Advancing Oligonucleotide Purification with MaxPeak Premier OBD Prep Columns

Oligonucleotide therapeutics continue to grow in complexity, and so do the purification challenges that come with them. Scientists need reliable, scalable solutions for preparative oligonucleotide purification.

MaxPeak Premier Oligo OBD Columns provide a powerful solution for these workflows, now expanded to include 19mm ID formats.

These columns reduce non-specific adsorption, improve recovery, and enable consistent scalable purification from analytical to preparative workflows.

Addressing the unique challenges of oligonucleotide purification

Unlike small molecules or even peptides, oligonucleotides often exhibit:

• Strong interactions with metal surfaces due to phosphate groups
• Significant structural similarity between impurities and target sequences
• Sensitivity to method conditions that can impact recovery and purity

These factors frequently result in non-specific adsorption (NSA), poor recovery, and compromised resolution, especially during scale-up.

For oligo workflows, where isolating sufficient material for characterization or downstream use is critical, these challenges translate directly into lost productivity, wasted samples, and uncertainty in results.

Introducing columns designed for scalable oligo purification

MaxPeak Premier OBD Prep Columns extend Waters inert column technology into preparative-scale purification, enabling scientists to bridge the gap between analytical method development and purification workflows.

With the introduction of 19 mm ID columns, users can now scale to higher load capacities while maintaining performance consistency and recovery, which is critical for oligonucleotide applications that require larger material quantities.

Key capabilities include:

• Predictable scale-up from analytical (2.1 mm) to preparative formats (10 mm →19 mm)
• Improved recovery of metal-sensitive analytes such as oligonucleotides
• Reduced non-specific adsorption, minimizing sample loss and improving detection
• Efficient purification workflows without the need for column passivation  

Why do 19 mm columns matter for oligo workflows?

While 10 mm preparative columns are widely used, the addition of 19 mm ID columns expands capabilities for oligo purification, particularly when you need to:

• Scale production for preclinical or analytical characterization
• Increase load capacity for low-level or difficult-to-isolate targets
• Reduce the number of injections required for purification

This is especially important for oligonucleotides, where low recovery or repeated purification cycles can significantly impact timelines and cost.

The 19 mm platform enables:

• Higher throughput purification with fewer runs
• Consistent performance at scale
• Confidence in isolating even low-abundance oligo species

Differentiating oligos from small molecules and peptides

Although MaxPeak Premier OBD Columns support a wide range of applications, including small molecule and peptide purification, their value is particularly pronounced for oligonucleotides, which are negatively charged and more prone to metal-surface interactions/non-specific adsorption. 

MaxPeak Premier Technology greatly reduces these surface interactions, enabling cleaner separations and improved recoveries across complex oligo mixtures.

A complete OBD portfolio for flexible workflows

The MaxPeak Premier OBD Column portfolio supports a full purification workflow, including:

• Analytical-scale columns for method development
• 10 mm prep columns for initial scale-up
• 19 mm prep columns for higher-throughput purification

Standard reversed-phase chemistries (e.g., BEH C₁₈ 130 Å and BEH C₁₈ 300 Å Columns) provide flexibility to tailor separations for different oligo modalities and impurity profiles. This continuity allows scientists to scale directly from optimized analytical methods without redevelopment, reducing risk and accelerating timelines.

Enabling confident oligo purification at scale

For scientists working in oligonucleotide research, development, and manufacturing, the ability to achieve the following is essential:

• Resolve impurities effectively
• Recover sufficient material for downstream analysis
• Scale methods predictably without rework

MaxPeak Premier OBD Columns, especially with the addition of 19 mm formats, deliver on these needs by providing an inert, scalable, and high-performance purification solution.

By reducing non-specific adsorption and enabling seamless scale-up, these columns enable researchers to move from discovery to production with greater confidence, efficiency, and success.

Learn more about Waters oligonucleotide purification solutions.

Additional resources:

MaxPeak Premier OBD Columns

Purifying Problematic Compounds by RP-LC: Simplified Workflows for Better Outcomes with Inert Preparative Columns (Webinar)

Purifying Oligonucleotides: High-Efficiency Prepative Chromatography to Improve Yields and Turnaround Time (Guidebook)