title: Preparation and evaluation of poly(alkyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolithic columns for separating polar small molecules by capillary liquid chromatography.
abstract: In this study, methacrylic acid (MAA) was incorporated with alkyl methacrylates to increase the hydrophilicity of the synthesized ethylene dimethacrylate-based (EDMA-based) monoliths for separating polar small molecules by capillary LC analysis. Different alkyl methacrylate-MAA ratios were investigated to prepare a series of 30% alkyl methacrylate-MAA-EDMA monoliths in fused-silica capillaries (250-μm i.d.). The porosity, permeability, and column efficiency of the synthesized MAA-incorporated monolithic columns were characterized. A mixture of phenol derivatives is employed to evaluate the applicability of using the prepared monolithic columns for separating small molecules. Fast separation of six phenol derivatives was achieved in 5 min with gradient elution using the selected poly(lauryl methacrylate-co-MAA-co-EDMA) monolithic column. In addition, the effect of acetonitrile content in mobile phase on retention factor and plate height as well as the plate height-flow velocity curves were also investigated to further examine the performance of the selected poly(lauryl methacrylate-co-MAA-co-EDMA) monolithic column. Moreover, the applicability of prepared polymer-based monolithic column for potential food safety applications was also demonstrated by analyzing five aflatoxins and three phenicol antibiotics using the selected poly(lauryl methacrylate-co-MAA-co-EDMA) monolithic column.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Soochow University, 70 Linhsi Road, Shihlin, 11102 Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Ling
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Soochow University, 70 Linhsi Road, Shihlin, 11102 Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Soochow University, 70 Linhsi Road, Shihlin, 11102 Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tzuen-Yeuan
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Soochow University, 70 Linhsi Road, Shihlin, 11102 Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: msfuh@scu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ming-Ren
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fuh
keywords: Methacrylic acid (MAA); Polymer monolithic stationary phases; Reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography; Small molecules