A simplex optimization of the experimental parameters in preparative liquid chromatography

Summary A study of the optimization of the experimental conditions for the purification or extraction of pure compounds by liquid chromatography is presented. Optimum values of the parameters of overloaded elution are derived for maximum production rate, using a Simplex algorithm and the procedure previously described for the simulation of the elution profiles of binary mixtures. The mobile phase flow velocity and the sample size have been optimized together in a first step, simulating the procedure followed in practice, when a column is available. In a second part, the influence of the column length and the average particle size of the packing material on the column performance as well as the trade-offs between the production rate and the yield are discussed.There are three major conclusions in this work. First, the optimum experimental conditions are often very different, depending whether one is primarily interested in the first or in the second eluted component of a mixture. Second, the column efficiency under analytical conditions is very important: it is traded-off for high flow rates, hence short cycle time and increased production rate. Third, the production rate depends strongly on the maximum pressure at which the equipment can be operated. Finally, the optimum production rate varies rather smoothly with the mobile phase velocity and the sample size, so a high yield (70% or more) can usually be obtained with a limited loss in production rate (30 to 60%).