Evaluation of high-performance liquid chromatography column retentivity using macromolecular probes I

The application of macromolecular probes is proposed for evaluation of HPLC column retentivity. The idea is tested with a set of different commercial silica C18 reversed-phases. For comparison, porous glass C18 and polystyrene/divinylbenzene column packings are also included. Polar, mainly silanophilic interactions are evaluated. The retention volumes of a series of narrow molar mass distribution polystyrenes (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate)s (PMMA) in toluene eluent are compared. Toluene is a weak mobile phase concerning silica gel surface and it promotes adsorption of PMMA on silanols, while PS is not adsorbed from toluene. Simultaneously, toluene is a thermodynamically good solvent for both polymers so that extensive partition in favour of stationary phase is not probable. Differences in retention behaviour of PS and PMMA indicate presence of abundant free silanols on the surface of some reversed-phases. These silanols are accessible even for large macromolecules of PMMA. Pore diameter and pore volume of the column packing can be semiquantitatively evaluated from the elution data of PS in toluene in the course of retentivity tests.