High performance liquid chromatography method and apparatus

Chromatography apparatus comprising, in combination,

• a chromatographic column formed as a substantially uniformly distributed, packed multiplicity of rigid, solid, porous particles with chromatographically active surfaces, said particle having substantially uniform average diameters of not less than about 500 .mu.m, and
• means for loading said surfaces with at least one solute that is reactive with said surfaces, by flowing a liquid mixture containing said solute through said column at a velocity sufficient to induce flow of said mixture within at least a substantial portion of the interstitial volume between said particles at a reduced velocity greater than about 50,000.

In chromatography apparatus including a chromatographic column formed as a bed of a packed multiplicity of rigid solid particles having substantially uniform mean diameters of not less than about 30 .mu.m, the surfaces of said particles being chromatographically active and wherein a solute introduced into said bed tends to become non-specifically bound to said particles, the improvement including

• means for injecting a liquid mixture comprising said solute into said column at a reduced velocity greater than about 5,000 so as to load said particles with said solute;
• and
• means for eluting the loaded solute from said particles by flowing eluant fluid through said column at an average reduced velocity greater than about 5000.

A chromatographic column comprising, in combination,

• a container packed with a substantially uniformly distributed multiplicity of rigid, solid, porous particles with chromatographically active surfaces, said particle having substantially uniform average diameters in the range between about 30 to about 500 .mu.m, the interstitial volume between said particles being greater than about 45% of the total volume of said body, said volume being formed of a multiplicity of interstitial channels between said particles, at least a majority of said channels having mean cross-section dimensions substantially not less than about 5 .mu.m.