Counter-current chromatography using hexane/surfactant-containing water solvent systems

An overview of recent progress in solvent systems, additives and modifiers of counter current chromatography

Solvent systems are critical to counter current chromatography (CCC). Appropriate additives and modifiers can be used to improve the separation efficiency of CCC.

Binary concepts and standardization in counter-current separation technology

Counter-current separation (CS) technology is currently faced with the challenge of being fit for the purpose of omics analysis, which involves highly complex samples and digitized research environments. Resembling a network of binary decisions, CS requires standardization of operation parameters in order to be efficient. While recent CS engineering solutions uniformly involve centrifugal force designs to overcome the limitation of the earth's 1xg force, factors of instrument design, operation, and graphical representation of the outcome are equally important targets for standardization. For example, chromatograms that emphasize the unique K-based nature of CS, such as reciprocal symmetry (ReS) plots, foster the fundamental understanding of CS operation. Because significant differences exist in underlying mechanism (e.g., stationary phase volume), outcome (e.g., construction of chromatograms), and scale (e.g., factors affecting overall method sensitivity) of solid-liquid vs. liquid-liquid chromatography technologies, standardization will enable the systematic exploration of the differential properties of the two LC technologies, and will be key to making CS fit for the digital omics age.

Countercurrent separation of natural products

An assessment of the technology and method development in countercurrent chromatography (CCC) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), collectively referred to as countercurrent separation (CS), is provided. More than six decades of CS theory and applications are critically reviewed and developed into a practical guide to CS for natural products research. The necessary theoretical foundation is given for better use of CS in the separation of biological molecules of any size, small to large, and from any matrix, simple to complex. The three operational fundamentals of CS--instrumentation, biphasic solvent systems, and theory--are covered in a prismatic fashion. The goal of this review is to provide the necessary background and references for an up-to-date perspective of CS and to point out its potential for the natural products scientist for applications in natural products chemistry, metabolome, and proteome research involving organisms from terrestrial and marine sources.