FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES ON ULTRAFAST SEPARATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF GEOPOLYMER BASED BASE-STABLE STATIONARY PHASE MEDIA
Abstract
This thesis consists of two sections. In the first section fundamentals of ultrafast separations is discussed. Ultrafast chromatography is an emerging area of separation science due to its applicability in high-throughput separations and purifications. State of the art superficially porous particles packed short and ultrashort columns are utilized to obtain the amenable speed and chromatographic efficiency required in ultrafast chromatography. Modifications to state of the art HPLC and UHPLC instrumentation required in cases where ultrafast separations are needed. Sub-second liquid chromatographic separations and ultrafast separations of biomolecules and complex mixtures are demonstrated. Fundamentals behind the analytical chromatographic column packing are discussed as efficiently packed columns are necessary in ultrafast chromatography.
Secondly, first reported utilization of geopolymers in liquid chromatography is discussed. A simple synthesis route has been proposed, and complete characterization of porous geopolymer particles has been performed using various characterization techniques. Geopolymer stationary phases have been successfully utilized in normal phase chromatography and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). Further, its HILIC characteristics are compared with other existing HILIC phases. This dissertation will be a resource to understand the fundamentals of ultrafast separations and utilization of geopolymers in the field of separation sciences.