Evaluation of ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP)-derived monolithic capillary high performance liquid chromatography columns

Novel monolithic capillary HPLC columns were prepared via ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) within the confines of fused silica columns with 200 microm i.d. using norborn-2-ene (NBE), 1,4,4a,5,8,8a-hexahydro-1,4,5,8, exo, endo-dimethanonaphthalene (DMN-H6) as monomers, 2-propanol and toluene as porogens and RuCl2(PCy3)2(CHPh) as initiator. Using the monolithic capillary HPLC columns, different sets of analytes (i.e. standard systems) were used for the evaluation of the monolithic columns: (i) a protein standard consisting of six proteins in the range of 5000-66 000 g/mol, (ii) an insulin-albumin standard, and (iii) a peptide standard obtained from a tryptic digest of cytochrome C. With these three different standard systems the reproducibility of synthesis in terms of separation performance proved to be 1-2% relative standard deviation in tR. Variation of polymerization parameters had a significant influence on the monolithic morphology and therefore separation efficiency and back pressure. The maximum analytical loading capacity of ROMP-derived monolithic capillary columns for albumin was found to be 30-125 ng, depending on the monomer content. Long-term stability studies showed no alteration in separation performance.     

Characterization of some physical and chromatographic properties of monolithic poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) columns

Monolithic capillary columns were prepared by copolymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene inside a 200 microm i.d. fused silica capillary using a mixture of tetrahydrofuran and decanol as porogen. Important chromatographic features of the synthesized columns were characterized and critically compared to the properties of columns packed with micropellicular, octadecylated poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB-C18) particles. The permeability of a 60 mm long monolithic column was slightly higher than that of an equally dimensioned column packed with PS-DVB-C18 beads and was invariant up to at least 250 bar column inlet pressure, indicating the high-pressure stability of the monolithic columns. Interestingly, monolithic columns showed a 3.6 times better separation efficiency for oligonucleotides than granular columns. To study differences of the molecular diffusion processes between granular and monolithic columns, Van Deemter plots were measured. Due to the favorable pore structure of monolithic columns all kind of diffusional band broadening was reduced two to five times. Using inverse size-exclusion chromatography a total porosity of 70% was determined, which consisted of internodule porosity (20%) and internal porosity (50%). The observed fast mass transfer and the resulting high separation efficiency suggested that the surface of the monolithic stationary phase is rather rough and does not feature real pores accessible to macromolecular analytes such as polypeptides or oligonucleotides. The maximum analytical loading capacity of monolithic columns for oligonucleotides was found to be in the region of 500 fmol, which compared well to the loading capacity of the granular columns. Batch-to-batch reproducibility proved to be better with granular stationary phases compared to monolithic stationary phase, in which each column bed is the result of a unique column preparation process.     

State-of-the-art of the hyphenation of capillary electrochromatography with mass spectrometry

The high separation efficiency and loading capacity of capillary electrochromatography (CEC) make it an attractive separation mode for coupling with mass spectrometry (MS), which has the ability to unambiguously identify analytes with high selectivity and sensitivity. We present an overview of recent advances on both instrumentation and separation columns employed in CEC-MS systems. In particular, the main characteristics of the stationary phases, as well as the configurations of the column outlet that are related with the coupling arrangements of the MS ionization sources, are reported. At present, packed columns and conventional electrospray ionization (ESI) sources are mainly employed in CEC-MS. Nevertheless, the use of monolithic capillary columns and nanoelectrospray sources has the potential for wide acceptance in the next future. Moreover, the main features of several mass analyzers including ion trap, quadrupole, time-of-flight, magnetic sector, and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance are examined. Finally, current applications of this technology, mainly in the pharmaceutical field and proteomics, are reviewed.     

Capillary high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry using monolithic columns and carbon fiber electrospray ionization emitters

Monolithic columns having long hydrocarbon chains were prepared by in-situ polymerization in capillary fused silica tubing. The capillary columns were coupled with a newly developed carbon fiber electrospray ionization (ESI) emitter for proteomic analysis using sheathless capillary HPLC-ESI mass spectrometry (MS). The sample loading capacity and chromatographic performance of the styrene-based monolithic column, which was prepared by photo-polymerization of octylstyrene (OS) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were compared with that of the methacrylate-based monolithic column composed of lauryl methacrylate (LMA) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA). The sample loading ability of tryptic digested protein in poly-OS (POS)-DVB column was higher than that of poly-LMA (PLMA)-EDMA column, possibly due to the irregular and rugluous surface offering a greater surface area of POS-DVB stationary phase. The POS-DVB column also provided better separation efficiency in the separation of high concentration (10 microg) of tryptic digested albumin bovine serum (BSA). Due to the successful interface of a highly efficient monolithic column and a stable, durable carbon fiber emitter, low femtomole levels of peptides were successfully separated and identified in the presence of large amounts of tryptic digested protein.     

Monolithic capillary columns for liquid chromatography on the basis of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate

The effects of the synthesis conditions and polymerization mixture composition on the characteristics of monolithic capillary columns prepared from ethylene glycol dimethacrylate were studied. It was demonstrated that the content of the monomer in the initial mixture only slightly influences the efficiency of the columns obtained but, at the same time, causes a significant change in their separation impedance. By contrast, the temperature of synthesis strongly affects both these parameters. The efficiency of monolithic capillary columns prepared under optimum conditions was found to correspond to that of columns packed with a 5-μm-grained sorbent; however, the separation impedance of the former is substantially lower. A typical chromatogram of separation of a test mixture is presented. Original Russian Text ? A.N. Kanat’eva, A.A. Korolev, E.N. Viktorova, A.A. Kurganov, 2007, published in Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii, 2007, Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 568–572.     

Capillary monolithic titania column for miniaturized liquid chromatography and extraction of organo-phosphorous compounds

A new sol?Cgel protocol was designed and optimized to produce titanium-dioxide-based columns within confined geometries such as monolithic capillary columns and porous-layer open-tubular columns. A surface pre-treatment of the capillary enabled an efficient anchorage of the monolith to the silica capillary wall during the synthesis. The monolith was further synthesized from a solution containing titanium n-propoxide, hydrochloric acid, N-methylformamide, water, and poly(ethylene oxide) as pore template. The chromatographic application of capillary titania-based columns was demonstrated with the separation of a set of phosphorylated nucleotides as probe molecules using aqueous normal-phase liquid chromatography conditions. Capillary titania monoliths offered a compromise between the high permeability and the important loading capacity needed to potentially achieve miniaturized sample preparations. The specificity of the miniaturized titania monolithic support is illustrated with the specific enrichment of 5??-adenosine mono-phosphate. The monolithic column offered a ten times higher loading capacity of 5??-adenosine mono-phosphate compared with that of the capillary titania porous-layer open-tubular geometry.     

Separation of geometrical isomers of unsaturated fatty acids by the method of circulation gas chromatography

Conclusions The method of circulation gas chromatography was used for the separation of the geometrical isomers of 9-methyloctadecenoate and 9,12-methyloctadecadienoate on packed columns. The efficiency of separation achieved is comparable with the efficiency of capillary columns.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1154–1157, June, 1971.     

Enantioseparations on amylose tris(5-chloro-2-methylphenylcarbamate) in nano-liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography

Amylose tris(5-chloro-2-methylphenylcarbamate) was coated onto native and aminopropylsilanized silica in order to prepare chiral stationary phases (CSP) for enantioseparations using nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). The effect of the nature of silica, the particle size and pore diameter, the chiral selector loading onto silica, the mobile phase composition and pH, as well as separation variables such as a linear flow rate of the mobile phase, applied voltage in CEC, etc. on the separation of enantiomers was studied. It was found that CSPs based on amylose tris(5-chloro-2-methylphenylcarbamate) can be used for preparation of stable capillary columns for enantioseparations by nano-LC and CEC in combination with polar organic and aqueous–organic mobile phases. Higher peak efficiency was observed in CEC than in nano-LC.     

Separation of polystyrenes by means of open tubular capillary chromatography

Simulating polymer separation in flow-through channels of monolithic columns, separation of a mixture of polystyrene standards was investigated using open tubular capillary column of 2 μm inner diameter. High column efficiency was observed for polymers of molar mass ranged from few tens to few hundred kDas. Column efficiency significantly decreased for polymers with molar mass larger than 500 kDa nevertheless preserving value of few tens of thousands theoretical plates. Calibration curve observed for open capillary column is rather steep and can be well described by simple equation without quadratic term. In spite of low selectivity, capillary columns were able in separating wide range of polystyrene standards due to column high efficiency and in such a way supported an idea of hydrodynamic mechanism of polymer separation in flow-through channel of monolithic packings.     

使用含离子涂层柱的毛细管电泳和毛细管电色谱的研究进展

 毛细管电色谱是近年发展起来的高效、高选择性的微分离技术。与一般的毛细管电泳和使用ODS反相填料的毛细管电色谱相比 ,含离子涂层柱的毛细管电泳和毛细管电色谱能提供较大且可控的电渗流 ,便于拓宽分离对象 ,优化分离条件。对使用含离子涂层柱的毛细管电泳和电色谱的特点、发展和应用状况进行了综述。     

Separation of phytosterol oxidation products by combination of different polarity gas chromatography capillary columns

The number of characterized phytosterol oxidation products (POPs) from both ring- and side-chain structures has increased during recent decades, resulting in difficulties in the separation of POPs on different gas chromatography (GC) capillary columns. The main objective of this study was to separate a mixture of 29 purified and characterized oxidation products from sito-, campe- and stigmasterol using GC capillary columns with different polarity. For the first time in the area of POPs analysis, the separation efficiency of the combination of two capillary GC columns with different polarities was investigated. A non-polar 5% phenyl coated (DB5-MS) and a mid-polar 35% phenyl coated (DB35-MS) column was combined with a pressfit connector. The main improvement was enhanced base line separation for many of the analyzed POPs, compared with the separations achieved using the individual columns. However, three pairs of POPs co-eluted: 24-hydroxysitosterol/campesterol-5beta,6beta-epoxide, stigmasterol-5beta,6beta-epoxide/campesterol-5alpha,6alpha-epoxide and stigmasterol-5alpha,6alpha-epoxide/campestanetriol.     

Recent advances in the control of morphology and surface chemistry of porous polymer-based monolithic stationary phases and their application in CEC

This review focuses on developments in the field of polymer-based monolithic columns for CEC published in the literature since the beginning of the year 2005. The possibility of in-situ preparation as well as easy control over their porous properties and surface chemistries clearly make monolithic separation media an attractive alternative to capillary columns packed with particles. Different variables such as polymerization conditions, morphology, and surface chemistry are shown to directly affect performance of monolithic capillary columns in terms of efficiency, analysis time, and retention.     

Recent developments of monolithic and open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography (2017–2019)

Capillary electrochromatography, which combined the high selectivity of high‐performance liquid chromatography and the high separation efficiency of capillary electrophoresis, is an attractive separation tool. In this review, the developments on monolithic and open tubular capillary electrochromatography during 2017 to August 2019 are summarized. Considering the development of novel stationary phases is the most active research field in capillary electrochromatography, monolithic capillary electrochromatography is classified according to the polymer‐based and hybrid monolithic columns, while open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography is categorized by cyclodextrin, silica, polymer, nanomaterials, microporous materials, and biomaterials‐based open tubular columns.     

Fabrication of a poly(styrene-octadecene-divinylbenzene) monolithic column and its comparison with a poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) monolithic column for the separation of proteins

In this paper, a poly(styrene-octadecene-divinylbenzene) (PS-OD-DVB) monolithic column was prepared in one step by introducing a C18 carbon chain as monomer. N,N-Dimethylformamide and decanol served as porogens to make a homogeneous polymerization mixture in a fused silica capillary (320 microm inner diameter). Its physical and chromatographic properties were compared with those of poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) monolithic column, which was also fabricated by in-situ polymerization in a fused silica capillary with the same inner diameter. Six standard proteins were used to evaluate the columns and their potential application for the separation of human hemoglobin was also discussed. It was shown that the PS-OD-DVB and PS-DVB monoliths appeared to have similar efficiency for rapid separation of six proteins within 3.5 min. The PS-OD-DVB monolith was found to have higher loading capacity and higher resolution for the separation of alpha and beta chains of hemoglobin because of the introduction of C18 carbon chains, and shows great potential for the separation of bio-macromolecules.     

Anion- and cation-exchange MicroHPLC utilizing poly(methacrylates)-coated monolithic silica capillary columns.

A novel method was developed for the preparation of highly efficient anion- and cation-exchange microHPLC columns using an on-column polymerization of methacrylates having amine or sulfonic acid functional groups onto monolithic silica capillary columns modified with 3-methacryloxypropyltriethoxysilane as the anchor groups. The chromatographic evaluation of the columns using nucleic acids, nucleotides, and inorganic anions as samples showed the characteristics of the ion-exchange-type stationary phases. These columns exhibited higher separation efficiency when compared with the conventional particle-packed columns. A capillary column for the simultaneous anion- and cation-exchange separation could be prepared by a step-by-step functionalization. The advantages of this column preparation will include: (1) no need of column packing; (2) no need of the preparation of silane reagents possessing anion- and cation-exchange functionalities; (3) the amount of immobilized polymer could be controlled by changing polymerization conditions. These columns should be suitable for the separation of biologically active compounds by the microHPLC modes.     

The Influence of the Natures of the Carrier Gas and the Stationary Phase on the Separating Properties of Monolithic Capillary Columns in Gas Adsorption Chromatography

A model mixture of light hydrocarbons was used to study the separation capacity of monolithic capillary columns based on divinylbenzene with five different carrier gases, including helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. The results were correlated with the previously obtained data on monolithic columns based on silica gel. It was shown that the influence of the nature of the carrier gas was weaker than for silica gel columns; the polymeric columns studied behaved similarly to hollow capillary columns with polymeric stationary phases and exhibited an efficiency gain of 20–30% along the series He < H₂ < N₂ ～ N₂O < CO₂. Based on the minimum HETP (～15 μm) obtained for the investigated monolithic columns under optimum conditions with N₂O or CO₂ as a carrier gas, the conclusion was drawn that the creation of divinylbenzene-based monolithic capillary columns with a high specific efficiency was possible.     

窄内径多孔层开管柱的制备及在液相色谱中的应用

近年来,微纳分离技术由于其内在的优势而受到越来越多的关注.多孔层开管柱是一种重要的微分离柱形式,与粗内径的多孔层开管柱(>25μm)相比,窄内径的多孔层开管柱具有更高的分离效率和更低的试剂消耗量.本文综述了内径≤25μm的窄内径多孔层开管毛细管柱的制备方法、与质谱检测联用技术以及在液相色谱中的应用研究进展,对其发展前景进行了展望.     

Recent advances in monolithic columns for protein and peptide separation by capillary liquid chromatography

Capillary liquid chromatography (cLC) has great potential for protein and peptide separation, with advantages of high efficiency, high resolution, low sample consumption, and high sensitivity when coupled with mass spectrometry. In recent years, monoliths have been widely used as the stationary phases for capillary columns, owing to easy preparation, high permeability, fast mass transfer, and low backpressure. This review summarizes recent advances (2007–2012) in monolithic columns for protein and peptide separation by cLC. After a brief introduction on the preparation of monolithic capillary columns, the emphasis of this review is focused on the recent application of such columns for protein and peptide separation by cLC. Furthermore, the challenges and potential hot points of monolithic capillary columns in the future are discussed.     

Preparation and evaluation of packed capillary columns for the separation of nucleic acids by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Oligonucleotides and double stranded DNA fragments were separated in 200 microm I.D. capillary columns packed with micropellicular, octadecylated, 2.1 microm poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) particles by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-RP-HPLC). Both the length and the diameter of the connecting capillaries (150 x 0.020 mm I.D.) as well as the detection volume (3 nl) had to be kept to a minimum in order to maintain the high efficiency of this chromatographic separation system with peak widths at half height in the range of a few seconds. Three different types of frits, namely sintered silica particles, sintered octadecylsilica particles, and monolithic poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) frits were evaluated with respect to their influence on chromatographic performance. Best performance for the separation of oligonucleotides and long DNA fragments was observed with the PS-DVB frits, whereas the short DNA fragments were optimally resolved in columns terminated by octadecylsilica frits. The maximum loading capacity of 60 x 0.20 mm I.D. columns ranged from 20 fmol (7.7 ng) for a 587 base pair DNA fragment to 500 fmol (2.4 ng) for a 16-mer oligonucleotide. Lower mass- and concentration detection limits in the low femtomol and low nanomol per liter range, respectively, make capillary IP-RP-HPLC with UV absorbance detection highly attractive for the separation and characterization of minute amounts of synthetic oligonucleotides, DNA restriction fragments, and short tandem repeat sequences amplified by polymerase chain reaction.     

Intact-protein trapping columns for proteomic analysis in capillary high-performance liquid chromatography

A new type of monolithic trapping columns with high mechanical strength was prepared by thin-layer sol–gel coating method and applied to trapping intact proteins for on-line capillary liquid chromatography. Monolithic trapping columns were fabricated by entrapping C8 reversed-phase particles into the capillary columns through a sol–gel network, which was formed by hydrolysis and polycondensation of methyltriethoxysilane. Hundreds times of trapping/untrapping for intact proteins were carried out. The trapping columns showed long-term stability up to 300 bar. Recovery, loading capacity and reproducibility of trapping columns were evaluated using four proteins. The recovery of four protein mixtures for the C8 monolithic trapping columns was 99.3% on average. The loading capacity of 5 mm × 320 μm i.d. C8 trapping columns for the protein mixtures was 30 μg. Day-to-day relative standard deviation (RSD) values for recoveries of protein mixtures on the same C8 trapping column ranged from 2.34 to 5.87%, column-to-column RSD values were from 3.01 to 6.81%. The C8 trapping columns were used to trap normal mouse liver intact proteins in a capillary liquid chromatography system. Results demonstrated high efficiency of the monolithic trapping columns for trapping intact proteins for proteomic analysis in on-line capillary liquid chromatography system.