Preparative LC/SFC Software Solutions

Significance of the topic

Preparative liquid chromatography (LC) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) are essential techniques for isolating target compounds at milligram to gram scales across pharmaceutical, chemical, environmental and food industries. Efficient preparative workflows reduce time-to-purity, lower solvent consumption, and increase laboratory throughput. Software-driven automation and integrated platforms are central to streamlining method scouting, scale-up, fraction collection, desalting/trapping and downstream powderization, thereby improving reproducibility and reducing manual error in purification pipelines.

Goals and overview of the solution

This document presents Shimadzu’s preparative purification software ecosystem designed to automate and accelerate end-to-end preparative workflows. Key objectives are to: automatically convert analytical screening results into preparative conditions; enable rapid preparative fractionation and purification; minimize downstream concentration/powderization time; and provide an intuitive, consistent user interface across LC and SFC preparative systems. The principal software components described are Open Solution, Purification Solution, Prep Solution and LabSolutions MD, integrated with preparative hardware such as Nexera ASAPrep, Nexera UFPLC and Nexera Prep systems.

Methodology and approach

The platform adopts a modular, automated approach to preparative workflows with the following capabilities:

• High-throughput screening using multiple analytical methods and automatic evaluation of separation feasibility; generation of initial preparative solvent and gradient conditions from screening data.
• Automated transfer of analytical methods to preparative scale using method transfer functions that calculate preparative flow rates, gradients and loading based on analytical chromatograms.
• Automated pre-treatment integration: files generated by pretreatment control software are detected and used to launch analysis and preparative experiments without manual re-entry.
• Continuous trap/concentration workflows (Nexera UFPLC) that capture target components from repeated injections, perform desalting and elute under high-organic conditions to shorten powderization time.
• Stacked Injection to perform subsequent injections while a previous run is still in progress, minimizing dead time and increasing throughput for repeated fractionation.
• Interactive gradient editing and live parameter adjustment (oven temperature, pump flow) during data acquisition to iteratively improve separation in real time.
• Automated column and mobile-phase switching combined with experimental design strategies in LabSolutions MD for efficient method scouting and condition optimization.

Main results and discussion

• Automated scale-up: Open Solution evaluates screening data and can automatically propose preparative conditions, reducing manual effort and accelerating feasibility assessments for scale-up studies.
• Integrated workflows: preparative conditions defined in Open Solution can be imported into Purification Solution for trap purification and fraction collection, enabling a continuous workflow from analytical scouting to final collection.
• Time savings with trap-based continuous purification: a provided comparison shows conventional LC fractionation (five 15-min runs plus concentration/powderization) totals roughly 430 minutes, whereas using Nexera UFPLC with automated trapping and high-organic elution reduces total time to approximately 220 minutes — roughly a 49% reduction in total processing time in the example.
• Stacked Injection and live parameter control materially improve throughput and method development speed by reducing equilibration/switching idle times and allowing on-the-fly optimization of separation parameters.
• LabSolutions MD facilitates systematic screening (columns, mobile phases) using automated switching and experimental designs to narrow condition space efficiently, and its method transfer function enables conversion of optimized analytical methods to preparative scale with calculated parameters for reliable scale-up.

Benefits and practical applications

• Reduced operator workload and fewer manual data-entry errors through automated detection of pretreatment outputs and direct handoff between screening and preparative stages.
• Increased sample throughput and reproducible fraction collection via stacked injection and continuous trap/purification sequences.
• Shortened downstream drying/powderization times by collecting fractions under higher organic solvent content and concentrating targets prior to elution.
• Consistent user experience across LC and SFC preparative platforms simplifies operator training and supports method transfer between instrument types.
• Applicability across sectors: high-purity API isolation and impurity profiling in pharma; separation and quantitation of food additives and residues; polymer and specialty chemical purification; and environmental contaminant isolation for analysis.

Instrumentation used

• Open Solution software (Shimadzu)
• Purification Solution software (Shimadzu)
• Prep Solution software (Shimadzu)
• LabSolutions MD software (Shimadzu)
• Nexera ASAPrep preparative system
• Nexera UFPLC ultra-fast preparative LC system (trap/concentration-enabled)
• Nexera UC/s switching system, Nexera UC Prep, Nexera Prep

Future trends and potential applications

• Closed-loop optimization: tighter integration between analytical feedback and preparative parameter adjustment (potentially leveraging machine learning) to accelerate automated method refinement and scale-up decisions.
• Predictive scale-up modeling: improved algorithms to more accurately predict loading limits, solvent usage and resolution at preparative scale from diverse analytical inputs.
• Broader adoption of SFC in preparative purification for greener solvent profiles and faster drying, especially for nonpolar and chiral separations.
• Enhanced MS and orthogonal detector coupling for fraction selection confidence and impurity profiling during preparative runs.
• Improved sustainability: solvent reduction strategies, solvent recycling and optimization of trapping/elution to minimize waste and downstream energy for drying.
• Regulatory and GMP alignment: further development of audit-ready software features, electronic batch records and validated workflows for manufacturing environments.

Conclusion

Software-driven preparative LC/SFC platforms unlock significant gains in throughput, reproducibility and operator efficiency. Shimadzu’s integrated ecosystem—combining high-throughput screening, automated method transfer, continuous trap/purification workflows and stacked injection—addresses common bottlenecks in preparative purification, notably method scouting, scale-up and reduction of downstream powderization time. These capabilities support diverse industrial applications and lay the groundwork for future automation and sustainability improvements in preparative separations.

References

• Shimadzu Corporation. Open Solution catalog, c191-e060, 2026.
• Shimadzu Corporation. Nexera ASAPrep catalog, c190-e331, 2026.
• Shimadzu Corporation. Nexera Prep catalog, c193-e034, 2026.
• Shimadzu Corporation. LabSolutions MD catalogs, c190-e278 and c190-e308, 2026.
• Shimadzu Corporation. Preparative LC/SFC Software Solutions brochure, C191-E068, First Edition June 2026.