Two-dimensional preparative liquid chromatography system for preparative separation of minor amount components from complicated natural products

• Preparative MDLC system was developed for separation of complicated natural products.
• Medium-pressure LC and preparative HPLC were connected by interface of SPE.
• Automated multi-step preparative separation of 25 compounds was achieved by using this system.

An on-line comprehensive two-dimensional preparative liquid chromatography system was developed for preparative separation of minor amount components from complicated natural products. Medium-pressure liquid chromatograph (MPLC) was applied as the first dimension and preparative HPLC as the second one, in conjunction with trapping column and makeup pump. The performance of the trapping column was evaluated, in terms of column size, dilution ratio and diameter-height ratio, as well as system pressure from the view of medium pressure liquid chromatograph. Satisfactory trapping efficiency can be achieved using a commercially available 15 mm × 30 mm i.d. ODS pre-column. The instrument operation and the performance of this MPLC × preparative HPLC system were illustrated by gram-scale isolation of crude macro-porous resin enriched water extract of Rheum hotaoense. Automated multi-step preparative separation of 25 compounds, whose structures were identified by MS, 1H NMR and even by less-sensitive 13C NMR, could be achieved in a short period of time using this system, exhibiting great advantages in analytical efficiency and sample treatment capacity compared with conventional methods.

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