Hello researchers,
I am rather new to chromatography and I am having a problem with my anion exchange column which contains DEAE-Sephacel. The backpressure of the column became so high that I want to try repacking it and see if it helps. Also I want to clean it with 0,01M NaOH. Is it possible to just empty the gel into a big beaker, soak it in 0,01M NaOH for an hour or so, then remove the NaOH by dilution with water or neutralisation with HCl, and then repack the column and equilibrate with buffer?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Yes, you can do that. You will probably lose a little of the resin along the way, but this loss can be minimized if you are careful. Here is the product manual for DEAE Sephacel.
https://cdn.cytivalifesciences.com/dmm3bwsv3/AssetStream.aspx?mediaformatid=10061&destinationid=10016&assetid=14011
If all else fails you can unpack the column, as you suggest. If you can clean it in place, even better. It's generally better to wash with reversed flow, as any clogging is likely to be at the very top of the column. At the same time you can release the upper adaptor (assuming it is manually set) to add a few mm to the column length, just in case you over-pressurized the gel bed when originally setting the position of the adaptor.
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