Monolithic columns efficiency

Table 7.1 shows the pore properties of several polymer monolithic columns prepared from styrene/DVB, methacrylates, and acrylamides along with the feed porosity and column efficiency, summarized from several recent publications. Some important points seem to be clearly shown in Table 7.1, especially by the comparison of the properties between methacrylate-based polymer monoliths and silica monoliths. 

Correlation was found between domain size and attainable column efficiency. Column efficiency increases with the decrease in domain size, just like the efficiency of a particle-packed column is determined by particle size. Chromolith columns having ca. 2 pm through-pores and ca. 1pm skeletons show H= 10 (N= 10,000 for 10 cm column) at around optimum linear velocity of 1 mm/s, whereas a 15-cm column packed with 5 pm particles commonly shows 10,GOO-15,000 theoretical plates (7 = 10—15) (Ikegami et al., 2004). The pressure drop of a Chromolith column is typically half of the column packed with 5 pm particles. The performance of a Chromolith column was described to be similar to 7-15 pm particles in terms of pressure drop and to 3.5 1 pm particles in terms of column efficiency (Leinweber and Tallarek, 2003 Miyabe et al., 2003). Figure 7.4 shows the pressure drop and column efficiency of monolithic silica columns. A short column produces 500 (1cm column) to 2500 plates (5 cm) at high linear velocity of 10 mm/s. Small columns, especially capillary type, are sensitive to extra-column band... 

Current commercial silica-based columns have two important characteristics (1) they can produce efficiency similar to that of columns packed with 3.5 /tm particles and (2) they typically produce a pressure drop of half that caused by a column packed with 5 /tm particles.35 Monolithic columns have been shown to exhibit flat van Deemter curves, resulting in little loss of efficiency at high flow rates.36 As a result, high-throughput separations on conventional HPLC instruments can be achieved by increasing flow rate up to nine times (up to 9 ml/min) the usual rate in a conventional packed column. Cycle times for HPLC analysis as short as 1 min (injection-to-injection) have been reported by users of monolithic columns. Additional benefits of monolithic columns cited include... 

Reproducibility of monolithic columns has also been cited as a major concern because the monoliths are manufactured individually.34-35 An extensive study by Kele and Guiochon indicates that the reproducibility results of Chromolith columns were almost comparable to those from different batches of particle-packed columns.37 Other drawbacks of monolithic columns include weak reten-tivity for polar analytes,38 efficiency loss at high flow rates for larger (800 MW) molecules,39 and peak tailing, even for neutral non-ionizable compounds.36-38-40 Furthermore, silica-based monolithic... 

Monolithic column — The trend to use shorter columns in liquid chromatography means that the resultant lower separation efficiency is of concern. One way to improve HPLC separation efficiency on a shorter column is to reduce the size of the packing material, but at the cost of increased backpressure. Another approach to improve performance is increasing permeability with a monolithic column. Such a column consists of one solid piece with interconnected skeletons and flow paths. The single silica rod has abimodal pore structure with macropores for through-pore flow and mesopores for nanopores within a silica rod8182 (Figure 12.1). 

In more demanding separations that require higher plate counts, specially designed rapid analysis columns packed with very high efficiency 2 to 3 /.an porous particles are available from several manufacturers. In addition, monolithic columns with improved flow-through characteristics are also commercially available. Figure 13.4 depicts a comparison of inlet pressure and flow rate for 4.6 mm inner diameter x 50, 100, and 150 mm columns packed with 5 /an particles. 

Replacement of the hydrophilic acrylamide by the more hydrophobic N-iso-propylacrylamide, in combination with the pre-functionalization of the capillary with (3-methacryloyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane, afforded a monolithic gel covalently attached to the capillary wall. A substantial improvement in the separations of aromatic ketones and steroids was observed using these fritless hydrogel columns, as seen by the column efficiencies of 160,000 found for hydrocortisone and testosterone [92]. The separations exhibited many of the attributes typical of reversed-phase chromatography and led to the conclusion that, in contrast to the original polyacrylamide-based gels, size-exclusion mechanism was no longer the primary mechanism of separation. 

Fig. 19. Separation of alkylbenzenes C6H5CnH2n+1 (n=0-6) on an in situ prepared monolithic silica column. (Reprinted with permission from [99]. Copyright 2000 VCH-Wiley). Conditions voltage 900 V/cm, capillary column 100 pm i. d., total length 33.5 cm, active length 25 cm, iso-cratic separation using 90 10 acetonitrile-50 mmol/1 TRIS buffer pH = 8, column efficiency 58,000 plates/m...

Zhang developed a monolithic poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) CEC column in which the EOF is supported by carboxyl groups of polymerized methacrylic acid [ 133]. Using benzene as a probe, column efficiencies of 90,000 -150,000 were observed within a flow velocity range of l-10cm/min (0.2-1.7 mm/s). Different families of compounds such as phenols, anilines, chlorobenzenes, phenylendi-amines, and alkylbenzenes were well separated typically in less than 5 min using 20 cm long columns. 

This technology was extended to the preparation of chiral capillary columns [ 138 -141 ]. For example, enantioselective columns were prepared using a simple copolymerization of mixtures of O-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylcarbamoyl]-10,11-dihydro quinidine, ethylene dimethacrylate, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate in the presence of mixture of cyclohexanol and 1-dodecanol as porogenic solvents. The porous properties of the monolithic columns can easily be controlled through changes in the composition of this binary solvent. Very high column efficiencies of 250,000 plates/m and good selectivities were achieved for the separations of numerous enantiomers [140]. 

Fig. 5. Effect of the flow rate on the separation efficiency. Separation of a protein mixture at six different flow rates (40,80,120,160,200 and 240 ml/min) normalized to the elution volume. Conditions Column 80 ml CIM DEAE Tube Monolithic Column Mobile phase buffer A 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.4 buffer B 20 mM Tris-HCl buffer + 1 M NaCl, pH 7.4 Gradient 0-100% buffer B in 200 ml Sample 2 mg/ml of myoglobin (peak 1), 6 mg/ml of conalbumin (peak 2) and 8 mg/ml of soybean trypsin inhibitor (peak 3) dissolved in buffer A Injection volume 1 ml Detection UV at 280 nm. (Reprinted with permission from Podgornik A, Barut M, Strancar A, Josic D, Koloini T (2000) Anal Chem 72 5693)...

The effect that the quality of the bed structure has on the chromatographic properties of columns packed with particles has been well known for a long time [1]. Similarly, the efficiency of capillary electrophoretic separations reaches its maximum for a specific capillary diameter, and then decreases steeply for both larger and smaller size [ 117]. Therefore, any improvement in the efficiency of the polymeric monolithic columns for the isocratic separations of small molecules is likely to be achieved through the optimization of their porous structure rather than their chemistry. 

Excellent performance for the elution of another peptide, insulin (molecular weight 5800 g/mol), was also observed using silica-based monoliths. The efficiency of the monolithic column was much better than that of a column packed with beads, and did not change much even at high flow rates. 

High flow rate is generally the basis for the high-throughput efficiency of several Turbulent Flow Chromatography (TFC), Restricted Access Material (RAM), and monolithic columns methodologies. 

Cabrera and co-workers [28] reported the first combinations of monolithic columns (50 mm x 4.6 mm and 100 mm x 4.6 mm) and mass spectrometry detection, a novel system configuration able to demonstrate a doubling of throughput by using increased flow rates while also maintaining separation efficiency. 

As with other types of solutes, chromatographers have attempted to improve the speed and efficiency of analysis of bases by fhe use of smaller particle (e.g., sub-2 p,m) or monolithic columns. Small particle columns have not yet been fully evaluated for the analysis of bases, to determine whether they give equivalent selectivity, and reduction in plate height commensurate with the reduction in particle size, as has been demonstrated for neutral compounds. Commercial silica monolith columns give reasonable performance for the analysis of bases at low pH, but show evidence of... 

---