Multicomponent Adsorption Chromatography with Uneven Saturation Capacities

Abstract

In chromatographic separations of large biomolecules, such as proteins, using porous adsorbents, a size exclusion effect may be significant. Some large molecules either cannot access part of the small macropores in the adsorbent particles or all the macropores. This is especially possible in chromatographic separations of large proteins or other macromolecules. For a multicomponent system involving components with very different molecular sizes, the extent of size exclusion is not the same for all components. This causes uneven adsorption saturation capacities (based on moles) for the components. The least excluded component tends to have the highest saturation capacity.