Comparison of commercial organic polymer-based and silica-based monolithic columns using mixtures of analytes differing in size and chemistry.

Commercially available silica-based monolithic columns Chromolith RP-8e, Chromolith RP-18, and Chromolith HR RP-18, and polymer-based monolithic columns ProSwift RP-1S, ProSwift RP-2H, and ProSwift RP-3U varying in pore size and bonded phase have been tested for the fast separation of selected sets of analytes. These mixtures of analytes included small molecules (uracil, caffeine, 1-phenylethanol, butyl paraben, and anthracene), acylated insulins, and intact proteins (ribonuclease A, cytochrome C, transferrin, apomyoglobin, and thyroglobulin), and covered wide range of chemistries and sizes. Small molecules were well separated with a height equivalent to theoretical plate of 11-26 μm using silica-based monolithic columns, while organic polymer-based monoliths excelled in the fast sub 1 min baseline separations of large molecules. A peak capacity of 37 was found for separation of acylated insulins on Chromolith columns using a 3 min gradient at a flow rate of 3 ml/min. Poor recovery of proteins from Chromolith columns and significant peak tailing of small molecules using ProSwift columns were the major obstacles in using monolithic columns in those applications.