New analytical spiral tube assembly for separation of proteins by counter-current chromatography

A new spiral column assembly for analytical separation by counter-current chromatography is described. The column is made from a plastic spiral tube support which has 12 interwoven spiral grooves. The PTFE tubing of 1.6 mm ID was first flattened by extruding through a narrow slit and inserted into the grooves to make 5 spiral layers with about 60 ml capacity. The performance of the spiral column assembly was tested with separation of three stable protein samples including cytochrome C, myoglobin and lysozyme in a polymer phase system composed of polyethylene glycol 1000 and dibasic potassium phosphate each at 12.5% (w/w) in water. At 2 ml/min, three protein samples were well resolved in 1 h. The separation time may be further shortened by application of higher revolution speed and flow rate by improving the strength of the spiral tube support in the future.