Preparation and characterization of long methacrylate monolithic column for capillary liquid chromatography

Long methacrylate monolithic columns (100 cm × 320 μm i.d.) were prepared from silanized fused-silica capillaries of 320 μm i.d. by in situ copolymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA) with ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) in the presence of a suitable porogen. The separation performance and selectivity of the column were evaluated and compared with a 25 cm × 320 μm i.d. column prepared in the same way by capillary high-performance liquid chromatography (μ-HPLC). The results showed that the 1 m long monolithic column can generate 33 × 103 plate number and exhibited good permeability, higher sample loadability, and separation capability.