Dependence of the efficiency of a multicapillary column on the liquid phase loading method.

One of the main approaches employed to reach fast chromatographic separation is based on using columns containing up to 1000 capillaries with the diameter size down to 10-100 microm. The efficiency of such columns depends on the dispersion of the capillary radius and on the way of the liquid-film loading. We present general equations describing these effects. Specifically, we show theoretically and experimentally that the separation efficiency can be improved by using the loading methods specially designed in order to take into account correlation between the film thickness and capillary radius.