Superficially porous silica microspheres for fast high-performance liquid chromatography of macromolecules.

Very fast reversed-phase separations of biomacromolecules are performed using columns made with superficially porous silica microsphere column packings ("Poroshell"). These column packings consist of ultra-pure "biofriendly' silica microspheres composed of solid cores and thin outer shells with uniform pores. The excellent kinetic properties of these new column packings allow stable, high-resolution gradient chromatography of polypeptides, proteins, nucleic acids, DNA fragments, etc. in a fraction of the time required for conventional separations. Contrasted with <2-microm non-porous particles, Poroshell packings can be used optimally with existing equipment and greater sample loading capacities, while retaining kinetic (and separation speed) advantages over conventional totally porous particles.