An Improved Oil Emulsion Synthesis Method for Large, Porous Zirconia Particles for Packed- or Fluidized-Bed Protein Chromatography

A previously reported oil emulsion technique for the synthesis of large, porous zirconia particles has been modified to overcome problems of nonreproducibility, formation of non-spherical or broken particles, and low yield of chromatographically useful particles. The improved technique described here uses a concentrated sol and an in-line mixer to successfully solve these problems. The results indicate that the stirring rate used to maintain the emulsion during drying has a strong effect on the final particle size.