Systems and methods for supercritical fluid chromatography

Abstract

Provided is a supercritical fluid chromatography method, system, and components comprising such a system wherein a non-polar solvent may replace a portion or all of a polar solvent for the purpose of separating or extracting desired sample molecules from a combined sample/solvent stream. The method and system are designed to eliminate or reduce the amount of polar solvent necessary for chromatographic separation and/or extraction of desired samples to less than or equal to twenty percent polar solvent within the total volume concentration of the total solvents used, and the technique may include one or more of a supercritical fluid chiller, a supercritical fluid pressure-equalizing vessel, and a supercritical fluid cyclonic separator. The supercritical fluid chiller and the use of the chiller allow efficient and consistent pumping of liquid-phase gases employing off-the-shelf HPLC pumps in the supercritical chromatography system using liquid-phase gas mobile phase. The pressure equalizing vessel allows the use of off the shelf HPLC column cartridges in the supercritical chromatography system. The cyclonic separator efficiently and effectively allows for separation of sample molecules from a liquid phase or gas phase stream of a supercritical fluid. The technique may further incorporate the use of one or more disposable cartridges containing silica gel or other suitable medium for use as a chromatographic separation column. The technique may also utilize an open loop cooling circuit using fluids with a positive Joule-Thompson coefficient.