Production of novel polymer monolithic columns, with stationary phase gradients, using cyclic olefin co-polymer (COC) optical filters

Polymer monolithic columns with controlled surface ligand density, providing stationary phase gradients within monolithic capillary columns, have been developed using photo-grafting through optical filters. Utilising commercially available cyclic olefin co-polymer (COC) films, the production of an optical filter capable of attenuating UV irradiation, in a tailored manner, was investigated. This novel optical filter was successfully applied to the surface modification of poly(BuMA-co-EDMA) monolithic columns in a multi-step grafting procedure. Fabricated columns were subjected to scanning capacitively coupled contactless conductivity (sC(4)D), to determine the distribution of the grafted functional groups, axially along the column. Further modification to produce a chelating stationary phase gradient of iminodiacetic acid (IDA) was demonstrated. To demonstrate the distribution of the IDA sites, a metal cation (Cu(2+)) was complexed to the IDA forming a chelate. Upon the formation of a complex of IDA with Cu(2+), an overall drop in conductive response was observed. The COC optical filter was also used in the fabrication of a grafted gradient of strong cation exchanger (SCX), sulphopropyl methacrylate (SPM) upon a polymer monolith, demonstrating the broader applicability of such a filter.