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The macroporous structure of poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) monolithic capillary columns has been optimized for the gradient separation of peptides. To exploit monolithic supports with porosity exceeding 70%, the thermodynamic properties of the polymerization mixture were carefully tailored to yield homogeneous monolithic materials featuring macropore and polymer microglobule sizes in the range of 50–200 nm. The effects of (i) initiator content, (ii) composition of porogenic mixture, comprising tetrahydrofuran and 1-decanol, (iii) percentage of divinylbenzene crosslinker, and (iv) monomers to porogen ratio on the morphology was investigated. The resulting column structures were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and the prepared monolithic columns were tested for the separation of a tryptic digest of cytochrome c while applying a fixed flow rate and gradient time. To obtain a better understanding of the effects of macropore and microglobule size, and structure homogeneity on the separation performance in gradient elution, both in terms of peak capacity and gradient plate height, separations were also carried out at different flow rates while maintaining a constant gradient steepness. Furthermore, performance limits were determined applying ultra-high pressure conditions up to the maximum system pressure of 80 MPa. The potential of monolithic nanostructured columns is demonstrated for the separation of tryptic digests of cytochrome c and bovine serum albumin.

Simple devices for the adsorption and preconcentration of metal ions comprising various monolithic polymers have been prepared by in situ polymerization within the 5.5cm long and 5.6mm i.d. polypropylene syringes. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith was modified with ethylenediamine to obtain the chelating material. The poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) and poly(lauryl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monoliths were first photografted with glycidyl methacrylate prior to functionalization with ethylenediamine. Alternatively, other chelating functionalities including poly(ethylene imines) varying in molecular weight and shape (linear and branched) as well as lysozyme were also attached to the monolithic supports. We found that the poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith functionalized with ethylenediamine exhibited the best chelating properties characterized with rapid adsorption and a capacity of 111.2mg/g (537μmol/g) for Pb(2+), 38.1mg/g (649μmol/g) for Ni(2+), 69.9mg/g (1100μmol/g) for Cu(2+), and 188.9mg/g (3633μmol/g) for Cr(3+). The very fast desorption was then achieved using 1.0mol/L HNO3 as the eluent. An enrichment factor of 300 was observed for metal ions adsorbed from solutions containing 2ppb of the metal., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A new approach to the preparation of porous polymer monoliths possessing both large surface area and functional groups has been developed. The chloromethyl groups of poly(styrene-co-4-acetoxystyrene-co-vinylbenzyl chloride-co-divinylbenzene) monolith enable post-polymerization hypercrosslinking catalyzed by ferric chloride in dichloroethane leading to a multitude of small pores thus enhancing the surface area. The acetoxy functionalities are easily deprotected using hydrazine to produce polar phenolic hydroxyl groups, which would be difficult to obtain by direct copolymerization of hydroxyl-containing monomers. The hypercrosslinking and deprotection reactions as well as their sequence were studied in detail with bulk polymer monoliths containing up to 50% 4-acetoxystyrene and its progress monitored by infrared spectrometry and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. No significant difference was found for both possible successions. All monoliths were also prepared in a capillary column format, then deprotected and hypercrosslinked. Capillary columns were tested for the separation of small molecules using reversed phase and normal phase chromatographic modes. For polymer monoliths containing 50% deprotected 4-acetoxystyrene, column efficiencies of 40,000 plates/m for benzene in reversed phase mode and 31,800 plates/m for nitrobenzene in normal phase mode, were obtained. The percentage of hydroxyl groups in the monoliths enables modulation of polarity of the stationary phase. They also represent functionalities that are potentially suitable for further modifications and formation of new types of stationary phases for liquid chromatography., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The separations of small molecules using columns containing porous polymer monoliths invented two decades ago went a long way from the very modest beginnings to the current capillary columns with efficiencies approaching those featured by their silica-based counterparts. This review article presents a variety of techniques that have been used to form capillary formats of monolithic columns with enhanced separation performance in isocratic elutions. The following text first describes the traditional approaches used for the preparation of efficient monoliths comprising variations in polymerization conditions including temperature as well as composition of monomers and porogenic solvents. Encouraging results of these experiments fueled research of completely new preparation methods such as polymerization to an incomplete conversion, use of single crosslinker, hypercrosslinking, and incorporation of carbon nanotubes that are described in the second part of the text., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel stationary phase for micro ion chromatography has been prepared by coating a porous poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) monolith with quaternary amine-functionalized latex particles via simple electrostatic binding. This stationary phase enabled the separation of saccharides in the mobile phase with a high-pH value consisting of aqueous ammonia solution in anion-exchange mode using evaporative light scattering for detection. Effects of both porous properties of the monolithic stationary phase and chromatographic conditions on the separation ability were studied. Under optimized conditions, an efficient separation of seven saccharides was achieved in less than 10 min. The stationary phase also enables the separation of saccharides obtained by the enzymatic hydrolysis of corn starch.