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.