Supercritical fluid chromatography

Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) makes use of a supercritical fluid, typically carbon dioxide (CO₂), instead of an organic or aqueous solvent, to carry the sample through the chromatography column. The advantages of SFC when using carbon dioxide are that there are no organic solvents to dispose of. Separations can also be performed more quickly than HPLC, since the diffusion of solutes in supercritical fluids is about an order of magnitude greater than in liquids. While initially more of an analytical technique, SFC has developed into primarily a preparative technique, and is also now seeing significant use in process scale chromatography.

2009 Purification SFC Demand

The non-toxic nature of CO₂ as a solvent is a very attractive feature of SFC when working with products intended for human consumption. SFC is also a particularly attractive separation method for chiral compounds because of its efficient use of the chiral stationary phase (CSP) media, and the fact that SFC provides a very compatible environment for CSP media. These factors make SFC particularly attractive to both the pharmaceutical and agriculture and food industries.

The SFC market is still relatively immature, and therefore demand is somewhat more concentrated in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. However, the market growth is expected to be stronger in the developing regions because of the fact that most of the demand comes from laboratory scale research and development related applications, rather than manufacturing and processing. Currently, the columns and aftermarket segment accounts for nearly two-thirds of the Purification SFC market demand.

The foregoing data was extracted and adapted from SDi's Market Analysis and Perspectives report titled, Purification Chromatography: Rapid Development for Evolving Needs. For more information, contact Glenn Cudiamat, VP of Research Services, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, tel. (310) 641-4982, fax (310) 641-8851, e-mail:cudiamat@strategic-directions.com