A large collection of reversed phase, medium hydrophobicity and various ion exchange resins are available for fast and simple testing.

Typical properties of generic resins are:

• Porosity: mesoporous – optimal for small molecules
• Cross-linking: moderate cross-linkage
• Particle size: ca 200 – 1200 µm

Resins can be categorized as follows:

1) hydrophobic reversed phase (RP) resins (eg benzyl and methyl ester)

2) medium hydrophobicity resins (Phenol, amide, methyl ester)

3) ionic exchange resins with 4 different variants (WAX: primary, secondary and tertiary amines, SAX: quaternary amines, WCX: carboxyl and SCX: sulfonic acid)

Typically, a starting point for exploratory screening evaluations could be a generic resin kit. 

For many unknown or new separation routes, it is advisable to evaluate a number of resins. This will enable a quick evaluation of the retention behaviour in the mixture – to either retain the target molecule or to remove undesired or disturbing compounds. 

Generic resin collection can be tailor-made to fit to a certain application.