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Revolutionary Chromatographic and Bioconversion Supports

Monolithic supports represent a new era of chromatographic separation. Due to their large inner channel diameter and convective mass transfer, CIM® supports offer excellent separation power, exceptional chemical stability and flow characteristics especially for large biomolecules (pDNA, viruses, monoclonal antibodies).

Definition of Chromatographic Monoliths - the 4th Generation of Stationary Phases:

Monoliths are continuous stationary phases that are cast as a homogeneous column in a single piece and prepared in various dimensions with agglomeration-type or fibrous microstructures. (Iberer, G., Hahn, R., Jungbauer, A. LC-GC, 1999, 17, 998)

CIM® Monolithic Supports are based on:

  • A highly cross-linked porous monolithic polymer,
    • poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) or
    • poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) polymers
  • Well-defined, bimodal channel-size distribution.
          

Channels Enable Convective Transport - No Diffusion, No Void Volume!

Since CIM® supports are composed of a solid piece of material with channels, convective mass transfer drives the separation of biomolecules. This is a few orders of magnitude faster than diffusive transport which is seen in particle based supports.

CIM® channels (1200-1500 nm) provide excellent separation power and flow characteristics enabling the fast separation of large biomolecules (large proteins, immunoglobulins, plasmid DNA, and viruses) while preserving their functionality. The biomoleucles are conveyed to the active groups located on the surface of the channels by bulk flow of the mobile phase. Since there is no diffusion, there are no dead-end pores, no void volume, and therefore no stagnant zones allowing the transport between the mobile and stationary phase to be very fast. Consequently, CIM® columns are flow rate independent.

Video demonstration - Traditional particle based media vs. CIM® Monoliths

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Same Technology, Different Geometry!

Convective Interaction Media® columns are available as CIM® Disk Monolithic Columns and CIM® Tube Monolithic Columns. They use different flow direction principles: axial flow and radial flow respectively. Since monoliths are flow independent, the resolution and scalability on a radial monolithic column is equal to that of an axial monolithic column despite a significant upgrade in linear velocity through the monolithic bed due to the cylinder’s thickness.

Two different Flow Principles:

CIM Convective Interaction Media® Disk Monolithic Columns are mainly intended for fast analyzes, in-process control, and laboratory purification. They exhibit low backpressure, even at very high flow rates. In this way, the purification time can be significantly decreased, resulting in a pronounced reduction in downstream processing costs.

 

 

CIM® Tube Monolithic Columns (ready-to use) are mainly intended for pilot and industrial cGMP production. They have the same performance characteristics as CIM® Disks but have a different geometry and the housing design forces the liquid to flow in a radial direction.

CIM® Supports are Characterized By:

  • Excellent separation power
  • Exceptional chemical stability
  • Same  performance accross all scales and flow rates