Magnetically immobilized frits for the preparation of packed columns used in capillary electrochromatography.
Fabrication of porous frits to retain stationary phases is a critical issue in column preparation for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). In this work, porous frits were prepared by applying an external magnetic field to magnetically responsive particles placed inside a fused-silica capillary. Three batches of uniform magnetite spheres with particle diameters of 0.3, 0.4, and 0.6 microm and saturation magnetization values of 73.03, 74.41, and 77.83 emu/g, respectively, were used as frit particles and octadecyl- and phenyl-bonded silica gels were packed successfully into frit-containing capillaries. The performance of the resulting magnetically immobilized frits and packed columns was evaluated. The electroosmotic mobilities in capillaries containing outlet frit only were found to be reduced by 2-4% whereas the plate heights of an unretained marker increased by 30-50% as compared to those in open capillaries. These variations are believed to be associated with the inhomogeneities of the packed structure of the frits. The magnetically immobilized frits showed adequate mechanical strength to withstand the flow drag force, allowing separation in capillaries packed with 5-mum stationary phases up to 10-15 cm, thus rendering column efficiency and reproducibility comparable with those obtained with sintered frits. Taken together, retaining frits made of uniform magnetite particles serves as a viable alternative to sintered frits for column preparation, which offers several distinct advantages such as ease of preparation, improved durability as compared to sintered frits where the removal of the polyimide coating makes the packed column susceptible to breakage, and use of large-bore capillaries for semipreparative separations.
Wang
Hongling
H
School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
Cao
Jingjing
J
Bi
Yanping
Y
Chen
Lei
L
Wan
Qian-Hong
QH
D000873:Anthracenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D053801:Capillary Electrochromatography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008280:Magnetics; D008863:Microspheres; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013890:Thiourea / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014050:Toluene / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000873:Anthracenes; D005449:Fluorenes; D009281:Naphthalenes; C031721:naphthalene; D014050:Toluene; C041509:fluorene; C034020:anthracene; D013890:Thiourea; D052203:Ferrosoferric Oxide