Patent ID: 7632409

Claim:
A displacement chromatography process, comprising: loading onto a suitable stationary phase a mixture comprising one or more component to be separated; displacing at least one of the one or more component from the stationary phase by applying to the stationary phase a mixture comprising a displacer compound having general formula (I): wherein: each group R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R′ 1 , R′ 2 , and R′ 3 , independently may be selected from alkyl, aryl, and aralkyl, and in which a ring containing one or more quaternary nitrogen may be formed by any one or more of R 1 and R 2 , R 1 and R′ 1 , R 1 and R 4 , R 4 and R′ 4 , or R 4 and R 5 ; each R 4 , R′ 4 , R 5 and R′ 5 independently may be selected from alkyl, aryl, aralkyl and —(CH 2 ) a —(CHY) b —(CH 2 ) c —N + R 1 R 2 R 3 An − , wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are as defined above; each Y independently may be selected from —H, —OH, —OR 6 , halo, alkyl, aryl and aralkyl, wherein —R 6 may be alkyl or —(CH 2 ) a —(CHOH) b —(CH 2 ) c —N + R 1 R 2 R 3 An − , wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are as defined above, and one or more Y may be a group detectable by one or more electromagnetic methods; each q and z independently may be any whole number from 0 to about 6, with the proviso that q+z is equal to or less than about 6; each a, b, and c independently may be any whole number from 0 to 2, with the proviso that the sum a+b+c in any fragment is at least 1; and each An − independently may be one or more organic or inorganic, monovalent or polyvalent anion as needed to obtain a neutral compound.