Surface affinity chromatographic separation of blood cells. VII. Relationship between capacity factors of human peripheral blood cells and the rate of penetration of liquids into xerogel column packings.

Eleven kinds of column packing gels which bonded poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to Sepharose 6B (PEG-C10-Sepharose) were prepared. Human peripheral blood cells were chromatographed on these gel columns by eluting with 0.09 M phosphate-buffered 2% (w/w) dextran T40 solution at the pH of the respective isoelectric points of the blood cells. The rate of penetration of water or the mobile phases into the PEG-C10-Sepharose xerogels as a measure of the hydrophobicity of the gels depended on both the oxyethylene residue content and the number of oxyethylene units of the packing gels. The capacity factors of granulocytes and lymphocytes were increased on the columns packed with gels having a slower rate of penetration of the liquids into the xerogels.