Purification of Small Molecules
To date, possibly the main use of functionalized solid materials in chemical applications has been for purification. Perhaps not by volume, but certainly by application, HPLC is the most often used application of functionalized silicas. HPLC allows for analytic separation of a huge array of compounds. The main technology enabling HPLC is the packing inside the HPLC column. That packing allows for the reversible absorption of various chemical species.
There are “big” industrial scale versions of HPLC used in the biopharmaceutical industry where it is one of the main separation techniques. Even in small molecules it sometimes is utilized. Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) Chromotography has made industrial scale separation possible. But generally it is not seen as a very economical process. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, the packing is too expensive. The second is the adsorption is too reversible - this leads to a huge amount of solvent waste. Because our chemistry allows for a wider array of functionalization we have been able to tune the adsorption process to be nearly irreversible allowing for higher loading, faster kinetics and lower costs in purification applications.
There are “big” industrial scale versions of HPLC used in the biopharmaceutical industry where it is one of the main separation techniques. Even in small molecules it sometimes is utilized. Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) Chromotography has made industrial scale separation possible. But generally it is not seen as a very economical process. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, the packing is too expensive. The second is the adsorption is too reversible - this leads to a huge amount of solvent waste. Because our chemistry allows for a wider array of functionalization we have been able to tune the adsorption process to be nearly irreversible allowing for higher loading, faster kinetics and lower costs in purification applications.
What we do
We have functionalized silicas so that they have high affinity for metals which can be used as metal scavengers. Because the affinity is specific to the metal the silica adsorbs much more metal than the product to be purified, enabling the metal to be selectively captured onto the metal surface. We call this "winning the tug of war." Because the functionalised surface is so attractive to the metal it will bind onto our surface instead of to your product.
We have chosen silica as the solid surface because of silica's excellent bulk handling properties. Silica can come in a variety of particle sizes and has excellent physical stability. This means low pressure drops and quick filtrations. Other benefits of a silica structure are
We now have a range of products designed as metal scavengers for purification applications - the table below will help in the selection of the appropriate product. We have arranged the most useful products into kits for small scale screening and selection. Kits are available for palladium, copper, chromium, ruthenium, platinum, tin, osmium, rhodium and a general kit. The screening process is found here.
We have chosen silica as the solid surface because of silica's excellent bulk handling properties. Silica can come in a variety of particle sizes and has excellent physical stability. This means low pressure drops and quick filtrations. Other benefits of a silica structure are
- Non swelling
- Broad solvent compatibility
- Excellent stability - thermal, physical, chemical and mechanical
- Incompressible
- High purity
We now have a range of products designed as metal scavengers for purification applications - the table below will help in the selection of the appropriate product. We have arranged the most useful products into kits for small scale screening and selection. Kits are available for palladium, copper, chromium, ruthenium, platinum, tin, osmium, rhodium and a general kit. The screening process is found here.
