Your Question :-
Can Chloroform degrade C18 reverse phase Silica?
Answer - Chloroform will not damage your C18 RP column. I was hesitant before using it the first time, so I used a really old column that had been used with a lot of lipid-containing samples. The improvement after a {20% Ethanol or Methanol:water(ultra-pure) > 100% Methanol > 100% Acetonitrile > 100% Chloroform > 100% Acetonitrile > 100% Methanol > 20% Methanol:ultra-pure water} progression was very dramatic, restoring the column's theoretical plate number to close to that when it was new. This suggested that a lot of lipid had been accumulating on my column, impairing its performance and maybe introducing a 'lipid partition' into my separations. I have repeated this 'column-stripping' procedure several times since, on old columns that were losing resolution, and it does usually help, depending on the history of the column, and whether it has been used and stored within the limits set by the manufacturer.
I agree, however, that chloroform would not be appropriate in a mobile phase solvent for a Reverse-Phase column.
Thank you
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