Characterization and comparison of methacrylic acid with 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid in the preparation of monolithic column for capillary electrochromatography

Abstract

Butyl methacrylate (BMA)-ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA)-methacrylic acid (MAA) and BMA-EDMA-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) monolithic columns were prepared by varying the percentage of ionic monomers for capillary electrochromatography. Monolithic columns with a higher content of ionic monomers provided better column efficiency, and the performance of BMA-EDMA-MAA monoliths was better than BMA-EDMA-AMPS. To characterize and optimize BMA-EDMA-MAA monoliths, the effects of the content of cross-linker and the total monomer in the polymerization mixture on column performance were also studied. Plate heights of 8.2μm for the unretained solute (thiourea) and 12.6μm for the retained solute (naphthalene) were achieved with a monolithic column using 2.5% MAA (Column I). © 2012 Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.