What Are the Benefits of Liquid Chromatography for the Cannabis Industry?

Cannabis/Hemp purification is critically important to processors of cannabis and hemp products.

  • Are you trying to achieve THC free CBD?
  • Are you trying to remove contaminants from process scale purifications of THC, cannabidiol (CBD)?

Many liquid chromatography based techniques are being used in the rapidly growing cannabis industry.

Cannabinoid purification is usually performed using preparative HPLC or flash chromatography.

There is a lesser known, unique liquid chromatography technique that is better suited to purify cannabinoids. This novel technique has been around for a long time. Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) has been proven (for over 40 years) to be the best way to purify natural products. For over the past 12 years, CPC has been the most efficient liquid chromatography technique for purifying cannabinoids.

All liquid column chromatography techniques separate chemical substances according to their affinity for either the stationary or mobile phase. The more something adheres to the stationary phase, the slower it will move through the column. In traditional systems, the stationary phase is made out of a solid particle with a liquid mobile phase.

Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) is a unique liquid chromatography technique where the stationary and mobile phase both use immiscible liquids that are combined to form a two phase system. It is named Centrifugal Partition Chromatography because the stationary phase is immobilized by a strong centrifugal force. CPC is a silica free separation technique where the stationary phase is held by the centrifugal force Inside the CPC column. The force of the spinning rotor holds one of the liquids in place. Like oil and water, these liquids don’t mix. Partition means that the solutes are partitioned in both liquid phases.

Benefits of Using Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC) to Purify Cannabinoids

  • Purity is nearly 100% 
  • Yields typically 90 to 95% 
  • Radically reduced solvent consumption (as much as 80%) compared to traditional liquid chromatography 0
  • Solvents can be recycled for additional savings 
  • No solid support to purchase or dispose of 
  • Reduced run time 
  • No degradation in efficiency from run to run 
  • Injection volume is typically 10% of rotor volume 
  • No risk of blocks or contaminated column 
  • Easier to scale up versus traditional liquid chromatography 
  • Pure fractions of major and minor cannabinoids from a crude mixture as well as terpenes, alkaloids, flavonoids, and other compounds 
  • Pesticides are removed in the purification process 
  • Easier to automate 
  • Multiple process HPCPCs (high performance centrifugal partition chromatographs) can be run in a simulated moving bed (SMB) format for continuous operation (3-8) 12-liter rotors to process up to 100 liters per day 
  • Best choice for purification of cannabinoids  

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