Separation study of organic bases on new polymeric stationary phases under basic conditions

Crosslinked monodisperse polymer microparticles have been synthesized and evaluated as stationary phases for the separation of basic drug molecules in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The polymer beads were prepared by free-radical copolymerization of divinylbenzene and styrene or vinylbenzyl chloride in acetonitrile with toluene as porogen agent using the precipitation method. Their efficiency as stationary phase was investigated at both acid (5.6) and basic (12) pH, and the results compared with those of a commercial polymeric reversed-phase column. Separation of the organic bases was achieved with the chlorobenzyl particles at pH 12.