Cross-axis synchronous flow-through coil planet centrifuge for large-scale preparative counter-current chromatography. I. Apparatus and studies on stationary phase retention in short coils.

Using a new cross-axis synchronous flow-through coil planet centrifuge with a 20-cm revolutional radius, the retention of the stationary phase for nine solvent systems was studied with short coils mounted at two different locations on three holders with 5-, 15- and 25-cm hub diameters. Coils mounted 10 cm to the left of the center of a holder produced a much improved retention of most of the solvent systems compared with the same coils mounted at the center of the holder. In the lateral coil position the retention was found to be affected by the direction of the planetary motion and the head-tail elution mode. This phenomenon may be attributed to the effect of the lateral force field acting asymmetrically between the upper and lower halves of the coil.