Chromatography column support

Abstract

Herein is reported the use of a chromatography column support comprising at least one plane of symmetry, one axis of symmetry, at least three legs, at least three straight connectors, whereby the connectors define a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the support, whereby the connectors are connected to each other at the axis of symmetry, whereby each leg is connected to a connector, whereby each leg is perpendicular to the plane defined by the connectors, whereby all legs are on the same side of the plane defined by the connectors for stabilizing the packing of a chromatography column.

Claims

1. A device consisting of a chromatography column, the chromatography column comprising an inlet and an outlet, at least one pair of a movable frit and a chromatography column support, the chromatography column support comprising one axis of symmetry, at least one plane of symmetry comprising the axis of symmetry, three legs in the form of rods, one Y-shaped connector, whereby the Y-shaped connector defines a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the chromatography column support, whereby each leg is connected to the Y-shaped connector, whereby each leg is perpendicular to the plane defined by the Y-shaped connector, and whereby all legs are on the same side of the plane defined by the Y-shaped connector, wherein the at least one pair of the moveable frit and the chromatography column support is inside the chromatography column, whereby the moveable frit of each pair is between the inlet and the chromatography column support of the same pair; and whereby the at least one pair of the moveable frit and the chromatography column support defines horizontal sections in the chromatography column; wherein the horizontal sections above and below each at least one pair of the movable frit and the chromatography column support are filled with chromatography column packing material; and wherein the chromatography column support moves along an axis in the flow direction in the chromatography column.

2. A device consisting of a chromatography column, the chromatography column comprising an inlet and an outlet, at least one pair of a movable frit and a chromatography column support, the chromatography column support comprising one axis of symmetry, at least one plane of symmetry comprising the axis of symmetry, three legs in the form of rods, one Y-shaped connector, whereby the Y-shaped connector defines a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the chromatography column support, whereby each leg is connected to the Y-shaped connector, whereby each leg is perpendicular to the plane defined by the Y-shaped connector, and whereby all legs are on the same side of the plane defined by the Y-shaped connector, wherein the at least one pair of the moveable frit and the chromatography column support is inside the chromatography column, whereby the moveable frit of each pair is between the inlet and the chromatography column support of the same pair; and whereby the at least one pair of the moveable frit and the chromatography column support defines horizontal sections in the chromatography column; wherein the horizontal sections above and below each at least one pair of the movable frit and the chromatography column support are filled with chromatography column packing material; and wherein the chromatography column support is freely moveable with the chromatography column.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIGS. 1A and 1B Exemplary embodiments of the support as reported herein: upper: element which has four legs in the form of full areas, these in 90° angles stand to each; lower: element which has six legs.

(2) FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C Exemplary embodiments of the support as reported herein: upper: element with four legs comprising longish openings in the leg areas; middle: element with round holes in the legs providing crossways networking; lower: element which has three legs inside a chromatography column

(3) FIG. 3 Scheme of a chromatographic column comprising several different supports as reported herein and several chromatography column separators.

(4) FIG. 4 Flow diagram of a DEAE-Sepharose chromatography column: left curve: column without a support as reported herein; right curve: column with a support as reported herein.

(5) FIG. 5 Flow diagram of a HA-Ultrogel chromatography column: left curve: column without a support as reported herein; right curve: column with a support as reported herein.

(6) FIG. 6 Exemplary chromatography column separators: a) separator with a single frit comprising a frit (1) and a fitting (2); b) separator with an upper frit (1) and a lower frit (3) and an upper fitting (2) and a lower fitting (4); c) vertical cross-section of the guide ring of the separator comprising two axially symmetric cross-section areas (5 and 6) each having i) a tapering structure, wherein the tapering is from the outside to the inside of the guide ring, and i) a notch (8) with an opening directed to the inside of the guide ring for mounting a frit.

(7) FIG. 7 Pressure values during the regenerations and cycle numbers of a chromatography column not comprising the support as reported herein.

(8) FIG. 8 Pressure values during the regenerations and cycle numbers of a chromatography column comprising the support as reported herein.

EXAMPLES

Example 1

(9) Packing of a Chromatography Column Comprising a Support as Reported Herein

(10) During the packing process of columns which are equipped with the flexible bed support elements as reported herein the homogeneous inserting and distribution of the chromatography medium is very important. There are two possibilities to reach a homogeneous packing. The first is to put the flexible bed support element in the column first and inserting the slurry afterwards. In this case the slurry must homogeneously be brought in into the column. The other possibility is bringing in the slurry into the column first, homogenizing it in the column and afterwards introducing the bed support element by putting it directly into the slurry in the column. During the settling a homogeneous column bed forms and encloses the element. After the specified settling time can either an intermediate column frit be put on the bed support element or the column can be locked with an adapter. If an intermediate column frit is used, another flexible bed support element can be put on top and the packing of the next column compartment can be started. The process can be repeated until the complete column height is filled/packed.

Example 2

(11) Chromatographic Separation Using a Conventional Chromatography Column not Comprising a Support as Reported Herein—Cycle Number and Pressure Characteristics for the Use of the Chromatography Material

(12) Herein the life cycle of a conventionally packed HPLC column is shown. It can be seen from FIG. 7 that the pressure directly after packing is about 40 bars. This increases after the fortieth regeneration cycle to about 70 bars.

(13) Packing details:

(14) Column diameter: 30 cm Column type: dynamic compression without bed support elements and intermediate column frits Bed height: about 40 cm Used chromatographic material: Vydac C4 Flow rate: 162 l/h

(15) Pressure values during the regenerations and cycle numbers are shown in FIG. 7.

Example 3

(16) Chromatographic Separation Using a Conventional Chromatography Column Comprising a Support as Reported Herein—Cycle Number and Pressure Characteristics for the Use of the Chromatography Material

(17) Herein is shown a HPLC column with a support as reported herein and an intermediate column frit. It can be seen that a lower initial pressure after packing compared to the column of Example 2 can be obtained. Altogether a more stable pressure course can be obtained over the use cycles. Also a maximum cycle number of 98 can be reached without the need to repack the column. The intermediate column frit without the support as reported herein fulfills a bed support function at the HPLC media which are compressible only in a very low measure.

(18) Packing Details:

(19) Column diameter: 15 cm Column type: dynamic compression with intermediate column frit Bed height: about 40 cm Used chromatographic material: Vydac C4 Flow rate: 35 l/h

(20) Pressure values during the regenerations and cycle numbers are shown in FIG. 8.