Normal-Phase Alternative to Silica

YMC-Pack PVA-Sil, which possesses a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) surface chemistry, is an excellent alternative to silica gel or other polar bonded phases which are used in normal-phase chromatography.  In many situations, it exhibits better performance characteristics with a unique selectivity, and can often resolve compounds that behave poorly on bare silica.  The alcohol functionality present on PVA-Sil is better suited for troublesome compounds, such as organic bases, that acidic silanols present in unbonded silica.  Since PVA-Sil is a bonded stationary phase, it can be washed with solvents of any polarity from hexane to water, without altering the surface activity.  Therefore; selectivity, retention, and resolution are reproducible regardless of the column’s previous history.  This is not true of bare silica, which easily becomes completely deactivated following the introduction of even a small quantity of water.