Towards stationary phases for chromatography on a microchip: Molded porous polymer monoliths prepared in capillaries by photoinitiated in situ polymerization as separation media for electrochromatography

Yu Cong, Frantisek Svec, Jean M.J. Fréchet*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Photoinitiated free radical polymerization has been used for the preparation of porous polymer monoliths within UV transparent fused silica capillaries and quartz tubes. These formats were used as models for the preparation of the separation media within channels of microfabricated devices. A mixture of ethylene dimethacrylate, butyl methacrylate, and 2- acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid was polymerized in the presence of a porogenic solvent consisting of 1-propanel, 1,4-butanediol, and water at room temperature under UV irradiation. Modification of the porogen composition enables the tailoring of pore size within the broad range from ca. 100 to 4000 nm. Scanning electron micrographs confirmed the homogeneity of the porous structure of the materials prepared, even in a quartz tube with a diameter as large as 4 mm. Separation properties of the resulting capillary columns were tested in capillary electrochromatography (CEC) mode using a mixture of thiourea and eight aromatic compounds. Plate number as high as 210 000 plates/m were found for a capillary column with optimized porous properties. The monolithic columns were also able to separate mixtures of peptides.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)120-127
Number of pages8
JournalELECTROPHORESIS
Volume21
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Aromatic compounds
  • Capillary electrochromatography
  • Electroosmotic flow
  • Microchip technology
  • Peptides
  • Photoinitiated polymerization
  • Polymer monolith

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Clinical Biochemistry

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