Feasibility study of using refrigerant 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane as the mobile phase in high-speed counter-current chromatography

Abstract

Newly synthesized environmentally benign refrigerant 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (R134a) was used as the mobile phase in high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) in this study. R134a remains as a liquid under mild pressure and becomes a gas at atmospheric pressure. Accordingly, operation of HSCCC equipped with regular polytetrafluoroethylene tubing was satisfactory. Since R134a turned into gas at ambient temperature and pressure, further concentration for the collected fractions after elution was not required. A mixture of four standard components of Angelicae radix was separated to demonstrate the feasibility of using this new mobile phase in HSCCC. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.