Is phospholipid-saturated alkyl column a convenient replacement for immobilized-artificial-membrane?

Three phosphatidylcholine (PC)-saturated C8/C18 stationary phases prepared using biologically representative membrane lipids (purchasable L-α-PC and pure 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine) have been developed to compare with IAM (immobilized-artificial-membrane) and C8/C18 columns. These PC-coated stationary phases were found to be stable and reproducible for retention experiments. The retention characteristics of nucleobases on these coated phases deviate significantly from those on the IAM counterpart, but surprisingly similar to those of the underlying C8/C18 columns. An inter-phase model has been proposed and explored for interpretation of the results.