D.M.W. De Malsche

Realization of 1 × 10.6 Theoretical Plates in Liquid Chromatography Using Very Long Pillar Array Columns

We report on the possibility to achieve ultra high efficiencies (order of 1 million theoretical plates) in liquid chromatography in a relatively short time of 20 min (elution time of unretained marker). This was achieved using a micropillar array column with optimized pillar diameter (5 μm) and interpillar distance (2.5 μm) to operate close to the Knox and Saleem limit of micropillar array columns in the region of the 1 million theoretical plate mark under the prevailing pressure restriction (350 bar in the present study). The obtained efficiency was slightly affected (some 15 to 20% around the optimal flow rate) by the turns that were inevitably needed to arrange a 3 m long column on a 4 in. silicon wafer.

Performance Evaluation of Different Design Alternatives for Microfabricated Nonporous Fused Silica Pillar Columns for Capillary Electrochromatography

An experimental study comparing the performance of different designs for microfabricated column structures for microchip capillary electrochromatography is presented. The work is a follow-up to our previously published modeling and simulation study on the same topic. Experiments were performed using fused silica microchips with and without octadecyltrimethoxysilane coating for nonretained and retained modes of operation, respectively. Showing the same trends as the modeling results, the foil shape produces a significant decrease in plate height with an increase of around 15% in mobile phase velocity in nonretained measurements of Coumarin 480 (C480). Measured plate heights at 1 kV/cm applied electric field were 0.77, 1.33, and 1.42 μm for foil, diamond, and hexagon, respectively. Chromatographic runs of C480 yielded minimal plate height values of 1.85 and 3.28 μm for foil and diamond, respectively. The optimization of the shape and placement of the structures appeared to have a considerable impact on the achievable performance.