The separation of some volatile fatty acids on a "Sephadex" partition chromatogram

The suitability of Sephadex LH-20 as a solid support for the partition chromatography of acetic, propionic and butyric acids was investigated by using standard mixtures of 14C-labelled acids. The clear separation that was obtained between the acids was confirmed by the negligible cross contamination found between the acid peaks. Furthermore, the Sephadex LH-20 column gave a convenient elution volume and time similar to those found for a Celite Analytical Filter Aid column, without the progressive deterioration in separation normally associated with Celite.