3. Columns and stationary phases

3.1 Filled columns

The same geometries and variety of stationary phases are used in SPC as in LC and UHPLC, including the vast majority of chiral stationary phases (with the exception of stationary phases operating solely with aqueous eluent or at risk of denaturation in organic media, such as protein-grafted phases). However, wherever possible, working conditions (P, T and mobile phase flow rate) should be chosen to minimize pressure drop, which can lead to a density gradient in the column and hence to thermodynamic spreading of the solute band