Hydrodynamic aspects of slurry packing processes in microcolumn liquid chromatography

A Stokesian dynamics computer simulation based method is presented for the estimation of the bed porosity of slurry-packed capillary liquid chromatogr aphy (LC) columns. A colloidally well-described reversed-phase stationary p hase-slurry liquid suspension was used as a model system. The applied simul ation method takes into account the velocity of the slurry and colloidal in teraction forces, as well as inter-particle hydrodynamic interactions. The predicted bed porosities suggest that a lower slurry velocity leads to a de nser packing structure due to the increased effect of colloidal repulsion e ffects. The results of the simulations were compared with the external poro sity and chromatographic performance of capillary LC columns that were pack ed at different filtration and compaction pressures. However, the trends th at were observed in the experimental results suggest that hydrodynamic pack ing parameters have no or little effect on the chromatographic performance of capillary LC columns. Within the experimental parameter window, the chro matographic performance and the column porosity were not influenced by the filtration and compaction pressure, nor by the duration of the compaction p rocess. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.