Preparative Chromatography Service
Preparative chromatography is a key technology for large-scale separation and purification of target compounds. Leveraging a GMP-compliant system, ChemExpress delivers one-stop preparative chromatography services for the separation and purification of APIs and intermediates. With Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC), normal-phase, and reversed-phase preparative chromatography as core technologies, we support project from milligram to kilogram scale.
Prep-SFC & Prep-NPLC
Equipped with world-class analytical and preparative SFC instrumentation, the Normal-Phase / SFC team has extensive experience in method development and preparative separation of characteristic impurities across chiral complex drugs, highly potent APIs, Vitamin D derivatives, and ADC molecules — supporting projects from milligram to kilogram scale.
Our Service
- Method Development
- Chiral analysis and separation method development and optimization
- Compound Types
- Chiral and achiral compounds
- Capacity
- Milligram to kilogram scale, including preparative separation, concentration, QC and packaging
- Quality Assurance
- Provide GMP or GLP separation and purification support
Key Equipment
Prep-RPLC
Equipped with advanced instruments, the Prep-RPLC team has abundant experience in preparative chromatographic method development, method optimization, bench-scale and scale-up preparation. We can provide specialized services to meet the requirements of milligram to kilogram scale purification.
Capacity
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Capacity -
• Multi-set of LCMS, HPLC to support method development
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• 17 sets of automated preparative HPLC instruments (flow rate 100-200mL/min), equipped with UV, MS, ELSD detector, various types of 2.1cm, 3cm, 5cm preparative columns, providing mg to g scale separation under GLP
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• 10 sets of preparative HPLC instruments (flow rate 300-1000mL/min), with 15cm DAC, providing g to kg scale separation under GLP conditions
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• 8 sets of industrial preparation system (flow rate 1-5L/min), with 30cm DAC, providing 100g to kg scale separation under GMP
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Separation Products
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• Purification of APIs and advanced intermediates
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• Isolation of drug impurities
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• Separation and purification of ADCs, PROTACs, LNP components, peptides, and oligonucleotides, nucleotides, etc.
Key Equipment
Why Partner with ChemExpress
Extensive Project Experience
With 10,000+ projects completed, ChemExpress services span milligram- to kilogram-scale across the full project lifecycle, with proven capability to isolate components at concentrations as low as 0.01%
Adavanced Equipment
With 30+ preparative instruments, ChemExpress provides Normal Phase, SFC, and Reversed-Phase chromatography services tailored to diverse sample needs, accelerating project delivery
One-Stop Integrated Services
From impurity isolation and structural identification to reference standard preparation and chiral separation — all supported under GLP and GMP quality systems for full compliance throughout the project lifecycle
Case Study
SFC under GMP System
Fig.1：Analysis graph before optimization Fig.2：Analysis graph after optimization
Fig. 3：Preparation graph after optimization
Background: Large racemate sample size with tight timelines, poor sample solubility, and high quality requirements for the delivered product.
Solutions: Through systematic optimization of SFC separation conditions, the ChemExpress’ SFC team achieved the target enantiomeric excess (E.E.) and purity specifications while improving overall separation efficiency.
Deliverables: Kilogram-scale target isomer delivered on schedule, with E.E. >99.5% and recovery rate >95%.
FAQs
Preparative chromatography is a chromatographic technique focused on the isolation, purification, and collection of target compounds at scale. Unlike analytical chromatography, which is used for detection and quantification, preparative chromatography is designed for large-scale separation and product recovery, and is widely used in the purification and production of APIs and advanced intermediates.
SFC uses supercritical CO₂ as the primary mobile phase, offering faster separations, lower solvent consumption, and strong environmental advantages — particularly suited for chiral compounds and normal-phase systems. Prep-HPLC provides broader applicability, especially for polar or water-soluble samples. ChemExpress maintains both prep-SFC and prep-HPLC systems, allowing our team to select the optimal approach based on your specific sample requirements.
ChemExpress' preparative chromatography team specializes in resolving five core technical challenges commonly encountered in drug impurity separation: unstable impurities, ultra-low content components, poorly separable impurities, low-solubility samples, and weakly retained impurities. Backed by extensive hands-on expertise, we have proven capability to isolate and purify components at concentrations as low as 0.1‰–1‰.
