Reversed phase capillary HPLC using polymer-entrapped C18 particles.
Novel capillary columns containing polymer-entrapped octadecylsilyl-modified silica microspheres were evaluated for chromatographic performance. The polymer forms only at the particle surface and in as little as 10 s strongly immobilizes them, obviating the need for a frit. The photoinitiated polymerization is patternable, and various entrapment styles were compared, all of which withstood pressure drops of at least 5000 psi (345 bar). The fritless nature of the columns allows a unique mass production capability whereby long packed columns are entrapped and simply cut afterward. Since the material has previously been shown to be a proficient nanoelectrospray emitter, the columns have enormous potential for use in capillary LC-MS. The evaluation suggests that for the designs that have minimal entrapped regions, the column performance is equivalent to commercial columns containing similar particles.
Gibson
Graham T T
GT
Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Marecak
Dale M
DM
Oleschuk
Richard D
RD