formulation Development, Gedeon Richter Plc, Gyömroi út 19-21, Budapest X., Hungary. fekete.szabolcs1@chello.hu
New shell particle columns offer comparable efficiency to sub-2 micrometer particles for hormone separations. These 5 cm columns achieve high peak capacity in under 30 minutes, showing improved performance in isocratic elution.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Chromatography
Background:
- High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is crucial for analyzing complex mixtures.
- Sub-2 micrometer particles offer high efficiency but can have drawbacks.
- Shell particles present an alternative for improved chromatographic performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the performance of 5 cm columns packed with shell particles against totally porous sub-2 micrometer particles.
- To evaluate separation efficiency for a range of hormones under gradient and isocratic elution conditions.
- To assess the impact of particle type on reduced plate height and impedance time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 5 cm columns packed with shell particles and totally porous sub-2 micrometer particles.
- Performed gradient and isocratic elution separations of hormones including dienogest, finasteride, and estradiol.
- Investigated column efficiency, peak capacity, reduced plate height (h), and impedance time.
- Analyzed the influence of extra-column volume on column efficiency and HETP curves.
Main Results:
- Achieved peak capacities of 140-150 within 25 minutes using 5 cm shell particle columns.
- The Ascentis Express column (2.7 microm shell particles) demonstrated efficiency comparable to sub-2 micrometer particles under gradient conditions.
- Under isocratic separation, 2.7 microm shell particles yielded a significantly lower minimum reduced plate height (h ≈ 1.6) compared to totally porous particles (h ≈ 2.8).
- Observed more favorable impedance time with 2.7 microm shell particles.
Conclusions:
- 5 cm shell particle columns provide efficient and rapid separations of hormones.
- Shell particles, particularly at 2.7 microm, offer advantages in isocratic separations, showing reduced plate height and favorable impedance.
- Extra-column dispersion can impact chromatographic system efficiency, potentially shifting HETP curves.
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