Novel Polymer Monolithic Column for Hydrophilic Compounds

A hydrophilic polymer-based monolithic column was prepared from water-soluble crosslinking agents for liquid chromatography. The column media were prepared with a diacrylate monomer, aqueous polyethylene glycol, methanol, and a water-soluble radical initiator. A fused silica capillary column, which was significantly modified by vinyl groups, was utilized as the outer column in order to control polymer shrinkage. We optimized the modification of the capillary column, composition of the monomer and porogen, and polymerization condition. The optimized column exhibited high hydrophilicity and achieved the baseline separation of nucleobases by using only a buffered solution as the mobile phase. Additionally, another column prepared from binary water-soluble crosslinking agents exhibited lower nonspecific adsorption of several proteins. Basically, we would show the possibility of a new type of polymer monolith prepared from water-soluble crosslinker and water-soluble porogenic solvent, and they can be used for chromatographic separation without non-specific hydrophobic interaction.